It's sure starting to sound like it.There were two outs in the ninth inning last night, Jim Thome was on-deck, and nobody was thinking much about Freddy Garcia when the Phillies dropped this bombshell: an MRI exam administered by team physician Michael Ciccotti revealed "pathology in the labrum" of Garcia's right shoulder and some fraying of his rotator cuff. Apparently, Garcia is seeking a second opinion. Neither GM Pat Gillick nor assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr., who typically address injury issues, were available for comment last night.
I'll follow up today to find out a) exactly what "pathology in the labrum" means and b) if Garcia is going to need surgery. Right now, I'd bet on it. I mean, he wouldn't seek a second opinion if Ciccotti didn't recommend surgery, right?
Thought you'd find this interesting. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on whether Garcia is on the decline: "When you play seven years in the big leagues, obviously you're not going to go up. But I think Freddy would have helped us because he knows how to pitch, and we know him. [The Phillies] saw him pitch this season, and they're like, 'What the [heck] is this?' But they don't know Freddy. We know Freddy. There's a lot of frustration on his part. He never expected that to happen to him. I told him to shut it down until he's better because he won't help himself and he won't help the ballclub. The one thing about Freddy is that he doesn't want anyone to take the ball away from him. He wants to pitch."
Sometimes, even when he can't.
7 comments:
i heard a torn(pathology) labrum and a frayed rotator cuff. his career could actually be over.
man, i would really like to have floyd and gio back. gio is killing AA and floyd was just player of the week for MiLB.
What's going on with Wes Helms? 1st and 3rd, 1 out, and he swings at the first pitch for an inning ending double play. Horrible AB. Is the guy just pressing too much? Akinori Iwamura would look good at 3B right now.
I said the exact opposite as Guillen three weeks ago. He doesn't look like he wants to pitch. He really looks like he could care less out there.
Jamie: Let's make something clear. Surgery would end Garcia's PHILLIES career. If he does the rehab, he'll be back pitching in a year. But, since he's a free agent, it'll be with another team. Also, this news hardly comes as a surprise to reporters who were covering the team in KC last weekend. When Garcia talked to us Friday night, he sounded like a guy who knew surgery was going to be necessary. I think the second opinion is merely to confirm the first.
Paul W: I don't think desire was ever a question with Freddy. The look you saw on the mound was frustration with not being able to pitch the way he knows he's capable of pitching. But he was pitching for a contract next season. I don't think want-to was ever a question.
Tony: Helms has been terribly disappointing. No other way to put it. The Phillies signed him to be an everyday third baseman. Maybe he's no better than the part-time player he was last year for Florida.
Scott,
Regarding your question, if The Chief is out for the year as is being widely reported/speculated he should go down as one of the biggest busts in Phillies history. Then again, what do we expect from this management group? The only quality players on the team were guys brought up through their minor league system. This organization has been absolutely feeble in free agency and trades. Just to name a few bad moves: Thome (bad move because they are still paying his salary and underestimated what Howard could do), David Bell, The Chief, Justin Germano, Jon Lieber (signed to be an ace and hasn't been more than a #3 at the most), Kevin Millwood, Eric Milton, Tom Gordon (and not signing Wagner) and etc etc etc.
Also, Paul is dead on. The Chief has been disinterested since day one this year. Evidence of his attitude was a couple weeks back when he took all of four steps out of the batter's box instead of running all the way to first base on a routine grounder. Absolutely pathetic.
I don't know, Scott. There hasn't been an outing of his where he displayed any sort of "fire", for lack of a better cliche. I can't imagine him giving the effort Eaton did to catch that bunt pop-up. Plus, Guillen's assessment of his stock rising "up and down" gives a bit of credibility to how he may be on the decline, which maybe I mistakenly read into your post.
In any event, he's turning out to be a larger bust than what Gavin may have been had we kept him, with one win and ten million. But there's really no blame to pass, because I was just as excited as everyone else when we traded for him, and can remember thinking Gillick had really pulled one off to the Phils benefit.
But I didn't see frustration in him when he was on the mound, I saw laziness and a lack of desire. I don't disagree much, but I think his contract for next year - knowing with each pitch how much he's making this year --has nothing to do with it.
He just doesn't want to be here.
labrum injuries are extremely serious. it takes a while for pitchers to recover from that. add in a frayed rotator cuff and he's got serious problems. this isn't like tommy john surgery where you can come back even better. he will get a contract somewhere in a year, maybe 2. but it will be a 1 year deal somewhere and he probably won't even fulfill that.
HUGE bust for the phils!
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