Will Anyone Feel Sorry For Giambi?

[CrespoBlows]

This kind of makes me feel kinda bad for Jason, knowing the treatment he will be getting.

 

You are Jason Giambi.

 

You took steroids and, under the specter of a possible perjury charge, you answered honestly. Explicitly. With more detail than anyone has ever heard before. It has been assumed that you and other stars have taken steroids, but the baseball world has never heard anyone say out loud that he pinched a roll of skin on his torso and injected himself, as you did. You shocked everybody.

 

 

So now you are the poster boy for steroids. You have graduated from the sports pages to the front pages. The New York Post plucked a picture from your past -- a seething shot, taken when you were a hero and loved for your long-haired moxie -- and superimposed the words "Ban The Bum" over you. Editorial writers are saying you should be kicked out of baseball.

 

 

The Yankees are trying to find ways to void your contract and escape the $82 million they owe you, though they would never do so if you still hit like Gary Sheffield. The commissioner is considering disciplining you, suspending you.

 

 

You probably have strong legal standing all the way around -- with your contract, with federal prosecutors. But guess what happens if you win: You'll have the most miserable existence of any player in the history of the game.

 

 

You'll arrive in spring training, perhaps pulling up in an SUV with tinted windows, and hundreds of reporters will be waiting for you, with cameras and tape recorders and pens poised. You're not a perp but you might as well be doing a perp walk. Except you can't cover your face with a jacket or towel. This is your new life as Mr. Steroids, and you have to deal with it -- if you want to play baseball, if you want your $82 million.

 

 

You'll walk into the clubhouse and teammates will be friendly, because you are a good guy, a nice person. But it'll all be very awkward because none of them will know what to say, and nothing that they say will really help you, anyway. You'll get dressed, facing your locker, buttoning a pinstriped jersey that you know the Yankees want to take away from you. Remember how you said that coming to the Yankees was a dream come true? Well, you'll be living a daily nightmare now.

 

 

You've still got a job, a spot on the roster, because the Yankees owe you all that money. But you're not the first baseman any more, and you're not the designated hitter. You are Mr. Steroids, so Joe Torre is no longer obligated to guarantee you anything. You will have to earn your playing time, against Tino Martinez or John Olerud or some other first baseman who is not Mr. Steroids.

 

 

You'll walk down the runway leading to the dugout, and in your heart, you won't even know if you're a good player any more. You batted .342 in 2001, sure, but that's when you were taking steroids. You led the Yankees in RBI in 2002, batted .314, were the star of the new YES Network. But that's when you were taking steroids. Then you hit .250 in 2003, your left knee buckling as you swung the bat. Patellar tendinitis, a prime steroid symptom; it's the runny nose of steroids. Your knee bothered you so much that you failed to start in Game 5 of the World Series -- a moment when you lost the respect of many of your teammates.

 

 

Weeks later, you testified before the grand jury, emerged wide-eyed, appearing almost frightened. And when spring training began, you didn't look like a slugger any more; you looked more like a high school kid, with a gaunt face, and slender face and chest. Friends did a double take when you walked in. You looked directly into the camera and said you had stopped eating In-And-Out Burgers. Yeah, that's it. Stopped eating fast foods. Yeah, that's it. And no, I didn't take any steroids, you said.

 

 

But you felt awful. You looked awful. You got sick. You played in only half of the games, batted .208, struck out every fourth at-bat, taking a ton of called third strikes. You are not a great athlete, anyway -- now Barry Bonds, he's a great athlete -- and if you had an edge from the steroids you took in previous years, well, that was gone.

 

 

And so you retreated. You left the Yankees in the middle of the 2004 season for medical treatment and teammates didn't see you for weeks. You wouldn't talk to reporters because they wanted to ask questions about your health, and you didn't want to answer because you knew where all of that would lead: The "S" word.

 

 

You tried to come back in September, and it went badly. You looked brutal at the plate. You couldn't hit. The Yankees are paying you $17 million a year, but you were so bad that they didn't even put you on the postseason roster. You were supposed to be the guy who led the Bombers over the Red Sox and instead you spent all of October quietly clapping in the dugout.

