Giambi still can't escape boos in return to Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. — On the Safeco Field "Boo A-Rod Back to The Stone Age" Scale from last April, when jilted Mariners fans set the gold standard for expressing moral outrage over a departed icon, give the Oakland faithful a solid "7" for their Jason Giambi jeer-fest last night at Network Associates Coliseum.

While it lacked the pure, unadulterated, non-stop venom that spewed forth on that memorable day when Rodriguez returned to Seattle, a few unique touches marked Giambi's Oakland homecoming in the New York Yankees' 2-1 victory.

There were the fans behind the Yankees' dugout who hung Giambi bobblehead dolls in effigy as he stepped onto the field for the first time — fashionably late for stretching, allowing his assembled teammates to gape in amusement and amazement as the fans let him have it, with feeling.

There was the "typo" on the scoreboard when his name was called during lineup introductions — Jason Jiambi. Someone's hand just slipped, of course. Yeah, that's the ticket.

And then there was the intro by long-time P.A. announcer Roy Steele when Giambi came to the plate for the first time in the second inning. "Now batting ... (Steele drew out the next words slowly, with evident disdain) for the New York Yankees, Jason Giambi."

If you want to go back far enough, there was the commercial that ran this week on the Athletics' flagship television station, promoting the Yankees broadcasts. Manager Joe Torre was relaxing in his hotel room earlier in the day, innocently watching sitcoms, when it came on. It started with a shot of Giambi's portrait on a fireplace mantel. The camera then panned down to show two books on the shelf: "Greed" and "Benedict Arnold."

"I don't think that's fair," Torre said. "For me, that's disappointing."

Of course, A's fans didn't think it was fair when Giambi talked about wanting to win titles in Oakland, then took $120 million from George Steinbrenner to infiltrate the Bronx Zoo. Sound vaguely familiar?

A's fans thought it was disappointing when Giambi extolled their virtues at his introductory Yankees news conference, then went on the "Late Show with David Letterman" a few days later to list the Top 10 reasons he signed. No. 1: "Have you ever been to Oakland?"

"I just read off a list," he said defensively. "They wanted me to be funny, top to bottom. It was a joke, because this place will always have a special place in my heart."

Giambi, who makes his first Yankees appearance in Seattle on Friday, had predicted a mixed reaction. Wrong. It was 100 percent, straightforward, unambiguous booing from the crowd of 40,360, accessorized with the obligatory sea of scornful posters. "Sellout" seemed to be the operative word, as in, "There's No 'A' in sellout."

"There was a lot of booing, but it was done in a good way," Giambi said. "They were letting their feelings go, and that's OK. I understand, I guess. Well, maybe not.

"I knew they'd boo. I was hoping more people would appreciate what I accomplished and the community service I did. But by no means did it crush me."

When Carlos Pena, Giambi's first-base successor, batted in the third, fans chanted, "MVP! MVP!" The other beneficiary was Jeremy Giambi, the brother who stayed. Banners throughout the stadium extolled his virtues ("Our Giambi is Better") and his every move was greeted with thunderous applause.

The Giambis, who talk virtually every day, had gone to dinner the previous night to catch up on old times. While Jeremy has been a huge hit as the A's unorthodox leadoff man, sporting a .353 average, .457 on-base percentage and the distinction of reaching base in every Oakland game, Jason has been scuffling in his new job as King of Manhattan.

Entering the game, he was hitting .263, with four homers, 10 runs batted in and a team-high 21 strikeouts, lackluster numbers that have already earned him hearty boos at Yankee Stadium, where he is hitting .206. Recently, Toronto Manager Buck Martinez walked Derek Jeter intentionally to bring up Giambi with two outs and the bases loaded in the ninth inning. He struck out.

"When he first got to Yankee Stadium, I felt he was pressing a little bit, but who wouldn't, coming to a team that is so successful and has the Mecca the Yankees have," Jeremy Giambi said. "You want to impress those guys when they're chanting, "Tino" out there. Tino had to do the same thing when they were chanting for (Don) Mattingly.

"It would be hard not to press a little bit. He'll be fine. He's going to win over fans; he's an unbelievable player. When it's all said and done, I'm sure he'll be one of the best Yankees to play."

For now, Jason Giambi talks about trying to "feel comfortable in his own skin," which yesterday had to be crawling as he braced himself for the abuse. He grounded out into the mouth of the Giambi shift in his first at-bat against Tim Hudson, then struck out looking at a breaking pitch in the fourth. In the seventh, on a full-count pitch from Hudson, he laced an opposite-field double, then scored on Jorge Posada's two-run homer. He singled in the ninth.

Of his contract dispute with the A's, which dated to the refusal by management to include a no-trade clause in the six-year, $93 million offer that Giambi was ready to agree to, he said: "I never tried to make it personal."

Fans, it seems, make no such distinction. Last night in Oakland, it was highly personal.