Garland just never seemed at home here

Losing any athlete who played in Chicago for eight seasons should be emotional.

Especially losing a pitcher who won 92 games during that time, including 46 the past three seasons.

Especially one who helped the White Sox to the city's only World Series title in 90 years now.

But, I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I'm having trouble working up too much emotion over Jon Garland being traded to the Angels on Monday.

Oh, sure, on an analytical level it inspires all sorts of feelings, most of which will take some time to sort out.

Like, of course, what do the Sox do with Juan Uribe now that Orlando Cabrera will be the everyday shortstop?

Also, who will fill Garland's spot in the starting rotation and replace all those innings he threw?

Finally, how many other moves does general manager Kenny Williams have planned to rebuild the Sox?

Maybe Uribe will be traded for a reliable relief pitcher. Maybe one of those young arms Williams acquired last winter will be better than Garland. Maybe Williams has a grand design that will make everyone forget 2005's championship season.

Then again, maybe none of that will happen and the Sox did nothing more than trade valuable pitching for a 33-year-old shortstop who will be going to his fourth team in five years.

Too many maybes to make too many judgments just yet.

The Garland-for-Cabrera trade can't be evaluated until the 2008 season opener anyway -- or perhaps not even until the final game of 2008.

Heck, it might not even be able to be evaluated until the end of Garland's career. For all we know now, he might end up going to the Hall of Fame with 300 victories.

For now, the best I can do is try to sort out why Garland's departure has left me so … well, so indifferent.

The simple reason would be that it's football-basketball-hockey season … every season but baseball. We need to fix the Bears and the Bulls before getting around to the Sox and the Cubs.

But that's too simple. There must be some other reason it's so easy to say so long to Jon Garland.

Mine is that it's difficult to feel passionate about an athlete who seemed so dispassionate about being here.

Garland might not have been as robotic about playing baseball as he seemed. He might be one of those guys who don't reveal much of themselves on the field.

So we'll give Garland a break there. But where he hasn't earned a break is that he seemed so disinterested in being here.

Maybe that isn't fair to say. Maybe he loved Chicago as much as I want an athlete to love playing in America's best sports city.

Still, the impression always was that Garland was passing through town, West Coast cool enduring Midwest cold, even in the summer, a baseball mercenary on the way back to California.

I guess what I'm saying is Garland never seemed inclined toward embracing Sox fans or allowing Sox fans to embrace him.

That shouldn't be good enough around here.

Garland received Monday what he always seemed to want, a ticket out of here and back to the Los Angeles area.

The Sox will miss all those victories, but I'm not sure Chicago will miss Jon Garland all that much.