Home Run, For Now
Giambi’s happy spring kept rolling last night, in the pre-season home of the Boston Red Sox. The papers, understandably bored and hunting for headlines, made a big deal of this match-up, the most anticipated exhibition in recent memory. Tickets were being scalped for hundreds of dollars, which is funny, because half of the team was somewhere else in Florida, playing another game. Jeter, A-Rod, Sheffield, Posada and Rivera had been beaten by the Indians in Tampa when the split-squad matchup against Boston began. Joe Torre, who had already managed once that day, didn’t make it to the Sox game.
This was the first meeting of the two teams since October, but most of the hype was due to Giambi’s appearance in front of Red Sox fans. He was finally going to encounter the adversity about which we had heard, but which we had not yet seen. Spring training is still going well for Jason: a head-scratchingly happy surprise occurred when the Yanks visited the Tigers’ complex for a game, and Giambi was cheered. Huh? Has he really shifted public opinion to the point where opposing fans are rooting for him?
There are few guarantees in this game, but I was certain that the Sox fans would let him have it yesterday, and they did, sort of. He was booed, but only after signing pre-game autographs in front of the dugout, smiling and laughing, not exactly looking like a man deep in enemy territory. At one point a little girl presented him with a teddy bear, and Jason gave her his batting gloves—oh, the horror.
Okay, when he strolled to the plate for his first at-bat, he was booed. Just like Yankees are always booed in Red Sox nation. The crowd was not exceptionally loud or vehement. Anyway, Giambi seemed not to hear them, displaying patience at the plate as he worked the count to 3-1 before stroking a clean single to right. Things got more dramatic in his next at-bat, when Sox fans finally got their act together and started chanting “Ster-oids” in that drawn-out way in which Darryl Strawberry’s first name used to get abused. Giambi did get distracted this time, swatting hastily at a 1-2 pitch and popping out.
In the fifth, he crushed a ball more than four hundred feet into center field: his first home run of the post-steroid era. This was the big moment that the New York papers were praying for, a middle finger raised to the Red Sox “tormentors” (by the way, since when were the New York papers on Giambi’s side? Weren’t they using their front pages to try to run him out of town, like, three months ago?).
Aside from the home run, there were moments that predicted regular-season success. First, there was the baseball stuff—he remained mostly patient at the plate, and was able to send his homer to center field, rather than trying to pull it. Some anxiety was apparent when he popped up, but the guy has hardly played since June. It takes a while to regain patience at the plate. In light of that, his progress is impressive.
The personal stuff could not be going better. He has managed to turn the press around, no easy thing, was able to mostly ignore Sox fans, and, amazingly, was cheered by Tiger fans the day before. What were they cheering? Steroid use? Of course not; they were cheering his public contrition. Americans will always forgive someone who acts sorry—remember Hugh Grant rescuing his career on The Tonight Show after being caught with a prostitute?—and Giambi is playing the role.
How genuine is it, and how long will it last? Is he really sorry? Would he still be shooting ’roids if he hadn’t been caught? Apparently, these questions do not matter now in the happy world of Giambi’s spring.
The most crucial time in this drama, though, has not yet arrived. Giambi’s early victories will be forgotten if he does not perform strongly in the first few weeks of the regular season. Yankee fans will turn on him if he is hitting .200 on the first of May. They have done this in the past, before steroids were an issue, and they will certainly do it again. The first few weeks of the season will be disproportionately significant for Giambi, because they will set a tone for his comeback. Forget Red Sox fans; New Yorkers will measure the success of his efforts. And one guarantee of spring training is that everyone forgets it once the season starts.
This was the first meeting of the two teams since October, but most of the hype was due to Giambi’s appearance in front of Red Sox fans. He was finally going to encounter the adversity about which we had heard, but which we had not yet seen. Spring training is still going well for Jason: a head-scratchingly happy surprise occurred when the Yanks visited the Tigers’ complex for a game, and Giambi was cheered. Huh? Has he really shifted public opinion to the point where opposing fans are rooting for him?
There are few guarantees in this game, but I was certain that the Sox fans would let him have it yesterday, and they did, sort of. He was booed, but only after signing pre-game autographs in front of the dugout, smiling and laughing, not exactly looking like a man deep in enemy territory. At one point a little girl presented him with a teddy bear, and Jason gave her his batting gloves—oh, the horror.
Okay, when he strolled to the plate for his first at-bat, he was booed. Just like Yankees are always booed in Red Sox nation. The crowd was not exceptionally loud or vehement. Anyway, Giambi seemed not to hear them, displaying patience at the plate as he worked the count to 3-1 before stroking a clean single to right. Things got more dramatic in his next at-bat, when Sox fans finally got their act together and started chanting “Ster-oids” in that drawn-out way in which Darryl Strawberry’s first name used to get abused. Giambi did get distracted this time, swatting hastily at a 1-2 pitch and popping out.
In the fifth, he crushed a ball more than four hundred feet into center field: his first home run of the post-steroid era. This was the big moment that the New York papers were praying for, a middle finger raised to the Red Sox “tormentors” (by the way, since when were the New York papers on Giambi’s side? Weren’t they using their front pages to try to run him out of town, like, three months ago?).
Aside from the home run, there were moments that predicted regular-season success. First, there was the baseball stuff—he remained mostly patient at the plate, and was able to send his homer to center field, rather than trying to pull it. Some anxiety was apparent when he popped up, but the guy has hardly played since June. It takes a while to regain patience at the plate. In light of that, his progress is impressive.
The personal stuff could not be going better. He has managed to turn the press around, no easy thing, was able to mostly ignore Sox fans, and, amazingly, was cheered by Tiger fans the day before. What were they cheering? Steroid use? Of course not; they were cheering his public contrition. Americans will always forgive someone who acts sorry—remember Hugh Grant rescuing his career on The Tonight Show after being caught with a prostitute?—and Giambi is playing the role.
How genuine is it, and how long will it last? Is he really sorry? Would he still be shooting ’roids if he hadn’t been caught? Apparently, these questions do not matter now in the happy world of Giambi’s spring.
The most crucial time in this drama, though, has not yet arrived. Giambi’s early victories will be forgotten if he does not perform strongly in the first few weeks of the regular season. Yankee fans will turn on him if he is hitting .200 on the first of May. They have done this in the past, before steroids were an issue, and they will certainly do it again. The first few weeks of the season will be disproportionately significant for Giambi, because they will set a tone for his comeback. Forget Red Sox fans; New Yorkers will measure the success of his efforts. And one guarantee of spring training is that everyone forgets it once the season starts.
posted by Andy Martino at 6:33 PM
2 Comments:
Andy,
I was happy to see the homer. Whatever one's opinion of Giambi, you have to give him credit for performing under pressure. Yankees fans are tough, but they support their fallen players if they sense they are contrite.
I'm happy that Tino's back to back-up Jason. I hope Jason can play some defense, but focus on his hitting. Let's not forget that he has a great deal of talent.
Clipper
Florida and New York are completely different animals. It doesn't matter how many autographs that he signs; if he doesn't produce, your friends in section 39 will let him hear it.
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