Jon Garland Made His Manager's Life Easier

(Ed. note: It's pretty funny, Jon Garland was traded to the Angels for Orlando Cabrera, and while he's making his manager's life easy, Cabrera is driving his nuts)

Since the Angels have had the AL West in hand for a while now, manager Mike Scioscia has been able to use the last few weeks to start figuring out what he wants to do for the playoffs. Aside from making sure he gets players some rest, the biggest decision facing Mike was how he was going to set up his starting rotation come playoff time.

Teams usually ditch their five-man rotation in favor of a four-man rotation in the playoffs, which meant that Scioscia had to figure out which one of his starters he was going to be delivering some bad news too...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Asshole Of The Week: Orlando Cabrera

Welcome to Asshole Of The Week, where every Friday your trusty Foul Balls editor picks out the one person from the previous seven days who makes him think, "Man, what an asshole." It could be anybody from an athlete, an owner, someone in the media, or just anybody who happens to catch my ire.

Well, after a one week Memorial Day induced hiatus, Asshole Of The Week makes its glorious return to Foul Balls this afternoon. I don't know how the week off treated you, but I'll fully admit that not ripping on somebody for two weeks has left me feeling incomplete.

That's why it was probably so easy for me to pick this week's AOTW, which, as you've figured out by now, is White Sox shortstop Orlando Cabrera. Now, it's become apparent since I decided to reward Orlando this week that he and Ozzie have kissed and made up, and while that's nice, it doesn't absolve Orlando of his asshole status.

When the news broke out this week that Cabrera had twice called the press box during games to complain about errors that were charged to him, it pissed me off. Though, to be fair, I've had some negative feelings towards Cabrera since the day he joined the White Sox, so those feelings probably had a lot to do with my reaction.

I made it clear on the day the Sox traded Jon Garland to the Angels for Cabrera that I wasn't a big fan of the move. Garland had been the most consistent pitcher the White Sox had the last few seasons, and the prospect of having to go through an entire season relying on John Danks and Gavin Floyd (Floyd especially) scared me quite a bit.

Now, both Floyd and Danks have proven to be more than capable so far, but their success hasn't changed my feelings towards Cabrera. I still don't quite understand why you'd trade a good pitcher whom you still have under contract for a few more seasons for an aging shortstop who's entering his walk year.

Sure, at the start it was possible that Cabrera would re-sign here, but why would the Sox want to sign an aging shortstop to a long-term deal? Of course, we were then told about the leadership qualities that Cabrera brings to the clubhouse, and how he's a very good guy to have on your team.

Then Cabrera went and showed us all what a great team guy he was by worrying about his numbers, and how a few errors given to him might effect how much money he can make when he signs somewhere else next season.

Nevermind the fact that the team the team player plays for is in first place, and is in the midst of playing it's best baseball of the season, the team player is just worried about himself.

Make no mistake about it, whether he and Ozzie have made up or not, there's no way Cabrera is coming back here next season. He made that clear when he said this.

"If it happens again, I will call again. I don't have to do it with other teams because they always had my back. They don't want to do it here, I can take care of my own business. If you have a problem with what I did, come to me and say something. Don't go to the media to send a message, because he didn't send any message."

Well, obviously Ozzie did send a message, because not too long after saying publicly he was worried about how the public would view Orlando's action and that he should talk to his teammates or his manager about it, Orlando did just that.

What bothers me is that he said the White Sox don't have his back, when it's pretty clear that they do. They traded away Jon Garland to get him, and then Ozzie and Kenny Williams have done nothing but support him in the media since this story broke.

It seems like they have his back to me.

The other thing that Cabrera has done since this story broke to piss me off, is he's no longer talking to the Sun-Times because their White Sox beat reporter, Joe Cowley, was the one who broke the story. Of course, that's if Orlando talks to the media at all, because by most accounts, he's generally long gone from the clubhouse before the media ever get in.

So if Cabrera thinks he did nothing wrong, then why won't he talk to the Sun-Times when they were just writing about something he did that he thinks is right? Why avoid the press at all costs?

