Some Thoughts on Summer Ball and Moustaches

I'm not by any means saying "I told you so", because the pre-season means nothing. Gerald Green was a summer league superstar. But, in their first matchup yesterday, Michael Beasley clearly outshined Derrick Rose , compiling 28 points and 9 boards (in just under 23 minutes of work) to Rose's 10 points and 4 assists. As I said, this means nothing in the grand scheme of things. But, it is significant in that these two, particularly because they are playing in the same conference, are going to be compared to each other constantly. And, every matchup between the Heat and Bulls is going to feature the underlying question of "which of these two players had a greater impact on the game?" Round 1 goes to Beasley.

Just remember, he has "character issues". He's one practical joke away from ruining that team!



I used to love Jason Giambi before December of 2001, when he signed with my team's hated rival. Since then, he has seemed to grow less likable by the day. How, I always wonder, could a simple change of teams transform this single player so much. Before he signed with New York, I used to always wish that he would come play for the Red Sox. And, after he signed with New York, I never would have imagined myself wishing for his services. I'm not saying that I wish he would come play for the Red Sox now, but only that I wish some more of the Red Sox players would take a look at what he's been doing, and emulate it. I know the moustache is old news, but I just can't get enough of it. Unfortunately for me, and the rest of the Red Sox fans out there, I think that the two best stories of the season from an overall MLB perspective are the Tampa Bay Rays and Giambi's moustache (but not necessarily in that order).

What made me feel the need to write on it was just listening to Dale and Holley talking with Terry Francona. Francona said that Giambi is one of the most universally liked players in the league. Everyone loves him. Holley suggested that if they all liked him so much, they should advise him to shave the moustache. Holley is a pretty good radio personality, so I'll let this clear lack of judgement slide. Simply put, we need more moustaches like this out there.

I don't think it is any coincidence that the Yankees started playing better after the stache really started filling out. I once played for a football team on which the players all agreed to return in the fall with moustaches. As it turns out, and I wish I had the team picture handy to scan, only a few actually followed through. I was one, and I'm pretty sure the others are all people that comment on this blog regularly. We underachieved that year. I don't want to point any fingers, but I think that you know what I'm getting at.

When Giambi signed with New York, he became dead to me as a player. A number of other incidents have furthered this sentiment. However, I do support his stache, as it reminds me of the old Giambi in Oakland that I loved to follow. Having a moustache like that even makes wearing womens underwear badass (note: I realize that this is also old news, but it fits).

The good old days: