Girardi and Tino both benefit from playing on multiple championship teams. Slipping a big NY world series ring on his finger seals the deal for Giambi too.

Yeah, that is the ultimate deciding factor isn't it? It's funny, but the guys who become known as "true Yankees" who haven't won a ring are more interesting in a way. It's easy to say Scott Brosius was a "true Yankee" just because he was on those championship teams. I liked Brosius fine, but you know what I'm saying--winning cures all.

What's not to like about Giambi? He is a "lug" and clearly (Bobby Alejo, "Donny") impressionable, which may explain why he began juicing. But although he cheated, at least he - unlike Bonds, Sheffield and apparently others - went into the grand jury and told the truth.

If he never recovered his swing would we be calling him a "bum?" Of course. But he 'fessed up, busted his ass, and did recover his swing. He showed a lot more character than Sosa, McGwire, Palmeiro or Bonds.

Of course Mattingly never got a ring (hopefully to be rectified this year), but he gets a pass because he's a lifetime Yankee, and was almost the only bright spot on some bad teams. Is Winfield a "true" Yankee? Or Rickey?
I like Giambi, glad to see that he's gotten everything sorted out.

If Giambi is a "'fo real", is Moose as well? Both have had good times and bad (more good than bad for Moose). Both have had a couple signature moments. Both have played in big games. Neither has a World Series ring.

Wouldn't it be something for Moose to win the Cy Young this year, Giambino the MVP, and the Yankees #27.

Hey - a guy can dream, can't he?

BP

"But although he cheated, at least he - unlike Bonds, Sheffield and apparently others - went into the grand jury and told the truth."

Unfortunately, he did not show some cajones and admit it to the fans. I love that press conference.. "Um, yeah, I want to apologize for... uh.... something..."

Jason Giambi's progress toward being a true Yankee is of course in the eye of the beholder:

1. Gave obligatory press conference about how he always wanted to be a Yankee. (This usually works for me).

2. Extra inning grand slam against Minnesota. (For those who prefer the baptism take place on the field).

3. Hit well in 2002 ALDS losing effort. (For the more discerning amongst the Only October Matters crowd).

4. Hit two homers off Pedro Martinez in game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. (If you have no place in your heart for Giambi after this, I'm not sure what would do it, short of a World Series victory. Perhaps an angry breakup and later reconciliation with George, followed by an apologetic retiring of #25, and then going into the Hall of Fame as a Yankee).

6 Very true.

I can only speak of my perspective. I used to listen to the Michael Kay show on the drive home every night and listen to Kay hammer him daily. I mean he hammered him non-stop. As we all know, Michael is nothing but a high volume reflection of what is on the back pages, so you know the Giambino was getting creamed on an almost daily basis for his of-field-play, and bordered on being personal attacks. I couldn't help but wonder what Giambi, the person, was thinking deep inside. Sure, the talking heads kept telling us that we shouldn't feel sorry for a zillionaire baseball player. Bullsh*t. He was getting toasted, and no amount of money insulates a person from that.

He stunk. He really did. He acted as if he wanted to get hit by a pitch, just so he didn't have to swing. He looked like a fence gate at the plate. Just awful. It looked like his will to play had evaporated. Joe was making a mistake pencilling his name into the lineup every day. It was just one long string of excuses - sickness, parasites, nagging injuries, whatever. Everyone stuck a fork in the guy and came away thinking "He's done.".

Everyone.

Then he had his moment. The walk-off against the Pirates. The bat flip. The head down trot. The mob scene at home plate. That was the rebirth. The New Jason Giambi emerged, and I think fans like what they see now.

That, to me, is far more a statement of what sort of man he is than anything else. No leaked testimony, no silly apology press conference. Nothing. He had the money to walk away and lead a good life. He didn't. He put his head down, took his medicine (figuratively here), and kept working and kept believing in himself.

Like I said, I can't speak for anyone else, but in my eyes he's a Yankee.

BP

As I was reminded last night, the guy hit two home runs off of Pedro in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. 'nuff said.

Sure, they were chemically enhanced HRs. I don't care.

How about the reverse? As in Roger Clemens.

In '04, I used to watch Astros games on DirectTV and root for the Rocket. In '05, I still felt a rooting interest in his success.

Not sure what I'll think if he chooses the 'stros over the Yanks this year, though, and don't even get me started if he goes to the Sox....

I don't understand the concept of "true Yankee." I root for all the Yankees. . . for now Johnny Damon is still tough simply because he was so hated.

But when the Yankees put in Tanyon Sturtze or whoever, I root for them just the same.

