The Phanatic Magazine continues its preseason coverage of the Phillies, profiling one player per day to get you set for the 2007 campaign. Our 35 straight days of Phillies coverage kicked off on February 25th, and will continue to roll until Opening Day on April 2nd. Then we will hand it over to Michael Rushton, who will provide an in-depth season preview before the first pitch is dealt.DAY 26: Freddy Garcia
By Steven Lienert
The Phanatic Magazine
Finally, the answer Phillies fans have been waiting for since Curt Schilling left.
The Ace. The Innings Eater. The Uninjure-able One. The One fans could count on every fifth day to give the team a fighting chance at victory.
Okay, strike the second to last one from the record.
I got three words for ya: Tight right bicep.
Let me lay two more words on ya: Disabled List.
Everybody was getting worried that the Phillies didn’t trade their “sixth” starter. Just yesterday, Jon Lieber even began to bitch after being moved to the bullpen.
Welcome back to the starting rotation, Jon.
During a spring training game against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, Freddy Garcia left in the first inning after giving up a mammoth home run to Troy Glaus, complaining of tightness in his right bicep.
That left his spring training earned-run average at a robust 11.42 in three Grapefruit League outings.
Whatever the curse of Philadelphia is named, it has struck again.
This was the guy that wasn’t supposed to get hurt. He was supposed to toss over 200 innings and win between 17-20 games this year.
One or the other certainly isn’t going to happen this year.
The fact of the matter is that Garcia has had a noticeable lack of velocity from that of previous years. He reportedly topped out between 88-90 mph before he departed against Toronto.
The two together add up to bad news for the Phils, who are suddenly down to five healthy starters, with Adam Eaton just a stubbed toe away from making it four.
In Garcia’s defense, he hasn’t pitched less than 200 innings in seven of his eight Major-League seasons. He has won more than 12 games in six of those seasons and never had an ERA higher than 4.53.
The bad news is that 4.53 came last season with the White Sox, in which he went 17-9 in 33 starts.
The Phillies would take that if they can get it. It appears that they won't, at least not this year.
----The Ace. The Innings Eater. The Uninjure-able One. The One fans could count on every fifth day to give the team a fighting chance at victory.
Okay, strike the second to last one from the record.
I got three words for ya: Tight right bicep.
Let me lay two more words on ya: Disabled List.
Everybody was getting worried that the Phillies didn’t trade their “sixth” starter. Just yesterday, Jon Lieber even began to bitch after being moved to the bullpen.
Welcome back to the starting rotation, Jon.
During a spring training game against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, Freddy Garcia left in the first inning after giving up a mammoth home run to Troy Glaus, complaining of tightness in his right bicep.
That left his spring training earned-run average at a robust 11.42 in three Grapefruit League outings.
Whatever the curse of Philadelphia is named, it has struck again.
This was the guy that wasn’t supposed to get hurt. He was supposed to toss over 200 innings and win between 17-20 games this year.
One or the other certainly isn’t going to happen this year.
The fact of the matter is that Garcia has had a noticeable lack of velocity from that of previous years. He reportedly topped out between 88-90 mph before he departed against Toronto.
The two together add up to bad news for the Phils, who are suddenly down to five healthy starters, with Adam Eaton just a stubbed toe away from making it four.
In Garcia’s defense, he hasn’t pitched less than 200 innings in seven of his eight Major-League seasons. He has won more than 12 games in six of those seasons and never had an ERA higher than 4.53.
The bad news is that 4.53 came last season with the White Sox, in which he went 17-9 in 33 starts.
The Phillies would take that if they can get it. It appears that they won't, at least not this year.
Tomorrow: Brett Myers
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