I was not sorry to see Garko leave. He is a mediocre player at best. Seems to be a good guy in the clubhouse, but not a clutch performer or All-Star level talent. He's a better fielder than hitter. He could easily see some success facing the NL pitchers for the first time, but he does have holes in his swing. Garko does have some nice power, though he doesn't hit to all fields effectively.
Listening the sports talk radio driving home from yesterday, the Lee deal was not well-received in Cleveland (no big surprise). The general sentiment is that a) it was a cash dump since Cleveland owed Lee $8 million next year, b) the Indians received inferior players. Note how Toronto nixed the Halladay deal because they wanted higher Philly prospects than were traded to Cleveland, c) the "key" to this deal was an 18 year old pitcher who has already been shut down for the season due to a shoulder injury. While I'm no doctor, shoulder problems with your throwing arm at such a young age is a huge red flag. Another player in the deal was a catcher, so I expect Victor Martinez to be gone, if not by tomorrow, during the offseason.
Here's my final thoughts on this lopsided deal. When the Indians traded Cy Young Award Winner Bartolo Colon, they got good value in return: Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, and Brandon Phillips. I know what some of you will say - the same thing could happen here. This is why it will NOT: 1) The Colon deal was with the Montreal Expos. They were being overseen by MLB and were being dismantled to form the Washington Nationals franchise. 2) Prospects in deals like this can develop into bona fide stars. But all of these players given up by Philly are 2-3 years away from the big leagues.
