Chavez Ravine Welcomes Home Jon Garland
by Phil Gurnee on Sep 3, 2009 9:15 AM PDT
in Dodgers Game Previews
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It has been a long and wealthy trip for the wide eyed 17 year old who was once the pride of the San Fernando Valley when he was the 10th pick in the 1996 draft. With a multi million dollar deal under his belt, a World Championship, a run at a Cy Young award, does the 30 year old have room to notch another successful chapter with his childhood team? The road starts tonight.
As Southern California continues to watch smoke rise with the fires burning in the background, Jon Garland will be coming home to pitch where he spent many a night watching the Dodgers play baseball. Raised in Granada Hills the Kennedy High School star had this to say about coming back to Los Angeles:
Dodger Stadium is, Jon Garland said, "where the dream started for me -- watching the big league guys go out on that field and do the job."
I remember that 1988 World Series," he said. "Now I have a chance to come back here and do the best I can to hopefully make a strong push for the playoffs. I'm pretty excited about it.
... To have a chance to put that uniform on, it's kind of been on the back burner since my career started, but it's definitely a dream come true."
Kennedy High School has won numerous 4A City Baseball Titles and a a few major leaguers have come from Kennedy but Garland may be the best of the lot, though Garret Anderson backers would have a good argument on their side.
After a stellar career at Kennedy Garland was the 10th player chosen in the 1996 draft by the Cubs and was pitching in professional baseball at the tender age of 17. At the age of 18 he was traded to the crosstown rival White Sox in one of those trades that haunt the team who traded you, and eventually made his debut at the age of 20 in 2000. He would go on to win 18 games back to back for the White Sox and was a major force in the 2005 World Championship team. He pitched a nine inning complete game victory against the Angels in the ALCS to help propel the White Sox into the World Series. In the 2005 World Series he only started one game, went seven innings for a no decision while only giving up two earned runs in one of the great World Series games of the 21st century, as the game went 14 innings, only to be ended when the unlikely hero Geoff Blum blasted a home run in the 14th inning.
After stops with the A teams (Angels, Arizona) he is back to help the Dodgers close out the 2009 season by plugging a hole the team felt they had at the back of the rotation. The price was not cheap but we won't dwell on that here. Garland is going to try to impress the Dodgers enough in Sept so that he will be considered for the play off rotation. With Chad/Clayton/Wolf set in stone and Kuroda due back Sunday that may be a hard task. Besides pitching for the playoff rotation he is also pitching for his option next year. At $10 Million I expect the Dodgers to pick it up but how he does in Sept could be the deciding factor.
Garland comes to the team with a reputation as an innings eater with successful playoff experience. It doesn't always go well when high school home town hero's come back to the alter they used to pray at. Hopefully things will go better for Garland then they did for Strawberry, Eric Davis, Baron Davis and a number of other athletic high school stars who were unable to shine under the lights of Los Angeles at the professional level.
Dodger Notes:
When Jon Garland takes the mound tonight he will become the 12th different starting pitcher used by the Dodgers, one shy of the Los Angeles Dodgers; single-season record of 13 from 1964.
Dodger Starters are now winless in their last six games, with Padilla being the last starter to win one week ago in Colorado.
The Dodger homer streak is over at eight games. Time to start a new one. Matt Kemp's homer streak also came to an end at four games.
Manny's OPS since coming back from the suspension now sits at .877 with 190 at bats under his belt, and his overall OPS is now down to .963 dropping like a rock from his pre suspension OPS of 1.156. The outfielders are carrying the offensive load in the last month but Manny has not been shouldering his part of the burden. Who knew that Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier would be carrying Manny and not the other way around.
Rafy Furcal has certainly been a disappointment given his contract but can we give the each at bat bashing a rest. Should he be batting lead off right now, probably not but you know we don't have many decent options. Martin is already tired, why would you want your lead off guy to be the most tired person on the team. His only skill is his OBP and that is dropping at an alarming rate. Last 28 days Martin's OBP is .247. Has the league figured out that he no longer is a threat with the bat and just throwing him strikes? I dont' know but to advocate him being the lead off hitter just seems crazy to me. His leaded legs aren't going to produce the runs that Furcal might produce and Furcal even in this Aug/Sept slump is still getting on base more then Martin. How about Hudson? Probably the best option right now as he's nothing to get excited about but at least he's consistent.
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Tony Abreu news
The latest on the player to be named later in the Jon Garland trade: We’re hearing infielder Tony Abreu still is the most likely player to be dealt, but that it’s not a lock that he ends up completing the deal. We’re not sure what the possible holdup is.
General Manager Josh Byrnes was seen meeting on the field before tonight’s game with Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti and Assistant General Manager Kim Ng.
*
If it is Abreu, one rival executive told Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal that the Diamondbacks should have gotten more since they’re picking up the rest of Garland’s contract.
