Report: Giambi says baseball should apologize for steroids
May 18th, 2007
Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi was quoted in USA Today as saying baseball needs to apologize for the issue of steroids in the sport.
Giambi was among those who testified before a grand jury during the BALCO investigation in December 2003, and reports in the San Francisco Chronicle a year later said he told the grand jury that he used steroids and human growth hormone. In February 2005, he issued an apology, but never used the word steroids -- citing legal issues -- and did not specifically say for what he was apologizing.
Friday's report in the USA Today quoted Giambi as saying an apology from baseball and those involved should have been offered long ago.
"I was wrong for doing that stuff," Giambi told the paper before Wednesday's game against the Chicago White Sox. "What we should have done a long time ago was stand up -- players, ownership, everybody -- and said: 'We made a mistake.'
"We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward...Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it."
Giambi also told the paper he is probably among the most tested players in baseball and that he doesn't use any performance-enhancing substances.
"Unfortunately, [the rumors] are going to be a part of it," Giambi added. "But that's OK. I'm probably tested more than anybody else. I'm not hiding anything.
"That stuff didn't help me hit home runs. I don't care what people say, nothing is going to give you that gift of hitting a baseball."
Giambi, the 2000 AL MVP with Oakland, is batting .273 with five home runs and 18 runs batted in this season -- his sixth with the Yankees
Giambi needs to lay down the crack pipe 😀
Report: Yankees may jettison Giambi
May 20th, 2007
New York, NY (Sports Network) - The New York Yankees are reportedly revisiting the idea of voiding Jason Giambi's contract after the slugger seemingly admitted to USA Today that he once used steroids.
The New York Daily News reported that the Yankees would consider terminating the seven-year, $120 million dollar deal Giambi signed in 2001 if it is determined that he used illegal performance enhancing drugs after he inked the deal.
The paper also reports that the commissioner's office is investigating Giambi's comments to USA Today and will request a meeting with Giambi to discuss the matter.
"I was wrong for doing that stuff," Giambi told a USA Today reporter on May 18. "What we should have done a long time ago was stand up - players, owners, everybody - and said: 'We made a mistake.' We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward...Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it."
The Yankees also looked at voiding Giambi's deal in late 2004 after the San Francisco Chronicle reported that the designated hitter told the grand jury investigating the BALCO steroid scandal that he had used steroids and human growth hormone before signing with the Yankees and while playing for them in 2002 and 2003.
Giambi is hitting .268 with five home runs and 18 runs batted in for the wildly disappointing Yankees, who are just 18-23 and 10 1/2 games behind Boston in the AL East.
I hope they can him 😀
Giambi picks a lousy time to say he's sorry
Mon, May 21, 2007
By Associated Press
Jason Giambi sure picked a lousy time to finally come clean.
Mired in a deep slump, his team in an even deeper funk, Giambi could have been excused for doing what he's been doing so well the last few years - collecting more money than some small countries have while pretending that the whole messy steroid thing never really existed.
So it was a bit surprising to hear Giambi's de facto acknowledgment the other day that, yes, he was juiced and that he and baseball owe everyone a big apology for the sins of the past.
Actually, Yankee fans are more concerned with the sins of the present, which in Giambi's case centers around the fact he has just five home runs and only one hit in his last 26 at bats. There's more than a few New Yorkers who wouldn't mind making a midnight run for some human growth hormone if it would get his bat going again.
While they're at it, maybe they can find a miracle drug to repair an aging pitching staff that gets even older when the $28 million man arrives in the next week or so to earn his money six innings at a time. Yes, Tyler Clippard helped ease some of the sting of a weekend series gone bad at Shea Stadium, but there's only so much a rookie pitcher can do.
Giambi sat quietly in the dugout Sunday night, waiting to be called upon to pinch hit if necessary. It wasn't because the Yankees got a good performance from Clippard and some timely home runs to avoid yet another embarrassment against their cross-town National League rivals.
Giambi is making $20 million a year, so maybe he felt it was his duty to make some noise at a time when his bat was so silent. Or maybe he couldn't sleep at night knowing the only controversies in the Bronx were whether Roger Clemens should be allowed to come and go as he pleases and whether Joe Torre and Brian Cashman should simply go.
Either way, he didn't do himself any favors by telling USA Today that he was ''wrong for doing that stuff,'' which was either an admission that he used steroids or that he put itching powder in Derek Jeter's jock.
To complicate matters, Giambi followed it up by doing something baseball officials seem to believe is even worse - he said everyone in the sport should have apologized for either allowing the use of steroids or putting itching powder in Jeter's jock.
