BrianGiles Posts -- FanHouse

Latest BrianGiles Stories

The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 1

Posted: Sep 1st 2009 10:00PM by B. Thompson Stroud (author feed)
Filed under: Dodgers, Indians, NL West, MLB Transactions, The Dugout

10 COMMENTS

In the most important "real life benefiting The Dugout" moment since Barry Bonds dressed up like Paula Abdul, rosy-cheeked Faulknerian idiot man-child and Dugout regular Jim Thome has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. This reunites him with another Dugout regular, Manny Ramirez, who he has not played with since they both played for the Cleveland Indians in 2000.

Tonight's important next chapter in Dugout lore is after the jump. Hey, I've got to root for the Indians somewhere.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Continue Reading The Dugout: It's Tribe Time Now, Part 1

Starting Five: A Tale of Two Mannys

Posted: Jun 24th 2009 6:00AM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Angels, Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Rays, Tigers, Starting Five

12 COMMENTS

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That on the right night the minor leagues can be awfully interesting, even for someone who doesn't care at all about minor league baseball. Manny Ramirez batted leadoff Tuesday night for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes, playing four innings and going 0-for-2 in his first rehab game since being suspended 50 games for a violation of Major League Baseball's drug policy.

Ramirez faced former Brewers starting pitcher Manny Parra in both at-bats. Parra, now pitching for the Nashville Sounds, is trying to work his way back to the majors as well after a woeful couple of months in the Milwaukee rotation. He went 3-8 with a 7.52 ERA in 13 starts there before getting demoted, but he was the hard-luck loser against Albuquerque, tossing seven innings of one-run ball. The Brewers could use another effective starter, that much is certain.

More Coverage: Scoreboard | Standings | Statistics

Continue Reading Starting Five: A Tale of Two Mannys

Padres' Hitting Coach: Blame Me

Posted: May 6th 2009 2:55PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Padres, NL West

1 COMMENT

After an improbable stretch where the San Diego Padres won eight of nine games, they were sitting with a 9-3 record. Since then, they have fallen to 12-15, a bad stretch which included a six-game losing streak. The team has many issues, obviously, but the offense is not doing the job at all. They rank 11th in the NL in runs scored, 15th in batting average and 14th in on-base percentage.

First-year hitting coach, Jim Lefebvre -- the fourth in four seasons for the Fathers -- is willing to be accountable for the failures of the entire offense.

Continue Reading Padres' Hitting Coach: Blame Me

Heath Bell Thinks ESPN Is Unfair

Posted: Apr 14th 2009 11:15AM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Padres, NL West, MLB Media Watch

8 COMMENTS

The San Diego Padres, picked to finish last by pretty much everyone who follows baseball, have stormed out of the gate to a 6-2 start. This has to be a shock to even the majority of the team's own fans. Then again, they've got 154 games left to play, and it's difficult to imagine them staying in the thick of things for long, even in that sub-par division. Personally, I still believe they'll finish last.

Hopefully Padres closer Heath Bell doesn't read the above paragraph. If so, he's sure to have a problem with FanHouse. You see, he's paying way too much attention to the media right now.

Continue Reading Heath Bell Thinks ESPN Is Unfair

Fantasy Baseball Preview: The Padres

Posted: Feb 27th 2009 10:00AM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: Fantasy Baseball, Draft Advice

0 COMMENTS

Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.

Meet the ...
Worst team in baseball. Much like the 2008 incarnation, there are very few bright spots on the 2009 San Diego Padres. Jake Peavy is obviously awesome (although he does have a lot of mileage already), Adrian Gonzalez has been quite consistent the past few years, Chase Headley is dreamy if you're one of those folks that are obsessed with prospects (/raises hand), and Heath Bell might be able to save some games ... if the Pads can get him a lead.

Continue Reading Fantasy Baseball Preview: The Padres

MLB Power Rankings: Preseason Edition

Posted: Feb 18th 2009 8:15PM by Will Brinson (author feed)
Filed under: MLB Power Rankings

24 COMMENTS

That's right, MLB Power Rankings. You do know that that means, right? It means we're only a few short weeks/months (depends on you how you want to look at it, you pessimistic jerk) from starting the 2009 baseball season. Spring is nearly here, everyone has a bounce in their step and there's not an illegal, injectable steroid in sight!

So without further ado, let's get down to business and rank every single Major League Baseball team right freaking now. Because baseball can't wait any longer to get going.

Continue Reading MLB Power Rankings: Preseason Edition

Video Shows Alleged Abuse by Brian Giles

Posted: Dec 17th 2008 7:15PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Padres, NL West, MLB Police Blotter, MLB Video

61 COMMENTS

Earlier today, Matt Snyder brought you a story about a lawsuit filed against Brian Giles by his girlfriend. Cheri Olivera alleges Giles abused her and, as a result, caused a miscarriage in 2002. It's an unsavory story, but one which begged for all the facts to come to light before condemning Giles.

Now, however, NBC San Diego has a video that allegedly shows Giles pulling Olivera's hair and throwing her to the ground outside a bar. The video is from 2006, and is unrelated to the miscarriage claim. Take a look at it, the footage starts 24 seconds in.

The video doesn't show what happened outside the bar, but the footage of another patron acting out a slap is pretty damning. Whether or not this proves Giles caused Olivera to miscarriage is a question for someone with much greater knowledge of the uterus than I, but Giles certainly looks like he's found himself in some very hot water.

Sports Stars Money Woes

Padres outfielder Brian Giles could have quite a financial headache to deal with. Giles' former girlfriend is suing him for more than $10 million, alleging he battered her while she was pregnant. Click through to see sports stars who have struggled with money woes.

