91 replies to this topic

[bsj]

Giles is blocking the deal.

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=3525421

With less than an hour to go before a 1:30 p.m. ET deadline, it appears Brian Giles will remain with the San Diego Padres.

The Boston Red Sox placed a waiver claim on the right fielder on Thursday, and were negotiating to acquire the 14-year veteran from the Padres.

However, Giles has a limited no-trade clause, and Boston is among the teams to which he cannot be traded without his permission.

Sources say that Giles wants to stay with the Padres and will veto the trade.

He has his reasons...but I am really curious as to what they are. Why was Boston on this list and not other East Coast teams.....

That said...i get the feeling that the reasons Boston was on the list initially may have very little to do with why he blocked the deal. He may just, at 37, not want to leave his family and San Diego.

Who knows.

Edited by bsj, 08 August 2008 - 11:54 AM.

[Caspir]

Wow, I guess he's no fan of the city of Boston. It's too bad because he would have been a great bat to have in the OF/DH rotation. I wonder what the Sox were looking to give for him? Seems strange that he is so opposed to moving to another team for such a short period of time. Makes you wonder if it's something he has against the organization/city in general, or if he really is just a West coast guy who doesn't want to uproot himself (or his family) for a few months to chase a ring? Or it could be as simple as The Flying Dutchman said, and he wants to be assured of a full time role to increase/maintain his value in case the Padres don't pick up his option.

Edited to add more

Edited by Caspir, 08 August 2008 - 11:56 AM.

[OCD SS]

Well, here's to hoping that the claim to block someone and not a move made out of serious need.

[Tito's Pullover]

He has his reasons...but I am really curious as to what they are.

He's potentially in a contract year with a team option for next year, and his desination team cannot guarantee him an everyday spot in the lineup. No hard feelings, it's business.

[bsj]

Well, here's to hoping that the claim to block someone and not a move made out of serious need.

I honestly think it was a bit of both....that said, despite the Giles veto....this whole affair has that silver lining, that it did keep him out of the hands of another team.

[bsj]

He's potentially in a contract year with a team option for next year, and his desination team cannot guarantee him an everyday spot in the lineup. No hard feelings, it's business.

No no...I understand that....I really just mean the reasons Boston was on that list in the first place. That said, its old news at this point...but still, curious.

[smastroyin]

All that and he loves San Diego itself which is why he signed there.

I can respect if he just wanted to stay in San Diego.

[cwright]

Giles is blocking the deal.

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=3525421

He has his reasons...but I am really curious as to what they are.

Pure speculation -- two possibilities:
1. He wants to play full-time, particularly since he's in a (possible) contract year.
2. He doesn't want to play in Boston's media circus.

Looks like a rather serious fellow:

[FelixMantilla]

If we still had chat we might be able to persuade him otherwise.

[5belongstoGeorge]

1) San Diego certainly has some advantages over Boston from a quality of life standpoint.
2) Career wise, being a full time player may help him get a better contract for the future.
or
a) Maybe he blocked the trade because he heard the Sox FO sometimes has "anonymous sources".
b) He was concerned about the possibility of being investigated by Bud Selig.
c) He wasn't willing to kill for Jason Varitek.
d) Traveling secretaries intimidate him.
e) He doesn't use toilet paper either.
f) He only runs full speed to first base.
g) He can never be sure which despicable behavior will sanctioned by the Boston Press Corp and which despicable behavior will be celebrated by the Boston Press Corp.

Edited by 5belongstoGeorge, 08 August 2008 - 12:14 PM.

[TheRooster]

All that and he loves San Diego itself which is why he signed there.

I can respect if he just wanted to stay in San Diego.

This is reasonable, but it does tell you a bit about his priorities. I mean, he can spend the next 30 years in SD, why not get a tast of high intensity baseball for a couple of months? And while he clearly is a talented guy, perhpas there is a reason he's spent most of his career on second division teams.

[sittingstill]

Looks like a rather serious fellow:

Only because they made him wear clothes.

