Yardbarker: Jason Giambi

Please Don't Let This Happen Again: The Yankees in the Playoffs, Pt. 1

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:02:34 -0500

At 53-45, New York has been consistent in its early season underachieving over the past four years, posting similar records through 98 games since 2005. During each of those years the Yankees recovered to make the playoffs. So, does New York really have a legitimate shot at making some noise come September? If history is any indication, all signs point to yes:

The Best Athlete Images of All-Time

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:52:43 -0500

For the record, this post could just as easily be titled "The Most Terrible Athlete Images of All-Time." It really makes no difference. Athletes and their elaborate personas are a big part of the fun of being a sports fan. Sure, it's about the game and the competition, but it's also fun growing up watching these guys as they let their egos run wild and become larger than life. Love 'em or hate 'em, they are fun to watch and more fun to pick on, so we're glad to have them. Today, we're looking at some of the finest athlete image concoctions in sports. So without further ado, here we go...

Andre Agassi

Remember men's tennis? Yeah, men play it too. I know, it's weird. Even the camera commercials had men in them. There was this dude, Andre Agassi, who used to be the just the baddest... And he was good too. He wielded this sweet mullet, wore all this neon shit, and made all sorts of weird noises on the court. I'm not sure what ever happened to that guy. I heard he got leukemia or something.

Allen Iverson

Iverson may be the last of the true gangstas in sports. Since Iverson's days of producing inappropriate rap tunes, beating paraplegics, and wielding semi-automatics, sports leagues are cracking down on the gangsta shiz. Lucky or unluckily for us fans, depending how you see it, Iverson took us out with one last hurrah. Bring on the dress code.

Julius Winfield Erving II

Does Dr. J really need an introduction? Dude was so cool, I bet you could hand him a bass and he'd lay down a bassline just like Token from South Park. You can also hand him a business and he'll make you money. The Doc J has served on boards of a number of high profile companies and it won't be long before he's running an NBA team. Also, Dr. J's afro deserves it's own room in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Kirk Gibson

Gibby was no nonsense when it came to his style, but he sported that mustache like he was born with it. A lot of athletes dabble with the snot dam, but Kirk Gibson embodied it. Gibby and his 'stache represented the blue collar boy down the street who made it to the bigs. He was also my first favorite player in any sport.

Jim McMahon

As much as it pains me to say it, McMahon's headband, mullet, forehead, and sunglass concoction had it goin' on. Those '85 Bears were all class. They had the dance moves, the music videos, and the game to back it up. Jim McMahon with his visor and scrappy play was the ringleader.

Deion Sanders

Deion had it all figured out from day one. It doesn't really matter if you if you look good or act like an asshole as long as you think you do. Deion rocked his slammin' dance moves, 7 kilograms of gold chains, and even this wedding ensemble with pizazz. Lucky for us viewers, he's still got his style as a TV personality.

Dennis Rodman

Do not be mistaken. The weirdo transvestite wedding dress Rodman is staying home. This nod goes strictly to old-school Worm Rodman who made his presence known with the ridiculously short shorts, excessive hustle, lanky movement, and rebounds. It's such a shame he got so messed up after his first marriage fell apart. Alexis seems to be doing well these days though. Rodman also gets props for teaming up with the Hulkster and defeating Karl Malone and Diamond Dallas Page. Although, I'm still upset that they lost to Lex Luger.

Jim Tressel

While it's easy to poke fun at the PriceWaterhouseCoopers thing Tressel sports, it's sort of a calculated genius. He comes across like this dork in a sweater vest who looks like he got his ass kicked for lunch money on regular basis, but then you see him get mad and you know someone is in deep shit. Plus, those sweater vests made him one of the most recognizable figures in college sports. Something tells me the Paterno glasses wouldn't have done the trick for Tress, so the sweater vest makes our little hall of fame. Plus, as a Michigan fan, it's the one last source of ridicule we got left. Well, there's always Clarett and white trash jokes. Oh yeah, and the whole, Ohio State grads are dumb. Actually, now that I think about it, I could keep going for hours, but the sweater vest is still the best.

