FanHouse Marcus Giles

Former Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres second baseman Marcus Giles was arrested early Wednesday morning for domestic battery after his wife called the police. The details of the incident are somewhat sketchy, but the El Cajon police were called by the California Highway Patrol to the scene where the incident allegedly took place.

Police arrived on the scene to find the Giles' car parked on the shoulder of the highway, placed Giles under arrest and took him into custody.

FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Philadelphia Phillies.

The City of Brotherly Love's long championship drought came to an end when Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske in Game 5 of the World Series last October. The city exploded in appreciation of a team that's a blueprint for success in the modern game, with homegrown stars studding the lineup and top of the rotation, and a handful of savvy acquisitions, like Lidge, sprinkled around to fill holes.

It wasn't very long ago that Marcus Giles was one of the top hitting second basemen in the game -- when he made the All-Star team in 2003, I never thought that he'd be out of the game by the time he turned 30. But now, it seems that he might be done for good, even though if the Dodgers had their way he'd be manning the hot corner until Nomar Garciaparra returned. From Tony Jackson's blog for the LA Daily News (via MLBTR):

According to two sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the Dodgers agreed in principle earlier today on a minor-league contract for free-agent infielder Marcus Giles, who had a really good spring for Colorado but ultimately was released last week because the Rockies didn't have a spot for him. The plan was for Giles to go to Las Vegas, reacquaint himself with 3B, where he has just nine career appearances and none since 2005, prove that he could play there for about 10 days, then get called up and share time with Blake DeWitt until Nomar or Abreu comes back. ... And then, as Giles was in his car driving to Las Vegas from his home near San Diego, HE CHANGED HIS MIND. Just decided he wasn't coming. Turned the car around and went home.

The decision screwed the Dodgers in more ways than one: Jackson reports the team passed on Alex Cintron and another unnamed infielder (Scott Spiezio?) thinking that they had Giles in the bag. Giles hasn't given an official reason for his decision, though one of Jackson's sources thinks he just lost the passion for the game. That's one theory. Another theory might involve the fact that his career fell off the table once MLB adopted more stringent drug testing, which may or may not indicate that already knows an inspirational comeback story is never going to happen. We'll probably never know.

Having been scorned in their courtship of Kaz Matsui by the Houston Astros, the Chicago Cubs continue their quest to sign any left handed bat that can play the middle of the infield for them. Their newest target is somebody whom they've had their eyes on for a while, but any advances they've made towards getting him have been thwarted.

The Cubs are currently talking to the Baltimore Orioles about trading for second baseman Brian Roberts.

The latest name to crawl across the Cubs' radar screen is Baltimore second baseman Brian Roberts, a two-time All-Star who would cost them a couple of top prospects in return.

General manager Jim Hendry met Tuesday with former Cubs president and current Baltimore president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, who is trying to rebuild the Orioles with young talent.

It's believed that the Cubs initial offer for Roberts is Matt Murton and Sean Gallagher. Considering the Orioles turned down Adam LaRoche and Marcus Giles for Roberts last season, I don't think the Cubs offer will be enough.

Why the Cubs refuse to include Felix Pie in any deal still baffles me. He's never been able to show the five-tool potential the team seems to think he has, so it's probably better to move him now while he still has some value in the eyes of others.

Looks like the reunion of the Giles brothers is coming to an end, as younger brother Marcus is being bought out of the final year of his contract, with no intentions to re-sign him at a reduced rate. Marcus thinks the Padres were less than straight forward with their intentions when he lost his job to Geoff Blum in July.

"It's unfortunate you can't be honest with people and tell 'em the way it's going to be," said Giles, who hit .229 with four homers and 39 RBIs. "We're all adults. We can handle it. It's just unfortunate to kind of get the runaround and get lied to the whole time.

"I didn't expect to sit the bench. That's definitely not what I signed for. I'm definitely ready to move on." (...) Giles said he could have handled the news that he had lost his job. He just didn't like the way the club presented it.

"All of a sudden three days off turns into a platoon situation," Giles said. "I learned about the platoon situation from reading press clips. It's one thing to lose your job and have a guy take your job. It's just unfortunate that people were beating around the bush."

Unfortunately, this is a numbers game, and Giles numbers after a very good April were atrocious. The good thing for the next team that signs Marcus Giles is that they will be getting a 29-year-old player with a chip on his shoulder, along with something to prove to the team that thinks he can't play anymore.

Or they'll be getting a .229 hitter.

There was a bit of a hubbub from the Padres clubhouse on Friday in Philadelphia when second baseman Marcus Giles was taken out by Carlos Ruiz who broke up a double play. The umpires ruled it a double play and called interference on Ruiz for going out of his way to break it up. Ruiz slid into Giles so hard that Marcus had to go on the 15-day DL with a sprained knee. As you can imagine, it's upset some of his teammates:

"You got a guy who can barely walk to the bus. That's serious," said Padres ace Jake Peavy. "When it happens as a result of a play some guy on the other side not playing the game even close to right, I have a problem with that. . . . That was a nasty shot, as dirty as dirty gets. You can look at that replay time and time again. Every time I see it, it upsets me. How do you be that big an idiot?"

