Do The Freddy
Warm welcome from the Phloggery for the latest Phillie, the ex-Chi Sox hurler (and 17-game-winning horse) Freddy Garcia:
Shallow Center: AFTER DAYS of speculation, the Phillies pulled the trigger last night, landing Freddy Garcia from the White Sox for Gavin Floyd and Gio Gonzalez. And so, after years of frustration, the Phils have acquired a true No. 1 -- not a Kevin Millwood or a Jon Lieber, but a proven winner, a durable ace, who also happens to own a World Series ring. And now, with a surplus of starters, Pat Gillick can do some dealing for much-needed bullpen help. It's impossible to project whether the enigmatic Floyd will emerge from his early-career fog and become the hurler the Phillies thought he'd be when they took him in the first round of the draft. Likewise, Gonzalez is young and could blossom or flame out. This was a good risk to take. Finally the Phillies have taken on a player who represents an improvement -- not merely a replacement -- of whatever body on the roster will be jettisoned to make room for him.
Beer Leaguer: Phillies GM Pat Gillick buys himself a 17-game winner in a Winter Meeting shocker. Garcia is swapped for two minor leaguers, one ticketed for another backward try in AAA, the other probably two years away from the majors. As you've noticed, neither of these players are named Aaron Rowand. Gillick is making it clear: He's ready to go toe-to-toe with the division champs, as word spreads that the Mets are nearing a deal for Oakland right-hander Rich Harden, in addition to their ongoing pursuit of free agent prize Barry Zito. That's why Garcia is in, and Jon Lieber will be moved to Milwaukee or some other hole. The Phillies are sitting on a great looking rotation, and still hold a big chip in Rowand, who's coveted by several teams.
Steve Silver.net: The trade had originally been rumored to include Aaron Rowand, but strangely the Phils have hung on to him. Instead, they gave Chicago back Gonzalez, a pretty highly-regarded prospect, and the other player the Sox got in last year's Jim Thome trade. They may miss him, but I can't think of a situation in which a player, while in the minors, was traded by Team A to Team B, and then back to Team A, and then becoming a star.
The 700 Level: I like it. Phillies fans have heard too much about the potential of some of their young arms. I'm glad we no longer have to worry about when Gavin Floyd is going to turn into a good major leaguer. We can stop talking about potential and instead watch a pitcher with a World Series ring on his finger work the mound for the Phils. The Phils gave up players that didn't have a clear role on the 2007 squad for a pitcher who has proven he can win in this league. A nice move by Gillick. He likely has more up his sleeve.
Phillies Nation: The rotation is looking like it will consist of Myers, Garcia, Hamels (one hell of a #3), Eaton and Moyer. The opening day OF is more and more looking like Burrell in LF, Rowand in CF, and Victorino in RF. What the Phillies need now is Bullpen help, specifically a set up man who can step into the closer role when Gordon goes down for the month or so that he most certainly will go down for, and a lefthanded bat off the bench. Rumor has it that the Phillies have contacted representatives for Aubrey Huff who would fill the need of a left handed bat off the bench adequately. Last year Huff batted .267 with 21 HRs and 66 RBIs while splitting time between Tampa Bay and Houston.
This is a step, and only the first step, but seems that when the window closed on a right handed bat to protect Howard Gillick switched his focus to pitching. With one or two more key additions we could have something to look forward to next season.
The Good Phight: ... the guy won 17 games in the best division in baseball, now he gets to face the bottom-feeders of the NL that much more often. There's been plenty of prospects that the Phils have held onto who disappointed greatly. Here, we gave up a top one, yeah, but we also acquired a major leaguer with a solid record to compliment our already-good rotation (and let's see who get for the sure-to-be-gone Lieber). I see possible regret in the future, but for now, I'm very excited about what could happen this year.