USA Today

[RGREELEY33]

I guess he thinks the Red Sox don't deserve him

[BroodsSexton]

This is reasonable, but it does tell you a bit about his priorities. I mean, he can spend the next 30 years in SD, why not get a tast of high intensity baseball for a couple of months? And while he clearly is a talented guy, perhpas there is a reason he's spent most of his career on second division teams.

Yeah, the guy's never had a taste of "high intensity baseball." Being a ballplayer in San Diego is basically the same thing as working for $18/hr making sure that the tv channel is working.

EDIT:

Only because they made him wear clothes.

How can you link this article without giving some context:

"You get nervous when you see those guys come into the shower," says Young, a Princeton graduate. "Let's put it this way: You definitely don't close your eyes in there, even when you're shampooing."

So just what happened in there to make Young flee as if one of the Giles boys pulled a fire alarm?

"Ah, we just like to shave in there," Brian says, referring to their body hair, not their faces. "Chris, for some reason, thinks it's gross."

The Giles boys can be, well, a little different.

Edited by BroodsSexton, 08 August 2008 - 12:19 PM.

[Green Monster]

Any chance Giles and his agent are trying to leverage the situation, or is this completely dead now??

[JGray38]

This is reasonable, but it does tell you a bit about his priorities. I mean, he can spend the next 30 years in SD, why not get a tast of high intensity baseball for a couple of months? And while he clearly is a talented guy, perhpas there is a reason he's spent most of his career on second division teams.

He's played on 6 division winning teams in a 14 year career. He's had a taste or two.

[bankshot1]

Any chance Giles and his agent are trying to leverage the situation, or is this completely dead now??

Given the events of the past week, where the Sox paid $7MM for a player they didn't want to play for them how could an agent not think "how much will they pay for a guy they do want?"

I'm guessing : DEAD!

[URI]

He's played on 6 division winning teams in a 14 year career. He's had a taste or two.

But it wasn't in the Boston Pressure Cooker!!!

!!!!

[Pumpsie]

From what I read, he said previously that for him to OK a trade deal he would have to be in the plans of the new team for 2009 because he didn't want to get traded again to another city. I don't think the Sox could give him that assurance. I'll bet THAT was the deal-breaker and I can't blame him there. Too bad, would have been a great addition to the team and quite a coup for Theo.

[RingoOSU]

He's played on 6 division winning teams in a 14 year career. He's had a taste or two.

He's also a Edgar Renteria single and an Indian Run away from a Ring.

[E5 Yaz]

Any chance Giles and his agent are trying to leverage the situation?

A day after CHB exposed the investigation into the Boras/manny "conspiracy"? What agent would be foolish enough to attempt corruption against such forces of American truth and justice?

[BrooklynDog45]

Mental Peace, Boston just doesn't seem to have it.

[5belongstoGeorge]

Maybe his knees were bothering him? Did he get an MRI?

I find it "offensive" that a player wouldn't take a pay cut just for the opportunity to play in Boston.

Is there any word on how this is effecting Tito's health?

Edited by 5belongstoGeorge, 08 August 2008 - 12:37 PM.

[TomRicardo]

Given the events of the past week, where the Sox paid $7MM for a player they didn't want to play for them how could an agent not think "how much will they pay for a guy they do want?"

I'm guessing : DEAD!

What? Why would the Red Sox not want Giles to play for them? He would be an big upgrade to Ellsbury and Coco. With Manny gone it is much easier sticking Drew in CF. The Red Sox would not have even negotiated if they didn't want Giles. In fact this story would never have come out. It would have just been ignored with the million other waiver claims that go no where in August.

[Spacemans Bong]

I'm sure he wanted his option picked up, which the Red Sox weren't willing to do. There was a report that the Sox were trying to figure out a way he could move back to San Diego, and they probably couldn't do it legally since you can't just agree to trade a player back to his original team. Can't blame him - if San Diego wants to trade him then they probably don't want to pick up his option, and consequently he probably doesn't want to move twice in the space of a few months.

