Matt Garza on WGN Sports Night

The newest member of the Chicago Cubs joined Kap and Koz on WGN Radio earlier tonight:

• Matt Garza was really excited when he found out he would become to be a Cub.
• Wrigley Field is a historical ballpark where he's always wanted to pitch.
• Garza hopes to be a "productive out" at the plate.
• Matt doesn't think he will be a savior of any sort for the Cubs. He is just going to come in and follow the lead of Dempster and Zambrano.
• He prides himself on throwing strikes.
• Garza thinks that the pressure of the 102 years thing comes with the territory. He sees it as a big advantage. The game is still the same wherever you go.
• He has been in the gym since the last week of October and he started throwing this week.
• He throws six days a week from January 1 on.
• Garza describes his workouts as "intense" and shows up for Spring Training ready to go.
• Matt thinks that his confidence in himself is his greatest attribute as a pitcher.
• "If you care about something as much as I do, yeah you're going to get emotional. I don't think about it as emotion I think about it as passion. I love what I do."
• Garza loves this game "so much". It is what he thinks about night and day.
• Koz thinks this emotion will help this team. "You have to be to be great," he said.
• Matt has a lot of respect for guys who are as cold as ice. Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee are examples.
• He loves going to the ballpark everyday. It is a wonderful way to make a living.
• Garza likes to have a good time doing what he loves doing.
• Pitching in front of these great fans and packed houses will give him a whole lot of energy. Fans are like the 26th man on the roster. They make the players want to play harder.
• In Tampa Bay, the Rays had to win to get people in the seats.
• "The Cubs are very good and very deep. We added a Gold Glove first baseman in Carlos Pena," he said. "We have a great club."
• Another year of Big Z's second half will be tremendous.
• Matt is open to anything contract ways, but his job is to take care of things inside the white lines.
• According to Kaplan, Garza will be at the Cubs Convention.

Kevin Goldstein was also on the show:

• He said that the Cubs gave up quantity but not quality.
• They did not part with a top tier minor league, but there are a lot of guys with potential that they sent packing.
• If you asked 20 scouts who they like better out of Chris Archer and Trey McNutt, ten guys would go each way.
• Goldstein went back and forth and eventually decided to rank McNutt ahead of Archer.
• Matt Garza is a solid number three starter who looks like a number two some games, but a number four during others.
• An overlooked aspect of this deal is the fact that the Cubs get Garza for three years.

In case you missed it, be sure to check out the post from earlier about the Cubs picking up a new catcher. That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!