Jason Giambi's Next Role...Rockies Skipper?

Once dubbed by Sports Illustrated as "The New Face of Baseball", slugger Jason Giambi is looking for a career change.

Well, sort of.

According to The Denver Post, the 18-year big league veteran has his sites set on becoming the Colorado Rockies new manager.  And, yeah, it appears as though the team is kinda hip to the idea.

Also being considered are internal candidates...bench coach Tom Runnels, Triple-A manager Stu Cole and even special assistant to team general manager Dan O'Dowd, Vinny Castilla.  Earlier this week, team officials said they'll be looking outside the organization as well, but "we haven't begun narrowing that list at this point."

So why not Giambi? 

Sure, he's never managed or coached at any level.  And, sure, he's not even officially retired, but the 2000 American League MVP can't do any worse Jim Tracy did this past season, can he?  Heck, the lifetime .280 hitter might even be able to replicate what Robin Ventura pulled off on Chicago's Southside...leading the White Sox to 85 wins.

I'm for it.

The Barry Bonds Trial in Pictures

Alright…I’ll admit it. I really haven’t been following the Barry Bonds trial.

Should I be?

I mean…this isn’t exactly the O.J. Simpson trial. There’s no crazy car chase, no bloody gloves and, alas, no Kato.

Enter Norman Quebedeau.

Quebedeau is the San Francisco-based courtroom sketch artist who is getting paid (handsomely I’m sure) to draw pictures of the USA vs. Barry Lamar Bonds since we can’t watch it play out live on TV.

But here’s the catch…I’m pretty sure dude is some sort of children’s book illustrator. He has to be, right?

Check out a few of my favorite pictures. And yeah…before you ask, from left to right, those are pictures of Bonds, Jason Giambi, and TV's Steve Urkel.

Based on the pictures alone…I’m still not going to up and start following the case. HOWEVER, if the pictures were bound together in some sort of singsongy Shel Silverstein-like picture book…I’d be sold.

Seriously, couldn’t you see Barry Goes to Court on the book shelf at Borders sammiched between Everybody Poops and Bunnicula?

I know I can.

You can check out the rest of Quebedeau’s pictures (and, Lord, I suggest you do!) at his website or through his Facebook page.

Bomber Back on Blake Street

When Oakland released slugger Jason Giambi last August, he was knocking on the door of becoming just the sixth Major Leaguer (Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Manny Ramirez and Jimmie Foxx were the others) to hit 200 or more home runs with two teams.

About two weeks later…Colorado inked him to a deal.

With his 407 career bombs (198 with the A’s and 209 with the Yankees), the Rockies looked for the 2000 American League MVP to help provide some veteran leadership. And he did just that, by hitting .292 with two home runs in just 31 at bats.

Sunday afternoon, the interwebs were greeted with this from Eric Young, Jr.

EYJr: We're bringing back The Giambino! I'm pumped! Thats my guy!

A quick fact check later and its true…the 39 year-old looks to be back on Blake Street, ready to give Todd Helton a breather at first base, pinch hit when needed and serve as designated hitter during interleague play.

Combined with his Oakland numbers, he hit .201 with 13 home runs and had 51 RBI in 102 games last season.

The season that was...May

If you read nothing more, leave now knowing that May brought with it two things…mustaches and Ron Villone.

I can explain.

The third annual Mustache May celebration kicked off on the first day of May (imagine that!) and with it came your “’stache of the Day”, an endorsement from The American Mustache Institute, an appearance on WGN Radio and interviews with Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins and the king of all lip sweaters…Rollie Fingers.

Villone lived up to his moniker “Suitcase” early in the month, when he suited up for the Nationals, his Major League record-tying twelfth team. After the call up from Syracuse, he tied fellow journeyman, pitcher Mike Morgan.

Close on their heels is Matt Stairs.

Stairs is currently enjoying another playoff run with Philadelphia, his eleventh team.

And while not exactly a “milestone”, the Cubs did something pretty cool and pretty monumental on May 3. Before the “North Siders” took the field against the Marlins, they retired number 31 for both Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux.

Each hurler won a Cy Young Award and combined for 300 victories while wearing the pinstriped 31. Maddux would have his 31 retired by the Braves in July.

On May 17, future Hall of Famer Ivan Rodriguez became another in a seemingly long line of players that would circle the bases for the 300th time.

For his career, “Pudge” Rodriguez has hit 298 of his 305 homers as a catcher, good for seventh among backstops on the all-time list.

About a week later, Jason Giambi came out of hibernation to finally hit his 400th career home run.

When The Hall initially previewed American League West milestones, thought was that “the Giambino” would have surpassed 400 sometime in Mid-April. Unfortunately, a terrible slump pushed back the milestone to May 23.

Giambi finished up his season with 409 home runs and found himself with the Rockies. All-time, he is sitting at 43 on the career homers list, having passed up Hall of Famers Al Kaline (399) and Duke Snider (407) in 2009.

After six attempt to achieve the milestone, Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer locked down win Number 250 on May 31 against the Nationals.

Granted, Moyer finished up the year coming out of the bullpen and facing down the first surgery of his long career, could we be looking at a guy who, with 258 wins, could take up residency in Cooperstown?

Consider this, Moyer has fifteen seasons with double-digit wins and all but one was achieved after the age of 30. And of the 40 pitchers with more victories, only Phil Niekro (17) had more double-digit wins seasons after they turned 30.

What about the 10 other lefties with more than 250 wins?

All but four (Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Tommy John and Jim Kaat) are in the Hall of Fame. Glavine (with 305 wins) and Johnson (303) will get there and you certainly can make a case for John and Kaat making it in someday courtesy of Veterans Committee.

So let me know…does Moyer have what it takes to get enshrined?

