Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Speedy

As much as I'd like this story to be true, I just don't buy it. The article provides no sources, or even an inkling of what information their "Exclusive" is based on - apparently it's so weak they can't even refer to an "anonymous official". The closest the article comes to "evidence" that Giambi failed a drug test is this little journalistic gem:
Giambi himself hinted at the failed test...in his eye-opening interview with USA Today last week, when he said that he is "probably tested more than anyone else."
There you have it. He said he's been tested a lot, and therefore he clearly must have failed one recently. Score one for the New York Daily News.

14 comments:

  1. Yea... I am not sure which is more ridiculous... the Daily News stretching for news or Giambi's out-of-control-spiral. At least Giambi learned to use the "no comment" tactic.

    Ah.. good times... By the way, here's Dustin Pedroia on Slappy's slide into second last night, which Earl and I both felt was interference:

    "He went in late and threw an elbow, but it's no big deal. I know now that when he's going in, my arm slot drops to the floor. Some people play like that, and some people come in with hard, clean slides."

    Does anyone know what he means by, "my arm slot drops to the floor"?

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  2. That means that he will drop his arm slot so low that his throw will hit A-Rod.

    It is expected by every second baseman/shortstop that guys will be sliding hard to break up the double play. His slide was not only interference, but it was also dirty. Throwing an elbow is not a baseball move, and it was totally intentional.

    There is playing the game hard and then playing the game dirty. There are at least two instances of A-Rod playing dirty...The Bronson slap, and this slide.

    This was sort of like Robert Horry's hip check of Nash.

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  3. By the way, where did you see that quote? I am looking for more on that incident. I am surprised there wasn't more about it in the papers.

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  4. Projo and the Herald each have items on it.

    Joy of Sox speculates it may have been retaliation for an earlier slide of Pedroia's. I didn't see it so I don't know.

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  5. Pedroia was far from the base in that case, but he slid. Not spikes up...Not elbows out...Also "7 feet"? not quite. There probably would have been a legit argument to call Pedroia's slide as interference, but he wasn't trying to hit someone.

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  6. I don't remember Pedroia's slide, but I missed the first 3 innings. It really doesn't matter that much. If it was retaliation or just dirty playing it still points to the fact that Arod has the mental maturity of a 13 year old.

    Earl had a good point about Slappy's slap, which was that it wasn't the slap that bothered him so much as the fact that he acted like he was innocent.

    Having played a contact sport all my life (soccer) I am fine with extra contact (as long as you don't grab my nuts like one kid did in high school), but if the ref catches you don't act like you didn't do anything.

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  7. Well, back to Giambi for a sec. I would not be so quick to dismisss it. Where there is smoke, there is fire. And it was the same kind of "Daily News has learned...." that triggered the story on Bonds' failed greenie test last year.

    We'll see how fast and furious the denials come on this. If not deined on all sides and empatically, then it is pretty likely to be true. But hey, Jason says Roids didn't help him hit any better, so I doubt greenies did.

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  8. 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.

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  9. Michael - If by "read" you mean write I can follow. By the way, not sure what insight you provide to the Steroid/drug question at all. You're anology to a cheating husband makes no sense. We should love Giambi even though he admits to cheating? As long as he comes clean about it? What?

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  10. What kind of dumbass goes around post "comments" about how something they wrote "put things in perspective for me." I mean how desparate can someone be.

    Why not just write "hey, I just posted something about this on my blog."

    Super lame.

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  11. Funny, when I read the thing onver highbred, I think it puts it all in perspective. The "writer" is a complete pussy. He admits that if his wife cheated on him, he would whine and mope about it for a day, but since he loves her so much he would do nothing about it.

    Actually, I think he is saying that he IS the wife.

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  12. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Deadspin made a good point. For $120 Million who wouldn't use greenies and 'roids? Are baseball contracts so perverse that they make players do something illegal?

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  13. Considering they are virtually iron-clad guarantees, I think the answer is yes.

    If you told me when I was 25 that if I agreed to snort massive amounts of lines, do tons of hits of ecstasy, eat shrooms like they were pez, and take acid several times per year and in return for doing that my salary would have gone up 10 fold and I could not be fired for five years, I would have to consider actually do that. Money can make you do things that are very dangerous.

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