Hailed (and hit) in his 2005 debut Sunday night, Jason Giambi is the subject of the New York Post’s Joel Sherman’s latest column.
My hunch is a lot of folks tossed their sense of morality away not because they are merciful, but because Giambi wore a Yankee uniform. That is a pretty weak set of principles, to determine right or wrong by if George Steinbrenner happens to be providing the paycheck.
Giambi spent some significant portion of his career cheating and lying about it, and only when faced with the possibility of perjury and jail time did he ” under advice from his lawyers ” decide the truth would set him free . . . well, of prison, at least. I hope every parent who has children and stood and cheered Sunday night explained to their offspring why that was a good decision.
And if the reason was because Giambi is a Yankee then, please, stop talking about how players have let your children down. Try the person in the mirror and stop participating in the culture of blame. Heck, if you stood and cheered, you even devalued the Yankee uniform. Giambi received a louder ovation than Derek Jeter or Bernie Williams, who have done nothing but bring winning and honor to their pinstripes.
Look, this is not about booing Giambi. There was another choice. And Sunday night silence would have been golden.
No standing ovations so far today, Giambi going 0-3 against Boston, having struck out twice and stranded 4 runners. On the bright side, he’s been hit by a pitch for the 3rd time this year.