TUCSON, Ariz. -- Jon Garland is scheduled to start Friday's contest at Tempe Diablo Stadium against an assortment of friends and former teammates, less than one year removed, from Chicago.

But the White Sox aren't waiting until this weekend's game against the Angels to begin the trash talk aimed at the one-time White Sox hurler.

"I'll be getting on him," said White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle with a laugh, speaking of his good friend and former rotation mate. "I sent him a text last night and told him we are bringing our A game to kick his butt. He laughed it off."

Buehrle won't be making the trip to Tempe to watch the first battle between Garland and the White Sox. The entertainment value certain to come from this particular competition doesn't outweigh the two-hour bus ride from Tucson to Tempe in Buehrle's mind.

As Buehrle mentioned, the White Sox will have a number of their frontline players on hand for this split-squad contest. Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, Joe Crede and Alexei Ramirez all have been tentatively put in the lineup.

Only six current White Sox have faced Garland in the regular season. Pierzynski has two home runs and a .303 average against the right-hander from his days with the Twins, while Jim Thome has two hits in 10 at-bats, but also has drawn seven walks without a strikeout.

Orlando Cabrera has the greatest career success when facing Garland, posting a .433 batting average, with two home runs and seven RBIs. It's the same Cabrera who launched a walk-off blast off of Garland in Montreal on June 20, 2004, a game in which Garland took a no-hitter into the sixth.

It's the same Cabrera whom the White Sox acquired from the Angels during the offseason, in exchange for Garland. Now, a player such as Konerko, Garland's teammate for the past eight years, gets a crack at the sinkerball specialist for the first time he can ever remember.

"Honestly, I can't remember ever facing him," said Konerko. "If I did, it was a long time ago. So, I just hope he doesn't hit me or anything. He won't try to hit me, I'm not saying that. In a situation like that, the best-case scenario is get a couple of hits and get out of there.

"It's going to be kind of weird. I can't remember in recent memory where I faced anyone who I was really good friends with like that."

Garland produced a 92-81 record over eight years as part of the White Sox rotation. The right-hander truly blossomed under the leadership of manager Ozzie Guillen, posting a 58-41 mark since Guillen took over in 2004. Garland won 18 games in each of the 2005 and 2006 seasons and hurled one of the four consecutive complete games to lock down the 2005 American League Championship Series.

That complete game came against the Angels.

"I don't think it's as big of an issue in a Cactus League game, just because everyone is trying to get their work in, stay healthy," said Pierzynski of facing Garland. "It will be weird seeing him in a new uniform after playing with him the last few years. You wish him well, hope he does well."

"Hopefully, we take it seriously because all the guys who are here have obviously been here," Konerko added. "He's trying to impress his new team."

Konerko believes that facing a pitcher with Garland's savvy and talent has greater spring benefits than simply an on-field chess match among friends over four innings. Crede echoed the captain's sentiment.

"You just want to get at-bats and timing down," Crede said. "But it's neat to face old teammates you probably never faced before, other than early on in Spring Training. It will be neat to face Jon. Hopefully, he's not his dominant self on Friday like he usually was with us."

"He's the kind of guy who is good to face in spring, at least for me," Konerko added. "He's a tough matchup for a righty, so I like to get as many of those in the spring so you can see where you are at with things. Other than that, I'm sure there will be some laughs."

This particular weekend promises to feature some interesting matchups for the White Sox, aside from Garland. Torii Hunter, who spurned the South Siders' five-year, $75 million offer and took the Angels' 11th hour free-agent deal back around Thanksgiving, figures to be in Friday's lineup for Los Angeles, with Lance Broadway getting the split-squad start. With San Francisco coming to Tucson on Saturday, favorite son Aaron Rowand could make the journey from Scottsdale.

For the moment, though, the focus is on facing Garland. It's about getting the requisite work done, while winning spring bragging rights amidst old friends.

"He wants to pitch good and get these guys out," Buehrle said. "It's the same way with me. I talk to all our guys and say, 'If I ever face you, I'm going to throw this and get you out.' Obviously, if he goes out and gets hit around, though, it's not going to affect him too much."

"We are bringing up everyone, so we must really want to prove a point, I guess," added Konerko with a wry smile of the team to be managed by bench coach Joey Cora on Friday. "At the end of the day, there's obviously going to be some [trash] talking. One way or another, there's going to be a lot of voicemails and text messages by the end of the day on that one."