Jason Giambi

Yankees slugger Jason Giambi admitted to Portfolio's Franz Lidz that when he goes into a slump he wears a lucky thong. Not a jockstrap. A thong. Sometimes when other Yankees go into slumps—like Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Johnny Damon, Robinson Cano and Robin Ventura—they've worn his tiger-striped thong too.

And here's how the papers and blogs headlined it over the weekend:  read more »

Joe Girardi’s decision to use Jason Giambi as his regular first baseman was anything but a no-brainer. Certainly, Giambi’s recent history argued against it.

Giambi is hoping that a doctor’s diagnosis and his first-ever winter that included running will allow him to be an exception to the rule that first basemen become designated hitters, then slowly fade away. And Girardi is clearly betting Giambi will be the exception to the rule, playing him at first base in each of his first three games as Yankee manager.

Since signing a seven-year, $120 million contract with the New York Yankees prior to the 2002 season, Giambi has been an increasingly irregular presence in the lineup, and seeing him in the field has been an even greater rarity. In his first two seasons with the Yankees, Giambi played in 313 of a possible 324 games, 97 percent, including 177 at first base. But in the past four seasons, Giambi played just 441 of 648 games, and just 211 of those at first base. Last year, Giambi appeared in just 18 games at first base, and often was replaced in the late innings for defense.  read more »

Players including prominent New York Yankees Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte were named in former U.S. Senator George Mitchell's comprehensive report on steroids use in baseball released Thursday afternoon.

Below is the complete list of players implicated in the report. Depth of evidence varies, of course: Brian Roberts was named by a teammate through hearsay, while the report contains cancelled checks from Paul Lo Duca along with a handwritten thank-you note on Dodger Stadium stationary.  read more »

• Edie Falco has just signed a lease on a four-bedroom home near Sag Harbor. Also, there is further evidence that Adelaide de Menil may be unloading her 40-acre estate, for $100 million. (New York Post)
• Democratic fund-raisers Carl Spielvogel and Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel have found a buyer for their $20 million apartment at 720 Park. In December, The Observer reported that the power couple were moving 10 floors below, and had put this apartment on the market. Also, Johnny Damon has been spotted at The Empire, the same luxury condominium that Jason Giambi calls home. Perhaps, Mr. Damon used our handy roundup for his apartment search. (New York)
• Lastly, a two-bedroom apartment is now on the market for a whopping $27.5 million! Well, it is at 740 Park (which calls for an obligatory comment from the building's biographer, Michael Gross). (New York Times)