Speed Demon

Now the drugs dont work
And if you wanna show, then just let me know
They just make you worse

- The Verve

The Daily News has something of a bombshell here, and Jason Giambi will not be happy.  We don't think there's a thing he's said about his recent history with PEDs that anyone should trust.  At some point we'll just have to admit that the Yankees may have a case in voiding his contract.

Comments

[Clay Caviness]

I am shocked, SHOCKED!, that these supposedly confidential results were leaked shortly after his comments that placed some blame about the steroid scandal on the MLB establishment.

[sam YF]

Agreed, this leak is like one from the current administration. Well timed and damaging. Although it could easily be true, we have no idea who told the News this and its hard to ascertian its reliability. I hate annonymous leaks...

[SF]

I detest anonymous leaks as well, and this has the stench of retribution, but the fact is that if this is true it does cast serious doubt on Giambi's sincerity and credibility, in addition to possibly illustrating that he may still have a problem staying away from banned substances. This isn't a small issue, so whether or not it was a detestable act to leak this information shouldn't cloud what may be a very troubling revelation.

If this isn't true, then Giambi will be able to take action against the News, I would think. Printing something like this, if it's a lie, would certainly harm Giambi, and could probably be the subject of a legitimate libel claim.

[Clay Caviness]

The main problem with these leaks, apart from the obvious privacy issues, is that they're almost always detail-free. What were the levels? Was this a-few-too-many-Sudafed or snorting crank?

[Tyrel SF]

I would think it was the modern equivalent of "greenies," which apparently were pretty common. I've heard that once they started testing for amphedamines, ballplayers were flocking to doctors to get prescriptions for ritalin.

[Tyrel SF]

Nice analogy to the Bush Admin, Clay and Sam. I wonder if the leak and the associated negative presss will encourage Giambi to waive his no trade clause in order to "spend more time with his family" in southern California? And if the Yanks do decide to trade Giambi, does that mean the Yanks are formally committing to rebuilding this yerar, or can they win without at least his production from the DH spot?

[sam YF]

I honestly dont care if Giambi took greenies or whatever. I also could care less about his credibility, he is a baseball player not a politician. I truely only care about his on field results, I want him to keep his mouth shut and start hitting. Although different (and much worse) I think this is similar to the SF's view of Manny. He can be manny all he wants if he produces. Giambi doesnt need all this crap to hit and he certainly doesnt need to give interviews to do so either.

[QuoSF]

Tyrel, I don't think that would even end up with the Yankees throwing in the towel and rebuilding. They would just use the DH slot as kind of a revolving-keep-our-old-and-hurtish-players-healthy slot. YFs would be happy, because then Melky would probably start 4-5 games a week. SFs would be happy, because then Melky would be exposed as an everyday player.

Looking over the stats, he's played just about that much as it is already, eh?

[SF]

I honestly dont care if Giambi took greenies or whatever. I also could care less about his credibility, he is a baseball player not a politician. I truely only care about his on field results, I want him to keep his mouth shut and start hitting.

Wait, so if Giambi breaks the rules but produces, then all is ok? What kind of f*cking standard is this?!

Re: Manny. If it turns out he's violated the league's drug policy, I don't give a crap whether he's producing or not: he should be punished and viewed accordingly. Manny being a flake is not the same as Manny taking drugs. If it ever shown that he did the latter, I think many Sox fans will be far less forgiving. MLB doesn't have rules against flakiness, at last check.

[QuoSF]

Maybe flakiness = HGH

Maybe there is a rule about it, but there's no reliable test for it.

[sam YF]

SF I should clarify. First of all, If Giambi is found to be breaking the rules now, he should be suspended and I would support that. What I was trying to say was I dont want to hear about it unless there is an official MLB announcement about him and his breaking the rules. I want him to keep his mouth shut and play. If he broke the rules, then suspend him, etc. But the vague talk and leaks, etc are counterproductive to the team. You called his credibility into question by the leak and my point was until action is taken against him I dont really care. Second, by no means was I comparing steroid use to flakiness, the point I was trying to make was my only concern is if Jason produces (legally). The crap surrounding him is secondary until formal charges are made.

[Nick-YF]

Are the Verve any good? I only know that one song where he walks through people on the street.

[sf rod]

nick- they were no my bloody valentine, but they were ok.

"I want him to keep his mouth shut and play.".....sometimes he uses other holes to ingest his performance enhancers.

[Evorgleb]

I just read about Giambi over at Highbrid Nation and the writer over there really put things in perspective for me. The media has really blew the whole "performance enhancing drug" thing out of proportion. Seriously, I'm not saying its ok to use these drugs but can we please stop acting like these drugs give athletes some kind of super human advantage over thier peers.

[sf rod]

"these drugs give athletes some kind of super human advantage"

but they sure give a player an added advantage as well as an illeagle advantage. speed doesn't make a tweeker ride a ten speed and rummage through my alleyway, but it does give said tweeker the ability to do it all night long for 7 straight days. which is clearly an advantage over just the regular garbage scavangers.

[Josh SF (D1)]

The greenie rule is pretty stupid, if you ask me. Many of the legal, over the counter drugs college kids take to cram for finals and the like are banned under the agreement. Unhealthy? Yeah, definitely. But should they be banned, even though I could take some of these amphetemines any time I want if I worked any normal job? I don't think so...

If individual teams want to discourage it, that's fine. My high school baseball coach played minor league ball (drafted by the Braves, blew out his knee/ended his career racing Kenny Lofton. True story.) and talked about the cycle of ups and downs many players around him used to get through the week. They'd take the uppers for the game, find it impossible to sleep afterwards, and use alcohol/sleep medication to get back down. Cycle repeats, doses increase. Nasty stuff. I just don't think it belongs in the same category as steroids.

[sam YF]

Gammons is reporting that multiple sources are questioning the accuracy of the report. Just underlies the problems with anonymous sources. Problem with this is that most people are gonna just assume from now on that Giambi is guilty. Man this whole thing is so messed up, wouldnt it just be easier to make all drugs legal? ;)

[sam YF]

here's the link to that story...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2879878