[Pumpsie]

From what I read, he said previously that for him to OK a trade deal he would have to be in the plans of the new team for 2009 because he didn't want to get traded again to another city. I don't think the Sox could give him that assurance. I'll bet THAT was the deal-breaker and I can't blame him there. Too bad, would have been a great addition to the team and quite a coup for Theo.

[bankshot1]

What? Why would the Red Sox not want Giles to play for them? He would be an big upgrade to Ellsbury and Coco. With Manny gone it is much easier sticking Drew in CF. The Red Sox would not have even negotiated if they didn't want Giles. In fact this story would never have come out. It would have just been ignored with the million other waiver claims that go no where in August.

I gotta remember to stick on smiley faces for the nuance-challenged.

My guess is the Sox wanted him as an additional bat /insurance and not a starting RF. And I guess Giles sees himself as a starter and not a role player. And yes Drew could play CF, and who knows maybe the Sox bounced that idea off Drew and perhaps he's prefer to play RF.

[Bowlerman9]

I'm sure he wanted his option picked up, which the Red Sox weren't willing to do. There was a report that the Sox were trying to figure out a way he could move back to San Diego, and they probably couldn't do it legally since you can't just agree to trade a player back to his original team. Can't blame him - if San Diego wants to trade him then they probably don't want to pick up his option, and consequently he probably doesn't want to move twice in the space of a few months.

I dont think this is the case. The best scenario would be for Boston to agree to decline the option and SD to assure him they will sign him at the end of the year for at least 6M. He would have to "live" in Boston for a span of 2 months plus (hopefully) 3-4 weeks of playoffs.

Maybe Boston wouldnt agree to decline the option. Maybe SD wouldnt assure him they would re-sign him. It just seems like there is more than meets the eye here.

[Bowlerman9]

And yes Drew could play CF, and who knows maybe the Sox bounced that idea off Drew and perhaps he's prefer to play RF.

Does that make sense? Why would Giles block a trade to Boston?

If Boston had/has in fact agreed to a trade for Giles, then the OF situation has already been determined by the Sox front office. Giles blocking a completed trade has nothing to do with Drew not wanting to move from RF.

Edited by Bowlerman9, 08 August 2008 - 12:51 PM.

[Green Monster]

A day after CHB exposed the investigation into the Boras/manny "conspiracy"? What agent would be foolish enough to attempt corruption against such forces of American truth and justice?

Who said anything about corruption? I was thinking along the lines of "I will veto the deal unless you make a deposit of X in my bank account, or you send hookers to my room, etc, etc"

[soPhisHticated]

Didn't want to move? 2 months is a long business trip. These guys spend 1/2 the time on the road anyway, and are all over the place in the offseason. It's not like he doesn't have the means to rough it in a suite at the Ritz for a few weeks.

Whatever. San Diego is 44-71. If he's not interested in playing for a winning organization and/or a shot at a ring (at age 37) and would rather just play out the string and pack it in at the end of September - then I'm glad he's staying put.

(yeah... I would have liked to see his bat in the lineup)

[OilCanShotTupac]

This is reasonable, but it does tell you a bit about his priorities. I mean, he can spend the next 30 years in SD, why not get a tast of high intensity baseball for a couple of months? And while he clearly is a talented guy, perhpas there is a reason he's spent most of his career on second division teams.

oh sweet jumping Christ.

Let's get over ourselves, shall we?

Playing for T EH BOSTON RED XOX!@!1111!!1 is not so God-damned spectacular that a guy should be considered not-quite-a-real-man if he doesn't want to play here.

This is really verging into mouthbreathing Yankee-fan territory here.

[cwright]

Giles is blocking the deal.

http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=3525421

Just to be complete....he has officially blocked it, and the window has now closed.
link

Giles exercised his no-trade clause earlier this afternoon, nixing the waiver claim[...]The primary factor was family reasons, as Giles wants to remain close to his children, who live in San Diego, where Giles will remain as an outfielder. The Red Sox put in a claim on Giles on Wednesday and had 48 hours to work out a deal with the Padres. The 48-hour window closed at 1 p.m.