Clinton Portis

It's hard to really define the Clinton Portis style, but whatever it may be, we're pretty sure it involves a personality disorder. Portis actually conjured up an entire ensemble of alter egos, which often show up at press conferences, including "Dr. Do Itch Big," "Southeast Jerome," "Coach Janky Spanky," "Bro Sweets", "Choo-Choo", "Sheriff Gonnagetcha", and "Dolemite Jenkins." Portis probably has a lock on the top spot should we ever get around to ranking this list.

Rasheed Wallace

For Sheed, it's always been about the attitude, but the period with the title belt still makes the list for the great characters in sports. When Sheed used to roll out in his zen warm-ups with the big ass headphones, the blue bag over one shoulder, and the championship belt over the other shoulder, you knew he was coming to play.

Johnny Damon

Prior to his departure to the Big Crapple getting under his skin, Johnny Damon was one of the most recognizably hairy men in sports. He came to the city, hired Cindy Mancini, and went all metro-sexual. Somebody needs to take a stand on that facial hair rule on the Yankees. Next thing we know, they'll be forcing players to strictly drink Appletinis and Cosmos, wear tight jeans, and smoke 100s instead of chew.

Chad Johnson

When it comes time to sit down at the table for contract negotiations, nothing says "Let's get serious" like a bleached Mohawk and Jujubees stuck in your front teeth.

Jason Giambi

Much like his former-Caveman teammate, Giambi got himself all preppy after he settled in New York. In the early days though, he was plain scary. Look at the Lattimer-like glow in the eyes and the sheer size of those Pythons. I think I'd get in the squared-circle with Mike Tyson in his prime before this era of Giambi. We're happy to see that Giambi has gone back to his hairy ways and he's hitting again. Signing all those tits gets old after a while anyway, trust us.

Well, that's all we got. We're certain we forgot dozens of other good ones, so feel free to keep them coming in the comments. Maybe we'll throw up a part deux.

Jason Giambi Drinks off Richie Sexson Pick-Up

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:51:20 -0500

For whatever reason, I've always been a big fan of Jason Giambi. Maybe it's his honesty in dealing with steroids, maybe it's his mustache, or maybe it's his tendency to take pulls from bottles of Jack Daniels. We caught this picture of the Giambino living it up during the All Star Break. Giambi's Final Vote campaign [...]

Jason Giambi Drinks off Richie Sexson Pick-Up

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:51:20 -0500

JASON GIAMBI'S MUSTACHE IS JUST CREEPY AT THIS POINT

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:40:18 -0500

By T, The Angry T

I have to admit that Jason Giambi's mustache was funny at first. It was a joke, or at least I thought, that anyone would wear a mustache like that. But it seems that he is serious about that lip beaver of his. Like a friend who makes a poop joke that gets a laugh the first time, but then continues to make similar poop jokes that make everyone uncomfortable, Giambi's mustache is getting old. It gets even older when he pretends not to be douche and slams bottles of Jack at bars in Vegas:

The worst part is that chicks would be willing to hook up with this obvious douche simply because he is a member of the New York Yankees. Who am I kidding, I would hook up with Paula Poundstone just because she was on Comedy Central. I would hook up with Ellen DeGeneres just because she is frequently on Portia di Rossi.

JASON GIAMBI'S MUSTACHE IS JUST CREEPY AT THIS POINT

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:40:18 -0500

New York Yankees: Jason Giambi Eschews Your Petty Shot Glasses

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:01:01 -0500

The 'Stache must be sated. And sated ain't coming from a glass. Seriously though, does Giambi not have a buddy with him to point out that a night never ends well that begins with swilling straight from the bottle of JD? Guess not. We need to see the after pictures. I'm betting Giambi hopped a flight straight to Greece and narrowly avoided arrest for setting up the oral sex contest. God bless the All-Star break.

Jason Giambi likes him some Jack Daniels

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:37:32 -0500

I guess we now know how Jason Giambi spent his All-Star break. pictures of the Yankee partying it up in Vegas with a bottle of Jack Daniels! Who needs a Diet Coke or a glass. Those are for peasants. Why waste time when you can just chug it straight from the bottle. A bunch of us should have just done the same thing last weekend at BS' wedding.