 

 

But it'll be worse in spring 2005. You'll be walking to the dugout for your first workout and doubts will be thick in your mind about whether you can hit. And that's when the fans will see you for the first time. And they'll fill your ears with boos.

 

 

These are Yankees fans, and they are booing.

 

 

Every time you pass by, they yell things at you. Nasty stuff. They are yelling that you are a fraud, a disgrace. Some of them are profane. And then it gets worse. This is what your work environment will be for the rest of your career. You try to concentrate on batting practice, on getting back your swing, and every time you step into the cage or step out, somebody is yelling at you.

 

 

You struggle in spring training; Torre picks somebody else to play first base, and somebody else is the DH. You are Jason Giambi, you were the AL MVP in 2000, and you are a bench player.

 

 

Your days are filled with lawyers, because your standing is being negotiated, and at night, you go to work and there is no escape. Fans wait outside parks to yell at you, and when you play on the road, they chant "STEEEERRRRRR-OOOOOIIDS" at you, on those rare days when you actually get into the lineup. And at Yankee Stadium, the fans boo you constantly.

 

 

You are a sensitive person, anyway, and you are treated like a criminal -- a criminal who gets marched out past the masses every day. You are Jason Giambi, and this could be your life for the next four years. You are making millions of dollars and paying an emotional toll for every nickel.

 

 

You won't last as a ballplayer under this sort of duress. No one could. Except for Barry Bonds, perhaps.

[element1151]

I don't, he knew what he was doing at the time.

[schillingouttheks]

same as element.

 

theres a fine line between what u can be held responsible for and what u can blame on other people.

 

giambi knew what he was doing, and he deserves every boo or insult he receives.

[Chitalian Stallion]

i guess im a little empathetic, but honestly, if he didnt want this, he shouldnt have done it.

[CrespoBlows]

But the thing people fail to realize is that he is an athlete in a SPORT. He didn't murder anyone, he actually tried to maximize he's athletic potential. I don't think he deserves it for someone to call him a cheating bitch in a public place.

[RedSoxRooter]

Ahh. Yankee fans will boo him because they are bitter. Bitter losers who wouldn't give two craps about steroid abuse if it wasn't involving a guy making 80 million dollars off thier teams owner. Would they be so upset if this were Tony Clark? I doubt it.

 

If I were him, I'd smile at every boo, sit on the bench and collect every single penny owed to me. Then retire.

 

For every Yankee fan who goes out of their way to boo him, if I were Giambi, I'd turn to that person and say "Wow, in the time it took you to yell 'BOO!', I just made $187 thousand dollars.. Ha Ha ha!".

 

Then I'd say "Suck it" and go home to my sex slave wife and my shrunken nuts and party like it's 1999. :harhar:

[CrespoBlows]

If it were only that simple.......

[ahhchon]

i feel sorry for giambi, this never should have been leaked out. there are many players in baseball that take roids, hating on just giambi is not right.

 

how about sheffield, he took the same stuff giambi took, but no one is hating on him, of course, cus he still bats around .300, with 30+ HR and 100 + rbi.

 

i wouldn't feel bad for giambi if MLB was ACTUALLY trying to crack down on roids, but they really don't care, it's all about the HR's. bigger the bats the more tickets they sell. the nub fans of these days think a multi hr game is so much better than a great pitching performance.

 

john

[RedSoxRooter]

Originally posted by ahhchon@Dec 6 2004, 08:19 PM

the nub fans of these days think a multi hr game is so much better than a great pitching performance.

 

john

I could not agree more. If they choose to keep ignoring the problem (along with the alarming number of pitchers who blow their arms out because of it), they should at least raise the mound back up to where it's supposed to be. I think it was lowered 6 full inches in '67 or '68.

[element1151]

Originally posted by ahhchon@Dec 6 2004, 05:19 PM

i feel sorry for giambi, this never should have been leaked out. there are many players in baseball that take roids, hating on just giambi is not right.

I feel sorry for Giambi for the fact that he is the one guy that did tell the truth and let it out, but he shouldn't have done it in the first place. And i also agree, what about Bonds, what about Sheff, they should be treated exactly the way Giambi is going to be treated. Sorry you had to be the one Giambi, but it is better for the game if steriod use ends as soon as possible.

