In the past, I didn't think about Jon Garland very much.

But when I did, I thought of Jon Garland as your basic innings-eating mediocrity. Perhaps that wasn't entirely fair to Jon Garland. But there you are.

This year, Jon Garland is without doubt the AL Cy-Young-with-120-games-left.

Chicago White Sox fans: To what can we attribute this change? What has gotten into Jon Garland?

Experience? Maturity? I believe he was only 19 when he came into the league. Now that he has a few years under his belt he's making better decisions and is more familiar with the hitters.

He eats a sack lunch

He has always had good "stuff" but always seemed timid and was apt to suffer one or two bad innings per game. This year his "stuff" looks even better and, perhaps most importantly, he has been pitching inside (with bat-breaking "stuff") like never before. He also seems to be pitching at a much quicker pace (i.e. taking less time between pitches). And Pierzynski seems to be calling some pretty good games back there.

stackmatic wrote:He also seems to be pitching at a much quicker pace (i.e. taking less time between pitches).

Mark Buehrle is well-known for pitching at a quick pace.

I wonder if pitching at a quick pace is something that the White Sox stress organizationally.

It is accepted baseball wisdom (and therefore a bunch of bullshit?) that pitching at a quick pace results in better defense being played behind the pitcher.

Hmmmm.

i think ozzie guillen is the number one reason for the success of the white sox and it's pitching staff. i'll be curious to see how he handles frank thomas when he comes back.

who would win in this fight?
dusty baker vs. ozzie guillen

I'm going to second the success of Garland to the acquisition of A.J. Pierzynski. I thought that was the best pickup the White Sox made in the offseason, and the scariest, as a Twins fan, because he will improve a pitching staff.

he also has the tendency to act like a complete jackass in the clubhouse.
there's a reason he been bouncing around teams the last few years and this is it. of all people to keep him in check though, i see it being guillen.

For the first time he doesn't give a fuck about the 7-8-9 hitters, whether that be Jason Giambi, Julio Lugo, or Corky Miller. An over-abundance of strikes doesn't hurt either. I doubt he will win the Cy Young, I do however think that this will be the beginning of a solid MLB career. Someday he'll pitch in a rotation with Dontrelle Willis, Choi wil be playing first, Andy Sisco will be middle relief, and (after this summer) Bobby Brownlie will be closing. This team most definately won't be the Cubs.

-Jeremy

garland is getting it done primarily because the team playing like they've got ozzie smith clones in the IF and andruw jones clones in the OF every time he takes the mound - he's 3rd in the league with a .220 BAA, which reeks of luck.

he's also giving up a home run every 20 innings - compared to his career rate of 1 HR for every 6-7 innings. if you want to continue to bet on his recent success versus his past performance, which stand in stark contrast to one another, go right ahead - i wouldn't.

that said, he exhibits great control and is keeping the ball down. more groundballs = easier outs, thass fo sho. i'm rooting for him, as i'd root for any pitcher who hasn't lost a game in almost two months - i'm just not expecting much.