Players w/ Tarnished Image

[Phatillusion 5,000+ posts]

Why wasn't it right singling him out? He admitted under oath to doing 4 types of steroids while he was putting up absolutely ridiculous numbers in '00/'01. Then he gets weird parasites in his body that are linked to steroids, loses a ton of body mass and says he only lost 4 pounds, and puts up numbers that range from average to terrible. It'd be assinine not to single him out. Bonds was singled out because he's Barry Bonds, Sheffield wasn't singled out because it never affected his performance or lack thereof on the field.
And Giambi made himself a guinea pig, not the media.

All of them supposedly admitted to using steroids under oath. His poor performance is probably one of the risks from taking steroids and getting off of them. Like I said, there are risks, he chose to take them, and he may be paying certain consequences. But at least he had the balls to come out and admit that he was wrong, even though he couldn't be specific because of legal action that could have been taken. I certainly didn't see Bonds or anyone else apologize. I give Giambi a lot of credit for coming out like that, but he really didn't have much of a choice.

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

I don't give him credit for it at all. I give guys credit who don't feel the need to jam needles in their arms to stay competitive. And guys who don't bolt to NY for a ridiculous contract.

 

[Phatillusion 5,000+ posts]

I don't give him credit for it at all. I give guys credit who don't feel the need to jam needles in their arms to stay competitive. And guys who don't bolt to NY for a ridiculous contract.

You're telling me if you had an employer come to you offering you a lot more money you wouldn't switch jobs?

 

[marleyskater420 5,000+ posts]

I know I'd get paid millions of dollars to take steroids...

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

You're telling me if you had an employer come to you offering you a lot more money you wouldn't switch jobs?

Depends on a lot of things, I certainly wouldn't switch jobs just because it's more money. The A's traded McGwire away to make Giambi the man, gave him everything he could have wanted, and made him a very reasonable offer when FA came up. He bolted to NY because no other team could even dream of matching NY's offer.

I also have an affinity for small-market teams, and players who stick around with them and aren't lured by Steinbrenner. I would understand if Giambi left because the A's lowballed him, or weren't committed to putting a good team on the field or something of that nature, but they didn't. The A's got better each consecutive year after the McGwire trade, attendance increased over 1 million during that time, the A's young pitching staff was getter better and better, and he bolted.

 

[Rawr-DQ 10+ year member]

GO MICHAEL JACKSON GO!!!!

yyyyaaaahhhh!!!!

 

[Phatillusion 5,000+ posts]

Depends on a lot of things, I certainly wouldn't switch jobs just because it's more money. The A's traded McGwire away to make Giambi the man, gave him everything he could have wanted, and made him a very reasonable offer when FA came up. He bolted to NY because no other team could even dream of matching NY's offer.
I also have an affinity for small-market teams, and players who stick around with them and aren't lured by Steinbrenner. I would understand if Giambi left because the A's lowballed him, or weren't committed to putting a good team on the field or something of that nature, but they didn't. The A's got better each consecutive year after the McGwire trade, attendance increased over 1 million during that time, the A's young pitching staff was getter better and better, and he bolted.

You're right, but wrong for disliking Giambi for those reasons. He left because he had a better offer. Business is business, and you have to take care of yourself first. Apparently, the extra money was more appeasing than staying in Oakland and taking less. I can't blame him for it, because I know if I was offered even a little more money I'd probably leave my job. Plenty of players have left organizations that have treated them well. Maybe Giambi felt he could get a ring sooner by playing for the yankees, whatever his reasons, they obviously outweighed the loyalty the A's organization showed him.

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

I'm not really disagreeing with that, but that's the main reason I dislike the guy. Coming from a hard-luck sports town where the teams always underachieve (or just plain ****) and seeing a lot of good players leave, I hate seeing dudes jump ship for NY because no owner in baseball can compete with the money Steinbrenner has/Selig continues to completely avoid any semblance of a salary cap. Yes, it's irrational, but that's the mindset living in Cleveland has given me.

My dislike for him also stems from my hate for Steinbrenner, who is thoroughly convinced that the Yankees are entitled to win the World Series every year because of his cash, and he throws hissy fits when his mismanaged team of overpaid players doesn't get it done. No team in any sport from Cleveland has won a championship in over 40 years, that's pain.

 

[Phatillusion 5,000+ posts]

Oh I agree with you there on Steinbrenner. I don't think too many people outside of NY are rooting for they Yankees. Personally, I'd prefer to see a small market team win it, if the White Sox don't make it. I wouldn't even mind seeing the Nationals win it all. I know that just had to burn Steinbrenner up when the Marlins beat him in the WS 2 years ago. I could find better ways to manage the money he spends, especially as far as pitching goes, they need some young prospects, not pitchers like Randy Johnson that won't be around much longer and have lost some of their velocity. I think that's the main reason they haven't played up to par. They should take a few notes from the A's and the Braves, so they can learn to develop a good pitching prospect system.