Yardbarker: Brian Giles

Boston claims Brian Giles off waivers

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:37:23 -0500

The Red Sox have claimed Padres outfielder Brian Giles off the waiver wire. Giles is 37 years-old and is putting up some pretty good numbers: .296 AVG, with a .391 OBP. Unfortunately the Sox more than likely did this just to stop the Angels and Rays from getting Giles (they're the only 2 teams with better records.) The Rays would probably try to get Giles to fill their needs in the outfield and add a healthy dose of OBP to their lineup. If this isn't the case and the Red Sox are trying to add another outfielder to their roster (Bay, Ellsbury, Drew, Crisp, AND Giles?), they'll have some hurdles to overcome. The first is that Giles has a no-trade clause in his contract that includes 10 teams, with Boston being one of them. Once you get past that, adding him to the already crowded outfield creates a huge logjam. It just doesn't make much sense for the Sox to actually work out a trade for Brian Giles. In any case, the Padres and Red Sox now have 48 hours to try and work out a potential trade.

Giles claimed off waivers

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:42:54 -0500

Ken Rosenthal at FoxSports.com is reporting San Diego Padres rightfielder Brian Giles has been claimed off waivers.

MLB Sleepers of the Week - Week 19

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 07:22:32 -0500

Screaming Sports' Andrew Thibodeau breaks out another edition of MLB Sleepers and runs down a quick list of potential needles (in a haystack - get it?) for the upcoming week. So, who could surprise some unsuspecting opponents this week? Only one way to find out ... click it.

AS THE BAY TURNS

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:37:43 -0500

As trade deadlines go, this year's version has been pretty awesome. Look at all the big names changing teams: Ken Griffey Jr., Rich Harden, Ivan Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, and Mark Teixiera, to name a few.

But as a Pirate fan, we've become accustomed to Dave Littlefield having demands deemed by opposing GMs as way too high, followed by a price-slash panic near the deadline that brought us returns like Bobby Hill for Aramis Ramirez in the past. We are conditioned to dread this time of year.

Fortunately, Neil Huntington has been much more efficient (or so it appears) in his first trading deadline, so much to the point that Dejan Kovacevic said "...there seems to be this growing sense that it is the Pirates really dictating this process," when discussing the Bay deal. So that gives Pirate fans a small (*just a small) glimmer of hope for some better decision-making in the future.

The current buzz has ManRam approving the trade, coupled with the news of Peter Gammons suggesting the Marlins want the Sox to pony up as much as $9 million to cover more of Ramirez's salary. Of course, as I type this, I hear Jayson Stark at 1:44 PM on ESPN saying this is close to a dead deal.

Stay tuned for more updates, as we've got about two hours to go until the non-waiver deadline. Remember, trades do go down after the deadline, as witnessed by Brian Giles going to San Diego on August 26, 2003.

PBC Blog [PG]

THE PIRATES CANNOT BE STOPPED

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:04:32 -0500

Any Pirate win is cause for celebration; four in a row and Mayor Luke might be planning a parade downtown next week. Is it any sweeter when the defeated San Diego Padres sport a lineup featuring former Buccos Jody Gerut (who made $111,111.11 per at-bat with the Pirates) and Brian "The Human Tan" Giles? Me thinks yes.

But the story of the night was Pirate pitcher/Cuban defector Yoslan Herrera, who, to this point, evoked no memories of countryman El Duque in his prime. That's usually the case when your ERA is 19.50.

The Padres are in no way to be confused with, say, the 1927 Yankees, but a win is a win is a win. Is a win. Especially when the final score is 9-1 and the team you beat is a MLB-worst 38-65. Hey, better to beat those teams than lose to them, right?

Herrera threw six innings, surrendering six hits, one walk and one run while striking out four. His ERA is now under 10. Raise the jolly roger.

Tonight's matchup is the long-anticipated showdown between RHP Cha Seung Baek (2-5, 4.66) and LHP Zach Duke (4.7, 4.92). And if that's not enough for you to buy a ticket, how about a free Al Oliver bobblehead?

Pirates roll past Padres to win fourth in a row [PG]

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A Cut Above the Rest

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:59:12 -0500

On the day the Bush administration announced its opposition to tobacco regulation, we honor MLB's big dippers. In collaboration with a fantastic new dip enthusiast site, RipDips.com, we present our favorite players at each position who are unashamed to pack a fatty on national television.

THIS WEEK'S ACTIVITIES

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:38:40 -0500

As always, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve for this week's features. And by features, I mean posts that aren't recaps of news items or link dumps.

First off, we're kicking off a new series: "The Legacy Of..."

I will present a prominent Pittsburgh Pirate, Penguin, or Steeler who moved on to greener pastures and discuss the pros and cons of their legacies. I'll solicit a few "expert" opinions and close each installment with a poll on whether you have pleasant or unpleasant memories of said athlete.

