How exactly is it fair that a guy that fires a shot across the bow has the blonde sunshine fall upon him, giving him the last laugh? Matt Garza made some seething comments about he Orioles that were totally unsolicited, and yet he beat the O's 4-1. He pretty much set himself up to get shelled in this one. The good guys are always supposed to win, right? I'm sure that in Garza's mind he is the good guy. How dare those Orioles stick it to me in July by hitting back-to-back-to-back homers. This time around, Garza gave up one run over five hits against the O's. Furthermore, his previous comments would indicate that he was going to pitch up and in all night (making the O's uncomforable at the plate). The O's appeared poised and ready for his fastballs...which never seemed to come. Garza seemed to rely mostly on his changeup to get Oriole batters out. So the question is, did the O's play directly into a trap?
I would say probably not. Why would you make comments like that about another team in hopes that they're lured into making mistakes? The fact is that Garza's a great pitcher. Going into the game, he was 8-1 lifetime against the Orioles. In all honesty, who knows why people do and say stupid things sometimes? Why did Woody Hayes punch that Clemson linebacker? Why did Bobby Knight choke that kid? I'm not comparing those incidents to what Matt Garza said, however perhaps he got caught up in a moment, and found something stupid coming out of his mouth.
Speaking for myself, I'm not offended by many things, and I feel that I have a fairly thick skin. But I was extremely frosted by Garza's comments. How dare you say things like that about the O's, or anyone for that matter. Here's a novel idea for you, perhaps you should consider watching the film of that July 20th game and fixing your problems as opposed to blaming the other team. I would have loved to have seen the O's totally take it to this kid again. However to his credit, he won the game in the manner that he said he wasn't planning on winning it. Furthermore, the Orioles swung at a lot of first pitches in the dirt. Does anyone think that none of the Oriole players didn't want to hit Garza, and hit him hard? I know that I would have! Unfortunately, all of us (myself definitely included) allowed Matt Garza to get into our heads, and perhaps that was his intention.
The Orioles are also expected to activate Chris Tillman before Sunday, when he'll start in the series finale against these Tampa Rays. I would say that the game wasn't a total loss...Kevin Millwood did plunk Evan Longoria during the game. Garza also showed his bush league nature when he was taken out during the sixth inning. Garza walked off the mound while handing manager Joe Maddon the ball, obviously done to show up Maddon. MASN camera's also caught Maddon yelling at Garza in the dugout. Keep up the good work Garza; it'll be interesting to see whether or not another team, or your own gets sick of you first.
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