Quote of the Day: ‘My ego is not in the way at all’

Jason Giambi, on signing a minor-league contract with the Rockies in the hopes of nabbing a September bench role: It’s cool. My ego is not in the way at all. I enjoy playing baseball. I’m a baseball player. I enjoy coming out here and playing with the guys, playing a kid’s game. They asked me if I minded going down to get some at bats and I said no, absolutely not. I want to help you guys win. There is no small role when a team’s in the pennant race. I’ve been in a lot of them over my career and it’s exciting to watch those guys play. They’ve got a great ball club and a great clubhouse. I know a lot of the guys. It’ll be fun to be a part of the ball club. Aside from a couple of brief rehab assignments Giambi hasn’t been in the minors since 1995, when he batted .342 in 55 games at Triple-A as a 24-year-old. Fourteen years and 1,933 big-league games later he’s obviously near the end of the line, but for all his horrible defense, high strikeout totals, and low batting averages Giambi still has plenty of patience and power, and those are two skills that can be extremely useful off the bench.