Jason "The Juice" Giambi. A sign of things to come?

Simon

Founder/Admin

Updated: Mar. 7, 2005, 9:23 PM ET
Giambi takes taunts in stride
Associated Press

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Most of the venom when the Red Sox played the Yankees on Monday night was aimed at Jason Giambi. Getty A Red Sox fan holds up a little reminder for Jason Giambi on Monday night. The New York Yankees designated hitter and symbol of baseball's steroids problem arrived at the second annual hugely overhyped exhibition game, gave a mass interview, took batting practice and signed autographs for 25 minutes. Patrons at City of Palms Park were polite during batting practice, then booed when he was introduced and again before he singled sharply to right field in the first inning. "Come on, Juicy!" one loud fan yelled. "Let's go Balco!" chanted a group of four, referring to the laboratory in the federal investigation of steroid distribution. Before he popped out in the third, two men behind the plate screamed: "Steroids! Steroids! Steroids!" and "Waste of Money!" In the stands, someone held a sign that read: "Jason Do You Have Milk." The word "Milk" was crossed out and followed by "Juice?" And there was the by now obligatory gibe at Alex Rodriguez: "A Rod is a Choke," one sign read. During Giambi's first three games of spring training, he was received warmly. But two of those were at Tampa's Legends Field, where the Yankees are based, and one at Lakeland, where New York fans were as numerous as Detroit supporters. Giambi was prepared to face the Red Sox Nation. "It's Yankees-Red Sox," he said before the game. "I got booed before. I'm sure it will be no different." Giambi was one of only a handful of Yankees regulars who made the two-hour bus ride for the split-squad game, the first reunion of the rivals since Boston upset the usual order last October, becoming the first major league team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a postseason series. The Red Sox beat New York for the pennant, then swept St. Louis for their first World Series title since 1918. Last spring, there was a big buzz for New York's game in Fort Myers. Aaron Boone's 11th-inning homer off Tim Wakefield had beaten Boston in Game 7, and the Yankees acquired Rodriguez, the AL MVP, from Texas after the Red Sox failed. With A-Rod, Derek Jeter and New York's entire regular pitching staff back in Tampa, the hoopla was down a notch. The uniform numbers of the starting pitchers totaled 156, with Abe Alvarez (79) starting for Boston against Chien-Ming Wang (76). Neither figures to be at Yankee Stadium when these teams play the major league season opener on April 3 or at Fenway Park when the World Series flag is raised eight days later. Along with the $5.67 commemorative pin and Yankees-Red Sox tic-tac-toe game and chess set, there was plenty of merchandise marked "World Series champions." The changed attitude of the perennial underdog was noticeable even at the entrance to the Boston clubhouse, where a photo of the Red Sox at the White House with the former Texas Rangers owner, President Bush, hangs on the bulletin board. Following a winter of adoration, Red Sox players still are their noisy boisterous selves, perhaps even more so with the addition of former Yankee David Wells. "Now New Yorkers can't chant '1918!' anymore," Wells said. For more than eight decades, the Yankees piled it on, winning 26 World Series titles to Boston's zero. Now Red Sox fans are puffing out their chests with pride. A sampling of the T-shirts on fans: "From Cursed to First."

Necro

VIP Room Moderator

I'm not suprised, Giambi will probably bounce back from it though...

AudioSavior

Oh get over it already. Who cares. He did roids. blah blah blah blah. I am sure a hell of a lot other athletes did too and they just didn't get caught.

Dr. Giganto

Sports Moderator

The article also conveniently fails to mention the homerun he hit

Blitzkrieg

Administrator

The thing about steroids is that it isn't exactly a miracle worker.

Giambi was a good player and steroids made him an MVP canidate every year.

Barry Bonds was a Hall of Fame player, and then became the best player of all time with the exception of maybe Ruth.

Disco Raheem

I agree. Steroids won't turn a Dusk into a world class athlete.

I think all athletes should be on steroids. They're already super-strength freaks, and if everyone was doing it it wouldn't be an unfair advantage would it. It'd only make the games more exciting.

Some would argue against for the health risks, but I don't think being a professional athlete is that good for your body in the long run anyway. Their bodies break down eventually, might as well make the most of it while it's there.

Terrell Owens

He's innocent !!!!!