The opinion of one scout we spoke with on Abreu: "When I saw him in Double-A, I thought he was going to be an average everyday second baseman. He was a switch-hitter with hittability and quick-twitch actions and enough bat to hit for some power. I think he can play, but those numbers (his Triple-A stats) mean nothing. If he can stay healthy, I think they have a pretty good player."
The scout was skeptical of the Triple-A numbers because Abreu plays in a bandbox ballpark in Albuquerque.
an average 2nd baseman
is exactly what Hudson is right now. No one who thinks highly of Abreu thinks he can be anymore then an average 2nd baseman. To read that seems like a complement to me but I don’t think it was written that way.
Billingsley Quotes from last night:
It was just one bad inning. I felt good all night, the best I’ve felt in a while. I located well and had my off-speed pitching working on both sides of the plate," he said. "I just had one really big mistake pitch that (Brandon) Allen hit. It just cut a little bit and came back over the middle. I couldn’t do anything about those other hits. They came on good pitches and just found a place where we weren’t.
I think he’s right, let’s see what happens the next time out. He’s had a bad run of it lately but hopefully this is the last bad outing for awhile.
Comments like these baffle me. What is your point? Chad is a scared kid? And this hypothesis was determined because you were able to expertly analyze the underlying thoughts and motivations behind that quote?
by Michael White on Sep 3, 2009 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions
My choice about what? I wasn’t arguing that you didn’t hear him. I was arguing that it was foolish to matter of factly assert his state of mind from hearing the quote. Your basically making the “makeup” argument, that Chad doesn’t have the makeup to be an effective pitcher. And you are making this argument because you heard him speak. Keep in mind, you don’t know Chad and therefore have no baseline to compare the tone over the radio to his normal tone (and even if you did we’re clearly into more art than science here.)
by Michael White on Sep 3, 2009 11:46 AM PDT up reply actions
From the interviews I heard from Chad, he always spoke softly.
I saw the post game interview he had last night, and he sounded the same as he always was.
So everyday he sounds like a scared kid ready to get jumped in an alley?
Man, Chad must be a really frightened person. I bet he sleeps with a night light.
by Michael White on Sep 3, 2009 12:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah, maybe that's it
Maybe I said what I said because I don’t think Chad has the “makeup” being an “effective” pitcher, whatever that means… Should I also add anything else, please mwhite, enlighten me. I said what I said because the tone he used in his words sounded of no confidence after the night he had, so to me, he sounded like he was really bummed out. But you’re right, maybe he sounds like that everyday, I don’t know. But in no way, shape or form, did I say Chad doesn’t have the “makeup” to be an effective pitcher, I saw him when he debuted, and I saw that he was going to be an ace someday.
He really is just a shy person. Not really comfortable with talking to the media. He always speaks softly when microphones are in his face, but from what I’ve gathered he’s pretty fiery on the field and in the dugout.
The reporters who are around him everyday know this, and factor into their analysis. Amy K. Nelson misunderstood his shyness last year and misrepresented Bills, saying he threw Martin under the bus when everyone else around knew he was just being hard on himself.
Broxton is similar in that he is also very quiet off the field, and probably takes more criticism because of it.
by Eric Stephen on Sep 3, 2009 12:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Right.
When Martin made some comments about not letting other teams try to scare them with HBPs and they weren’t going to take it without payback, some people saw it as an attack on Billingsley.
I was a bit perplexed since I doubt Billingsley or Martin thinks that way or cares.
I don't think Martin DELIBERATELY threw Bills under the bus, but...
he mentioned game 2 of the NLCS by name, which is why people said that. Not a big deal, either way. I actually like the fact that Bills isn’t a thug. It was more his ineffectiveness that day, and the “lack of retaliation” just became scapegoating for it.
Well thank you for clarifying that, Eric. If I could delete the comment I made, I would. I wasn’t throwing Bills under the bus, it was just amusing to me.
No problem. I will admit, it is kind of amusing and often cringe-worthy to hear Bills being interviewed.
by Eric Stephen on Sep 3, 2009 12:25 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
he always sounds kind of like that
they pointed it out on Dodger talk. Incidentally, Bills is absolutely right. It’s maddening to hear people that WATCHED the game and should no better (Monday & Steiner come to mind, but others as well), not acknowledge how bad his luck was last night. It evens out, of course- there will be nights that he’ll give up 3 shots to the warning track, but if he goes 7 innings and gives up 2 runs, everyone will say he had a heckuva a ballgame- but if people want to use that ballgame as an example of his inability to get out of the “big inning jam”, they’d better find another start of his to do so. And getting 0 to 1 one runs doesn’t help, either…
Angels made out like bandits.
Over the winter, the Angels lost out on a bidding war to retain Mark Teixeira and watched him end up in pinstripes. In order to fill the hole on their offense, they gave their first base job to… Mark Teixeira?
