Giambi on the move!

The Giambi Mustache Squad is moving to MVN.COM! Here is our new link:

http://mvn.com/giambimustachesquad/

Here is what people are saying about MVN.com:

"MVN.com is like if ESPN.com had a baby with Scarlett Johansson, and that baby was raised by Wolverine!" - Me

So check us out at our new place!

BREAKING NEWS ON FREDDY GARCIA!

The Mets signed him.

I am relieved, he has not been an effective pitcher long before his injury. What the Yankees need is someone with either an upside (Hughes) or the ability to eat up innings (Pettitte or a pitching robot). Garcia is neither, although if and when they do make Freddy Garcia: The Movie, I would definitely cast the Rock to play him.

Credit the Daily News for breaking the story, and Ken for texting me about it.

Congrats on the HOF Rickey! Now here are some quotes and stories...

The greatest base-stealer of all time has made the Hall of Fame. You have probably seen the top 25 Rickey Henderson quotes being posted on various sites lately. You also have probably said to yourself, "Why is this called Rickey Henderson quotes when half of these aren't even quotes?". Well, I cut the list down to the best 17, and I took the liberty of calling them quotes/stories, which makes much more sense. And I dug up this picture from the late 1980's showing Rickey hanging out with Roger Clemens and future governor Arnold Shwarzenegger.

Now I know that I'm going to get a ton of comments saying that some of these quotes are not real (okay I'm just kidding..... no one ever comments on here). But real or fake, these are still very enjoyable:

1) In the early 1980s, the Oakland A's accounting department was freaking out. The books were off $1 million. After an investigation, it was determined Rickey was the reason why. The GM asked him about a $1 million bonus he had received and Rickey said instead of cashing it, he framed it and hung it on a wall at his house.

2) In 1996, Henderson's first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Steve Finley said, "You have tenure, sit wherever you want." Henderson looked at Finley and said, "Ten years? Ricky's been playing at least 16, 17 years."

3) Rickey called San Diego GM Kevin Towers and left the following message: "This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball."

4) This one happened in Seattle. Rickey struck out and as the next batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, "Don't worry,Rickey, you're still the best."

5) Rickey once asked a teammate how long it would take him to drive to the Dominican Republic.

6) Moments after breaking Lou Brock's stolen base record, Henderson told the crowd - with Brock mere feet next to him - "Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time."

7) Henderson once fell asleep on an ice pack and got frostbite - which forced him to miss three games - in mid-August.

8) A reporter asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti's estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, "Well, Rickey's not one of them, so that's 49 percent right there."

9) Henderson broke Ty Cobb's career record for runs scored with a home run. After taking his usual 45 seconds or so around the bases, Rickey slid into home plate.

10) The morning after the Red Sox finished their 2004 World Series sweep against St. Louis, Henderson called someone in the organization looking for tickets to Game 6 at Fenway Park.

11) The Mets were staying in a hotel less than a mile from Cinergy Field in Cincinnati. While some players walked, most took the team bus. A few minutes after they arrived - again it was less than a mile - the last players off the bus noticed a stretched limo that had just pulled up.Of course, Rickey emerged from the back seat.

12) A few weeks into Henderson's stint with the Mariners, he walked up to John Olerud at the batting cage and asked him why he wore a batting helmet in the field. Olerud explained that he had an aneurysm at nine years old and he wore the helmet for protection. Legend goes that Henderson said, "Yeah, I used to play with a guy that had the same thing."Legend also goes that Olerud said, "That was me, Rickey."Henderson played with Olerud on the Blue Jays and the Mets.

13) Rickey was asked if he had the Garth Brooks album with Friends in Low Places and Henderson said, "Rickey doesn't have albums. Rickey has CDs."

14) In the late 1980s, the Yankees sent Henderson a six-figure bonus check. After a few months passed, an internal audit revealed the check had not been cashed. Current Yankees GM Brian Cashman - then a low-level nobody with the organization - called Rickey and asked if there was a problem with the check. Henderson said, "I'm just waiting for the money market rates to go up."

15) In June 1999, when Henderson was playing with the Mets, he saw reporters running around the clubhouse before a game. He asked a teammate what was going on and he was told that Tom Robson, the team's hitting coach, had just been fired. Henderson said, "Who's he?"

