i think he could be a good signing by the os

Garland made $12 mil in '08 and turned down arbitration. So I am guessing he wants a deal around 3 years $40 mil.

4.90 1.51 WHIP .303 BAA in the AL West ~ $13 mil

or

5.25 1.61 WHIP .286 BAA in the AL East ~ $4 mil

I'd rather keep Cabrera for a lot less.

John Garland is a very bad contract waiting to happen........

Pete,

I am greatly encouraged by this newS!

I think this is actually the right move. I recently saw an Elias-based projection of post-age 32 pitchers performance, and, in the last period of the Modern Era, only 2 pitchers would be considered to have continued at a "good" rate of performance (One of those cats was named Boddicker!). In Burnett's case he's far more likely to post a overall performance level of 4.00+ ERA moderate MLB levels over the next 4 years. In Garland's case, he sands perhaps a better chance at continuing his ~200 IP/YR rate and average-to-above-average performance levels over the next 4 yrs because of his age.

Garland strikes me as a good option. Will his stats look as good in Baltimore? No, but he's consistent, and he'll eat some innings. That's all we want. Truth be told, he could get hot and win a couple of ballgames too.

I don't mind the idea of the Orioles getting Jon Garland at all.

He'll be 29 and as he is an innings gobbler. Unlike some other names, he has these numbers in the American League, so you don't really have to worry about how his numbers would translate.

One thing I see which concerns me slightly is that while he isn't a strike out pitcher, his strike out totals have fallen under 100 the last couple of seasons, his walks have crept up from 41 in '06 to 69 in '08. He also let up the second most number of hits in his career and did that under 200 innings.

Call me a worry wort, but with the O's luck with named free agent pitchers in the past, I am always a little scared.

Anyway, I really didn't think he was an option since he earned $12 million last year and I thought he'd be due for a big raise and would be seeking a long term deal.

Would you happen to have any ideas on the terms his agent is looking for?

I need to correct myself, it was 59 walks in '08, not 69. Sorry for the mistake.

"c" is for correction.

We should not sign Garland - too much for too little.

Picking up Jon Garland would be wise. He is an underrated pitcher. He has good movement on his pitches and when he is on, he dominates.

Garland is a great pick up. Remember, the O's are just looking for a veteran that can transition to rotation of Guthrie, Tillman, Matusz and Arrieta. We know Garland isn't an All-Star but he has pitched for good teams and he could be a solid guy for three years. I'll take him over Burnett every day of the week.

I'd rather have Garland (and Uehara and Kawakami) every 5th day than Burres or Liz or Simon or Bass or Waters or...