Coop realigns the rotation:
Pitching coach Don Cooper officially set the White Sox starting rotation after the All-Star break, beginning Thursday night in Baltimore. Jon Garland takes the mound first, followed by Mark Buehrle, Javier Vazquez, Jose Contreras and John Danks
Contreras briefly was thought about to open the Orioles series, with Garland trying to work through a right shoulder knot that plagued him early on during Spring Training. "Garland came into it a little bit. He was sore in his shoulder and stiff. He had that knot. Today he felt OK, so he's good to go," said Cooper.
Mark Gonzales says there is "strong sentiment" for Jermaine among the Mets:
"Hours before Mark Buehrle re-signed with the White Sox, the same NL GM [that said San Diego was interested in Dye] said that New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya was shopping more for relief help. The Mets had been looking closely at Buehrle and right fielder Jermaine Dye, but there might not be a match right now despite some strong sentiment for Dye."
Jim, also, takes a look at Fautino.
And the latest Palehose 7 strips:
* The Second Act
* Intermission
And look inside for more on Garland's knot.
The knot Jon Garland felt in his right (throwing) shoulder during the spring is back again, just a little bit deeper. Garland said it makes it harder for him to loosen up and reduces the velocity of his pitches. "Definitely doesn't feel 100 percent," Garland said. "To me, I think it's something that's going to be with me for the rest of my career, so I either learn to pitch with it, learn to deal with it or I'm done." Garland said it doesn't hurt and he expects to start the first game after the All-Star break.
"I don't feel 100 percent, but really, does a guy come out of spring training for 162 games and feel 100 percent? ... Nothing hurts. I don't know if there's a knot deep down or fluid or what."
Garland said he had what he referred to as a "knot" behind his right shoulder in spring training but pitched through it and started the season feeling healthy. "It's a little bit deeper [now], but I'm not a doctor," he said. "Nothing hurts by any means." Garland said he had the problem warming up before Friday's game. "Each inning it took me a few pitches before I was right, but I'm not going to sit here and make excuses," he said. "Just bad pitches, everything was up in the zone."