Would you welcome Giambi back to the A's?
Let's fantasize for a moment that the Yankees have to eat the rest of his contract or are able to work out a buyout with him that gets approved... and that the A's could get him for very little money.. Would you welcome him back?
This question has at least two components. The first is whether you could forgive him for leaving the A's for the Yank-me's, and forgive him for his steroid past. The second, and i think more interesting part, is how do you view his future as a baseball player? Do you believe his past success was primarily due to steroids, that his body is too damaged from years of steroids and living hard, etc.? Or do you think/hope that he is capable of being someone that can hit for power and average again?
Would you enjoy watching him play?
Of course, there's also the dimension of where would he fit in -- in the past, he's injured too often to count on for an everyday first baseman, and we've got durazo for DH, and hatty already at first.
My own answers: I can forgive him and would enjoy watching him as an A again. I think he can get healthy and succeed without steroids. A recovered Giambi would be a great presence in the lineup.
(and a side question: how long are steroids detectable; how often would you have to test someone to know that they're not taking any?)
0 recs |
15
comments
Comments
No
No one who claims that steroids "tarnish the game" has any credibility if he/she knowingly cheers for a player on 'roids. You can't say that steroids are bad for baseball and then look the other way while your clean-up hitter puts up 40 homer seasons.
If you don't care that certain players are on juice and just want to revel in the extra dingers... well, that's your choice. But I really don't see how anyone can think along those lines. Maybe I don't know enough Giants fans.
by dchu on Dec 4, 2004 1:25 AM PST 0 recs
I agree to some extent.
Harder to forgive are the comments he made about Oakland. But if "took it back" and proved he was truly sorry, he might win back the fans eventually, but not until a few years have passed.
It's really more up to him and what he does now over the next couple of years than what we think of him right now. The current emotional reaction is intense, and that makes it hard to entertain the idea of eventual forgiveness.
by Pepper on
Dec 4, 2004 1:32 PM PST
up
0 recs
Hell no
I want Jason Giambi never to enter a major league park without wearing pinstripes. Let him be their $115M washed-up albatross.
by Nate on Dec 4, 2004 1:26 AM PST 0 recs
hell YES!
Hello, Moneyball! Talk about upside! As for people saying they wouldn't forgive him, tell me: would you honestly be able to say that if he hit 40 homers for us and hit .330? Of course we'd forgive him then! And if he continues to suck--well then we could boo him all the time! It's a win-win!
by rubin sierra on Dec 4, 2004 2:29 AM PST 0 recs
replying to myself
Snap out of it! Ron Artest is a cancer and the Pacers would be out of their minds to put him on their playoff roster. Similarly, Jason Giambi just got caught doping, and has been suffering from tumors and parasites--the most we can hope for is that he gets healthy, stays clean and is able to play professional baseball again. But yes I would be happy to see him do that in an A's uniform; I think the A's could pay him less than he's worth, and I harbor nothing but pity toward him at this point in time.
by rubin sierra on
Dec 4, 2004 2:49 AM PST
up
0 recs
Yes
by Satchmo22 on Dec 4, 2004 2:50 AM PST 0 recs
Giambi
by OaktownTribesman on
Dec 4, 2004 8:16 AM PST
up
0 recs
times have changed
by batgirl on
Dec 4, 2004 12:12 PM PST
up
0 recs
Without hesitation
by thenewyorker on Dec 4, 2004 11:30 AM PST 0 recs
The key is the money
Remember, he testified before the 2004 season, and couldn't know what was in store.
Look at his stats. He'll be 34 next year. His career shows a bell curve peaking in 2000-2001 with OPS of 1.123 and 1.137. His three years withe the Yanks have seen 1.033, .939, and last year's pitiful, and certainly aberrant .721. Based on typical patterns, does anyone think he can return to 200-2001 levels at age 34 or older?
It is unlikely.
Still, if he was able to perform as he did his first four full years -- .836 to .975 OPS -- and if he could play 140+ games a year, he'd be a steal.
As for the steroids, yes, it is cheating. But contrast Jason's Grand Jury testimony with Bonds. Who clearly was telling all the truth? Who was telling as little as possible? How can Giambi come out of this whole thing worse off in the public mind than Bonds?
Well, he admitted taking steroids, so baseball doesn't have to risk anything by punishing him for them as it might with Barry. So maybe he gets hammered more.
But is it good for baseball to share Barry's total mystification at what doping schedules and invoices for banned substances containing Bonds' name means?
The key to Jason's future is his health. I don't see how he can be banned from baseball. It appears he is not under threat of criminal prosecution for perjury. He really wanted to play in pinstripes. Perhaps he will conclude that his rehabilitation will happen better outside New York.
As for the money, I don't think it matters to Steinbrenner if he wants to get rid of Jason. The biggest impediment to any deal is probably the union.
by dingerpower on
Dec 4, 2004 12:35 PM PST
up
0 recs
Bring back Giambi as a veteran leader
by stevea on Dec 4, 2004 2:17 PM PST 0 recs
We already have a better DH
by A s Eh on
Dec 4, 2004 3:07 PM PST
up
0 recs
Giambi's a lemming, not a leader.
He is a burn out now.
The A's can't help him and Giambi can't help anyone.
by A s Eh on
Dec 4, 2004 3:18 PM PST
up
0 recs
Leader?
by OaktownTribesman on
Dec 4, 2004 3:23 PM PST
up
0 recs



















