Monday, November 19, 2007 10:14 PM
Perry
White Sox Trade Garland to Angels for Cabrera
ESPN reports this move as a surprising swap of dependable players. I liked Jon Garland. I thought he was finally hitting his stride. Let us look at his numbers last year:
| G | IP | H | R | HR | BB | SO | W | L | ERA |
| 32 | 208.1 | 219 | 114 | 19 | 57 | 98 | 10 | 13 | 4.23 |
Considering the White Sox were the worst team in all the land, I don't think those numbers are all that bad. Garland earned the right to be considered one of our most stable starters these past few years. It has been fun watching him mature into a great pitcher. I'm wondering out loud about this deal....
Orlando Cabrera is coming off his best year. He put up career best numbers for the Angels last year. He hit over .300 (.301 to be exact) and drove in 101 runs for the Los Angeles Anaheim San Diego Palo Alto Angels. He is a great shortstop and an unquestionable upgrade at the position over Uribe.
Math plays a part in this decision too. Kenny Williams is picking tops. He thinks that Garland has reached his peak, or is close enough to his peak that he was willing to assume the risk of trading a young starter for a 33 year old shortstop. And this comes after signing Uribe for $4.5 million next year! Someone is wrong in this trade. That's the danger of picking tops. The Angels too think they are trading a player who has reached his fullest potential. I'm left wondering, like most White Sox fans, how this makes our team better. It was pitching that got us to the World Series in '05.
I want to see the White Sox get back into contention and I'm not sure an aging infielder is going to do that. I'll gladly eat my words if Garland turns into a pumpkin for the Angels. I'll also be pleasantly surprised if Cabrera hits anywhere close to .300 next year. It won't be easy. Williams thinks he has plenty of young arms that can take the place of Garland. I'm not so sure.
There is plenty more coming for the White Sox. Rumors of Torii Hunter's signing have been swirling for weeks. I'm kind of indifferent to his anticipated signing too. I want this team to get younger, not older. Kenny Williams is taking the opposite position. Time will tell who is right.
(I wonder how much effect the steroid allegations swirling around baseball these days had on Kenny Williams' decision to make this trade. It has to be a factor. You wouldn't want to be acquiring a player who is on that list of abusers.)
Filed under: WhiteSox, News