[ahhchon]

i believe it was 68 that they lowered the mound.. or was it 69? gibson had that great season in 68, i think they lowered the mound after that, i can't remember exactly.

 

anyways. i'm not sure if it's better for the game of baseball, it would be better if MLB did something about it, as of now it han't changed baseball one bit. the ones rubbing cream on themselves are still doing it.

 

john

[sarasoxfan]

feel sorry for giambi???

 

Hah.

 

no one made him take drugs....he told the truth and no comes the wrath...tough s***..You cheat. your treated like a cheater.

 

f*** him, and all who cheat and or wear pinstripes.

 

You do the crime, you do the time...

 

I say good luck and f*** you very much jason, time to find a new job baby!!

[ahhchon]

i prefer his job to be a bench player that bats .200 on the yankees @ 15+ mill a year. i don't know what you're thinking..

 

the steriod issue is pretty sketchy, who knows who might be on steriods.. david ortiz etc etc.. you just don't really know. i'm not saying ortiz is on steriods, i'm saying he could be and we just don't know..

 

john

[sarasoxfan]

Judging from the little jelly belly I doubt very much DO is on roids---and you should be strung up from the coke bottle at fenway for even suggesting that.

[sarasoxfan]

I do actually feel sorry for Giambi...Jeremy Giambi, having such a douche bag for a brother must be tough on the whole family.

[elsrbueno]

Originally posted by sarasoxfan@Dec 7 2004, 11:36 AM

I do actually feel sorry for Giambi...Jeremy Giambi, having such a douche bag for a brother must be tough on the whole family.

I have to admit this post made me laugh.

 

In all honesty, I don't feel sorry for Jason Giambi at all.

 

As my Dad would say: "He made his bed, now he's got to sleep in it."

 

Or something like that. You get the point.

[element1151]

Speaking of the Yankees, don't forget to get one of these

 

Sorry link is dead, MLB must have realized that the Yankees didn't win!

It was this:

http://bostondirtdogs.boston.com/Headline_Archives/NYYsweat2004ALCS.jpg

BDD Link

 

The same one the Yankees wore in the locker room after clinching the game!

[sarasoxfan]

whatever your talking about I would want becasue if the yankees wore it then it must suck.

 

I wonder if scott peterson and giambi can get a two for one trip to the hot seat!

 

I say hang the bum! and sheff-lied too...

[empireII]

Things woulsd change if this were david ortiz.

[yeszir]

Originally posted by empireII@Dec 7 2004, 08:35 PM

Things woulsd change if this were david ortiz.

Likewise, it would change if it were Jeter for you. Giambi wasn't performing, thats why everyone in New York hates him. It's not because he disgraced the game, its an excuse to get rid of him through and through.

[empireII]

Originally posted by yeszir+Dec 7 2004, 08:38 PM-->

QUOTE (yeszir @ Dec 7 2004, 08:38 PM)

[BoSox Rule]

About the mound:

 

They raised the mound a great deal in 1968 and obviously it benefited pitching greatly. Gibson had a 1.12 ERA and Yaz won the batting title at .301.

 

They couldn't possibly leave the mound that high.

[RedSoxRooter]

Yes they could.

Mounds weren't regulated until they lowered them in 1969. I don't think they raised them across the leagues in '68.

 

http://experts.about.com/q/2552/3388045.htm

[2090]

I don;t feel sorry for that needle thumping cheater.

[schillingouttheks]

will u feel bad for sheffield?

 

probably, a lot of people will, because he was able to put up good numbers this year, something giambi didnt.

[sarasoxfan]

people in new york for some strange reason seem to like sheffield. He has been a major f*** wad his entire career. If he goes down I'd be happy to pull tthe switch so to speak. His body is already falling apart so it should only be a matter of time.

 

I'll say this much sheffield and that other ******* Bonds lied to the grand jury so in my mind they are even biggger losers than Giambi.

 

Sadly, Selig is a ballless wimp so I suspect the only problem these guys have is public opinion which to them means nothing,.