If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the New York Yankees may want to follow the lead of the Boston Red Sox in grabbing what could be a bargain of a pitcher. While the Red Sox inked Bartolo Colon to a minor league pact, the Yankees would be equally wise to inquire about the services of Freddy Garcia.
Though Garcia may not be ready until about June or July, he's well worth the risk. Because aside from his injury last season, only once in his career (2000) has he ever not hit at least 200 innings in a season. As evidenced by their 2007 campaign, one can never have enough pitching and Garcia seems to fit the bill as a solid insurance policy. He's even younger than Colon and would add an effective veteran presence to the staff, even moreso than Roger Clemens did when he joined the staff last June.
Signing Garcia if even for a short time works well for the Yankees needs. If say for instance Andy Pettitte is worn down by off-field distractions, Mike Mussina really is over the hill, Phil Hughes pops a hammy, Ian Kennedy is back down in Wilkes-Barre and Joba Chamberlain is desperately needed in an ultra-thin bullpen, Garcia could truly be that pick-me-up the Yankees need. Now hopefully none of those things happen, but this could also be a beyond 2008 plus for the Yanks.
Assuming Garcia pitches well, at 33 as one of the veterans on the staff he could take Mussina's spot in the rotation after his contract is up or if for some reason Pettitte decides to ultimately hang 'em up.
Garcia is also needed because if the Yankees truly plan to limit the amount of innings on their young trio of Hughes-Chamberlain-Kennedy, to say 150 innings a piece, it is paramount to have someone to be able to eat those innings. Another plus out of this is that unlike Roger Clemens, this won't cost them $28 million either.
Did I mention that Garcia also has an impressive post-season resume? Overall he is 6-2 with a 3.11 ERA and 45 K's in 55 innings. He won a ring with the Chicago White Sox in 2005, pitching a gem in the World Series against the Houston Astros allowing no runs in seven innings striking out seven along the way to pick up the win. His first post-season win if you're wondering came at... Yankee Stadium.
good read,good idea.i think pettitte will be ok if this clemens thing holds off til the end of the season.moose is no longer loose torre showed that to the yankee world last season.joba as a starter? i'll say it again to me he got clemenized.pitch seven innings and what get a week off.joba rule has to go and retrain him.knock the roger out of him.i saw they were working with pavano theres 1 or 2 starts right there.if hughes and kennedy can't cut it and they don't get a garcia they are in a mess.being a red sox fan i want a challange with n.y.not a walk away season.cashwaster better get on the ball.
Wait a sec Patsfan...did the Sox run away from the Yanks last season? It was a close race, especially considering the starts. Both teams have pitching issues, just the Yanks are more publicized.
The Yanks have to worry about Moose not having a 6.00 ERA and the kids getting enough innings.
The Sox have to worry about Okajima and Dice-K being seen and figured out by the league. Japanese pitchers don't have a track record of sustained dominance in MLB. Plus you still don't know if Buckholz can be consistently dominant over a full season.
Offensively they are pretty even. Closers even. Bullpen you never know what you are getting anyway.
I don't see a clear line of seperation in the AL East. The Blue Jays can pitch, but their offense is very inconsistent. Noone will be running away, save for th huge injury to a megastar.
I actually wanted the Yanks to take a chance on Colon. He can get everyone out but A-Rod, so he's damn good when he's healthy. But Garcia could be a good gamble. He knows the AL and can go deep into games, which definetely comes in handy over a full season. Y'know why both teams are willing to take gambles? Because they've got deep pitching farm systems. Funny enough that the two megapowers and spenders can look at pitching from the buyer's market perspective. If you ask for more than X amount, we'll move on because we've got young arms all through the system.
The rivalry lives on!
Last edited by KKfromBK on February 28th at 1:22 PM.
Kind of surprised Freddie's still available. The Yanks should definitely sign him, keep Joba in the pen for another year. With a young and unproven bullpen they need as many innings eaters as they can get, and Garcia is that. Plus with the offense NY has he would only have to be around an 4.50 ERA and pitch into the 7th.
My name is Mike Gwizdala and I live in Albany, N.Y. The Capitol of the Empire State. I'm probably the biggest most knowledgeable , opinionated sports fan I know. First and foremost I'm an avid, die-hard New York Yankees fan. For those of you who don't know Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte amongst others all played their Double-A ball in Albany.