How dare he choose family over the Red Sox!

[John Marzano Olympic Hero]

I think he didn't want to play here because of Boston's historically racist climate.

[TheoShmeo]

oh sweet jumping Christ.

Let's get over ourselves, shall we?

Playing for T EH BOSTON RED XOX!@!1111!!1 is not so God-damned spectacular that a guy should be considered not-quite-a-real-man if he doesn't want to play here.

This is really verging into mouthbreathing Yankee-fan territory here.

It doesn't have to be that extreme, though.

I think reacting with surprise that a guy would nix the chance to play for a legitimate WS contender, Boston or otherwise, is understandable, and that's probably what underlies the post you were responding to.

Since we don't know if there is anything unusual going on in his personal life or what the economic implications exactly are of statying put, we probably don't have enough information to fairly assess this.

But, still, I well understand fans who look at this and wonder a bit about a guy who'd prefer to play on a team that has no shot at the playoffs over a team that has a reasonable chance at winning the whole thing. I'm one of them.

[OilCanShotTupac]

Whatever. San Diego is 44-71. If he's not interested in playing for a winning organization and/or a shot at a ring (at age 37) and would rather just play out the string and pack it in at the end of September - then I'm glad he's staying put.

Same answer. The Red Sox are not so fucking all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips that a guy is morally suspect because he doesn't want to come here.

One very good reason for him wanting not to come here is that he wouldn't have a job.
But he doesn't really need a reason. He's an adult. He doesn't want to play here. He bargained for the right to say so in his contract. He exercised it. End of story.

Edit: for emphasis.

Edited by OilCanShotTupac, 08 August 2008 - 01:12 PM.

[bankshot1]

Does that make sense? Why would Giles block a trade to Boston?

If Boston had/has in fact agreed to a trade for Giles, then the OF situation has already been determined by the Sox front office. Giles blocking a completed trade has nothing to do with Drew not wanting to move from RF.

There could be any number of reasons why Giles blocked the trade. Maybe he likes California girls, or maybe he wanted to start and found out that wasn't an option.

I was responding to Ricardo's post about Drew moving over to play CF to accomodate Giles in RF.

[nazz45]

I think he didn't want to play here because of Boston's historically racist climate.

Or gymnophobic tendencies, apparently.

Can't fault a guy for valuing family and contentedness over a chance at winning, no matter if it's for two months or a year. And if he wasn't going to be comfortable here or had concerns about being a part-time player, it's probably for the best, anyway.

[5belongstoGeorge]

I think there should be an investigation about why Jay Payton came to the Red Sox.

[SoxFanPJ]

Just to be complete....he has officially blocked it, and the window has now closed.
link
How dare he choose family over the Red Sox!

The Padres have only 19 home games left this season, not exactly a lot of time to spend with his family. I think you can make that argument if its an off-season trade and you are facing an entire season away from home, but this is like 2 months away from home.

This maybe more about his option next season, the Padres as more of a mid-market team may be more likely to pick up the option because the buyout ($3M) is cost-prohibitive. If the Padres where to buyout Giles it would cost them $3M then whatever the cost of finding a RF on the free agent/trade market. For $6M more then the buyout they can simply bring Giles back for one more year. With all the holes they have to fill on the team brinigng back Giles for another year makes sense as it allows them to work on other areas of need this off-season.

Would Giles get a $6M deal on the free agent market next off-season, sure he could, but its far from a given.

[LondonSox]

Serious question. If the Padres don't exercise the option to pull him back, they can dump him to the Sox and he can't block anything?

I think that's how it works, and I know they're not going to do that as they're not giving up the picks for free. It's possible though, 3mm plus his remaining salary isn't nothing

[Soxfan in Fla]

oh sweet jumping Christ.

Let's get over ourselves, shall we?

