Garland

[BrandoFan]

He mows down through the Cubs' intimidating line-up for 4 innings.

 

In the 5th, has Hollansworth down 1-2. Todd the Rockstar has been expanding his zone down and in, up and away all game long, basically feeling for the ball. Throw him a 93mph belt-high fastball on outer portion and he won't catch up -- just as red-hot Derek Lee couldn't in the 2nd inning, it's his weakness.

 

What does Galrand throw? A hanging curve away to speed up TH's bat.

 

Base-hit to opposite field results. Garland falls apart thereafter.

 

Come to think of it, he only really got in trouble in Montreal in the 6th when he started to nibble, niblle, nibble, forgetting that he has a plus four-seamer and a plus-two-seamer.

 

Yes, I realize that Garland was f***ed in the ass by Gload (drop, another drop by Uribe that Gload should have taken in the next inning and finally a horrible jump on Hollansworth's "triple" that basically sealed our fate.....people get 20 years maximum security for that s***) and Uribe - and maybe even Konerko who could have saved that 2-base error had he reacted quicker......But if Garland retires Hollansworth, it's 1-0 Sox game heading into the 6th and maybe Sox pull away like they did against the Indians on Thursday.

 

I also understand that Sox over-swung against Prior (Kong with bases loaded, Crede getting a couple of cookies and fouling them back, Uribe and Rowand falling out of their shoes trying to leave yard, Valentin getting too greedy on a 2-0 count), something that only stupid teams do.

 

Being eaten up alive by a good RHP? Nothing new there - had a chance to nickel and dime strugglinh Prior to death in the first few innings, and couldn't capitalize. Tried to launch homers instead. Big mistake. Game over.

 

Still....Judy is Judy and she failed to pitch a game of her lifetime and give them Sox the most important win of the season. :fyou :puke

[Hatchetman]

108 career starts. He blows.

[BobDylan]

The only thing keeping Garland from being a staff ace is his head. He's downright dumb sometimes.

[Jordan4life_2007]

I think Sox fans just have to accept Jon for what he is. He's not great. He's not bad. He's somewhere in between. He'll have very good starts, to go along with very bad ones. What was dissapointing about today was that his defense let him down. And Jon is not mentally tough enough to pitch over mistakes. That's what the great to really good pitchers do. Jon is at best a #4 starter. Period.

[Hatchetman]

I think his personality has very little to do with it. His stuff is very hittable. Same speed, same location.

[Soxfest]

I do not think JG will ever pitch to his potential, at this point he is a #4 pitcher and nothing more.

[knightni]

Should we have a "decline and fall" thread for Garland, Loaiza and Schoeneweis while we're at it?

[IlliniKrush]

I b****ed and ranted about Garland the rest of the game there. Hollandsworth hit made me go "damn". Big deal, we get out of that right? He's been rolling all game, looking phenomenal against that lineup.

 

No, he throws a pickoff throw away, gets a drop in the outfield. Alright Jon, let's limit the damage. What's done is done, the dropped ball f***ed me. Let's not be Juan Cruz and crumble on the mound when my team makes an error. Let's keep the team in the ball game. Let's get our head straightened on, and get out of this thing. Let's make some pitches....

 

Let's walk the f***ing 9 hitter. Ramon Martinez. Oh, and how about on 4 pitches. That's inexcusable in little league.

 

Let's lay a meatball into Grudz he can park onto the Dan Ryan on the first pitch after Coop talks to me (what the hell did he tell him?)

 

Game. Over.

 

I don't want to lay it all on Garland, but if he's going to s*** himself every time something doesn't go his way, he's never going to get any better than this. Terrible.

[greg775]

Brando, good post listing many many reasons why we lost,

then you end up blaming Judy.

I think that's stupid and ruins a good post.

 

Garland is a big leaguer; Gload is not.

[BrandoFan]

Brando, good post listing many many reasons why we lost,

then you end up blaming Judy.

I think that's stupid and ruins a good post.

Whoa, hold up.

 

Judy was molested by his defense, true.......

 

But if you read more carefully, you'd see that it ALL began with him refusing to challenge Hollansworth on 1-2 count to lead off the 5th inning. That's DEFINITIVE Garland right there. Same thing happened when he was pitching a no-hitter in Montreal. And pretty much through-out 2000-2003 - he just loses courage and intensity at some point.