Jason Giamibi spends All-Star Break drunk

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:09:24 -0500

With thanks to WL and TMZ, we've been able to locate NY Yankees Slugger Jason Giambi getting his JD on in Vegas during the All-Star Break. Honestly though, these pictures are semi-weak. How are you in Vegas, getting drunk, without a couple pairs of plastic boobs around you? Isn't it the law or something? It's interesting though if you look closely, I was unaware they put HGH in bottles now. Oh, and the pinky off the bottle Jason, very nice touch. It says uber classy. The 'stache though says you enjoy your boyfriends broom up your caboose.

Strike While The Iron Is Hot, Trade Howard Now

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:42:12 -0500

The Phillies have been actively working the phones over the past several weeks trying to make a trade that would bolster their pitching rotation. The Phillies lack of serious starting pitching was made to look even weaker after the Milwaukee Brewers traded for Indians' ace CC Sabathia and the Chicago Cubs traded for Oakland star Rich Harden last week. The Phillies were one of a number of teams that were in negotiations with Cleveland to acquire Sabathia's services, but in the end they just didn't have enough to offer. Instead of being able to trade for Rich Harden, who when healthy is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, it looks like the Phillies will wind up acquiring Joe Blanton from the Athletics. Blanton is Oakland's number two starter and despite showing some serious talent in previous years, has really struggled this season, going 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA. The Phillies have reportedly been negotiating with the Seattle Mariners over the past couple weeks in an attempt to acquire their disgruntled ace Erik Bedard, but it appears that they're not going to be able to pull off that deal, and Bedard is currently on the DL and wants out of Seattle. Even more importantly, Seattle wants Bedard out of Seattle. And all indications point to the Phillies not bringing him back to the East Coast. Why are they having such a hard time bringing in a legitimate quality starting pitcher? Because the Phillies have a very weak farm system. As you have noticed, I'm sure, by reading Jay's On The Farm columns, the subject of his pieces are the same handful of players over and over again. This is not to say that the Phils don't have any talent in the minors. There are several highly touted players in their farm system, most notably Carlos Carasco and Adrian Cardenas. Carasco is the Phils' most highly touted prospect. He has been rated as the number one pitching prospect in organization two years in a row by Baseball America. Cardenas is the most likely prospect to be traded as his primary position is second base, which is in all likelihood going to be occupied by Chase Utley for many years to come. Cardenas is ranked the number two prospect in the organization, and is batting .309 with 16 stolen bases. Other prospects are SS Jason Donald, C Lou Marson, LHP Josh Outman, 2B Brad Harman, OF Greg Golson, and LHP Antonio Bastardo. Other than Carasco or Cardenas, no one really blows you away, although the upside potential is definitely there will all of them. Nevertheless, the farm team is not teeming with trade bait. But the Big Show is. Ryan Howard is prime trade bait. In Howard's short career he has been named the NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, Home Run Derby Champion, and he has led the league in home runs and RBIs over the past three years. He also broke the single season record for strikeouts last year and is on pace to shatter that record this year. Howard, in his second year, demanded that the Phillies pay him $1 million. The Phillies wanted to give him $900,000, which was the record for a second year player. The two sides went to arbitration and Howard was awarded a $1 million contract. The next year he demanded $10 million, the Phillies offered $7 million. The two sides went to arbitration again, and again Howard won. It appears that Howard is going to take the Phils to arbitration to each off season until his contract is up in 2011, at which point he is going to demand (and command) a ridiculous contract. This is not the Phillies of old. This team is no longer afraid to shell out some money to bring or keep talent to Philly, but within reason. The Phillies are not going to be able to pay, or willing to pay, the kind of money that Howard is going to demand. And I do not entirely fault Howard for demanding the money he is, or will. How many players have the record that he does? If he continues to hit the way he did the last month before the all star break (.284, 11 HR, 30 RBI, .965 OPS), then he will right in the mix for his second MVP award. The man can hit, no doubt about it. When Howard doesn't strike out, he is hitting over .450. That being said, that stat is part of the problem. Howard has also struck out 129 times this year. He struck out a total of 199 times last year. He has only walked 48 times. That means he strikes out almost three times as many times as he walks. You also have to take into consideration that Howard continues to be among the tops in the league in intentional walks, which decreases the amount of walks that he gets through patience and a good eye. Let's face it, Howard is a one dimensional player, perhaps the most one dimensional