16) During one of his stays with Oakland, Henderson's locker was next to Billy Beane's. After making the team out of spring training, Beane was sent to the minors after a few months. Upon his return, about six weeks later, Henderson looked at Beane and said, "Hey, man, where have you been? Haven't seen you in awhile."

17) In the last week of his lone season with the Red Sox, Chairman Tom Werner asked Henderson what he would like for his 'going-away' gift. Henderson said he wasn't going anywhere, but he would like owner John Henry's Mercedes. Werner said it would be tough to get the same make and model in less than a week and Henderson said, "No, I want his car." Turns out the Sox got Henderson a Red Thunderbird and when he saw it on the field before the last game of the season, Rickey said, "Whose ugly car is on the field?"

NHL Winter Classic at Stadium

"Don Renzulli, senior vice president of events for the NHL, said league officials will start touring possible sites for the next big outdoor game soon, after the NHL All-Star Game Jan. 25. And Yankee Stadium is expected to be high on the list, as it has been the past two years." Source
_______________________________
We just realized we never posted any news on A.J Burnett at the time of the signing. So if Giambi Mustache Squad is your only source of sporting news, Burnett is a starter!

Recession? New Prez? NAH, the New York Times is covering Staches!

The New York Times ran a feature story this week on the growing popularity of mustaches, and they mentioned ex-Yankee Jason Giambi as a key factor in the resurgence of the 'stache! My sources tell me that they ran this story on the front page (my source is a shirtless man carrying a briefcase that I ran into at Penn Station). They even have a slideshow on the site that includes the Big G, Selleck, and Brad Pitt. FYI, Brad Pitt's mustache is a result of his work on the new Quentin Tarantino movie Inglorious Bastards. As a former Tarantino fan, I can only hope that this movie is better than Death Proof. I would rank Death Proof as almost as good as Hotel For Dogs. I have not seen the latter, but I assume it is better than Death Proof.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/fashion/08CODES.html?_r=3

Birthday Party Giambi Style

Giambi was at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino’s Wasted Space, celebrating his 38th birthday with his wife and friends. Source

____________________________

Looking at that mustache brings a tear to my eye. Big thanks to Brian over at www.vegasnews.com for keeping us up-to-date with Giambi sightings in Sin City.

Sorry, Wyoming!

Well, after a full day of voting, it appears I stand corrected. Wyomingians LOVE the Yankees. According to ESPN, 42% of all voters from Wyoming think the Yanks will win the East this year. By the way, as of 11:00 PM, 274 people from Wyoming voted. Compared to 17,428 in NY, 12,523 in Massachusetts, 1,228 in Nebraska, and 252 in ALASKA. Dead last out of all 50 states. Even those crazy internationals voted more. Do you hear that Selig? I think it's time for an expansion team in Cheyenne (that is the capital of Wyoming. I had to Google it). The Yankees now have the support of 43 states!
_________________________________________________________________
Also, some thought on today's events: anyone have any ideas for Carl Pavano nicknames now that he is in Cleveland? I came up with two: Carl Mays-Hayes, or Terrible Carl Pavano. I think both are pretty good.
__________________________________________________________________
One final note, if you live in the Newark, NJ area, they will be introducing their new manager tomorrow, ex-Yankee Tim Raines. Here is the press release:

PRESS CONFERENCE SET FOR WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7
The Newark Bears will hold a press confernece on Wednesday, January 7, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. at the Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium in Newark, New Jersey. The Newark Bears will join state, county, and city officials to welcome former MLB All-Star and Hall of Fame candidate Tim Raines as the team’s new manager, along with former major leaguers Mike Torrez as pitching coach, Ron Karkovice as hitting coach, and Tony Ferrara as the bench coach. Former professional babesball player Mark Skeels will also be introduced as the new general manager. The team’s new ownership, the Bases Loaded Group LLC, will also unveil the team’s turn-back-the-clock uniforms and discuss their vision for the Newark Bears.All fans, sponsors, and media are invited to attend this event.

When you drive by the stadium, the scoreboard has a big sign saying to come meet Tim Raines. So I don't know, maybe you get to shake his hand or get his autograph or something. Don't take my word on that though, I could be wrong.