Tough to defend this decision

CHICAGO - Any major league player with a competitive bone in his body won't understand Brian Giles's decision to stay in San Diego.

There's talk of not wanting to leave two daughters behind. Understandable, for sure, but part of the job description is players coping with being away from their families as they pursue lifelong dreams and lucrative careers.

Giles is a player who talks a lot about winning, but if that's the case, and you don't want to leave San Diego to be part of a pennant race in Boston, then your words are forever hollow.

Giles refused to give his consent to a trade to Boston yesterday, after the Sox claimed the outfielder off waivers Wednesday. He wants to stay in San Diego, where only the weather is first-rate. The ballpark is horrible for him, and friendly to pitchers. There's nothing to play for, but when Giles had the chance to change that, add $2 million to his wallet, and go to a place where for the next two months the juices would be flowing again, he turned it down.

Watching Jim Edmonds stroke two home runs for the Cubs in their 3-2, 11-inning win yesterday over the rival St. Louis Cardinals certainly made you wonder. Edmonds, who also played in San Diego, is a good friend of Giles. Given the fun he's had in Chicago in helping the Cubs win and resurrecting his career, couldn't that also happen for the 37-year-old Giles?

When asked if he was surprised by Giles's decision, Edmonds said, "Yes and no. I really don't know the details.

"He's a great player. I think he's a very underrated player playing in that ballpark. When I played there for two months, I thought that if he played in a normal ballpark, I would think he'd be more successful. But I don't know what's going on his head. He's a good friend of mine and I wish him the best no matter what he decides."

Baseball players are supposed to have a pulse. They wake up every morning and hunger to win. At least most of them. They hunger to play in a city where baseball is important to the fans. They want to play for something.

"Yeah, of course you want to be in the thick of it. It's fun. It's fun being in the middle of this," said Edmonds. "He's got kids. Sure, that's a consideration. They're going through some hard times in San Diego. But I've only text-messaged him recently, so we haven't had any in-depth discussions about it.

"There could be issues with playing time, contract, I really don't know. It would seem like a great opportunity to play in a town like that, but Brian made his decision based on what he felt was right for him and his family."

The Padres were hoping to rid themselves of the remaining money - about $6.2 million ($3.2 million this year and a $3 million buyout of the option year on his contract) in Giles's deal.

Giles could have turned around after a couple of months of helping the Sox and returned to the Padres at a lower salary next season.

This is an unusual decision in that most players would relish the challenge. Instead, Giles exercised his no-trade provision, to the surprise of many.

"It's kind of between myself and my agent and Boston and the Padres," Giles told the Associated Press. "I don't think really anything needs to be said other than I made a commitment to play for this team for three or four years, and at the end that's where I still stand."

Giles seemed miffed that the Sox' waiver claim became public. He may be miffed, too, that he's receiving backlash from people now questioning his motivation.

Giles talks about commitment, but obviously the Padres were in favor of ending that commitment. They wanted to move Giles for two minor leaguers, feeling Giles was no longer a useful part of their team. When that happens, the player should go.

Now Giles is likely wearing out his welcome. It may not be long before he no longer feels comfortable on a team that tried hard to dump him.

The Red Sox probably are better off not having such a player. If you don't have enough fire to play when the heat is on, in a city that has passion for baseball, and would rather stay where you're "comfortable," in a place where your lifestyle takes precedence over your job, then the Sox surely were making the wrong choice in Giles to be the protection they were seeking with their injury-riddled lineup.

It's so different with Edmonds, whose career was thought to be over in St. Louis, and then in San Diego, only to be revived in Chicago, where he smacked those home runs yesterday against his former team, and against the manager (Tony La Russa) he was often at odds with.

"I always believed I could still play," said Edmonds. "I worked pretty hard in the winter. I didn't play really well in San Diego. It probably wasn't a great park for me to play in. I gave it everything I had and I just couldn't get it done there. I adjusted my swing and got back to my old ways and this park has helped me out a little bit.

"It's just exciting to play on a good team in first place. I've been blessed to play in the cities I've had a chance to play in, like St. Louis and like Chicago. It's just great to hear the fans so into it and the excitement of a pennant race.

"Every day is like a playoff game here. It does help your game when the games are more important. I've always been able to calm myself down in big games, and I guess that shows up sometimes."

Edmonds said all the right things. He mentioned excitement. He mentioned a pennant race. He mentioned helping a team win.

Across town last night, Ken Griffey Jr. was an example of a player who left a place that was really his home - Cincinnati - to experience the feeling of winning again with the White Sox. He made the choice of leaving the comfort of Cincinnati for the unknown of Chicago, but for a chance to experience why he plays baseball.

That's what most players want.

Nick Cafardo can be reached at cafardo@globe.com.