Tagged: Jason Giambi
The Giambi Quote on the Cover is Telling…
Not much has changed since he’s come to the Yankees; has it?
I’m being punished. The baseball “gods” are punishing me for getting up during the October 5th game against the Indians in the ALDS. I knew I shouldn’t have moved, it’s against my superstitions! Soon after I left my seat, a swarm of midges harped over the Jake. I thought my punishment ended there, but obviously losing the series was just another reminder that I blew it for us. Now this… it’s all my fault.
Why else would this happen to me?
My week hasn’t been too bad this week. Much better compared to the last.
Until yesterday…
The chaos of The Yankee Years had finally started to go away, so what do those great writers at the newspapers in NY do? Well, they have a job to do, so they come up with a story to write. So, they write about Derek Jeter and his impeding doom as a player. Sure, he’s getting older, but I’d like to think Jeter could play short until he turns 100. I just cannot imagine a Yankees game without Jeter on the field or in the dugout, but I know that time will come. I just don’t want to be reminded about it every time I open a newspaper!
THEN…
A-Rod. Or A-Fraud, I guess that’s a better way to address him. I can’t believe this. I actually had a conversation with my parents a week ago about A-Rod. We were arguing about Barry Bonds and I was all up on my high horse sticking up for Alex. Parent know best (I guess it’s true)… my mom and dad both fought me on that they said Alex was on ‘roids, no question… I guess after the let down of Giambi, Pettitte, and Clemens, I just didn’t want to believe any more of my Yankees were doing that stuff.
But alas, A-Rod tested positive in 2003. My problem with this is that, MLBPA was supposed to get rid of all this information. Why hold on to this info? Someone, knew exactly why… I think some one is out to get my Yankees.
Now, does that sound paranoid and psychotic of me? YES, but I honestly believe MLB is out to get my Yankees. Think about it, they hired Sen. Mitchell to do the steroid probe. Now, I don’t want to harbor hate for Red Sox fans, because there are some nice Red Sox fans out there… many read this blog and listen to my show… but Sen. Mitchell did serve as a director in the front office for the Red Sox until 2006. Seems like if Bud really wanted to be fair, he would have gotten someone who wasn’t tied to any team to conduct the report. Why Alex? If you are going to leak his name, you need to man up and give the other 103 names on that list!
Now, none of this excuses what A-Rod, Andy, Rocket, or Jason did, but I guess it offers me comfort. And to think, I bought A-Rod’s children’s book (Alex Rodriguez: Out of the Ballpark). It’s a great story for kids about how to work hard in order to capture your dreams. Alex details how he would get up at 5am everyday to get some extra practice in. I guess he forgot to mention the part where he shot himself up with steroids. Wow, that sounded really mean and cynical. But that’s what they have made me.
How could a team, how could a man who I look up to do this to me? To us? Alex was the one guy who I thought would make us all forget about the shady steroid era. But, I was wrong. I’m sick of this. Everyday it’s something.
Right now I’m mad, but I’m sure my anger will turn into the “Oh I feel sorry for him” blues. I do feel bad for him in a way. I know he did the crime, so he has to pay for that (albeit, he’ll be tormented by fans rather than be tormented by older men in a communal shower).
Alex is a lot like me, well other than the fact that I don’t have that kind of money, I’m not nearly as egotistical, and I don’t take steroids… We are a lot alike, we have to have approval from those around us. We care way too much about what people think about us.
I’m afraid this could be his downfall. Alex is like a tragic hero…
I’m worried for him and the Yankees this year. Can they get over this? Larry Bowa seems to think not. He was on the MLB Network’s special report today about Alex. He said that Alex is really sensitive and he lets little things bug him and this isn’t a little thing.
I’m worried… ok, I’m straight up terrified. I hope this goes away fast, although my heart tells me it wont.
FINAL WHISPER: Alex, just needs to do the following:
1. Call a press conference before spring training starts… (Just go ahead and get
it organized for Monday at noon).
2. Admit you did steroids in 2003. Say something to the effect of “I’m sorry I let my fans, teammates, the Yankees organization, and MLB down. I screwed up and I have to take responsibility for that. This is not something that I do anymore and I’m just sorry all my young fans had to figure out about this. I’m sorry.”
** NOTE: If you can work up some tears Alex, that would be great!
3. Hang out at the Boys and Girls Club during Spring Training or better yet, take Natasha and Ella out for a great day with Daddy… and let Harvey Levine’s gang know where you are.
4. Get over yourself and play ball…
5. Lead the Yankees to a 2009 World Series victory
…………….. And, all will be forgiven and forgotten
(at least Yankees fans will forgive and forget)
Baseball Nerdish as Always,
Brit
United we Stand, Divided we Fall
Conclusion: It’s not something I’d do, but I don’t understand why everyone is throwing him under the bus now after all that he did for us.
I decided to start off with the conclusion I’ve come to about “The Yankee Years” or “Ranking Beers” if you’re not a baseball fan. I’ve thumbed through Mr. Torre’s book and to me, it doesn’t hurt the prestige or honor of the pinstripes. Nor does it make me want to turn my back on a guy who has brought me many great memories.