I’m on the fence (hedging toward “no”) when you look at the big picture, but when you consider those he pitched against…you could do much, much worse.

Yesterday...we broke down April. Join me tomorrow when we look at, naturally, June.

Blake Street adds a new Bomber

It appears as though Jason Giambi has found a new home according to ESPN.

Looking for a veteran bat to help their playoff push, the Colorado Rockies have agreed to a deal with the 2000 American League MVP.

The slugger, who (earlier this season) belted his 400th career home run, was released by the Athletics earlier this month after hitting just .193 with 11 home runs and 40 RBIs in 83 games.

He reportedly will join Triple-A Colorado Springs to get at-bats and then report to the Rockies on September 1 to back up Todd Helton.

Is this the end for the Giambino?

Alright, I'm chalking this one up to laziness, but given Tony over at TonyBlogs.net already "broke" the story...no need to re-make the wheel.

The Oakland A's today released Jason Giambi, who was on the disabled list but only hitting .193 while he was healthy. It ends the second stint in Oakland for Giambi.

I think it's surprising any time a baseball team outright releases a player, especially one of Giambi's name and reputation, but it's not a shock in terms of production. Giambi played in 83 games for the A's this season and was last in the league in batting average.

The question now is if anyone will sign him for the stretch run.

My guess is that he doesn't end up with anyone. An American League team is the only logical fit but many of the contending teams don't have room for him. Giambi could perhaps catch on as a pinch hitter, but with a .193 average, teams aren't exactly going to be knocking down his door.

As you might remember, The Hall followed Jason Giambi's quest for 400 home runs HERE and HERE.

No mustache, no thong...Giambi hits 400

Last year at this time, all the talk surrounding Jason Giambi was about mustaches and golden thongs.

This year, we're talking his return to Oakland and, today...his 400th home run.

When The Hall previewed the upcoming American League West milestones back in March, all thought was that Giambi would have surpassed 400 sometime in Mid-April. Unfortunately, a terrible slump pushed back the milestone.

Giambi returned to Oakland, where he spent the first seven years of his career before playing for the Yankees for seven seasons, in the off season. He hit 209 homers with New York, and his 191 homers for the A's put him in a tie with Gus Zernial for ninth-most in club history.

"I was glad the fans here got a chance to see it where I started my career," said Giambi after the game. "The fans have always been great to me here."

Having passed up Andres Galarraga and Al Kaline on the all-time list, Giambi is now the 44th player in big league history to hit 400 career homers. Next up on the list, Hall of Famer Duke Snider at 407.

After that...500? We'll see.

The power of the 'stache

With 396 home runs under his belt, Oakland’s Jason Giambi sits four home runs away from 400 for his career. Sure, it doesn’t carry with it the same mystique that Gary Sheffield’s recent accomplishment does, but still…it’s impressive.

Not as impressive is the fact that the “Giambino” has yet to go deep this season.

And before you ask…yes, the drought that he is in right now is the longest time he’s gone homerless to start a season. The same couldn’t be said of his mid-season tear last season.

Going into last year’s All-Star Game, Giambi was vying for a spot on the American League roster and turned to an unlikely (some say logical) resource.

He grew a mustache.

Dr. Aaron Perlut of the American Mustache Institute followed Giambi’s exploits and even served as a correspondent for ESPN.

The following was submitted by the good doctor.

Up until just a few days ago, outfielder Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals had been struggling at the plate early in this 2009 season, mustering just a .179 batting average.

But then something changed.

Something was different. Ankiel, the normally clean-shaven comeback kid, showed up to the ballpark with a thick, rich, luxurious chevron-style mustache.

Indeed, as demonstrated last year by Jason Giambi, the mustache is any major leaguer's ultimate performance enhancer. You may recall that "The Big G" (as he took to calling himself last year) batted 100 points higher with his mouth brow, than he did without it. And while Giambi's jump in cookie dusting-fueled hitting was extraordinarily high, the American Mustache Institute has conducted extensive studies of athletes' performance before and after growing lip curtains.

In baseball specifically, AMI cutting-edge research division led by Dr. Daniel T. Callahan has found mustaches increase a player's batting average by 39 percent. Ankiel, however, is far exceeding that average, as his flavor-saving protective mouth shade has raised his batting average .71 points to .250 as of April 24, and we can only assume there is more to come as long as he does not remove his new furry friend.

It's ironic that a player like Ankiel has chosen to use a labia sebucula (Latin for "lip sweater") to improve his batting average, as he plays in the home of the world's largest mustache…the Gateway Arch.

But irony is a fickle beast.

Regardless, the Mustached American community applauds him and the Cardinals organization for its support of our people and we hope this is the beginning of a trend for the team.

Sadly, and this is a little known but true fact, Albert Pujols petitioned and was denied by Major League Baseball to shave his goatee into a true flavor saving mustache. MLB argued that as Pujols is already hitting .339 this season, adding a performance enhancing mustache would give him too much of an advantage and possibly endanger opposing National League pitchers.

It is important to note for fans and economists alike that the upside of Ankiel's mustache doesn't just stop with performance. It never does. No, AMI research has shown that the Cardinals can now expect a 17.8 percent increase in female fans at Busch Stadium, important in these tough economic times, and all of the team's male fans should be thankful for Ankiel's unselfish, good looking gesture.

For the sake of Ankiel's performance, the Cardinals early season success both on the field and now with lady Cardinals fans, and for humankind altogether, we hope Ankiel keeps his mustache throughout the season. That's because according to the Dead Sea Scrolls, quite sadly, every time a mustache is shaved an angel in heaven dies and falls to earth.

Be sure to take AMI's new poll on the impact of a mustache on how a man is perceived HERE.

Carry on.

Read more from Dr. Aaron Perlut over at the American Mustache Institute website.