Couple this incident with Milton Bradley's run-ins with the Philly fans following his home runs both Friday and Saturday, as well as Brett Myers' outburst following the game, and you can all but count on some fireworks in the series finale today. Meanwhile, I'd like to say the Padres could upgrade from the struggling Giles, but reality is, they don't have much else at second.

Previously at FanHouse:
Can Brett Myers Spell 'Retarded'?

While his older brother has been thriving as the Padres leadoff hitter, younger brother Marcus Giles has been struggling. So much so, that the Padres have decided to bench Marcus for three games, including Wednesday's contest against the Mets. The second baseman is barely hitting his weight -- just .191 -- since May 7th.

I've heard of players getting benched for a game, or even two, just to get their heads straight. You know, baseball is a game of streaks, some of which are good, some of which are bad. Marcus just happens to be in a slump at the moment -- so the Padres hope -- and they are giving him some time off. A lot. Three games off means they really think he's having a rough go of it. That should be ample time for the suddenly light hitting second baseman to find his stroke.

Just off the top of my head, Chone Figgins, Garrett Atkins, and Travis Hafner are all hitters this year who have been benched for a few games in a row because of slumps, only to return to form after rejoining the lineup. I'm guessing the same thing will happen with Marcus -- he may have lost his power, but he certainly is better than a .237 hitter. The time off might not be welcomed, but it should be beneficial.

That's what All-Star closer Trevor Hoffman is calling it. Hoffman will be making his 6th midsummer classic appearance, but he still has room in his heart for teammate Chris Young, who also made my snub list, and was at the top of Ken Rosenthal's as well. From the San Diego Union-Tribune:

"We're a victim of the West Coast obscurity," said Hoffman, who was chosen for a sixth time. "We'll have to start campaigning long and hard in San Diego."

Marcus Giles echoed the sentiment:

"When I found out C.Y. wasn't on it, my jaw hit the floor," Giles said. "It's ridiculous. Brutal. A mockery. Unbelievable. Pick your word."

I don't know if West Coast obscurity is the reason, but it's just as plausible as anything else. Seriously -- look at his numbers, look at how well the Padres are doing, and give me one legitimate reason why Chris Young shouldn't be one of the NL starters. You can't. I hope the fans do the right thing and elect him, though I know that won't happen. My guess is Carlos Zambrano gets it, even if I just voted for Young and Kelvim Escobar 10 times each online. If you're a fan out there reading this, do what's right, vote Chris Young in. Compare the numbers -- it's no contest.

Previously at FanHouse:
Left Out of the All-Star Game Party: NL West

The word is in, MLB has spoken. Both Padres pitcher Chris Young and Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee have been suspended five games and fined an undisclosed amount for their brawl Saturday. Cubs hitting coach Gerald Perry got three games, and Padres pitcher Jake Peavy and outfielder Brian Giles were fined undisclosed amounts.

I'm well in favor with the suspensions and feel they are appropriate. Five games for Young means the Padres are forced to start one of their pitchers on less rest, throwing off the rotation. And five games for Derrek Lee means he'll miss almost a week of action for the Cubs. Five games out of 162 might not seem like a lot, but it is. And they're well deserved -- for many reasons.

If you're a pitcher, you cannot be throwing at someone's head. And when you're hitting a 6'5" batter, your pitch missed the strike zone by a long distance. Additionally, Derrek Lee's reaction was inappropriate. He lost his cool and delivered an overhand right -- he threw a serious punch. It was no joke. In response, Young threw a right of his own, with equally vicious intent as Lee.

Not because he's taken a sudden liking to clothing around the clubhouse, but because the rehab for his injury isn't going too well. Giles went on the 15-day DL a little over a week ago, but he hasn't played in a game since May 19th. The Padres obviously wanted to wait things out with Brian to see if his injury would heal before they ultimately placed him on the disabled list. From the sounds of things, the offense better get used to life without Brian.

"I think it's more of a significant injury," Giles said on Sunday. "I'm trying to get to where it's [the pain] tolerable."

So far, Giles isn't there yet. He had hoped to do some running in Washington to test the knee that he believes he first injured in April in Chicago. It's an injury that progressively got worse, landing him on the disabled list retroactive to May 20.

Giles has been told by the Padres training staff that there's typically a six-week healing process with injuries similar to the one that he has. But each injury is different and bone bruises can be unpredictable.

Let's see, Giles still hasn't run on the leg, and the typical time of recovery is six weeks (it's already been two). Even then, Brian will still have to go on a rehab stint in the minors before he gets his timing back. I'm going to be fair and say you shouldn't expect to see Brian Giles back in a major league game within six weeks, if not longer. Looks like brother Marcus better grab a new shower partner. Until then, GM Kevin Towers might have to open up his "contingency fund" for another outfielder.

Previously at FanHouse:
Brian Giles, Likely Naked, Heading to DL
Marcus and Brian Giles Sound Hilarious
Brian Giles Really Likes Being Naked, and Corny Jokes
Padres Have the Funds for Ichiro, Andruw, or Hunter

Photo Credit: Getty Images