Subjects will include but not be limited to: Marian Hossa, Jaromir Jagr, Ryan Malone, Barry Bonds, Kordell Stewart, Neil O'Donnell, Rod Woodson, and Brian Giles. Should be a lot of fun.

Next up, I'm going to conduct a one-day experiment of being a full-time blogger with Blogger Fantasy Camp. Basically, I'm going to take a day off of work and devote an entire 9-to-5 shift to Mondesi's House posts. Just constant updates, links, and news the entire day. Thursday is the rough target date for this grand experiment.

Other than that, I'm sure we'll find some ways to pass the time together. As always, your suggestions are welcome at mondesishouse@gmail.com.

VIDEO - Brian Giles crashes into wall after catch

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:19:53 -0500

It's a "gotta see video" where San Diego Padres OF Brian Giles makes the catch and crashes into the wall at full speed.

DePodesta gives his unbiased thoughts about Brian Giles

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:56:15 -0500

I gotta hand it to Paul DePodesta. For being a guy who has ridden Billy Beane's coat tails right into sunny San Diego he puts together one heck of a blog. At the link below he discusses what went in to deciding that Brian Giles is unavailable at the trade deadline and what his plans are for the team moving forward.

Trade Rumors July 11th

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:43:55 -0500

The San Diego Padres will be in sale mode, there ofers are SP Randy Wolf,SP Greg Maddux and OF Brian Giles.OF Raul Ibanez is the the New York Mets biggest trade target, they can not go after a Holliday or a Bay because they do no have the prospects to trade.There are other rumors that the Florida Marlins are interested in aquiring OF Willy Taveras from the Colorado Rockies and the Minnesota Twins have talked to the Mariners about 3B Adrian Beltre

The Dream Doubleheader…

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:51:27 -0500

A few of us on the Fan-Sided Blog network decided to ponder the best sports doubleheader… During a regular season game, the San Diego Chargers record 12 sacks against Tom Brady, who will miss the remainder of the regular season with a broken uterus, and shut out the New England Patriots 56-0. LaDainian Tomlinson pounded the Patriots by scorching them for 405 all-purpose yards, including over 200 on the ground. Philip Rivers lit up the defense, passing for four touchdowns, gaining 327 yards. He also ran for a score and drop kicked a field goal. Shortly after the game, a party bus took a select few to downtown San Diego where the Padres hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game Four in the National League Championship Series. Joe Torre's boys in blue hammered the Friars 25-0 and completed the sweep, advancing to their first World Series since 1988. Brad Penny was nearly perfect, tossing a no-hitter, allowing only one walk. In the walk, Penny seemed confused as to why outfielder Brian Giles came to bat with his adult diaper on the outside of his pants. Catcher Russell Martin hit three home runs and had 12 RBI on his way to earning the NLCS MVP. In a rare twist, Steve Garvey came out of retirement and scored on a throwing error to first, second, third and finally home. After the game, Garvey ripped down his number from Petco Park, still confused as to why the Padres organization had it up there in the first place. It was one special day for the Dodgers. Check out what my comrades wrote at FanSided.com.

A.J.: THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES ARE MY EX-GIRLFRIENDS

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:46:27 -0500

by A.J.

from 105.9 The X

So far this Pirates season hasn't exactly incited the fever of a pennant race, but at least the Bucs have been flirting with that ever-elusive .500 mark for awhile now. As far as Pittsburgh baseball goes, that's kind of like a pennant race. A sad and demented pennant race, but we'll inhale a deep breath of mediocrity whenever we can sniff it. When the Pirates last had a season ending record above .500, I was just a single young man away for my first year of college, full of piss and vinegar. These days I'm still a single man, but in my 30s and mostly full of just piss.

I don't really complain about bachelor life because it isn't for lack of trying. Much like the Bucs' quest to draft a blue chip player, I've just never found the perfect mate. When it comes to girlfriends I've made plenty of bad personnel decisions, let too many talented prospects slip by, and didn't have the payroll to keep the ones I really wanted. I am the Dave Littlefield of dating.

Lately, I've come to realize that my dating life for the past 15 years and Pittsburgh Pirates baseball mirror each other in a strange and somewhat symbolic way. I think some of my ex-girlfriends are very much like ex-Pittsburgh Pirates. Here are a few of the women that I have dated and their Pirate player equivalent.

The Bitter Break Up
She's the girl who still causes your blood pressure to increase with just the mere mention of her name. Your relationship was both rocky and passionate. When things were good between you, they were really good. When things were bad, they were just plain ugly. After one last tumultuous fight, she leaves you for a guy with more money… or better looks… or who has less of a criminal record. You rejoice years later when you see that she got fat and has four kids to three different fathers.