Jed Jacobsohn, Getty Images

Former Oakland Athletics first baseman Troy Neel faces charges that he fled to a tiny South Pacific island to avoid paying about $725,000 in child support for his kids in Texas.

Texas Attorney General / AP

Former All-Star Cecil Fielder made almost $50 million during his 13-year career in the major leagues. But the slugger is now being sued by the IRS for failure to pay taxes.

Brian Bahr, Getty Images

Michael Vick was once the NFL's highest-paid player. Now the jailed former star is millions of dollars in debt, and is making 12 cents an hour in his job at the federal penitentiary.

Haraz N. Ghanbari, AP

Evander "Real Deal" Holyfield, shown here in 2002, is reportedly in financial trouble with multiple sources. In October, Holyfield was back in court, again facing the possibility of jail time in a child-support case before a settlement was reached.

W. A. Harewood, Getty Images

Former boxing champ Thomas Hearns reportedly owes the federal government thousands in unpaid income taxes. Hearns' attorney stated that the 49-year-old disputes the debt and is working to resolve it.

Bill Pugliano, Getty Images

Former MLB star Jose Canseco walked away from a $2.5 million home in California earlier this year, saying it "didn't make sense" to keep paying the mortgage. Not surprisingly, the bank started foreclosure proceedings.

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Last August, ex-NBA star Latrell Sprewell, who once turned down a $21 million contract offer because he had his "family to feed," had a yacht repossessed after falling behind in payments.

Kevork Djansezian, AP

Disgraced track champion Marion Jones admitted she was flat broke in 2007, despite numerous lucrative endorsements following the 2000 Sydney Olympics. After her $2.5 million North Carolina home was foreclosed upon in 2006, a court found her "total liquid assets" were worth less than $2,000.

Hiroko Masuike, Getty Images

Mike Tyson filed for bankruptcy in 2003, after losing in excess of $300 million earned from his lucrative boxing career. Tyson reportedly spent lavish sums on cars, jewelery and even Bengal tigers before going broke.

Brian Giles Allegedly Beat His Pregnant Girlfriend, Caused Miscarriage

Posted: Dec 17th 2008 12:36PM by Matt Snyder (author feed)
Filed under: Padres, NL West, MLB Gossip

5 COMMENTS

Cheri Olvera is suing her former boyfriend, San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles, for more than $10 million. The allegations are quite lofty.

Cheri Olvera alleges Giles began abusing her in 2002. The lawsuit accuses him of hitting and slapping her in the face, shaking and kicking her, and battering her twice when she was pregnant with Giles' child.

She also maintains that the abuse by Giles caused her to miscarry.

On one hand, the accusations are quite surprising, as Giles is generally known around baseball as being a good guy and good teammate. On the other, you never really can tell what professional athletes or entertainers are really like behind closed doors, as we've found out with Michael Vick and Kobe Bryant, among others.

Giles could either be very adept at portraying himself positively through the public eye, or this girl could be just desperately trying to hit the jackpot a few years after separating from a rich baseball player. At this point, we just can't say.

For me, two questions arise:

Continue Reading Brian Giles Allegedly Beat His Pregnant Girlfriend, Caused Miscarriage

Notes From Sin City: The 10 People to Watch At the 2008 Winter Meetings

Posted: Dec 8th 2008 1:00AM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: MLB Gossip, MLB Rumors, MLB Transactions

3 COMMENTS

Our MLB editor files dispatches from this year's Winter Meetings in Las Vegas in Notes From Sin City.

For better or worse, Las Vegas has been the center of the sports world for the last few days. From O.J. Simpson to Oscar De La Hoya-Manny Pacquiao, Sin City has been a nerve center, and that will continue this week as the entire baseball world descends on the lobby of the Bellagio Hotel for Major League Baseball's annual Winter Meetings.

As always, there figures to be plenty of action on the Strip, but you won't have to go to a poker room or a roulette wheel to find it.

The Hot Stove League has moved at a glacial pace so far, only really beginning to pick up in the last half week and setting the stage for what could be one of the more fascinating Winter Meetings in recent memory. Rarely in the last decade has baseball seen a free-agent class this stocked with quality players or a more vibrant and active trade market.

With that in mind, here is a list of the 10 people to watch most intently over the next few days in Las Vegas.

Continue Reading Notes From Sin City: The 10 People to Watch At the 2008 Winter Meetings

George Parros, Brian Giles and the Naked Man Hug

Posted: Nov 22nd 2008 7:24PM by Eric McErlain (author feed)
Filed under: Ducks

0 COMMENTS

George Parros of the Anaheim Ducks is generally acknowledged to be one of the toughest men in the NHL. But there's one thing that will always stop Parros in his tracks, and that's the sight of San Diego Padres outfielder Brian Giles coming towards him in a baseball locker room.

As it turns out, Parros is old friends with Padres pitcher Chris Young going back to their days together at Princeton. Even though their paths diverged long ago, Young and Parros stay in touch, and Parros has been known to visit the Padres locker room. I'll let Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union-Tribune take it from here:

Their friendship endures despite their different paths, their nomadic schedules, their distance and the awkward greetings Brian Giles has delivered during Parros' visits to Petco Park and to the Padres' training camp in Peoria, Ariz.

"The best memory I have of George is seeing his face when Brian gave him his naked hug," Young said.

"It's happened every time I go down there," Parros lamented. "I'm going to start going down there in a rubber body suit."

Here's hoping somebody pins this story on the wall of the Ducks locker room.