If it's all a big misunderstanding, then talking to the media is the only way Cabrera has to clear it up.

Even though he probably only plans on being here for a few more months, that doesn't mean he should show White Sox fans and the press a lack of respect by pretending we don't exist.

So for being a baby about some errors charged to him, for worrying more about his paycheck than the team he's playing for, and for not taking the time or making an effort to try and clear things up, Orlando Cabrera is my Asshole Of The Week.

Though if he raises his OBP and batting average by 30 points or so over the next few weeks, I'll quickly get over it.

Jon Garland Knows How To Deal With Ozzie

With the White Sox starting a four-game series against the Angels in Anaheim tonight, it marks the first time that Angels pitcher Jon Garland will have a chance to face his former team. Garland is scheduled to start against the Sox on Thursday (a day after John Lackey makes his first start of the season), but instead of asking Jon about that, all anybody really wanted to know was how he felt about playing for Ozzie Guillen.

Garland probably had the best approach of anyone in the White Sox clubhouse. Ignore him...

Continue reading at FanHouse

Who's The Second Best Team In The NFL?

We all know that the New England Patriots are the best team in the NFL right now. I'm pretty sure the only way they don't go undefeated is if an asteroid strikes in Boston and blows the whole place to hell.

The question is, who's the second best team in the NFL?

A few weeks ago it was obviously the Indianapolis Colts, but ever since they lost to New England at home in Week 9, the Colts have looked pretty mediocre. They followed that loss with another one against the Chargers in Week 10, a game that saw Peyton Manning throw a career worst six interceptions.

They finally got another win this last Sunday against the Chiefs, but it wasn't exactly a victory to be proud of. Anytime you need a last-second field goal at home to beat a Larry Johnson-less Chiefs team, you're doing something wrong.

Whether it's the rash of injuries they've suffered the last few weeks, or whether they just haven't gotten over that loss to New England, the Colts look lost and extremely beatable.

The team that was supposed to take over their spot in the NFL hierarchy was the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they came out and laid an egg on Sunday, losing to the New York Jets. That just shouldn't happen, and anybody who loses to the Jets cannot be considered an elite team.

So you know what that means?

The horrible, mediocre, little brother of the AFC has stepped up and taken a seat next to the Patriots.

That's right. The NFC is starting to catch the AFC, at least at the top, anyway.

Right now I'd have to say the Dallas Cowboys are the best team in the NFL, non-Patriots division, of course.

If it wasn't for Tom Brady and Randy Moss, Tony Romo and Terrell Owens would be the story this season. Romo threw 4 touchdown passes on Sunday, all to Owens, as the Cowboys improved to 9-1 on the season.

The lone loss? To the Patriots.

The third best team in the NFL might be from the NFC as well, because as much as it pains me to say it, the Packers are 9-1 too. Though to be completely honest, I'm not sure I buy into Green Bay's performance. I mean, they lost to the Bears, how good can they be?

Yes they're 9-1, but they haven't really played anybody this season. They've only played one team that currently has a winning record, the New York Giants. Everybody else is .500 or worse.

There won't be a rude awakening for the Packers though, because the rest of their schedule is a lot like the first half. They only have one tough game, and it's going to be a very important one, as they travel to Dallas on Thursday November 29th to play a game that will settle homefield advantage in the NFC.

Make no mistake about it, whoever emerges from the NFC is going to get their ass whipped by New England in the Super Bowl, but it's nice to see that at least somebody in the conference is good enough to at least be mentioned with AFC teams.

Foul Balls

John McDonough Leaves The Cubs - Apparently, I'm not the only one who's excited about the nice start the Blackhawks have gotten off to this season. (Second place and 4-0 against Detroit, bitch!) Cubs president John McDonough is so excited by the Hawks performance, he done quit his job!

Cubs president John McDonough will be introduced as the new president of the Blackhawks at a noon news conference Tuesday at the United Center.

"He's as good as anyone in the country and just happens to be living in Chicago," Hawks chairman Rocky Wirtz told the Tribune on Tuesday. "I've watched the job he's done with the Cubs throughout the years. He's a guy that I think has great vision, leadership and I think he'll be a terrific addition to the Hawks organization."

