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Player's Union vs Selig. Advantage, Union. Still be interesting to see how this plays out.

Wow, they're probably going to take the extraordinary step of suspending him for fifty games when he's expected to miss at least fifty games because he has a foot injury.

Gee, they're just so non-transparent over there at MLB headquarters.

I'd suspend your ass for not knowing how to spell Selig.

Taste that. Taste the burn.

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To be on topic, this is what you get for taking steroids and then alluding to that fact in the media. Giambi brought this all on himself, but Selig will still have a hell of a time getting any suspension through.

Not only that, he's incentivized keeping your mouth shut. Given the joke of a drug policy in place prior to the showdown in Congress, I think Selig's on shaky ground. Would serve Giambi right, though...

Part of me thinks Congress should butt out. Don't mistake that for not thinking Giambi deserves a suspension but it is an internal matter.

I think this may be starting a precedent to deal with other guys; Giambi is the easiest target now so whatever happens to him will probably be applied to anyone else.

Do we start using asterisk's again or should the record books just have a little RX next to the stat?

funny thing is, new york has been a better team since giambi disappeared. i would love to see selig suspend him for the rest of the season, just to eliminate the distraction (and save the yankees $10M in payroll). but the union will never let that happen. you can't discipline a guy for speaking the truth about himself. can you suspend him for not testifying before mitchell's committee? not unless you apply the same rules to everyone else.

anyway, the thing about steroids users is they get their own punishment through injuries and premature endings to their career. canseco and mcgwire certainly didn't play effectively until they were 40 years old. and we can only point the finger of suspicion at steroids-era players like nomar who have been constantly injured and lose their power at the same time.

there are many others who fit this description, including sosa, who got smaller and came back this year. he's in a terrific slump right now after a solid start.

Gee, can't imagine why he did not mention steriods in his apology.

Which is fair--he's under no obligation to implicate himself, though it did make the "apology" seem patently absurd.

I assume it's a wash for the Yankees, since they probably have insurance on Giambi's DL time, but they might view it as fodder for the voiding of his contract if he does get suspended.

I'm not saying he should have. I think the smartest thing he could have done for himself was to keep his mouth shut and collect those $21M checks. But he felt bad about what he's done and how MLB has handled everything and tried to make some amends by apologizing for using "that stuff." Giambi's problem is that he doesn't want people to not like him and make him out to be one of the faces of the steroid era, but he also wants to get paid. Tough line to walk right there.

I find this whole thing laughable. Was Giambi dumb for opening his mouth to begin with? Most certainly. But as a fan, I was happy to read his comments. I can certainly see how they would anger MLB and Yankee brass but what I feel is being overlooked by MLB is that these are the kind of steps fans and patrons of baseball are looking for. I feel that in most cases, apathy follows a sincere apology and I believe Giambi has sincere regret for his use of performance enhancers.

A shame too because it will be a while before we see another player display any form of public regret as a result of this. There is no rug big enough to sweep all this dirt under so the sooner it all comes out, the sooner the implosion can occur, the sooner the mass-apologies can begin, and the sooner all can be forgiven and baseball can begin to rebound. It's going to come to a head either way.

Well put EG.
I'm not a fan of Giambi by any means but as a fan of baseball it was refreashing to hear him at least publically say something on the matter while the rest of the MLB roid users fly under the radar & will remain unpunished.

Suspend him for honesty...Excellent move.

It proves my theory: Always Lie.

If he were suspended, the suspension wouldn't start until after he came back and played. This happened years ago with a Dodgers pitcher who was suspended for throwing at someone in a game he got hurt in. The Dodgers pulled him off of the DL early and started him in RF for 1 batter and then took him out. Kuhn basically said "Nice Try" and the suspension didn't stat until after he pitched a game. I just wish I could remember who the pitcher was but I am sure it happened because I remember Lasorda flipping out about the letter of the law and that they went by the rules because the guy played.

I'm not defending Giambi. He's a cheater, but he took a pounding on this board for not saying the word steroids. He probably should have said nothing rather then give such a hollow statement.
The thing that gets me is I think MLB is more upset that his statements slapped them in the face. If he had said " I did steroids and it shamed the great game of baseball. I'd like to commend Bud Selig for instituting a program that has our wonderful game going in the right direction. God Bless America's pass time".....would he be facing suspension?