the needle and the damage done

i had a smarmy idea for a giambi press conference drinking game but i'm not feeling mean spirited right now. the new york media seems to have that area pretty well covered.

THere was a moment yesterday when Jason Giambi looked as if he might cry. He had not yet taken a question from a room full of reporters at Yankee Stadium, and he seemed to be sincerely sorry for the steroid controversy that engulfs him.

"I feel I let down the fans, I feel I let down the media, I feel I let down the Yankees, and not only the Yankees, but my teammates," Giambi said, and he turned to look into the eyes of Manager Joe Torre, who was sitting on a folding chair next to him.

Giambi could have been a child finally summoning the courage to tell the truth to his father. But he kept his composure, and continued. "I accept full responsibility for that, and I'm sorry," he said.

What he did not fully say, however, was what he was sorry for. [new york times]

huh?

i understand the media-tastic allure of the prospect of the man finally playing the humbled fallen hero who movingly relays his sad tumble from the pedestal, a kitten in one hand and an orphan in the other, lower lip a-tremble and eyes filled with years worth of unshed tears for the damage he's done to himself and the reputation of the game he professes to love. what i don't understand is: what did they realistically expect? why act self-righteously shocked and vilify him for speaking exactly as the whole world expected he was going to? we all know, we can all read between the lines. of goddamn course i'm not thrilled with the giambi situation as a whole, but a man whose hands are legally bound took a baby step nearer making things right. not with me. i don't matter. with his teammates and with himself.

unfortunately, only tim marchman seemed to be on my wavelength:

The accounts Giambi has to settle are with his own conscience and his fellow athletes - not with you, not with me, and not with George Steinbrenner. These are not matters for press conferences, and it's unfortunate that the Yankees would trot the man out in a deeply silly attempt to pre-empt what will be a richly deserved storm of bad publicity for their organization.

oh yeah, george steinbrenner? you can kiss my ass on this one. you sought him out knowing the rumors and apparently the truth, thank you murray chass:

That [giambi used steroids] came as no surprise to the Yankees. Not that they will acknowledge it. General Manager Brian Cashman, in fact, said several times yesterday that the subject never came up three years ago when the Yankees were pursuing Giambi, a free-agent first baseman. But they had a strong clue that steroids played a part in Giambi's life.

A person with knowledge of the contract said that before they signed off on Giambi's seven-year, $120 million deal, the Yankees acquiesced to his request and removed all references to steroids from the guarantee language routinely included in contracts.

The Yankees were not innocents in this matter. They didn't say to themselves: Delete references to steroid use? Well, all right if you insist, but why would you want us to do that?

They wanted Giambi badly enough that they relinquished the right to suspend him or stop payment on the contract or terminate the contract or convert it into a nonguaranteed contract if he was found to use steroids. No other words were deleted from that paragraph of the contract, the person said.

you paid him the asinine amount of money he's getting, you can suffer too, you fucks.