I think the main thing is Giambi had a benign tumor on his pituitary gland, the same one that naturally produces HGH. And quite possibly, it was a direct consequence of his using HGH as a performance enhancer. I cannot see how any sane person, who almost had cancer, would do anything to aggravate the same gland again.

And secondly, he is subjected to same testing policies of the MLB as anyone else. I dont really see him doing anything like that. I really do not believe steroids work like magic to shore up performances, if they did, every single player would use them.

Good point. We’re all jumping to conclusions based on the hope that Giambi has cleaned himself up. I know this is going to sound cynical as hell, but Giambi seems physically bigger than ever. Is it possible, after a year of breaking down physically – and being vilified by many fans and media outlets, that he turned to HGH to galvanize his flagging career?

Again, a very cynical point, I know. But it all just seems very strange to me.

from http://www.cnnsi.com:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/baseball/mlb/08/01/steroids.suspension/

NEW YORK (SI.com) — Rafael Palmeiro, who last month became the fourth member of baseball’s 3,000-hit, 500-home run club, tested positive for steroids, SI.com’s Tom Verducci has confirmed.

The penalty for a first offense under baseball’s drug-testing plan is a 10-day suspension. Palmeiro made headlines earlier this year when he vehemently denied ever taking performance-enhancing drugs during a congressional hearing on steroid use in baseball.

The Orioles will make an announcement at 1:30 p.m. More details are forthcoming.

The giambi accusations that he is back on ‘roids have just become ten times more magnified right now. Damn.

HOME: .322 AVG / .971 OPS
AWAY: .274 AVG / .856 OPS

I thought Yankee Stadium was tough on RHB. Hmmm. Guess it depends on the scorekeeper.

Those Angel errors certainly saved the day for us, but what also mattered is that the Yankees at bat during that time ran HARD to first.

If you were teaching your kid about baseball, who would you talk about….Manny or Jeter ?! I thought so.

When you stop using steroids you lose body mass and the organs, muscles, and tissue that has been enhanced by the chemicals begin to break down. Only lenghty rehab will get you back from the destructive breakdown associated with “getting off the juice” and I think Bonds injury is compounded by his body’s struggle without the chemicals that sustained him.

Just a theory.

“Mikeplugh, Giambi only had one really bad season, last year, the year before his OPS was more than .900. Not gutter baseball.”

Yes, you are right. 2003 wasn’t exactly gutter baseball, but when compared to his past performance that season was a disappointment. He hit .250 with only 134 hits, 282 TB, 97 runs, and a whopping 140 stike outs. Those totals were his lowest since around 1997-1998 and even then his production was more consistent.

I think my comment was based in some measure on the poor performance he seemed to put up towards crunch time at the end of that year and into the season last year. In August 2003 he hit .205 and followed that up with a .235 in September/October. Post-All Star Break he was in a free fall and I think we saw early signs of the illnesses he exhibited all last season.

I told my wife at the All-Star Break that year that I thought he was getting off steroids. When the rumors started flying about steroids in baseball, especially the Ken Caminiti thing, I immediately thought of Jason. When he started to break down physically and his production went south (for him) I began to suspect that he saw the winds-a-blowin’ and decided to get off the juice before he got caught. When he showed up at camp last year thin and weak (again, for him) I felt strongly that I was right.

It seems as though his strategy has paid off. By getting off the juice early enough, he has spent the better part of 2 years rebuilding his career and surviving the short term withdrawl his body has put him through.

Bonds seems to be experiencing it with his whole “knee” fiasco.

I am happy for Jason that he’s back on track and he certainly deserves credit for getting back on track with his life, and working hard enough to come back all the way. Hope it continues.

Anyway, great commentary on a great win.

Also, a couple of trivia tid-bits from rotoworld.com:

“Jason Giambi hit his 299th and 300th career home runs today against the Angels.
It’s unlikely that either traveled more than 350 feet, but he’s been hitting his homers to the right spots all month. Giambi also walked three times (once intentionally) in his six plate appearances. Giambi hit 14 homers this month. The previous Yankee to hit 14 homers in a month was Mickey Mantle in July 1961.”

Today kind of (ok it’s a stretch) reminded me of Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS when no one on the Yankees could get the offense going except Giambi with his 2 HRs off Pedro. Of course, today it was against Bootcheck (hell of a name, btw), but he kept them in it through all those rally-killing defensive plays.

You know for all the talk of the Ortiz-Manny two-headed monster, the Sheffield-Rodriguez-Matsui-Giambi gauntlet has got to be frightening to opposing pitchers.

On Giambi, I’m very glad he’s been hitting so well. I mean shoot, he’s our SIXTH place hitter. We might just slug our way to the title. =)

I think we can all safely presume Giambi’s off any kind of performance-enhancing juice, right? Where’s a story about how his great numbers in 1999-2003 maybe weren’t all steriods, and he had a good enough amount of talent. His current production sure suggests that he had the talent, and it wasn’t just the juice. Of course, such a story wouldn’t fit the pre-approved storyline, but I digress.

That said it is good to see him back.

This stretch is beginning to resemble our first big run of the season when Tino carried us with his home run barrage.

This time it’s Giambi, but unlike Tino does anyone doubt that this is the Return of the Giambino?

14 home runs in July is AWESOME….meaning it inspires awe, not a Spicoli-ism. His surge has covered up the weaknesses at the bottom of the lineup (Posada, Tino, Bernie, Crosby) and has put the fear back into the second half of the everyday playing rotaion.

Think about this for a moment. In May he had 3 homers and 6 RBIs on the season. He was hitting around the Mendoza line, and now, two months later, he is near .290 with 19 home runs. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he continues some type of hit hitting for the remaining 2 months. Is it a stretch to think he could finish with:

.305BA 40HR 90RBI 102BB

After 2+ seasons of gutter baseball, to be in a position to end with these numbers is amazing. Of course he has to hit around .333 and average 10.5 HRs per month to get to these numbers, but given his history and the way he’s been swinging the bat, it’s in the ballpark.

Amazing.

(Incidentally, Paul O’Neill continues to bust Michael Kay’s chops. Early in the game he was ragging on Kay for being such a big star now. He asked Kay if he had his own clothing line yet. O’Neill went further and said it would probably be a line for oversized men. Kay was clearly offended and after O’Neill apologized an uncomfortable silence hung in the booth for the next two pitches.)