Atlanta placed Marcus Giles on the disabled list on Tuesday. Giles fractured his right clavicle, bruised his right hand, and suffered a mild concussion in a collision with Andruw Jones during the Braves' May 15th game in Milwaukee. Atlanta predicts that the broken collarbone will keep Giles out for six to eight weeks. However, the injury is uncommon in baseball, so there are few data points available for reference when formulating a timetable for his recovery. By the time his collarbone heals, his hand should be fine and hopefully he no longer will be feeling the effects of the concussion. While mild, the concussion is troubling because of the serious head trauma Giles suffered in his collision with Mark Prior last July.

I realize that the noise level in stadiums frequently prevents calling the ball from being effective, but serious on-field collisions seem more and more common. Given the advanced level of miniaturized radio technology, perhaps MLB should approve the use of earpieces to allow players to hear each other on the field. The bench would not have to have access to the channel, so increased communication from the coaching staff would not need to be an issue. Players also could remove the earpieces before batting, so no extra pitch or running information could be received, making the devices merely a safety device along the lines of sunglasses.