Carlos' Corner: A model player
Peña hopes to pick Giambi's brain this week
By Carlos Peña / Special to MLB.com

Carlos Peña, a 23-year-old rookie heralded as one of the top
prospects in the game, was acquired by Oakland during the offseason
in a six-player trade with Texas. He's replacing Jason Giambi as the
A's first baseman and is providing for MLB.com an exclusive daily
diary for the 2002 season.

Before Tuesday's night game against the Yankees, Peña pondered
Giambi's first visit back to Oakland as an opponent and offered his
thoughts.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- This is an exciting series for me in a number of
ways. First of all, it's always nice to play the New York Yankees. So
much history, so much tradition. But it's also special because of
Jason Giambi coming back to Oakland.

Jason, in my opinion, is a model player, and I'm very much looking
forward to talking to him while he's here. I met him last year when I
was with Texas, but it was at first base, so there wasn't much time
to talk. It's funny, because you know you only have so much time over
there with him, so you're hoping for foul balls, for a deep count,
anything to extend the at-bat.

My brief experience with him was very positive. Jason is a good man.
So down-to-earth. He was very gracious with me, very willing to help
and give advice. And this is an opposing player, remember. But he was
more than happy to answer any of the questions I could cram into that
short amount of time.

I didn't get all of my questions in, though, and that's why I'm
looking forward to speaking with him again. I have so many topics
relating to hitting that I'd like to get his thoughts on, and
hopefully I can get them in a more calm environment this time. By
that I mean face-to-face, not during the game. Now that I'm here in
Oakland and I know his brother and some of his friends, maybe that
will help make it happen.

Jason is an amazing hitter. He's done everything you can do as a
hitter. He's challenged for batting titles, he's been a triple-crown
threat, he's won an MVP award. He's incredible. He's a model player,
and if I could be that kind of hitter consistently some day, that's
all I could possibly ask for. That's something I can dream about,
something I can work toward. He's already there.

As far as the angle about me "replacing" Jason in Oakland, I can't
think like that. I can't afford to be so selfish to think in those
terms. I don't give it that much thought at all. It's just not a good
focus for me to have, so I refuse to look at it that way.

In my mind, you don't "replace" Jason Giambi. You can't. So I don't
think about replacing anybody. I mean, if I had a team that lost a
player of Jason's caliber, I would never for a second think that I
could possibly replace him. There's only one Jason Giambi, right? So
move on without him, appreciate what he was and what he gave you, and
try to do your best from there.

The Jason Giambi Era in Oakland has ended. And it was a beautiful
thing, but all good things come to an end at some point, just as all
bad things do. Everything passes, and now Oakland is on to a new era
that hopefully will be just as exciting as it was when Jason helped
turned the team into a contender.

Now, about the fans' reaction to Jason. They will boo. We all know
that, and I understand why the fans in Oakland are upset with Jason
for leaving. I really do. And because I respect everyone's opinion,
I'm not going to say that people are right or wrong for booing or
cheering the man.

The people here lost someone very dear to them, someone they had
formed a bond with. So they're hurting, and booing is the outlet to
express that frustration, that pain. That's fine. That's
understandable. That's a part of the game these days.

But let me say this: When I hear my teammates talk about Jason, and
when I hear the fans talk about him, I can sense what a great
appreciation they have for what he did for this team and this
organization. So what I'd like to see before Jason leaves town is for
the crowd to express that appreciation just as they'll express their
frustration with his decision to go.

I would love to see the crowd give him some love. Maybe Thursday. Get
your booing out of the way, and on his last day here, let him know
how much you enjoyed him while he was here. Tell him you miss him in
a positive way. Give him a giant cheer -- a standing ovation -- every
time he hits on his last day here.

I think he deserves that. I think that would be so lovely. That would
be the ideal.

Carlos Peña's diary appears as told to Mychael Urban, who covers the
Oakland A's for MLB.com.