Former Pirate, Indian, Padre and — for this spring at least, Dodger — Brian Giles announced his retirement today, Dylan Hernandez reports. Giles finishes his career with 287 home runs and a line of .292/.400/.502.  He was a two-time All-Star and filled the role of “best player on terrible Pirates teams” in between Al Martin…

Todd Helton was already locked up for $16.6 million this year and $19.1 million next year with an insane $23 million option for 2012, but the Rockies felt it necessary to extend his contract all the same.  He’s now locked up for 2012 and given a contract for 2013. Financial details were not released, but…

General manager Omar Minaya and agent Peter Greenberg just announced that Jose Reyes will “refrain from athletic activity” for 2-8 weeks after follow-up tests showed that his thyroid levels rose again when he did controlled physical activity this week. He’s expected to begin the season on the disabled list, and in addition to resting will…

Showing yet again that they’ve never met a prospect they won’t rush, the Mets have reportedly decided to keep Jenrry Mejia in big-league camp through the end of spring training to evaluate him as an Opening Day bullpen option. Mejia is one of the game’s best pitching prospects and has looked great so far this…

This ceases to be interesting after the first few seconds, but those first few seconds are a lot of fun. Just one question: where’s the help from the shortstop and the second baseman? Dude comin’ after the pitcher with a bat and the waters just part. I’ve heard of pitchers who don’t trust their middle…

Milton Bradley has made headlines lately for basically refusing to stop talking about how miserable he was in Chicago, but did have some nice words for one member of the Cubs: I have nothing bad to say about Jim Hendry. He gave me $30 million. God bless Jim Hendry and his family. Most of the…

Kelvim Escobar waxes philosophical: The injured Mets reliever Kelvim Escobar said he was very confident he can come back from shoulder soreness to play this season, and hopefully very soon. But in the event he cannot, Escobar can live with it. “I’m a very proud man,” he said. “I’ve had a decent career. Whatever happens,…

Back in January, Jim Riggleman said he might use Eddie Guardado or Sean Burnett to close things out against strong left-handed lineups because “all I want is to make sure we get the outs.” As of this morning it’s just gonna be Burnett. Everyday Eddie was released after two innings of spring training work. Don’t…

Um, yeah.  Something tells me that Hughes has the inside track.  And even if he doesn’t, Girardi may go with Dave LaPoint or Andy Hawkins or someone.

Nature abhors a vacuum and apparently baseball writers abhor a lack of news: Mauer still has more leverage than Pat Williams on a teeter-totter, but as negotiations have lagged, Mauer’s hesitancy to accept a record-setting contract offer from his hometown team has made his signing less than a sure thing and raised this previously unthinkable…

Back up to the press box, I got my lunch on.  Much more elaborate spread than the Mets or the Twins put out. Lasagna, hot dogs, cold cuts, chicken salad, fresh fruit, cake and all kinds of other stuff. And though I didn’t hang around that long, there was a sign saying that they did…

The Daily News and its “I-Team” are usually the first ones to hurl PED accusations at ballplayers. The latest: suggesting a link between Jose Reyes’ thyroid condition and his treatment by Dr. Anthony Galea: Anti-doping experts have long wondered whether abnormal levels of thyroid hormones can indicate doping. At least one clinical study has linked…

As I walked down to the field I realized that the fates kept placing me at the park where the biggest news of the day was going down: Nathan’s UCL on Tuesday and Nomar’s retirement on Wednesday.  Upon realizing this I thought that I should charge the other writers $500 a head to hear where…

The latest on the Rangers sale that everyone wants to pretend is inevitable: Talks between the MLB Rangers and the team’s creditors are at an impasse, sources said, all but ending any chance of the sale of the team closing by Opening Day . . . “They have been at an impasse for weeks if not longer,”…

I haven’t been to Steinbrenner Field yet so this may be a bit premature, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that a Red Sox spring training game is about as close to a major league experience as you’re going to get in the Grapefruit League. For better and for worse.…

Derek Lowe may have a new delivery to help improve his results from 2009, but it didn’t do anything to keep him from grossing everyone out on Wednesday. The Braves right-hander lasted just one inning against the Mets, allowing three runs after a blister popped on his right (push-off) foot. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that…

Remember when you were a freshman in high school and you bummed a ride off the cool, older kid who already had his license and a car? No? Well trust me, it’s a defining moment, one that can bring instant credibility to your high school existence. Unless of course, the driver is this guy. Derek…

Look away, Cubs fans.  Manager Lou Piniella told the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan on Wednesday evening that he doesn’t think newly-signed outfielder Xavier Nady will be ready for regular duty until June. It’s not a huge deal — Nady was brought in to serve as the club’s fourth outfielder, not to start — but any…

Braves first baseman Troy Glaus had another strong day at the dish Wednesday, and is now 9-for-12 in Grapefruit League play with eight consecutive hits.  He’s trying to keep things in perspective, but it’s great to see him performing so well after failing to register more than 30 at-bats last season for the Cardinals due…

Torii Hunter has released a statement on his website. I won’t reproduce the whole thing here — it’s long and you should read it in its entirety in its context — but this is the part that I consider to be most significant: We all come from different places and backgrounds. Coming from Pine Bluff,…