player in the majors. He either strikes out, or hits a home run. In the past month, Howard has one double and one triple. So out of 13 extra base hits, 11 of them are home runs. That is terrible. Nevertheless, Howard is absolutely a key part to this team and its offense. You can't ignore the power numbers, which are the best in the game since he's been in the majors. That is why I think it is the perfect time to trade him. Unless Howard has indicated otherwise to Phillies GM Pat Gillick, it does not appear he is really planning on staying here. He wanted to sign a long term deal after his rookie season and instead the Phils offered him a one year deal worth the $900,000, which at the time was the record for a second year player. This disappointed Howard (and for the record, I think the Phillies should have bit the bullet and signed him for at least close to whatever he was asking for) and now I think he is just going to price himself out of Philadelphia. Instead of going year to year through arbitration, the Phils should deal him to either the Yankees or Red Sox. Both teams have the money and the record of giving huge contracts to their players, and both are going to have a void in the next couple years that Howard is perfectly suited to fill. Howard is a mediocre first baseman at best, but he isn't on your team for his defense. He is a player built for the American League and their stupid DH. Both the Yankees and Red Sox are going to be in need of a DH in the next couple years. The Yankees current DH platoon of Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui are about as banged up a bunch of highly paid veterans as you'll find anywhere in the majors. By 2011, at least two of these guys will be gone, whether through retirement or free agency. He would be the perfect replacement to fill the void that would be left by Giambi's bat. An equally compelling team are the Red Sox. Current Boston DH David Ortiz (33 years old) is not getting any younger and has had a somewhat disappointing year. His power is down this year, and there has been some speculation that this could be related to the release of the Mitchell Report this past off season. Whether Ortiz's power is down due to steroids or because he is having an off year or because he is starting to decline, he is getting older and is not going to start getting significantly better. To the contrary, Ortiz is going to start declining over the next few years, if he hasn't already started. Howard is young enough to play first base for a number of years in Boston, or New York, while the current DH plays out the rest of his career. Howard would bring the Phillies a serious number of prospects that they could use to a) bolster their farm system and help them build for the future or b) turn around and trade them for a serious starting pitcher that is on the same level as Sabathia or Harden. They should trade for Matt Holliday, who would help fill the void left by trading Howard. They can give up some of those prospects in the farm system right now for Holliday. Then by trading Howard, they can use those prospects for a starter. Yes, that depletes the farm system for a number of years, but this team is young enough right now to contend for the World Series for years to come. They don't need the farm system to be bountiful right now with the exception of using those players as trade bait. If Howard does actually want to stay here and will take a deal that won't make it impossible for them to sign and trade for other important pieces, then that's fine. Keep him here. I have no problems with Howard spending his entire career in Philadelphia. But I believe the Phillies are going to lose him eventually to free agency, so they should try and get the most for him that they can before he bleeds them dry and prices himself out of a trade. The time is now, they need to strike while the iron is hot. This is the best opportunity the Phillies have had to make it to the World Series in years and they need to take their shot now.

Yankees Agree To Sign Bonds On One Condition

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:40:24 -0500

Concerned that a few Yankee fans might not embrace Bonds in pinstripes, Jason Giambi offered the perfect solution….

Yankees Agree To Sign Bonds On One Condition

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:40:24 -0500

Concerned that a few Yankee fans might not embrace Bonds in pinstripes, Jason Giambi offered the perfect solution….

Yankees Agree To Sign Bonds On One Condition

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:12:46 -0500

Ca$hman floated the idea, but there was some resistance from the fanbase. Then Giambi stepped in and offered the perfect solution....

Random All Star Festivities Thoughts

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:32:56 -0500

You know me and my random thoughts that seem to go in many tangeants. Well it seems that I have a lot of things to talk about during the All-Star Break but unfortunately nothing of great substance. So here's a few quick hits to let you know what's going on at The BearDown during the slowest sports week of the year.

The 2008 Sleepers that Were and Weren't

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:27:51 -0500

With half the season already over, we thought it be a good time to go back and see how our 2008 sleeper picks are doing. Read what we said back in March and see who we got right and who we got wrong.