When the Padres signed 30-year old righty Jon Garland it raised my eyebrows a little bit. It told me that the Padres saw themselves as contenders and they were right about that. Garland has started 26 games for the Padres this year and he is 13-8 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has been a nibbler as he has walked 71 batters in 157 2/3 innings but he’s missing a lot of bats as he has given up 138 hits. This is the 9th straight season that Garland has won at least 10 games. The younger pitchers on the Padres have been learning tricks from the 30-year old Garland and that’s a good thing too as signing him was a outstanding move for the team.