The press finally has gotten around to ask Jason Giambi about his thoughts on steroids after Rafael Palmeiro was busted for using the performance-enhancing drug. Way to go media.
It is not like an admitted steroid user suddenly went from hitting .220 in April to hitting .350 with 14 home runs in one month. It is not like an admitted steroid user suddenly went from looking like his college picture (left) earlier this season to resembling Bill Goldberg today.
But hey, they finally asked him a few questions.
The New York Times reported that Giambi was "steadfastly upbeat" and "chipper" when asked about the recent steroid news that broke on Monday. But wouldn't you be upbeat and chipper if you were taking steroids and it was the other guy who got caught?
"I really don't care [what people think], to be honest with you," Giambi said at Jacobs Field on Tuesday before the Yankees played the Cleveland Indians. "I'm just working hard. It's the result of playing hard and working hard.
And finding steroids they are not testing for, like Human Growth Hormone that is not tested for under Major League Baseball's new agreement. Poor steroids, they are like the forgotten family member that does not get mentioned when an actor wins on Oscar night. It seemed that Giambi was giving an Academy-worthy performance to the press on Tuesday.
But look how far acting got Palmeiro.
Giambi said that he was shocked when he heard the Palmeiro was tested positive for steroids. Giambi was probably thinking, "Dude, I'm faking out the tests and taking stuff they are not even testing for now. He should have hooked up with the Yankees pharmacists. Once again old George Steinbrenner gets over on Peter Angelos."
Or something like that.
Other players are starting to weigh in on Palmeiro's behalf. Two of Palmeiro's former teammates, Ruben Sierra and Mike Mussina, told the New York Times they believed Palmeiro did not know what he had been taking because it is pretty common to contract steroids from a typical major league clubhouse.
Sierra, who played with Palmeiro in Texas from 1989 to 1992, said that while he never expected Palmeiro to hit more than 500 home runs, as he has, he never suspected him of steroid use.
"I believe him, because he doesn't look like he uses steroids," Sierra said. "The way his body is, it doesn't look like he used steroids."
In other words, Sierra insinuated that Palmeiro is the laziest steroid user, ever. And who can argue? If Palmeiro actually worked out when he used steroids, imagine how many home runs he could have hit.
Pity the poor players that have to answer those questions. Sierra was likely thinking in his mind when he answered that, "Look at the guy, he is not juicing but look at freaking Giambi. There are guys in the NFL that would love to have his arms. The veins popping out of his forearms are bigger than my bat."
Or something like that.
ORIOLES SPEAK OUT
From the Washington Post: "The Orioles players who spoke to the media Tuesday expressed a range of emotions -- from sadness at the spectacle of a respected teammate stained forever, to frustration over losing the team's best hitter of late at a time when wins are few, to fear that a jar of protein powder in their own lockers might contain a banned substance without their knowledge.
"If it happens to your teammate," said right fielder Sammy Sosa, "it can happen to you . . . [But] I don't have that problem. Chicken, rice and beans -- that's my protein."
You think Sammy? People have likely noticed that you went from averaging 50 home runs to barely being able to get the ball out of the infield. What must go through a reporter's mind when Sammy says something like that?
And for the record, rice is a carbohydrate.
"Anybody can make a mistake in this game," said shortstop Miguel Tejada. "He made a mistake. He not kill nobody."
Palmeiro did not kill anything other than his reputation and maybe the sport of baseball.
FINAL THOUGHT
Who is having the best week ever? It might be Ryne Sandberg who was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame. Palmeiro was a teammate of Sandberg in Chicago in the late 1980s. That relationship went sour when Palmeiro was rumored to have slept with Sandberg's wife at the time. Sandberg then put pressure on the Cubs to trade him and Palmeiro was dealt to Texas, where he hooked up with owner George W. Bush's steroid factory known as the Rangers. Palmeiro then met Jose Canseco, and the rest is history.
Imagine if Palmeiro had allegedly kept it in his pants and not slept with his teammates wife? But then again, he not kill nobody.
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