Playing for T EH BOSTON RED XOX!@!1111!!1 is not so God-damned spectacular that a guy should be considered not-quite-a-real-man if he doesn't want to play here.

This is really verging into mouthbreathing Yankee-fan territory here.

To me it doesn't matter if its Boston, NY or Tampa. Going to Boston gives him a pretty legit shot at something he DOES NOT have. That is a ring. Apparently flying under the radar in SD on a losing club and being close to family outweighs the chance to get a ring.

[The Flying Dutchman]

I think there should be an investigation about why Jay Payton came to the Red Sox.

He never should have signed here in the first place!!

[Lose Remerswaal]

Serious question. If the Padres don't exercise the option to pull him back, they can dump him to the Sox and he can't block anything?

I think that's how it works, and I know they're not going to do that as they're not giving up the picks for free. It's possible though, 3mm plus his remaining salary isn't nothing

Nope, if you have a no trade, that supercedes waivers.

[The Flying Dutchman]

To me it doesn't matter if its Boston, NY or Tampa. Going to Boston gives him a pretty legit shot at something he DOES NOT have. That is a ring. Apparently flying under the radar in SD on a losing club and being close to family outweighs the chance to get a ring.

The next and possibly final contract of his career has nothing to do with it either. It's not all about the rings..

[Paul M]

I am not very surprised: he goes into a situation with a lot of uncertainty FOR HIM (it's not a lock he gets to go back to San Diego if he leaves now and the Sox could not guarantee playing time either). It affects his 2009 employment as well. I would have liked to have acquired him as a guy who could be another top of the line-up OF bat and he can handle LH and RH. And he's decent enough in the OF. But, not everyone wants to take the risk and living/playing in Boston is not as appealing for a lot of people as it would be for us.

[El Tiante]

The man had a choice. He decided to stay put. I can respect that. It's his decision to make anyway.

[URI]

The Padres have only 19 home games left this season, not exactly a lot of time to spend with his family. I think you can make that argument if its an off-season trade and you are facing an entire season away from home, but this is like 2 months away from home.

When do you think his kids start school?

Something you hear retired ballplayers say quite a lot is they wish they could have spent more time with their family when the kids were smaller. I can't fault Giles for appearantly wanting to do that.

[OilCanShotTupac]

To me it doesn't matter if its Boston, NY or Tampa. Going to Boston gives him a pretty legit shot at something he DOES NOT have. That is a ring. Apparently flying under the radar in SD on a losing club and being close to family outweighs the chance to get a ring.

. . . and implicit in this formulation is the idea that there is something morally wrong with him for choosing to stay in SD ("flying under the radar" implies cowardice; "on a losing club" implies that he doesn't want to WIN!!!111!1).

This is ridiculous. Let me show you how easy it is to flip this on its head.

Carl Crawford signed a long-term deal a couple of years ago. Had he not, '08 would have been his first year eligible for free agency, if I'm counting correctly.

The Rays are contenders this year. Let's say they make the playoffs. As the champagne sprays around the locker room, and Crawford gets pulled in front of the camera cryiing, I GUARANTEE (GUARANTEE!!!!!) you that the announcer will intone solemnly about how "Carl Crawford could have left this losing franchise as a free agent. . . . but Carl wanted to stay here. . . he liked the town, liked the club. . . felt like they were putting something important together. . . could have played out his six years and gone to New York or Boston for the big bucks. . . but wanted to be a key guy here. . . wanted to be a cornerstone that they could build around. . . nice to see a guy who cares about loyalty in this mercenary age. . . "

I'll bet $500 to your $5 that this happens, and it will be the easiest $5 I ever made.

But now Giles is somehow deficient in character because he wants to stay in SD.

Players have their reasons. They are legitimate. We are unlikely to know them.

Any formulation along the lines of: "our team is so fantastic that the player ought to be honored to come here, and that he is obviously a moral weakling if he doesn't have the good sense to humble himself and appreciate that" is utter crap.

[Big D]

Also, remaining in SD makes sense for him as he will be a 10-5 guy after this season.