 

Was it defense that caused Garland to choke and throw the ball away in yet another game - his defensive miscue lost the 2nd game in Florida, remember? That error of his moved Todd Hollansworth from 1st to 3rd? The next batter hit what would have been a routine DP ball to SS, so Judy would have gotten out of the inning still leading 1-0.....

 

Who walked the 9th place hitter Ramon f***in' Martinez by trying to nibble his way to an easy out with game still tied at 1? Who threw a sinker that didn't sink in Grudzelanek's wheelhouse, a moment that basically decided the entire ballgame and looked like a pouting, petualant child in the process?

 

Sox needed Judy to come through BIG-TIME. Jon friggin Rauch did against Indians, why couldn't Judy? This win would have set the rest of the Cub series nicely - it would have made Zambrano-Diaz game a MUST-WIN for the Cubs and pushed us back into a winning streak going into Minnesota series........

 

He didn't step up. He folded at the earliest sign of adversity. This bulls*** might have been acceptable in 2000, but not now.

[Mr. Showtime]

Brando, would you consider Garland to be in the same vain as Clement? A guy who bounces around to 2-3 teams than finally turns it on?

[BrandoFan]

Brando, would you consider Garland to be in the same vain as Clement? A guy who bounces around to 2-3 teams than finally turns it on?

Does it matter?

 

Sox franchise could be in big f***ing trouble by the time Judy "finds" herself - which wouldn't suprise me one bit, btw.

 

Part of it is ownership's fault - JR is the root of evil. Nothing Judy did in 2000-2003 proved that she is a front-line pitcher.

 

I dunno, maybe I should have known better. Sox didn't "deserve" this game - our hitters didn't bring their best efford, got greedy, let Prior off the hook.....Gload destroyed us with his defense. Judy did the rest.

[Mr. Showtime]

Does it matter?

Not for the Sox no, but I think that's what would happen.

 

I only saw the 1st inning when they loaded the bases and Konerko couldn't it done.

[BobDylan]

He isnt intimidating at all. Guys like Prior, Pedro, Schmidt, Zambrano, ect, when someone gets a hit off of them, or a mistake is made, they really turn it on. Garland is just so calm and relaxed he seems to not care when he gets in trouble. He needs to learn how to turn "it" on in key situations, or he will never be any better than he is now.

 

I want Jon to do well because im a big fan of his, and at 24, he can become a great pitcher.

That's a poor assessment. You can't judge a player on how he 'looks'. That's downright ridiculous.

 

It's one thing if you KNOW he doesn't care, but you can't simply base his effectivness on his stone face.

[elrockinMT]

The only thing keeping Garland from being a staff ace is his head. He's downright dumb sometimes.

Pretty much right on there. Jon and his love of giving up the homer is beyond me. The guy throws too many cookies and they all end up n the OF bleachers. Is it just his fault or should our catcher take some responsibility? How about Ozzie or Cooper calling Garlands pitches from the bench? Do they do it?

[Gene Honda Civic]

Brando, would you consider Garland to be in the same vain as Clement? A guy who bounces around to 2-3 teams than finally turns it on?

Clement is exactly the type of pitcher Garland is...

 

He may not figure it all out until this team has given up on him. I'd love to see Jon locked up long term in the off-season though, so that we'll be the team he's with when he "gets it"

[BrandoFan]

Is it just his fault or should our catcher take some responsibility?

 

Of course it's Judy. He should have eaten Hollansworth and Martinez alive.

[CWSGuy406]

Brando is absolutely spot on about walking the f***ing 9th place hitter, Ramon f***ing Martinez. ON FOUR DAMN f***ING PITCHES (my apologies for the language). And then Coop came out, probably told Jonny, "Get ahead of the hitters, throw a first pitch strike to Grudz." Unfortunately Grudz was probably thinking the same way...

[knightni]

Brando is absolutely spot on about walking the f***ing 9th place hitter, Ramon f***ing Martinez.  ON FOUR DAMN f***ING PITCHES (my apologies for the language).  And then Coop came out, probably told Jonny, "Get ahead of the hitters, throw a first pitch strike to Grudz."  Unfortunately Grudz was probably thinking the same way...

Ed Farmer on 1000 was saying that lately, right after Coop visits a pitcher, the very next pitch that pitcher throws is hit out for a HR.

 

Coincedence? Probably not.

[Gene Honda Civic]

Ed Farmer on 1000 was saying that lately, right after Coop visits a pitcher, the very next pitch that pitcher throws is hit out for a HR.

 

Coincedence? Probably not.

