Hey, remember Jon Garland, and how completely mediocre I found him when there were rumors about him signing with the Dodgers this offseason? What, are rapidly declining strikeout rates a good thing now? Well, as you’ve probably heard, Garland ended up signing with the division rival Diamondbacks – and he’s making his sedona/maroon/whatever it is debut tonight against our very own boys in Blue.
And boy, does this look like it’s going to be ugly. Seven Dodgers have had the pleasure of facing Garland, and six have done pretty well for themselves. The 7th is Brad Ausmus, who’s 0-4 with a walk, and while I was going to say “great, why is tonight the night he’s playing”, really, Ausmus isn’t going to hit any pitcher at any time, so it’s irrelevant.
Thanks to our friends at baseball-reference, here’s Garland’s history against current Dodger hitters:
Just in case it didn’t jump out at you, Manny’s hitting .520 in 25 at-bats. And even Casey Blake’s had success, so hopefully he’ll snap out of the suckfest that’s been his 2008, one homer off a mid-80s fastball from a Mexican League refugee aside. Plus, even though James Loney and Matt Kemp aren’t on this list, they’re hitting everything right now.
If there’s any time to snap out of a hitting slump, tonight’s the night. Plus, you know, that whole “first game against your biggest competitor” thing. Just a side benefit, though, right?
