Born on this date in 1971 was outfielder Brian Giles who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1999 until 2003. He was an amateur draft pick of the Cleveland Indians in 1989 and it took until 1995 for him to make his major league debut. He played four seasons in Cleveland, hitting .284 with 39 homers in 299 games before they traded him to the Pirates on November 18, 1998 in exchange...

Sponsored Post: The San Diego Padres are coming off a bit of a rough season, but with lots of changes happening to teams all over the league, the landscape will be pretty different this coming season, which may open the door for a better campaign for the Padres. Soon it will be time for prepare for this coming season by updating your satellite packages to make sure you get all of...

While we’ve spent the last few days talking about the Hall of Fame, and this post is somewhat inspired by discussions about Edgar Martinez‘s worthiness for enshrinement in Cooperstown, this isn’t really a post about whether or not he deserves induction. I get why people are hesitant to vote for a guy who spent most of his career at DH, had a relatively short career, and who...

The Hall of Very Good had the chance to speak with ex-MLBer Kris Benson. Naturally, among the topics discussed: his marriage to the flamboyant and outspoken Anna, who is currently starring on Baseball Wives.

On this date in 1998 the Pittsburgh Pirates traded pitcher Ricardo Rincon to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Brian Giles. The trade was a one-sided win for the Pirates as Giles was an all-star outfielder and Rincon was a lefty reliever, who pitched 207 games for the Indians but only amassed 154.1 innings over four seasons and his last two years there his ERA was well over 4...

I follow Chuck Knoblauch on Twitter (Ed. note: follow me @LastAngryFan), and for the most part the ex-Yankees second baseman is cordial, engaging, and not the least bit controversial with his tweets.  If Chuck Knoblauch’s verified Twitter account was an ice cream, it’d be vanilla.  Which is why I was shocked, to say the least, when I came across this rather odd, profane...

Sometimes with Twitter it is pretty obvious when an athlete tweets something controversial or by accident and then uses the hacked excuse to clean it up. In this particular case of Chuck Knoblauch it isn’t so clear, just reading his previous tweets this sort of vile comment seems to come out of left field (no pun intended).  Experience tells us that Twitter sometimes is a...

The Pittsburgh Pirates are in town this week for a three-game series against the Astros. The 2011 Pirates are almost 20 games better than the Astros. For 17 years the Pirates were a laughing stock. For 17 years they could not manage a winning record and virtually every time a quality player came through the organization, he was dealt before he could command a huge contract. It...

If you're in a Pirate-related funk today (and if you're a Pirate fan, you are), then perhaps you'll enjoy Chris Jaffe's look back on the career of Matt Stairs, one of my favorite three true outcomes players of all time, for the Hardball Times. Well, except the Pirate portion of his career isn't terribly cheery: Aug. 20, 2003: For the second time in his career...

Every year there is a ton of hype surrounding the trade deadline, but the big misconception is that teams can no longer make trades after 4:00 PM on July 31st.  Teams can, in fact, make trades after the July 31st deadline.  It’s just not as simple. The big advantage to making deals prior to the July 31st deadline is that there are no restrictions on deals that can be made...

Cheri Olvera’s request for a new trial against former Padres outfielder Brian Giles has been tentatively denied by a San Diego Superior Court judge.

Cheri Olvera’s request for a new trial against former Padres outfielder Brian Giles has been tentatively denied by a San Diego Superior Court judge.

McCutchen is one of the most valuable players in baseball. Andrew McCutchen might be the first true star player the Pirates have had since Barry Bonds.  Brian Giles was good.  Jason Bay was good.  But McCutchen?  He could be great.  He’s already good.  That’s been obvious since the moment he stepped foot in the majors. In his rookie year, McCutchen hit the ground...

I've been at PNC Park for some crazy moments. I was there for the infamous Rob Mackowiak home runs during a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs. I was there to see Brian Giles make the catch of the decade over the left field fence. None of those compared to what I experienced at PNC last night against the Cubs. There was the patented wild inning by Jose Veras where a lead...

What the heck happened over the last two weeks? Did Billy Beane take over the Dodgers or something? Alright, let me take you back for a minute. Here's a quick rundown on the roster shakedown that is going on in DodgerTown. In less than two weeks Lance (the biggest waste of space) Cormier was designated for assignment, as was Travis Schlichting. Really these guys were far from...

What is it about pregnant ladies that makes athletes want to punch them so badly? Brian Giles of the San Diego Padres (allegedly) slapped his pregnant girlfriend in the face, shook and kicked her, and battered her into a miscarriage. This was caught on alleged video tape, where we could allegedly watch him do it. Elijah Dukes has been arrested for pretty much everything, including...

When the Padres are back east (yeah, Houston and Chicago count as “back east” in my book — right there with Santee), it’s difficult for me to watch games so I can’t offer any real analysis. I can imagine Tim Stauffer and Dustin Moseley having a brief conversation after the Padres’ 1-0 loss to the Cubs on Monday: Tim: Dude, I totally got Moseleyed...

Brian Giles won the civil suit brought by his ex-girlfriend, as the jury found the pair equally at fault: A juror who gave his name as Charles, 56, said the jury viewed the domestic violence portion of the case as “mutual combat” between two. Both sides’ claims of domestic violence “canceled each other out,” he said. The jury decided by a 9-3 margin...

The civil trial of Brian Giles ended Friday when a San Diego jury awarded a victory to the former Padres outfielder over the ex-girlfriend who originally sued him for more than $10 million in 2008.

The civil trial of Brian Giles ended Friday when a San Diego jury awarded a victory to the former Padres outfielder over the ex-girlfriend who originally sued him for more than $10 million in 2008.

A final verdict was delayed Friday morning in the bitter he-said, she-said civil trial between former Padres outfielder Brian Giles and his ex-girlfriend.The jury reached its verdict Thursday evening, and judge Jeffrey Barton scheduled its reading for 8:30 a.m. Barton then delayed the reading in court because at least one juror was late.Check back for updates on the courtroom developments...

Had there been an unlikely comeback on yesterday’s slate of games, it would have served as the subject of my lead-in. Since no teams were kind enough to supply one, let’s forgo a lead-in and dive right into the wacky world of win expectancy. Baseball Prospectus houses win expectancy tables for all years over the Retrosheet Era (1954-2010), and The Hardball Times provides...

Here's Brent Schrotenboer, who's making his career covering this trial like Star Jones did with O.J., writing in the San Diego Union-Tribune:More »

The jury now must decide the issues. Check out the autographed baseball.

The jury now must decide the issues. Check out the autographed baseball.