Doesn't everyone associate players with the team they were on when you became aware of them? Like Mussia = Orioles, Damon = Red Sox, Giambi = As, A-Rod = Mariners, etc. etc.? Doesn't mean you don't cheer for them.

Excellent point levylevy20, which makes the question when do your forget when Mussina was an Oriole or A-Rod a Mariner? I'd already forgotten Damon used to play for the Sox...

Another thing that is endearing about Giambi is the fact that he's Italian, and the Yankees have a long tradition of popular Italian players. Especially with Joe Torre at the helm, being a Pizzan can't hurt. Speaking of which, check out this article in today's Times about old school Italian restaurants in the five boroughs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/03/dining/03notebook.html?8dpc

ric(6 -- how do you do those links?): I give Giambi a pass on the "apologize for something" press conference. He had about 80 million good reasons to avoid using the s-word.

As for the Rocket, the baseball fan in me would like to see him tie up his career where it began. His "true Yankee" status will eventually expire anyway when his plaque goes up with the B on the cap.

8 Well said

It continues to shock me as that I like and respect Giambi to the point where he is by far my favorite player on the squad. His at bats on a daily basis are a clinic on the proper way a player is supposed to approach them and for that I am grateful that we have the opportunity to watch him in his current form.

14 YIM put the number you want to link to in lower case brackets, (next to the P on a standard keyboard).

As for the Rocket if he's not going to pitch for us I'd just as soon see him in Huston. The thought of A-Rod coming up empty on Mr. Splitey with men on and us down by 1 is more than I can handle right now.

Giambi is a Yankee till he gives us reason to turn our backs on him. He came through this with his head up, he didn't bitch and moan or try to blame others for his mistakes. Last time I looked his Grand Jury testimony was supposed to be under court seal. Who actually knows what he testified to? His apology was weak but again the last time I looked he is the only one who offered even that much. He's playing his ass off. Of course he's a Yankee.

though i still sport my dan pasqua JERSEY proudly, i haven't owned a yankee T-SHIRT since my David Wells and Bernie Williams shirts from 1998. but as of late i have been seeing them up in windows and thinking about buying one. i can't quite decide whose number i want to wear, but i am strangely drawn to 25.

also: will they make a friggin randolph t-shirt already?!?! i look for one EVERY time i go to the stadium. no luck.

8 Giambi's hanging around the right guy on the bench if he's hoping to endear himself to Yankees fans.

IMO it's working, slowly but surely.

I'm also wondering if this whole contract thing with Sheffield, however, doesn't have him giving a little less than he normally would. Bubba Crosby's effort in RF the other night made him look pretty silly.

13 Alex, did you mean to say, "paisan"...?

8 Not everyone. I've always stuck behind Giambi. He's always had way too much pure talent for me to have ever assumed he was done. He was sick and injured for the better part of two years, but I have always believed and still do, that Giambi is going to come up with an even bigger hit, in an even bigger moment than the two blasts off Pedro.

The guy is a magical hitter.

17
Murph,
You can create your own on MLB.com, any name and number, save for some weird exceptions. You can't create any shirts for players that retired with the Yankees for whatever reason. Hence, I have a Rags, a Winfield, and a Pags, but not a Mattingly. Since Willie went elsewhere before he retired, you should be able to create a 30 Randolph.

pistol pete,

That is exactly what I meant, but was obviously too lazy to look up the correct spelling. Shows you what kind of Italian I am...lol.

yeah, i have seen those and they look kinda cheap. the letters are all shiny and stick-on. they dont have that great matte finish that washes so well.

I HATE the "true Yankee" thing. It's pretentious, condescending, and silly. And usually most pushed by those who should be called not "true Yankee fans." (not anyone here, obviously). To me, you either like a guy or don't like a guy; he either sucks (Sturtze) or doesn't suck (Giambi); he's a good guy, or a bad guy. I understand fans adopt arbitrary and invented status classifications, like "dirt dogs" in RSN, but to me, if you help the Yanks win, you are a Yankee, plain and simple. I loved Jim Abbott growing up; he was a Yankee. Ditto for Charlie Hudson (my first night game ever, not that I loved him). It's the type of thing Sterling and Kay hype up to pretend that they are more into it...

Now, when a player leaves/retires, thinking about them "as a Yankee" a la Winfield, Ricky etc, is another matter, but that doesn't diminish what they did as Yankees...

To me, Giambi "earned his pinestripes" as soon as he played a game for us; didn't mean I liked the guy yet, but he was our guy, so he was a Yank...

Alex, you live in the Bronx, you should check out Valentino's restaurant on Arthur Ave. It's old school and great food. Their veal chops are awesome, too. It doesn't look that great from the outside but inside you get this cozy family feel. I read the link you pasted and was hoping to see something written about Valentino's. Their cheesecake is awesome too because it's one of the few places that makes it with ricotta cheese.