The Ex-Girlfriend - Her name was Jenn (with two N's). She was attractive. Like, out of my league attractive. She was also high maintenance and loved to argue. I was willing to look past her surliness because of her obvious "talents", but eventually she grew tired of me and moved on to date a new guy (who I'm pretty sure had a sizable trust fund). Regardless, it did make me feel warm inside years later when I found out that she became a stripper to support a coke habit.

The Ex-Pirate - Barry Bonds

We loved him (Perhaps the greatest pure talent to wear a Pirates uniform). We hated his attitude (He threw a pizza at poor RJ Reynolds). We'll never forgive him for that lousy throw (it was Sid Bream for crying out loud). Eventually he left us for more money and took his demons with him. While it feels great to boo him, the little steroid problem and his lack of a World Series ring are icing on our hateful cake… but we're not bitter.

The Party Girl
She was the life of the party. The girl you called at 2AM and she always picked up the phone. Your relationship with her involved both copious amounts of alcohol and nudity. Your time together was fast, furious, and lasted about as long as an Adam LaRoche hitting streak. She never met your mother.

The Ex-Girlfriend – Her name was Kristy. She was a bleach blond part time waitress at Hooters. Everybody liked her. Our relationship consisted of drinking four or five nights a week and then hooking up afterwards. I knew she'd been around the block a few times, but it didn't bother me. Aside from the wretched shots of Sambuca she would buy me, she was truly the perfect girlfriend. However, it had to end before my liver filed for divorce. So as quickly as it started, it ended with no hard feelings between us. She had another happy hour to go to and I had an AA meeting to attend.

The Ex-Pirate - Kenny Lofton.

Everybody loved Kenny. Speaking of having been around the block, you look up the term journeyman in the baseball dictionary and it says "See: Kenny Lofton". He was one of the few past-their-prime free agents that ended up being fairly productive during his stint in a Bucco's uniform, but it didn't last. There were other teams out there for him to play for. He'd already been around the league with the Astros, Braves, Indians, White Sox, and Giants. So, off he went to the Cubs (then the Yankees, Phillies, Dodgers, Rangers, etc.).

The Bitch
We've all dated one and afterwards scratched our heads and wondered why we put up with her for so long. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Perhaps we mistook her bad attitude as moxy. Regardless, things were better without her and as we found out after she was gone, none of our friends liked her either.

The Ex-Girlfriend – Jen (with one N). I was somehow deceptively convinced that she was the perfect woman and carried on a relationship with her for months. It wasn't until after we broke up that I realized the amount of misery she had inflicted. Not only did she spend most of her time complaining about my apartment, clothes, friends, car, etc., but she also managed to give most of my baseball card collection to her little brother and throw away my high school letter jacket. She still owes me $350. Considering she borrowed it in 1998, I don't think I'll be getting repaid anytime soon.

The Ex-Pirate – Jason Kendall

Jason Kendall had us fooled. We thought he was the player we couldn't live without. We thought he was the heart and soul of the team. Perhaps we thought wrong. While he was perceived as a "leave nothing on the field" type of player, he also was a clubhouse cancer. Notorious for greeting new players to the team with a hearty "Welcome to Hell", he was also perturbed by Jack Wilson's youthful enthusiasm, and built a shrine in his buddy Pat Meares' locker as a display of disgust towards team management. As a predominately single-hitting catcher, he was paid a power hitter's salary and for years his bloated contract prevented the financially strapped Pirates from spending on other more pressing needs. And to think, we actually felt bad about that ankle injury.

The Ex That You Got Back Together With
You used to date her and then split up. After she was gone, you realized that you missed her. Why not give it another chance? It has to be better the second time. It wasn't.

The Ex-Girlfriend – Her name was Dana. We dated during college for a few months before we decided to call it quits. She would be spending a semester studying in France, while I spent a semester in a Milwaukee's Best induced stupor perfecting the spin move on NHL '95 for Sega. She returned from her semester abroad and we decided to give it another shot, but things weren't the same the second time around. She kept comparing everything to Europe and I kept thinking about how much I preferred Sega.

The Ex-Pirate – Joe Randa

In 1997, the Pirates acquired The Joker as part of a trade that sent Jeff King and Jay Bell to Kansas City. He hit a respectable .302 with 60 RBIs during that season (which also happened to be the last time the Bucs were in any kind of a pennant race). So naturally, the Pirates decided to leave him unprotected in the expansion draft the following year; they then watched him get picked up by Arizona and promptly traded to Detroit. Obviously undervalued his first time in Pittsburgh, the Pirates brought him back to play third base in 2006 (Randa banked $4 million bucks for the one year deal). The only problem was that the second time around he wasn't quite the same player. Yet, the Pirates continued to start him ahead of a promising young prospect named Freddy Sanchez. Fortunately for Freddy, Joe Randa suffered an injury (probably while on the way to a buffet) that allowed Sanchez to finally see some playing time and subsequently go on to win the NL batting title.

