So Brian Giles has played for almost 15 years, he's 37 years old, with no championship rings. He gets a chance to play for the in-contention Red Sox instead of the last-place Padres, and he turns it down.

And that's okay. But it proves my theory. You always hear athletes saying that the "chance to play for a winner" is the most important thing. I say for most of them, money is the most important thing. Security is another biggie, but that also has to do with getting money while you still have the chance. Apparently for this dude, being able to keep his family where they are and be near his hometown is the key. And I guess that's not uncommon, but even when a guy says he wants to "be near family," he'll still often take the better monetary deal. So I'm glad Giles isn't as greedy for money or rings (that they played two months for) as most players are.

I do hope that Giles comes out and says not only the family/home excuse, but also something like, "I wanna win it for my hometown fans--if not this year, next year." (Instead of letting people assume he's thinking "well this team sucks but I like the area..") It would be good to teach the kids of this country some loyalty for a change.