Captain America - The First Juicer

I never really knew much about Captain America growing up. I was more of a DC Comic reader growing up.

So when I saw the preview for the movie that opened this weekend (and made more money that I could make in 10 lifetimes) two things struck me as odd about it.

First of all, what the hell was Paramount thinking NOT releasing this on 4th of July weekend?

Secondly, didn't Steve Rogers' transformation from a weakling to Captain America ring a bell with you?

A kid has tremendous heart and desire, but doesn't have the physical abilities to succeed... or at least keep up with the competition.

So in order to keep up and beat the competition, he is pumped with all sorts of unusual chemicals that transforms his body and BANG! He's a hero! He's the best! Everyone wants to be him!

Replace Dr. Abraham Erskine and his Super Sodier Serum with Victor Conte and "The Cream and the Clear."

Switch out Steve Rogers with Jason Giambi wandering into the A's clubhouse in 1995 meeting his new teammate Mark McGwire and in 1997 teaming up with Jose Canseco.

A few trips to BALCO later, he went from a lean first baseman to a professional wrestler!







It's the same damn story!
Granted, Captain America was taking out Nazis, so there's no loss of honor pumping your body up for THAT goal.

But still, are you trying to tell me that Stark Industries couldn't have made some quality post war bucks bulking up some big leaguers?

Here we are trying to get the whole steroid era behind us... and we have some awful Hall of Fame controversy on the horizon, the Bonds and Clemens trials this year... and now Hollywood is making juicing COOL again?

It's a bad lesson for kids.

Kids should know that if you want to turn your body unexpectedly into a muscular frame, you should do it more honestly!

You know like being bitten by a radioactive spider or getting hit with a ton of gamma rays!

Hey Giants... keep listening to my advice

About a month ago, I gave the Giants all sorts of advice. And they seemed to have taken it to heart. (Yes, I firmly believe the Giants front office reads this blog.)

I told them to give Pat Burrell a shot and I said to just bring Buster Posey up and play him where ever he can fit.

Done and done.

And tonight Burrell homered and Posey tripled and the Giants are scoring some runs.

Good work. You listened to your pal Sully.

The lineup got a much needed injection... and they got it without calling BALCO.

Now KEEP LISTENING.

The Bullpen is nothing special. In fact I think it is downright mediocre. Wilson is OK but hardly a slamdunk. Romo is eh, nothing special. Affeldt has been awful. Now Casilla and Bautista have done well but the Giants need to bolster their bullpen.

And like with Posey, I think they should start from within. And I told them what to do last May and I stand by it.

Eric Hacker is pitching well in Fresno and at age 27, there's really no reason to keep seasoning him. He pitched well this week against Sacramento and basically is a Quadruple A pitcher at this point. Why not put him in the pen and see what happens?

But Madison Bumgarner should seriously be inserted into the bullpen as their lefty set up man. What does he have to prove in the minors? He has a career 33-6 record with a 1.95 ERA over 61 minor league games. I think he's ready.

But he's also only 20 years old and they don't want to blow his arm out.

Fine. There are 16 weeks left to the season.

Bring him up and have him pitch 4 innings a week... all out of the pen. Bring him in at the beginnings of innings and give him days off between appearances.

That's 64 innings. The Giants don't wear him down and those 64 innings come late in the game when chances are won't have faced him before.

And as I said before, starting in the pen didn't hurt Jim Palmer, Jimmy Key, Pedro Martinez and Adam Wainwright's career.

Make those two moves, improve the pen and all this without giving up a single player.

Listen to me Giants... when have I steered you wrong?

Do as I say, not as I do

I saw how nuts Dodger Stadium went over Manny Ramirez's pinch hit grand slam the other day.

I can't help but wonder about all the people screaming for Mannywood now and cheering him on.

How many of them used to scream at Barry Bonds and holding up the "Got Juice" banners etc?

There must have been SOME overlap!

Keep in mind, when a player on a rival team is caught, he is a cheater.

When a player on YOUR team is caught, then "he got screwed!"

Folks, the steroid story is dead.

San Francisco fans gave Barry Bonds a standing ovation... as well the should have

I don't want to be a broken record about why Giants fans should always applaud Barry Bonds, even if he is vilified everywhere else.

