Giambi released by A's...

[2000mvpfan]

Thanks Aaron,I hadn't seen that-I'll check it out when I get home tonite.It'd be great to get it since I missed out on the Mothers Day bats of his which went so exorbitantly high.Did finally manage to get one of his black Yankees M9 bats though,really wanted one for a while now.

Thanks buddy,
Joe

[jobathenut]

Yeah,how shelfish to want to spend time with his family and friends.

It just made him look selfish whgen the fans did so much for him that all. He could have paid them back but opted not to and given them something they want, but he was self centered, that's my argument.

[cordovacollector]

Giambi wasn't the only person who cut off the sleeves of his jersey that day. I give you Matt Lawton.

Wonderful, Sylbry!!! I don't think I knew/remembered Matty had done it too! (Gosh, he was such a nice guy.) Hope to find those photos to see if I got it on film. If so, I'll send them to you for Christmas. I'll bet I remembered Giambi's "personally altered jersey modification" more because his left bicep was about the size of my waist and the barb-wire tatoo showing. (On his bicep, not my waist!)

I do soooo remember that set of TBTC jerseys. I thought they looked a bit lame that year but that was the replica. I remember Luis Rivas running the bases and looking like he had Shaq's pajamas on.

I have Cordova's TBTC 1997. That was a classy looking uniform! They were the navy blue St. Paul Saints, I think. Beautiful letter/logo on front in Olde English font, if I remember right. I'll post that in a separate thread soon. Would like to find uniform pants and belt.

[LastingsMilledge85]

Yeah,how shelfish to want to spend time with his family and friends.

I think he went to Vegas and hit the Casinos, Joba

[suicide_squeeze]

Hey thanks joe-mvpfan-I am happy to know i'm not all alone on this.Me and you brother.You got to love the haters though.

Who's a hater? I always kinda liked Giambi, even thought he made some seriously bad decisions and go the cheaters route. Through it all, he always seemed like a fairly good guy, otherwise.

I mean how many names on that steriod list and people still jump all over him for it.

Well, isn't he one of the cheaters? Should time passed be the only factor in dealing with these cheaters? Or....as their stats and records will be printed for eternity, should they be dealt with in the same manner? That's a nongoing debate, which will be seen over and over again every January when they announce the results of the Hall Of Fame voting.

Even though he was a man about it and admitted to it.And did'nt play the childish quote,"i did'nt know it was that".

Ahhh, no, he wasn't a man about it. A true man never would have cheated the game he loved, the game that has all of the history it does, the game that has all of the fans that made him who he is, the game that paid him all of the money he now has. He also never confessed it like a man. He simply came out and said "I'm sorry for the mistakes I made. Period, no mention of the words, "steroids" in his original (or subsequent) apologies.

I get sick of hearing haters on here.I mean how many years ago was that.

Again, time doesn't erase the damage done to this game by these guys.

Those people really need to build a bridge and get over it.

Do we? Or is it you, who's fanhood for one guy has biased yourself in such a manner that true baseball fans who cherrish the game are looked at as "haters"? I think you should reconsider. Some of us like this guy, too, Joba, but not over the loss of the integrity of the game.

The guy deserved better than what the a's did to him.

Did he? He was batting below the mendoza line. His skills have fallen, and the fact is clearly it's because they're testing, so he isn't able to make it any longer on skill alone. Maybe he should have just retired and walked away from the game with some class, instead of creating this need for a team to do something you are unhappy with. Baseball is a business, and Giambi wasn't holding up his end of the bargain any longer.

I will admit he is at the end of his career.But if he agrees to come back to the a's than have the respect to play at least the season.

Like the respect he showed baseball by cheating?

I just think it was a total slap in the face what they did to him.

And what about the slap in the face he gave the fans and the owners he took millions from. The disgrace will live on for many decades.

And that whole derby thing is a joke.What a bad guy for wanting to spend time with his family.

What other excuse should he use....."Hey, since I'm not worthy, and it would be a disgrace for me to perform in the derby like Piazza and others have, I'm just going to go to VEGAS".?? Nooooo, It's the old "I want to spend time with my family" excuse. It works every time.

But then it was proberly the fact the steriods were the reason why he did'nt join the stubid batting practice.You got to love haters logic.

Actually, you missed it by 180 degrees. It was the LACK OF steroids that made him choose to not perform in the "batting practice" derby as you call it.