Obviously, with the uncertain future of the Cubs ownership McDonough couldn't be sure he'd still have a job by this time next year, so he did the smart thing and went to the Blackhawks. He'll either be seen as some kind of savior, or the Blackhawks will continue to be lousey and nobody will notice.

MJ In Orange and Blue? - I watched the Illini beat Arizona State in the first round of the Maui Invitational last night, and I was very impressed by what I saw. For more you can check out what I wrote at FanHouse.

You know what I wasn't prepared for, though? Seeing Michael Jordan in orange and blue.

As MJ sat at courtside with his daughter Jasmine watching his son Jeff play for the Illini, I wondered: What happens if Illinois and North Carolina meet in the tournament this spring? What's MJ wearing to that game?

The Garland Trade: The Day After - Yep, still pissed!! Seriously, Kenny Williams gave up a 28-year old pitcher entering his prime - one who's stayed healthy his entire career - for a 33-year old shortstop who's probably going to leave after this season anyway.

I know that this isn't going to be the Sox only move this offseason, but it's a pretty shitty way to start. Maybe tomorrow we'll trade Javier Vazquez for Barry Bonds.

The Illini Could Be BCS Bowling! - The BCS is facing a crisis right now. As currently constructed, only two teams per conference can be allowed to play in a BCS bowl. It's never been a problem before this season, but it could become a large one after next week.

You see, the BCS has always been able to rely on Notre Dame to win nine games so they could justify giving them a spot, but that's not happening this season. Then there's Hawaii, who is vulnerable to a loss this week against Boise State, which would knock them out of the BCS picture.

So that would mean the BCS will have to take two teams from four of the six BCS conferences. Of course, that becomes a huge problem since only the top 14 teams in the BCS rankings are eligible to play in a BCS bowl. So what's the BCS to do? Expand.

In an attempt to avoid a potential headache at the end of the regular season, the commissioners of the six BCS football conferences have voted to expand the pool of BCS at-large candidates from 14 to 18.

The new rule goes into effect only if there aren't enough teams among the top 14 of the final BCS standings to fill 10 slots in the BCS National Championship Game, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl.

So how does this affect the Illini? They're currently ranked 17th in the BCS.
And obviously, all of this is way less complicated than coming up with some kind of playoff system.

Breaking News: Jon Garland Traded To Angels

The White Sox have traded Jon Garland to the Los Angeles Angels for two-time Gold Glove winning All-Star shortstop, Orlando Cabrera.

No, I'm not happy about it.

Should Dye Stay Or Should Dye Go Now?

I have no idea what to think about the White Sox right now. Going into the season it was known that if the team was out of it-though nobody thought they'd be this out of it-Mark Buehrle and Jermaine Dye were the two players likely to be traded.

Tadahito Iguchi's name came up too as a free agent, but there was never any real talk about an Iguchi trade. (Well, okay, I talked.) So now we sit here on July 31st and Mark Buehrle is signed for another five years, Tadahito Iguchi is hitting home runs against the Cubs for the Phillies, and now maybe Jermaine Dye is about to sign a contract extension.

What the hell is going on?

Jermaine Dye remains a member of the White Sox, and the possibility exists that he could stay in Chicago despite strong interest from Boston.

The White Sox, according to an industry source, have made overtures about giving Dye an extension that wouldn't mortgage their long-term future. Dye can become a free agent after this season and seek a long-term extension elsewhere, even though he indicated last week that he wouldn't settle for a one-year contract.

From what I'm hearing, the Sox are offering a two-year deal, but Dye would like it to be longer. While I wouldn't be that upset if the Sox kept Dye, I still don't think it's the right move to make. As I've said before, Dye is the only valuable trade chip the Sox can afford to lose right now. It's a lot easier to replace corner outfielders than it is starters like Jon Garland and Javier Vazquez.

The White Sox were close to sending Jermaine to Boston yesterday for Wily Mo Pena and a couple of prospects, but the Red Sox aren't sure they want to hand over the prospects that Kenny Williams wants. The latest talk I hear is Pena and one prospect for Dye.

