In Friday’s column, Newsday’s Jon Heyman questioned whether or not Jason Giambi is a deserving nominee for MLB’s Comeback Player Of The Year. When pressed directly about what exactly he’s coming back from, Giambi’s comeback left a bit to be desired.

For instance, when I asked whether he regrets his fast lifestyle as a possible contributing factor in his 2004 woes, Giambi responded, “They always said the same thing about Mantle. I’m just enjoying living life. I enjoy coming to the ballpark … ”

And leaving the ballpark …

“I enjoy living,” Giambi continued. “There are people who say, ‘Maybe Mantle would have been better if… ‘ But maybe Mantle would have been –.”

I’ve watched HBO’s Mantle documentary twice…and I must be hitting the fridge during the segment where Billy Crystal talks about No. 7 sticking a needle in his ass.

A Giambi homer aside, Curt Schilling (above) looked better than he has since last October in Boston’s 9-2 pasting of the Yankees earlier today, a terrible development for a New York team struggling to fend off Cleveland and Oakland in the Wild Card chase, never mind challenging for the Eastern Division lead.

I’ve been trying to think of something nice to say about Al Leiter and here it is : he’s a much better mop up man than Danny Graves.

Curt and wife Shonda recently flew a New Orleans family of 9, displaced by Hurricane Katrina to the Boston area, where the Schillings will provide them with housing. I don’t wanna lay a big guilt trip on you or anything, but of all the horror stories we’ve seen on TV and the internet, this one takes the cake. Please give what you can to the American Red Cross, before another American family is forced to hang out with Curt Schilling.