Brian Giles Should Want To Win

By Nick McCann

After the Red Sox claimed Giles off waivers on Wednesday, the Pads and the Sox had 2 days to work out a trade. Giles had to agree to the trade because the Red Sox are among the eight teams he had put on his no-trade list when he and the Padres reached terms on a three-year contract.

Brian Giles, showing loyalty to his daughters (lame. His haircut will damage them more than living across the country for a few months), decided against accepting a trade to the Boston Red Sox that would have saved the Padres anywhere from $2.75 million to $6 million.

Besides the fact that the Padres are in their all too familiar “save money because we don’t give a shit about our fans” mode, it is disturbing to think about what San Diego, in the baseball sense, has become: a retirement home for over the hill ball players on their way out, who want to bask in the warm heat of mediocrity (or below. Trevor Hoffman will want another contract this winter, but he won't want to be an 8th inning guy for Mario Rivera next year) before riding off in the sunset.

Giles is 37 years old and he would rather watch his daughters become obnoxious pre-teens than go win a ring. Sure, he would probably be what Dave Roberts was when he left the Pads to go the Sox, but at least he would be in the position to fulfill a slightly disappointing career. Giles was the big fish in a small pond in Pittsburgh. Then he came to San Diego where he was a decent sized fish in his home pond. Now he just wants to die here.

If the Brian Giles era (ha!) ended today, it would just consist of a few early playoff exits, a few hot months, and a worthless reuniting of El Cajon’s favorite douche bags that make up the Giles Brothers. I don’t want the Pads to save money, and I don’t want them to hold on to players who care more about their daughters than me. Sorry, kids of baseball players deserve to not have their Dads around, because they will always get better seats.