That being said though, I don’t think it was a wise move on Mr. Torre’s part to write this book. Only because of all the media grief and “Benedict Torre” comments by EX-fans. Honestly though, this book doesn’t paint Mr. Torre as the good guy and the Yankees as the bad guys. So, don’t think it’s like that… Verducci is coming from a very neutral ground (in my opinion). The book shows Mr. Torre’s colorful vocabulary and his relationships with the men he was in charge of for twelve years.
The book in a nut shell, Joe wanted to be the Yankees’ GM, but that would have meant a pay cut and his Brother Frank Torre didn’t think it was worth the hassle… Then Mr. Steinbrenner called him up and was like dude, want to be our manager… Mr. Torre responded with a “Hell, yes!”
We already know the rest… David Wells is a rough-neck jerk, who could pitch like crazy. Derek Jeter is a SAINT, Mariano Rivera is classy in a hardworking kind of way. Mr. Torre missed the days of Paulie, Brosius, and Tino… Pettitte is underrated, Jorge Posada, Paul O’Neill, and Tino Martinez are intense characters. Giambi is a sucky defensive player and A-Rod is a pre-MADONNA… I mean prima donna (gah, I just blew another new years resolution). He’s also a bit inconsistent and his teammates and coaches used to hassle him about it.
I’m just sick of all the commotion this book is causing in Yankees Universe… It is ripping us apart people! Now is a time we should united and become one powerful universe! Let’s all decide to move on and not worry about the past.
Forgive and forget… yea, yea, yea relive and regret, but I don’t think Girardi will be writing any books anytime soon…
I don’t even know why I let this bug me so much… I just don’t want Mr. Torre to be another Yogi Berra. I LOVE Mr. Berra… and I can’t imagine my life without him being around the Yankees. I named my teacup poodle Yogi for goodness sakes! I wouldn’t want my little cousins to grow up in a world where Joe Torre is banished from Yankee Stadium and outcast by fans that he once offered so much bliss for.
OK, I’m finished. I’m not trying to make Joe into a saint, again, I wouldn’t have done the book if I was him, but I honestly believe him when he said he thought of the book as more of a piece of history rather than a tell-all. We’ll see how it turns out I guess.
FINAL WHISPER: Am I getting too crazy over this? I just don’t want to have to listen to people bring this book up every time the Yankees have a bad game or every time Jeter and A-Rod look at each other in an odd way. Some sports networks, I wont name names, like to “hate” on the Yankees and I think this is just ammo for them. But, I think those people are blowing it WAY out of proportion!
Baseball Nerdish as Always,
Brit
Wreckless Love
Jane Heller, author of Confessions of a She-Fan: The Course of True Love with the New York Yankees (which will be out in February), was on my radio show (A Show of Their Own) a few weeks ago talking about how her devotion of the Yankees was much like a relationship. She was the fan who wrote to the New York Times in 2007 announcing her divorce from the Yankees. I can really identify with Jane. I too feel like I’m in a “toxic” relationship with the Yankees. I mean, what do they do for me? I travel hundreds of miles every summer just to see them. I spend thousands of dollars on travel expenses, tickets, memorabilia, and they don’t even invite me to stay the night. They after they are done using me for the night, they quickly shoo me out of the building. They expect me to travel with them, so that they never have to go to a strange, hostile stadium alone. I, of course, do not want to let them down, so I spend more money to travel with them. I pay extra money for MLB extra innings just to see every inning of every game. I put up with stupid Red Sox fans and the masses of Braves fans that surround me. They also turn me into a walking billboard for their cause. Now, they tell me, they are going to make me pay for their new house. What kind of relationship is that? I’ll tell you, it is a magical, passionate, wonderful relationship. See, even though the Yankees make me do almost everything, they do the most important thing in a relationship. They make me happy. Even though they had an “off” year this year, I still had a fun trip with them. I met many great Yankee fans this year. I started my own internet radio show all about the Yankees, I started my own blog devoted to the Yankees, I got my first taste of color commentating, and I did my first television interview (I was on FSN Kansas talking about how wonderful Yankee Stadium is/was). I thrive off the Yankees. They bring me to life. I’m known around my community as “The Yankees Fan” and I like that. I don’t want to say the Yankees have been the one constant in my life, because I have great parents and they are always there for me, but the Yankees… they are my constant in social settings, I guess I could say that. I’m very shy by nature so the Yankees give me an outlet to speak unapologetically and to anyone who will listen. I’d never speak to someone I didn’t know, but if that stranger has a Yankees apparel on, I’ll usually speak. See, the relationship I have with the Yankees is more like a brotherhood… or sisterhood I should say. Yea, ok… Red Sox have their “nation,” but the Yankees have Yankees Universe! Yankees baseball surpasses any language barrier. Ok, not really, but it could. I’ll gladly pay thousands of dollars to support my Yankees and I’ll gladly swoon over the latest acquisitions, and I’ll probably get depressed a little over the trades, but in the end, the Yankees will be there for me and I’ll be there for them. I sound like a bad episode of the Steve Wilkos show with the headline: “My husband hit me, cheated on me, and never pays for a date, but I LOVE him.” The Yankees hit me (in the wallet), they (Giambi, Clemens, Pettitte) cheated on me with steroids, and they never pay for me to go visit them, but still, I love them.
Final Whisperer: Title courtesy of Alicia Keys. If you want to hear my interview with Jane Heller go to:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/AShowOfTheirOwn/va/2008/09/09/a-show-of-their-own
Baseball Nerdish as Always,
Brit
The Yankees Baseball Whisperer 