Down Goes Giles

As Dylan Hernandez reported:

"Brian Giles announced his retirement today."

With the Giles era over in Los Angeles, you know what this means...

The Garret Anderson for old-busted-lefty-off-the-bench-train is picking up steam.

"I'm still your man."

Offseason 2008: Jeff Kent Retires

According to reports, Jeff Kent is set to retire Thursday after 17 seasons.

It's been quite a career for Jeff. 377 homeruns, 1518 RBIs, and a .290 career average. He also holds the record for most homeruns hit by a 2nd baseman.

I am going to miss his hard-nosed, no nonsense style, but it's a good time for him to hang them up.

Now he can head off to the ranch, ride some motorcycles, and wait for the Hall to come calling.

Happy Trails, Jeff.

Other Assorted Sports Thoughts

Congratulations are in order. Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th home run today against none other than former Dodger great Mark Hendrickson. There's no doubt in my mind that had Griffey not spent good portions of several seasons stuck on the DL, he'd be approaching the all-time home run record, if he hadn't already taken it.

He probably would have preferred to do it at home in front of a packed house of screaming fans, but unfortunately, he did it in Florida to what I believe was a crowd of 37 people. He's only the sixth person in history to accomplish the achievement, so packed house or not, I'm sure it still feels good.

In other news, happy trails to some non-baseball greats:

Michael Strahan of the New York Giants football team officially retired today after 15 years in the NFL.

...And Dominik Hasek of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team announced his retirement today after 16 seasons in the NHL.

Enjoy Florida guys...