Giambi, of course, has apologized before. He spent an entire press conference prior to the 2005 season saying he was sorry, though he never really explained what he was sorry about. Besides, hitting lots of home runs means never having to say you're sorry to Yankees fans.
What was most interesting about Giambi's latest comments is the timing of them. Though he reportedly admitted to the BALCO grand jury in December 2003 that he used steroids, Giambi has refused to address the issue publicly and the media has been so busy bashing Barry Bonds that he's largely been given a free pass.
The fact that Giambi said anything might make the more conspiracy minded wonder if he has some inside knowledge of upcoming developments in one or more of the various steroid probes. What other reason would he have to risk a possible 50-game suspension or the possibility of having the rest of his lucrative contract voided?
That being said, he's not the first baseball player to say something he would later regret.
Actually, Giambi may have inadvertently done the Yankees a favor by taking some of the heat off his underachieving teammates, who can't pitch, can't field, and lately haven't even been able to hit much. They are so desperate they not only signed Clemens, but have been burning through one rookie starting pitcher a week.
And while it may be too early in the season to panic, all $195 million has done so far this year is buy the Yankees a losing record and a tie for second place 10 1/2 games behind the Boston Red Sox.
''It's definitely embarrassing,'' Johnny Damon said. ''We definitely know that we are better than we've showed.''
Sports talk shows in New York are filled with speculation that both Torre and Cashman could be fired, which likely would have happened by now had George Steinbrenner not mellowed with age. There's frustration over the team's inability to consistently hit, and worry about whether Mariano Rivera might finally be losing his masterful touch at the age of 37.
The Yankees will get better, because they have too much talent to languish below .500 all season long. But if they don't turn it around fast, there's a good chance they'll not only fail to win their division for the first time in 10 years, but miss the playoffs entirely.
As for Giambi, his best days are already behind him. His power numbers have fallen, he doesn't hit for average, and he's at an age where things like the bone spur in his foot that caused him to miss several games are occurring with increasing frequency.
Worse yet, the 2000 AL MVP is at a point in his career where he realizes his accomplishments will always be tainted by being a central figure in the BALCO scandal.
And for that, he's really got something to be sorry about.
Report: Giambi failed amphetamines test
May 23, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -Jason Giambi failed an amphetamines test within the last year, the Daily News reported Wednesday.
The newspaper reported that after the failed amphetamines test, Giambi is subjected to six additional tests for one year. The newspaper did not cite any sources in its report.
Giambi declined comment to the newspaper before the New York Yankees' 7-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.
The Yankees slugger recently said in a USA Today interview that he was ``probably tested more than anybody else.''
On Tuesday, lawyers for the commissioner's office and the players' association held more conversations about a possible meeting with Giambi but it remained uncertain when or if such a gathering would take place.
Lawyers for Major League Baseball would like to talk to Giambi about comments in last Friday's editions of USA Today.
``I was wrong for doing that stuff,'' the New York Yankees designated hitter was quoted as saying, remarks some have interpreted as an admission of steroids use.
Management lawyers would like to hold the meeting as soon as is practicable. The failed amphetamines test most likely wouldn't be discussed at a meeting since MLB policy is to keep a first positive test secret.
Hall of Famer Frank Robinson took issue with one of Giambi's comments.
``What we should have done a long time ago was stand up - players, ownership, everybody - and said: 'We made a mistake,''' Giambi was quoted as saying. ``We should have apologized back then and made sure we had a rule in place and gone forward. ... Steroids and all of that was a part of history. But it was a topic that everybody wanted to avoid. Nobody wanted to talk about it.''
Robinson said Giambi should speak for himself.
``If Jason wants to confess, then he should come out and say: `I'm guilty. I apologize. I apologize to baseball. I apologize to all the fans that have supported me and supported baseball over the years. And I will clean up my act and promise you I will not do anything like this again,''' Robinson said during an interview on ESPN. ``He should not drag others into (it), because when he says baseball, that includes everybody in baseball.''
Before the Yankees played Boston on Tuesday night, Giambi was asked about a report in the New York Post that said the Los Angeles Angels had an interest in acquiring him. Giambi has a full no-trade clause.
``This is all news to me. I'm a Yankee,'' he said. ``It's kind of fun to read. I never asked for it.''
Giambi meets with MLB
May 23, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -Jason Giambi met with lawyers for the commissioner's office Wednesday to discuss recent comments that some interpreted as an admission of steroids use.
``The commissioner requested that Jason come in in response to the USA Today piece. Jason was interviewed this morning,'' union general counsel Michael Weiner said