I think Kenny's just going to sit around and wait on this as long as possible in hopes that the Red Sox will relent and accept the trade. Williams is probably also fielding phone calls from the Angels who lost out on Mark Teixeira yesterday and might be a little more willing to part with young talent for Dye's proven bat. Even if it does leave a logjam in the outfield.

At this point I'd say it's 60/40 that Dye will be traded within the next two hours.

Let's Look At The Bright Side

Yeah, yeah. Bobby Jenks blew a save last night. It sucked, I know. The Sox are now at 3-4 on the season, but I'm actually pretty happy about it.

Have you been paying attention to the starting pitching over the last six days? Ever since the series against Cleveland ended, the Sox starters have been fantastic. Between Javier Vazquez, John Danks, Jose Contreras, and Jon Garland last night, our starters have combined for a 1.40 ERA over their last 25.2 innings of work. They've only allowed 12 hits while striking out 18 batters. Sure the 13 walks aren't pleasing, but they've gotten out of all the jams they've faced.

In other words, the starters are pitching like it's 2005 again.

The fact the Sox have only gone 2-2 in that stretch doesn't bother me because we all know the offense will be there, and that Bobby Jenks isn't going to blow a lot of saves like he did last night.

Mark Buehrle will be taking the mound in a few hours for the Sox as they look to take a series in Oakland for the first time since around 1845. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from taking that line drive off of his forearm last week.

Speaking of the Sox' struggles in Oakland, I don't really think it's such a big mystery why they struggle there. They don't score a lot of runs in Oakland. The reason for this is because the White Sox offense has been alarmingly dependent on the home run as of late. Last season 46% of the runs the White Sox scored were via the long ball.

That's way too high.

So when they go to Oakland, where it's damn near impossible to hit home runs at night on a consistent basis, they're going to struggle. I mean let's look at the first game of the series. We won, but how did we score our runs? On a Jim Thome and Scott Podsednik homer. Last night the Sox only managed a single run, and at one point couldn't get Alex Cintron home from third after he led off the inning with a triple. (I know it was ruled a three-base error, but there's no way that Mark Ellis should have to take the blame for not catching a ball he had to run 100 feet to get to and catch it over his head.)

The White Sox offense still doesn't seem capable of playing the small ball tactics that Ozzie wants them to get back to. Last season a lot of the blame fell on Scott Podsednik. Well, Pods is batting .421 right now with three stolen bases. He's getting on base. It's the rest of the offense that's not getting him home.

As I said earlier though, I'm not worried about any of this in the slightest. If the Sox can keep pitching like they are the offense will come around and this team will start winning like they're supposed to a lot more consistently.

Let's just hope it starts this afternoon. I'm dying for a 10-1 victory right now.

Rockies Save the Sox

The Rockies completed a deal with the Houston Astros early this morning for pitcher Jason Jennings.

Basically, they made the exact same deal the White Sox reportedly almost made with Houston, but replaced the name Jon Garland with Jason Jennings.

"This gives us a solid No. 2 starter and some depth in the bullpen," Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. "It's an exciting day for us."

It was also somewhat of a homecoming for the 28-year-old Jennings, who was born in Mesquite, Texas, just outside Dallas,and pitched for Baylor University.

He's spent his entire five-year professional career with the Rockies, and last season was 9-13 with a 3.78 ERA. He will make $5.5 million in 2007 and is eligible to become a free agent after next season. He is Colorado's career leader in victories (58) and shutouts (three).

This is good news for White Sox fans, especially ones like us who were ready to kill somebody upon hearing the news that the Sox were considering trading Garland. It's not like he was the only consistent starter on the team last year or anything, let's just trade him! You know, the guy who leads MLB in Wins over the last two seasons. Why keep that guy?

He'll probably get cocky or something.

Here are the players switching teams.

Rockies get

• Willy Tavares-CF
• Jason Hirsh-RHP
• Taylor Bucholz-RHP

Astros get

• Jason Jennings-RHP
• Miguel Ascensio-RHP