Over the winter, the White Sox traded Jon Garland to the Angels for shortstop Orlando Cabrera and were miffed when free agent Torii Hunter left them at the altar for the Angels.
On Friday, a split squad of Sox got to see both players in Tempe during an 11-1 loss to those Angels.
“By the way,” manager Ozzie Guillen said afterward, “I got a better hug from Torii than I got from Garland.”
But Garland had the last laugh of the afternoon, limiting the Sox to one run on Jermaine Dye’s homer in three innings.
“It was just another pitcher,” Dye said. “Once you get in the box, you’re trying to get a hit off a guy and help your team win, no matter who is on the mound.”
Garland said he received text messages from Sox ace Mark Buehrle before the game saying “they were going to send the ‘A’ squad to make a statement. If that was the case, I think it backfired a little bit. He was joking around.
“When he told me they were sending the ‘A’ squad, I asked him if he was coming up. When he told me no, I told him, ‘You’re right. They are bringing the “A” squad.'”
Garland said he was “shocked” at the trade, that he received no contract extension offer from the Sox and that he would consider going back to the South Side if he became a free agent.
Cabrera is a free agent after this season, but the Sox signed him to play shortstop because they are trying to upgrade over Juan Uribe, both defensively and offensively.
“You always have to give to receive,” Garland said. “To me, I was a little boggled because [Cabrera] is a free agent at the end of the year. And they had just signed Juan back, so I was a little boggled by that. I just looked at it as the Angels wanted me more.”
Cabrera stayed in Tucson to face the Diamondbacks and went 0-for-2, lowering his average to .176.
“[Cabrera] will do a tremendous job every day,” Guillen said. “I think we feel confident in Gavin Floyd and [John] Danks, [Adam] Russell coming up. That’s the reason we did it.
“Right now the only thing I can do is thank [Garland] for all the stuff he did for me and the White Sox and wish him the best.”
Mass appeal?
Nick Masset, who opened last season in the Sox’s bullpen, started Friday’s 10-0 loss to Arizona at Tucson Electric Park. After throwing three scoreless innings in his first outing, Masset went four innings while allowing five hits and three runs.
The Sox have to keep him on the major-league team or lose him because he is out of minor-league options. If he isn’t traded, he probably will again become a long reliever.
“I really don’t try to pay attention to it, just pay attention to getting guys out,” Masset said. “I’d love to stay here and pitch for Chicago. I like where I’m at. I like all the coaches, and they have a really good program. As long as we stay healthy, I think we’ll win a lot of ballgames.”
Extra innings
While San Francisco has been the rumored landing spot if Joe Crede is traded, the Dodgers may be in the market for a third baseman. Andy LaRoche tore a ligament in his right thumb and will need surgery that could sideline him for eight to 10 weeks, and Nomar Garciaparra was hit by a pitch on his right wrist and is day-to-day. … Floyd was somewhat recovered from the flu Friday but was not well enough to pitch. Javier Vazquez, who left camp Tuesday for Puerto Rico for the birth of his second daughter, is expected back Monday, so he and Floyd will rejoin the rotation next week. … Ex-Sox Robin Ventura was in uniform in the dugout in Tucson but said he was not joining the coaching staff. “I’m just here for a couple of days,” he said.
