Only time will tell how this trade favors either the White Sox or the Angels. Before the start of the 2007 season, Garland had as many wins as any other pitcher in the MLB during those two years. In 07', he struggled through much of the year, ending up with a 10-13 record with a 4.23 ERA. While his ERA was better then last year, his wins and losses were drastically down from the 18-7 record he posted in 06'. On the other hand, Orlando Cabrera comes to the White Sox having won his second Gold Glove, and posting his career best BA of .301, something any White Sox fan would welcome considering the dogshit they posted as a team this year. Cabrera has a World Series ring from the Boston curse exorcism in '04, and doesn't strikeout easily, as he has never struck out more then 64 times in an enitre season.
What does this mean for the South Siders? A guy who can play defense and put the ball in play, something desparately needed in the offense last year. Jon Garland will never be forgotten for his role in the '05 Sox, as he was a huge help in getting them to their first World Series in over eight decades. However, as a Sox fan, I saw nothing that indicated to me that Garland would be anything more than a middle of the rotation pitcher for the rest of his career, and if anything he will get worse before he gets better. Yes, he did have a nice two-year run from '05-06, but he flat out sucked this past year. He has trouble locating his pitches, and can't overcome having a bad sinker, his go-to pitch. With Cabrera, the Sox will be able to dump Uribe soon with the development of Danny Richar coming into second, and will have someone who can lay down a bunt when needed, and will fight deep into the pitch count.
Overall, I think Kenny made a good trade. Garland has proven he will never be better then he has been, and getting a Gold Glove winner from the past season in return is a pretty solid return on your investment. The Sox will need to find another good quality starter however; while Garland wasn't a champ this year, he did eat up 200+ innings, and I don't think Jose Contreras can take over the workload. Look for the Sox to lock up Torii Hunter soon, and Kenny will continue to look for trades to fill Garland's spot.
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