AMERICAN LEAGUE UPDATE: GIAMBI FINDS SUCCESS BY STAYING THE COURSE.Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer ANAHEIM - Jason Giambi's world came crashing down last winter when his grand jury testimony in the BALCO case was leaked and then reported by the San Francisco Chronicle The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 as The Daily Dramatic Chronicle by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young.[2] The paper grew along with San Francisco to become the largest circulation newspaper on the West Coast of the that he admitted to steroid use. His problems began before then, when he suffered from health problems last season that ranged from an intestinal parasite Intestinal parasites are parasites that populate the gastro-intestinal tract. In humans, they are often spread by poor hygiene related to feces, contact with animals, or poorly cooked food containing parasites. to a benign tumor benign tumor n. A tumor that does not metastasize or invade and destroy adjacent normal tissue. Benign tumor An abnormal proliferation of cells that does not spread to other parts of the body. near his pituitary gland pituitary gland, small oval endocrine gland that lies at the base of the brain. It is sometimes called the master gland of the body because all the other endocrine glands depend on its secretions for stimulation (see endocrine system). . It almost seems silly to add that his numbers on the field suffered as well, (.208, 12 homers, 40 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in ) but when you play in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and have a $120 million contract, it is a big deal. Giambi faced the scrutiny of the media in spring training, then began the season hitting like a punch-and-judy hitter, only more judy than punch. It got to the point that on May 9, with Giambi hitting .195, Giambi met with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman Brian Cashman is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of the New York Yankees. He is a native of Lexington, Kentucky, one of five children of Nancy and John Cashman. and manager Joe Torre  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. . Among the topics discussed was a minor-league assignment for Giambi, who convinced his bosses he should stay. ``Out of the meeting, they were positive because I was positive,'' Giambi said. ``I didn't think I was that far away. It was just a matter of putting everything together.'' Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Giambi proved it. Since that meeting, Giambi is hitting .329 with 12 homers and 31 RBI, raising his average to .288. Scouts are saying the ball is jumping off his bat again. He is looking more and more like the Giambi of old. ``I can't point to a single at-bat,'' Giambi said when asked about his turnaround. ``I had to crawl before I could walk. That's how it had to happen.'' Now that he's had a little of the success he grew to be accustomed to, he has a little perspective on how bad things got. ``I never lost my confidence but your mind starts to wander,'' he said. ``Now I'm completely focused. I put my cleats in the box, and I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if I'm going to get a hit, but I know I'll put together a good at-bat.'' Giambi said he focused on being the hitter he's always been and not changing his approach. That meant he needed to maintain that plate discipline. ``I always take my walks,'' he said. ``I'm not a good bad-ball hitter like Sori (Alfonso Soriano Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs. Before joining the Cubs in 2007, he played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals. ) or Jete je·té n. A leap in ballet in which one leg is extended forward and the other backward. [French, from past participle of jeter, to throw, from Old French; see jet2.] (Derek Jeter). At least that way when I was struggling I could still help the team, going 0 for 2 with a couple of walks instead of 0 for 4.'' Giambi acknowledges he wasn't completely sure if he'd ever get back to his previous level. ``I wish I could be cocky enough to say I knew I could, but I didn't know if my body would let me,'' he said. ``But I knew if I didn't come back, it wasn't going to be because I didn't give the effort.'' He had 15 homers and 39 RBI this season going into Saturday's game against the Angels, and more importantly his slugging percentage was .528, second on the team to All-Stars Alex Rodriguez (.595) and Gary Sheffield (.538). But Giambi is quick to note it's only July. ``I'm not going to smell the roses until the season's over,'' he said. ``There's still a lot of work to be done. I'll keep working with Donnie (Mattingly, the Yankees' hitting coach). But by no means am I done.'' Giambi admits a sensitivity to all the things that were being written and said about him - ``They were kicking dirt on me'' - but he promises a comeback is in no way a form of revenge to the naysayers. ``I've never been that type of guy,'' he said. ``I enjoy the game too much; I enjoy my teammates too much. That's not what motivates me. I'm not motivated by hate or anger.'' --Man of steal: White Sox outfielder Scott Podsednik leads the majors with 50 stolen bases, one season after he led the majors with 70 steals. If he continues at his pace, he'll wind up with 85 steals and become the first player in 17 years to get at least 80 in a season. Rickey Henderson had 93 and Vince Coleman had 81 in 1988. Since 1900, the 90-stolen-base mark has been achieved 14 times, four of those by Henderson and three by Coleman. Coleman was the last player to get 100, stealing 109 in 1987. Henderson has the all-time record of 130 set in 1982. Joe Haakenson, (626) 962-8811 joe.haakenson(at)sgvn.com |
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