I wrote it at the end of the 2006 season when it looked like the man who saved baseball in San Francisco was ending his career with a whimper.

But I'll reiterate the fact that the Giants were good as gone after the 1992 season. They were going to be the Tampa Bay Giants.

And now they have the single greatest ballpark in all of baseball tucked into China Basin.

The Giants went on their most competitive streak since the days of Willie Mays and played to packed houses.

And for those of you wringing your hands about his 'roid use, just relax with the knowledge that they never won a World Series with him. Just teams like the Yankees (with Clemens, Knoblauch and Pettitte), the Angels (with Glaus, the 2002 World Series MVP) and the Marlins (with Pudge Rodriguez) won titles.

Stand and cheer... and while you are at it, sign him up!

You know the Giants have a weak offense when their most feared hitter is sitting in the front row!

Hey Giants... just resign Barry Bonds!

You are getting terrific pitching! You even got 7 shutout innings from Barry Zito yesterday. I didn't think that was possible.

The lineup remains horrific.

Don't believe me? 10 out of 14 games you've scored 3 or fewer runs. Which means 10 out of 14 times you've needed a lights out pitching performance to have a shot.

And Matt Cain is living proof that you can be a great talent, but you can't win without the run support!

Your lineup needs a shot in the arm (or the butt.)

It lacks juice!

Something needs to pump it up.

The performance needs enhancing!

I'll say it.

You need Barry Bonds back!

Come on! He's available! He's technically a free agent! And he wouldn't cost the team any draft picks.

Even if he did, you'd be giving the picks to the Giants... which is YOU!

You won't have to trade any prospects for him. The amazingly named Madison Bumgarner will still be in the system. 

And it's not like you can say "Oh... will he be a distraction?"

OF COURSE HE'LL BE A DISTRACTION! He'll distract fans from the fact that Randy Winn is the most feared name in that line up!

Even if he can't hit them out anymore, he can draw a walk, he can get on base and maybe take the pressure off of the Sandovals and the Ishikawas on the team.

Or are you expecting Edgar Renteria to hit a grand slam every night!

COME ON! You spent every year between 1993-2007 saying "Hey! Barry will put butts in the seats." 

2008 wasn't pretty.

Help is just sitting at home.

Make the call.

Teixeria in... Giambi out

I love that Mark Teixeira's wife called the final shot.
She just wanted him to be happy before finally saying "Be a Yankee."

Chances are he won't be both.

Am I the only one who noticed that as one first baseman comes in wearing #25 and bringing about the promise of Titles and Yankee pride...





the last big budget Yankee first baseman went back to the place where he was actually happy.

Battered around by high expectations, scandal and disappointment, Jason Giambi seems more himself now.
He's smiling, back with the team where he probably never really wanted to leave.

Either be a Yankee or be happy.

Some sympathy for Jason Giambi

Newsday writer Ken Davidoff wrote a great article today about soon to be Ex Yankee slugger Jason Giambi.

The article talks about how Jason Giambi made sure that the Yankees clubhouse people and staff got six figure bonuses after winning the pennant shows he is genuinely a good guy...

And it basically confirms what I've thought about him...
He's a nice guy who can get caught up in stuff.

I'm sure when he was a young kid coming into a locker room with Canseco and McGwire and saw them shooting God knows what into their asses, he probably thought "OK, I guess this is what you do in the bigs."

I'm also sure that when he was offered hundreds of millions of dollars he probably thought "I'm really comfortable in Oakland, but I guess this is what you do in the bigs."

And I am also sure he went cold turkey on the stuff in 2004, which resulted in his body breaking down, because he thought "This is the right thing to do."

And I am sure than when he became public enemy number one in the BALCO revelations, he was devastated.

And I am also sure that he wanted to do the right thing and come clean but the lawyers convinced him not to.





He's not a bad guy. He's just a big dumb lug.
He's basically Mongo in Blazing Saddles.

And like Mongo, Jason Giambi just pawn in game of life.

He made some bad decisions, but its hard not to feel for the guy.

(I wish some of MY bad decisions led to a $100 million contract!!!)