But you know us haters.......we're just "stubid".

My highlighted responses above.

[Carlevv]

Thanks Aaron,I hadn't seen that-I'll check it out when I get home tonite.It'd be great to get it since I missed out on the Mothers Day bats of his which went so exorbitantly high.Did finally manage to get one of his black Yankees M9 bats though,really wanted one for a while now.

Thanks buddy,
Joe

Joe whats your email address?

[reed1216]

suicide_squeeze- I never thought I'd hear myself think this, but I completely agree with your last post.
I especially agree with you on the part about actually liking Giambi, despite his poor choice to use PEDs. I loved it when the Yankees signed him and was pulling for him to succeed, even after he was caught. The situation is what it is. Giambi really seems like a great guy, who made some mistakes. As someone who has made his own share of mistakes, it would be hypocritical for me to dislike him forever based on that alone. I really do hope that he can catch on and show the world he still has it, but I won't be holding my breath. Based on the timing of his rapid decline, it's very hard to imagine him being the player he once was, without the aid of PEDs.

[jobathenut]

He actaully said ,he was taking the time to spend with his family and friends.

I think he went to Vegas and hit the Casinos, Joba

[whatupyos]

My highlighted responses above.

Steve,

Correct me if I'm wrong. You mentioned about Giambi not doing steriods as being the reason for not doing the HR Derby the last year in NY, or something to that effect...(sorry if I misquoted you, I'm trying to paraphrase). I understand what you're saying but isn't it true they don't have testing for HGH? So its not inconceivable that guys could still be cheating the game since they don't have testing for it. I've never done any HGH or steriods, I just know a lot about it. Wrote a paper about it in college, but I'm under the impression that there is no real test for it. I'm curious why its so hard to test for?

I used to work for a big biotech company in the bay area. They make a drug for people with severe growth hormone deficiency problems. I was told that people would kill to get that stuff we made because it was the best stuff. Stuff the body builders would kill for. I saw on the local news that some people had been busted for stealing the products and selling them at a local supplement store. It made me laugh because there always seem to be people that will do anything to "get head" no matter what that be in life. Cheating taxes, cheating drug tests, cheating competition.

Regards,

Aaron

[suicide_squeeze]

Steve,

Correct me if I'm wrong. You mentioned about Giambi not doing steriods as being the reason for not doing the HR Derby the last year in NY, or something to that effect...(sorry if I misquoted you, I'm trying to paraphrase). I understand what you're saying but isn't it true they don't have testing for HGH? So its not inconceivable that guys could still be cheating the game since they don't have testing for it. I've never done any HGH or steriods, I just know a lot about it. Wrote a paper about it in college, but I'm under the impression that there is no real test for it. I'm curious why its so hard to test for?

I used to work for a big biotech company in the bay area. They make a drug for people with severe growth hormone deficiency problems. I was told that people would kill to get that stuff we made because it was the best stuff. Stuff the body builders would kill for. I saw on the local news that some people had been busted for stealing the products and selling them at a local supplement store. It made me laugh because there always seem to be people that will do anything to "get head" no matter what that be in life. Cheating taxes, cheating drug tests, cheating competition.

Regards,

Aaron

First off, Thanks to Reed for the kind comment......I think

Aaron,

Even though I kind of tongue-n-cheek it, you correctly paraphrased it.

Let's be realistic about it. Giambi knows that the year he won the home run derby, he was at or near the top of his game......and his PED use.

If he were to perform in the same capacity.....as a participant in the home run derby last year......he is smart enough to know that at age 37 (then), and clean from everything he was taking, his showing would've been much less than the year he won it, and potentially dismal.

Add to that the fact that he had a growth in his head that was career (if not life) threatening while with the Yankees, I would guess Aaron that he is not using HGH at this point, detectable or not, simply because of the health issues he suffered from.

If he is crazy enough to be using something after all he's been through, then I guess there's nothing that would surprise me. But, he is smart enough to know that he shouldn't display his home run hitting ability at his age, and off the juice, so I suggested the easy way out was to say he wanted to take the much needed time off to spend with family (& friends, sorry Joba!).

Whatever the case, whatever the truth, I wish him well, because like McGwire, he's a baseball guy, seems to be a genuine human being, and for whatever reason, I just like him. I hope he finds one last burst, somewhere, and ends his pretty darn good career on his terms. If it could only be that way for all of them.