Tex, 2009: .280/.380/.541, .392 wOBA, +4.0 wins
Kendry Morales, 2009: .314/.355/.597, .398 wOBA, +3.8 wins
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/angels-re-sign-teixeira-sort-of/
Kendry and Zobrist have been two of the biggest surprises of the 21st century. You look at the minor league numbers and you look at the major league production and you say WTF.
I don't know
at the age of 23/24 in the offensive fueled environment of the PCL (Salt Lake City) he was unable to post an OPS over .900. It took his 3rd season at the age of 25 before he could better .900.
Really, this season is a total shock.
I wasn't especially happy with the Garland deal form the get go
but I’ll readily support anyone that feels honored and proud to wear a Dodger uniform, so go jonny go
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
Manny need to look at some past film
He is definitenly way off with his swing and his oitch selection. He is uppercutting everything. He also waits on every pitch and tries to go to right field instead of being more aggresive and getting out in front of the pitch and pulling it.
He is letting too many first pitch strikes go by also… my opinion.
Saw his first game at Dodger Stadium
Garland played in left field in the 1995 City Championship game for Kennedy, going 0 for 2. Kennedy beat Carson in the game 3-2.
When Garland was a senior, the schedule had the semifinals and finals on consecutive, so Kennedy’s coach decided to hold back Garland for the final. But Kennedy lost in the semis.
Great stuff
thanks for posting. My team made it to the CIF finals but in one of the smaller divisions, meaning we played in Long Beach instead of Dodger Stadium :(
Thanks Bob
I almost called you for some historical info since I was having a hard time using Google to find anything about the City Championships. I felt he had played in Dodger stadium but without any proof, I didn’t go down that road.
I think so
but doesn’t he now have the right to sign with anyone. Not much future here, maybe he should try KC and sign as a minor league free agent.
Probably at that Subway (or was it Baja Fresh?) in Pasadena when he was asked, “Aren’t you Cory Wade?” :)
by Eric Stephen on Sep 3, 2009 10:30 AM PDT up reply actions
The Rubios and Baja Fresh are approximately 20 yards away from each other. On that block there is a Rubios, Baja Fresh, Chipotle and Wahoos. All serving essentially the exact same food.
by Michael White on Sep 3, 2009 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions
This is untrue
Chipotle is much better than the other two.
+1
Chipotle doesn’t own any freezers or microwaves. QED, BABY!!!
by Seanny Rotten on Sep 3, 2009 5:13 PM PDT up reply actions
"Cory Wade, is that you?"
That was me. Okay, I really didn’t say that (more like, hey Cory Wade!).
It was at the Rubio’s in Paseo.
It's very sad
My Aunt and Uncle had to evacuate because the fire was getting close to their home. Good news was that officials said they’re positive the fire wont be more than 200 yards away and that it will be handled
Nats are calling Garate to the majors.
The bad news was that he’d been traded and would have to pack his things. The good news was that he was going straight to the big leagues.
"After that," Garate said, "I didn’t eat."
He then called mom and dad and received a call from a Nationals official whose name he couldn’t even remember.
http://diamondleung.tumblr.com/post/178975871/victor-garate-gets-the-call
Wow
great news for Garate. That’s got to be an awesome feeling.
by Michael White on Sep 3, 2009 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions
im really interested in how he does..
i hope he does well..
Triple-A manager Tim Wallach is PCL manager of the year.
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3899508
Future bench coach for Donnie Baseball?
It’s not my name, so no “real” way to pronounce it. The way I pronounce the first three letters is,
“Sh-yeh” – or atleast that’s how I’d phonetically try to spell it.
vr, Xei
Somebody ought to go over to Purple Row and tell them that the Race for the Division is officially over
:-)
2009-10 LA Kings Hockey: Where Smyt Happens!!
by DodgerBlueBalls on Sep 3, 2009 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
dodgerblueball is dumb
your a very ignorant fan if you think the division race is over. remember the rockies 2 years ago? 4.5 game lead is nothing in the begining of the month. thank god you have no pull in the dodgers org or they would fall into last place behind the padres.
Even if you didn't know the context
no name calling here unless Eric or I do it. We don’t have any fixed rules but if you start out your first week by calling our regulars names you wont’ be posting here long. This is not the Yahoo or Dodger board.
easy boy
um where did i name call? i merely stated an opinion. i didnt use any harsh language and presented my case they way i see it. there should be nothing wrong with that…
How would this work?
thank god you have no pull in the dodgers org or they would fall into last place behind the padres.
What do you picture him doing? Resting Ethier and Kemp for the rest of the year and starting Pierre and Mitch Jones in his place? I mean really, how badly could he screw up the Dodgers by believing the race to be over?
by Michael White on Sep 3, 2009 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I would like to personally thank the Mets for beating the Rox(8-3) and the
Brewers for holding on to beat the Cards(4-3). It’s been a good afternoon. Lets get a W tonight!
by RawhideBlue on Sep 3, 2009 3:37 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
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