Another thing I've noticed.

 

Everytime Hawk says "sinch'er up, and hunker down" the batter automatically is out... I was jumping for joy when Carlos was able to draw a walk after he said it today.

 

I seriously can't remember the last time somebody got a hit after he said that.

[CWSGuy406]

I was at the game, it was great - Jonny was on friggin' cruise control, dominating. Our hitters, while they were missing some pitches, still did a great job of getting a lot of pitches on Mark Prior, and they had 100 pitches on him at the end of the fifth.

 

And then Jon blew up. But, it wasn't the homerun that really bothered me. I was more upset about the previous walk, but not really the homerun. The homerun just sort of culminated all of my anger, and at that point, with all Cubbie blue standing on it's feet, I was pissed.

 

And then the next inning came by, and Jon give up f***ing two more runs. And then I was absolutely cheesed, as Jon walked off the field I booed his ass like never before. I couldn't believe how he just imploded within a matter of 20 minutes or so.

 

Damn Garland - the offense got you four f***ing runs today, yet you piss it away. Sure the defense behind you f***ed up too, but damn man... Grow some f***ing balls...

[YASNY]

Wow. I see this totally different on Garland. I saw Garland not get shook up when Gload dropped that short fly in right that put a runner in scoring position with 1 out. Garland pitched through that without looking the the least bit flustered.

 

Then, when he made the errant throw on the pick off attempt, he still didn't get shook up. He was on his way out of that inning without any further damage when Gload decided to dog it on the ball Uribe dropped. You could tell Uribe was expecting to be called off of that one. That's when JG finally choked. In my opinion, Garland is getting there but not quite there.

 

As far as him not "challenging" Hollandsworth, I don't quite follow the logic on this. He had a 1-2 count and tried to make a pitch the Hollandsworth would get himself out on. You don't want to give them something very hittable on that count. Hollandsworth just did a damn fine piece of hitting there. Something our hitters didn't do much of yesterday when they could have gotten Prior on the ropes.

[CubKilla]

Jon is at best a #4 starter.  Period.

A wise man has been saying this for A LONG time. Who can that be?

[T R U]

Whoa, hold up.

 

Judy was molested by his defense, true.......

 

But if you read more carefully, you'd see that it ALL began with him refusing to challenge Hollansworth on 1-2 count to lead off the 5th inning.  That's DEFINITIVE Garland right there. Same thing happened when he was pitching a no-hitter in Montreal.    And pretty much through-out 2000-2003 - he just loses courage and intensity at some point.

 

Was it defense that caused Garland to choke and throw the ball away in yet another game - his defensive miscue lost the 2nd game in Florida, remember?  That error of his moved Todd Hollansworth from 1st to 3rd?    The next batter hit what would have been a routine DP ball to SS, so Judy would have gotten out of the inning still leading 1-0.....

 

Who walked the 9th place hitter Ramon f***in' Martinez by trying to nibble his way to an easy out with game still tied at 1?    Who threw a sinker that didn't sink in Grudzelanek's wheelhouse, a moment that basically decided the entire ballgame and looked like a pouting, petualant child in the process?

 

Sox needed Judy to come through BIG-TIME.    Jon friggin Rauch did against Indians, why couldn't Judy?  This win would have set the rest of the Cub series nicely - it would have made Zambrano-Diaz game a MUST-WIN for the Cubs and pushed us back into a winning streak going into Minnesota series........

 

He didn't step up.  He folded at the earliest sign of adversity. This bulls*** might have been acceptable in 2000, but not now.

Isnt it not all Garland who is responsable for what pitch he throws? I mean you never know what the call from the dugout was?

 

If Garland chose to throw the curve to Hollandsworth then yeah its his fault but if it was called in then you cant really blame him..

 

I dont know if thats the case I was just saying it is a possibility... and anyways, I have a weird feeling about Diaz going against Zambrano.. I think we might pull it off

[Al Lopez Ghost (old)]

Garland is never gonna change. He's a major league pitcher, but he doesn't have the makeup to be a dominant, star pitcher. He's happy as a pig in slop to be what he is, sometimes successful, sometimes not, whichever.

By the way, lately the criticism of Jerry Manuel about taking Garland out too soon, to protect against the big inning, has died down. I think Ozzie is seeing that Garland is gonna be Garland, no matter who manages him.

He's our 4th best pitcher, and that's all he'll ever be.

viva ozzie. (i've removed the caps on that.)