Being written off is nothing new for Freddy Garcia.
As a matter of fact, the right-handed veteran has made a career out of it the last three-plus years. So while there may have been anxiety bordering on panic after a seven-run, three-inning outing for Garcia back on April 15, there was the 33-year-old pitcher on Thursday, with an almost “I knew it all the time” attitude.
“That Toronto start is in the past,” Garcia said. “One bad start, man. It happens. I can’t worry about it. If I pitch bad, I pitch bad. I move forward.”
That’s exactly what Garcia has done. Since disaster up North, he is 1-0 with a 3.79 ERA in three starts.
What has to have the Sox coaching staff even more excited about his Wednesday win over Kansas City was Garcia went six innings, allowing just two runs on four days rest.
It was the normal rest that became a topic of concern back in early April, when Garcia was filthy against Minnesota and then four days later got lit up in Toronto. Manager Ozzie Guillen made it a point to give Garcia extra rest between starts since then, but it couldn’t be avoided from his start in New York over the weekend leading up to handling the Royals.
“That’s been their decision, not mine,” Garcia said. “Whatever they want to do with it, I’m fine. My shoulder feels good, I don’t have any problems. I would like to pitch every five days, but right now, I don’t mind six days. If they want me to get rest, I’ll rest. I just try to do my stuff.”