I have to say, as someone who remained a Giambi fan even when he was at his lowest, it is great to hear so much support thrown his way once again. I was so disappointed when I learned about all the crap he was shooting himself up with, but I never really thought he was a bad guy. It's great that he can finally prove to everyone that he can still be an offensive wrecking crew without the 'roids! (fingers crossed)

I am new to this site, I have been looking at it for a while and there seem to be some great baseball fans here.

About Giambi. I have been a Yankee fan since 1975 (5 years old). I have seen alot of players come through over this time. My top 5 favorite players have been: Reggie, Mattingly, Guidry, Arod, and Giambi. I really think that Giambi seems like a great guy. I really felt bad for him the last few years, but now I think that he has a great chance of getting the MVP. Sure, he cheated with the roids, but at least he was man enough to (halfway) own up to it. That is more than anyone can say for ANY other player. No one else has even come close.

As far as Arod, I am sick of people bashing him. It is like people don't realize that they are having the opportunity to watch one of the greatest players of all time. He has slumps just like anyone else. But how can you complain about a guy that puts up .321, 48, and 130 along with gold glove caliber defense at one of the toughest positions on the field. No telling how many games he has saved with his glove. This guy is pressing because of all the crap he is hearing from so called fans. I can't believe that the reigning MVP is being booed in his home park--in April. People are stupid, and will be sorry if he gets fed up with this treatment and decides to go somewhere else.

On another topic, I love Yankee Stadium. I have been to some of the other new stadiums, like Baltimore & Atlanta and yes, they are nice, but at Yankee Stadium it is all about the game on the field. Not all of this other stuff to entertain the people that aren't real baseball fans. I wish that they would just fix the old place up alittle and stay there. It will be a sad day when that place is gone.

27 (woo-hoo, I learned how to do the link thingie) Anyhow, I agree with you on ARod and the booing. I don't like some of the things he says in the press about his workouts, his visits to Bellevue for mental analysis, etc, etc, but I don't think he should be booed. I do think he's one of the greatest players but his contract gets in the way of his likability - unfortunately. Jordan was making 25 million in his final years with the Bulls, but people saw Jordan hit shot-after-shot in key situations. Unfortunately, ARod hasn't done that and until he leads the Yankees all throughout the playoffs then stupid ass Yankee fans will continue to boo. I sincerely think ARod wants to be a great guy and he's respected by many, but he's hardly like any of the ball players in the majors and that's what makes him stand out.

The other thing about ARod is that he plays the game the right way. I truly believe that his time will come. I thought Sherman's article today in the Post was a good one with regards to ARod:

http://www.nypost.com/sports/65433.htm

Lastly welcome home, Tarheel, we are glad to have you.

Thanks, glad to be here.

Another thing to remember about Arod is that he plays everyday--he is very durable. (Knock on wood). You are right he does it the right way, too.

29 If only he'd stop doing the Lamaze breathing before each bat, and those gawd awful faces he makes, heh heh heh. He's painful to watch sometimes.

But then the grace of that swing. Geez. All thoughts of funny faces are whiped away when he hits the ball. When he is on - it is high art. Effortless and simply amazing to watch.

How lucky are we to have guys like this on our favorite team? When they are playing to their potential, I just sit there and watch in awe.

BP

Alex, I for one despise the "true Yankees" talk, and saying that Yankees fans love to talk about who the real Yankees are is not really true, IMHO. That is total media stuff. Sure, players who replace fan favorites take a while to warm up to, but I don't think very many Yankees fans have some criteria for what it takes to be a (ugh) true Yankee, like winning a WS with the team or something. I'm a huge fan of this site and a daily reader, and I know what you were trying to get at in this post; I just think that posing the question, "when will JG be accepted by most fans?" using the language of the "true Yankees" nonsense plays into the media's generally shitty portrayal of Yankees fans.

What is a "True Yankee" anyway? They all put on the pinstripes and we root for them. Some are embraced more than others (see GOB and Womack). I still don't know what that media driven horse hockey refers to.

24 I wish I'd said what you did Zack; it is something that needs to be screamed into the ears of everyone in Bristol CN. And by the way, and while we're at it, who the hell are we to make that determination anyway.

Yup, it's all about the rings. What else could explain Clay Bellinger's enduring popularity? ;)

Alex,

Next time you're in Brooklyn for a haircut or something stick around and try Queen on Court Street. Great old school charm. Run by a guy whose been there forever and treats you like family if he starts to recognize you. And the food is fabulous. Try the fresh mozzarella and the carbonara. I'm hungry just thinking about it now.