The Tease
She loved the attention and led you on just enough to make you keep coming back, but just when things started to get good, she always got cold. There was always a "wait until next time" or "not right now". You kept trying in hopes of hitting pay dirt, but the day never came.

The Ex-Girlfriend – Heather. She was a cute cocktail waitress at Rosebud who I probably never would have even had to courage to ask out had she not offered me her phone number. She would constantly flirt and toy with me. Foolishly, I spent nearly two months pursuing her with nothing to show for it. Dinners, backstage passes to concerts, and tickets to a Penguins playoff game all wasted. I was the equivalent of Butters at Raisins. It wasn't until after I finally gave up that a friend of hers told me that Heather already had a boyfriend… who she happened to live with.

The Ex-Pirate – Oliver Perez

Ollie came to town as part of the Brian Giles trade. In his first full season with the Bucs, he looked like he would lead us to the Promised Land by ringing up 239 strike outs with a 2.39 ERA. Then the wheels started to come off. He became wildly inconsistent over the next few seasons, showing moments of brilliance followed by long stretches of ineptitude. By the time the Pirates unloaded him in 2006, he was sporting a record of 2-10 as a starter and had an ERA of 6.63. Now he gives Mets fans the same fits he gave us.

The Girl Who Was Batsh*t Insane
This one is pretty self explanatory. Most of us will admit that women can be a little crazy at times. However, there is always that one girl who is crazy miles beyond all the others.

The Ex-Girlfriend – Janey. I should have known she was a little off when I met her (she had crashed a wedding that I was attending). In the very short time we were together; she threatened to never speak to me again because she did not like the website of the company I worked for, refused to ride in my car after she found out that I had fixed my own brakes (presumably because I lack the proper A.S.E. certification), once changed her mind on where we should eat three different times in the same evening (twice after having already been seated in two different restaurants), and accused me of installing a "secret program" on her home computer so that I could spy on her email. Then on the second date…

The Ex-Pirate – Raul Mondesi

Despite having a namesake blog being his only legacy to his time in Pittsburgh, Raul Mondesi does have the dubious distinction of possibly being the most dysfunctional player in a franchise overflowing with dysfunctional players. Think of it, Doc Ellis' no hitter on acid, Dale Berra's cocaine encrusted mustache, and Derek Bell's Operation Shutdown somewhat pale in comparison to the madness of the Legend of Mondesi. After signing a deal with the Pirates, he managed to find a way out of his contract by claiming that his home in the Dominican Republic was under siege by gunmen. So, the Bucs shredded his contract. Ten days later, he had a new deal with the Anaheim Angels. Since his last stint in the majors, Raul has been fined for stealing electricity and now is a politician representing the Dominican Revolutionary Party. To quote Chuck Noll, it's obvious he's gone on with his life's work. On the Island of Misfit Toys known as the Pittsburgh Pirates, he is the Charlie in The Box.

MORE A.J.:

THE OFFICIAL PLAYLIST OF THE NHL PLAYOFFS

THE GOAL SONG: When Hockey Becomes a Rock Concert

The Ballad of Cotton Eyed Joe

The Greatest Defunct Places to Suffer Hearing Loss in Pittsburgh

Quick Hits: Sabathia, Giles, Cordero, Cardinals

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:28:58 -0500

Quick Hits:

CC Sabathia is drawing serious interest from the Brewers, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. The Brewers need an ace to replace Sheets bringing in Sabathia for the end of the season could give them the push they need. Imagine a team with both Sabathia and Sheets.
Brian Giles' time as a Padre could be running out. According to the NY Sun, the Angels and and Dodgers are interested in bringing in the outfielder for the end of the season. Giles is a good second half hitter and should give any team a much needed boost.
Chad Cordero is out for the season and the Nationals are now scrambling for a new closer. There are several low risk options they could bite on, but it might be time to find a new closer for the future.
The Cardinals are looking to make a big splash and are eying Matt Holliday. It will cost them several prospects, but GM John Mozeliak has adopted a win now mentality that could push them past the Cubs with the addition of Holliday.

What was Willie thinking???

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 10:40:30 -0500

The scene: Mets and Padres tied at one in the bottom of the ninth inning. The players: Scott Schoeneweis and Willie Randolph. What happened: Schoeneweis walked Scott Hairston to start the inning. Allowable, as long as he gets out of it.

AccuScore: MLB Waiver Wire Wonders

Sat, 24 May 2008 00:25:05 -0500

If you play in a league that starts two catchers, you probably are constantly scouring the waiver wires for a solid number two option. It took a trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for AccuScore fantasy expert Tim Williams to decide that the second catcher really doesn't matter. This week's waiver wire wonders gives you better options who will do more for your team than guys like Yadier Molina.