Kuzul

The New York Mets have been busier this offseason than in recent ones, but there is still work to be done on the Mets roster before spring training begins next month.

General manager Sandy Alderson has already acquired Curtis Granderson and Chris Young for the outfield while adding Bartolo Colon to the rotation fill in for the absence of Matt Harvey.

Despite these moves, the organization would like to bring in another starting pitcher on a minor league deal to compete for the fifth spot in the rotation. They would also like to acquire a veteran reliever to fill the role LaTroy Hawkins occupied in 2013.

Then, there’s the elephant in the room at shortstop. The Stephen Drew sweepstakes are still going on, and it looks like the Mets are the only logical suitor. Hopefully that is the case because potential backup options for Ruben Tejada were erased on Jan. 13 when Cesar Izturis signed with the Houston Astros and Ronny Cedeno inked a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Here are the best free-agent options left for the Mets to consider based on ability, versatility, affordability and fit in the clubhouse.

All player statistics and advanced statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, respectively. Contract information from Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

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The Colorado Rockies are trying to piece together a pitching staff. Freddy Garcia is a free agent pitcher looking for work. The Rockies and Garcia very well might be a match this off season.

According to the Twitter feed of Troy Renck, Denver Post Rockies writer, Colorado is looking at low risk free agents, including Garcia.

But they are not alone in courting the 36-year-old right-hander who posted a 5.20 ERA with the Yankees in 2012. As Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com wrote, the Minnesota Twins and Cincinnati Reds have also expressed interest in him.

No longer the power pitcher of his youth, Garcia uses a slider and splitter as his out pitches. He no longer relies on his power mixed with his change up as he did when he was a younger pitcher.

Garcia was one of the main pieces in the Seattle Mariners trade of Randy Johnson to the Astros. Garcia, a Houston farm hand, fit right in with the Mariners. He posted a 17-8 record with 201 1/3 innings pitched in his rookie year of 1999.

In 2001, he led the American League with a 3.05 ERA and 238 2/3 innings pitched.

As a member of the 2005 Chicago White Sox, he won 14 games with a 3.87 ERA over 228 innings pitched. He would go on to win all three of his post season starts including a complete game victory in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Anaheim Angels. 

Garcia threw eight shutout innings and got the win in the 2005 World Series clincher.

He keeps finding ways to win, posting back to back 12 win seasons in 2010 and 2011 A subpar 2012 with the Yankees made him available now.

The Rockies hope they can catch a little lightning in a bottle with the veteran Garcia. 

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Sometimes I wonder if I am but one of a few baseball fans who does not support the repulsive-at-times treatment some have shown New York Yankees veteran hurler Freddy Garcia.

Call me apologetic, but here is a player who in 14 years of Major League Baseball service has compiled an overall record of 145 wins and 97 losses. His 4.14 career ERA, though not stellar, is respectable. In 10 postseason starts, Garcia is 6-3 with a 3.28 ERA. Garcia has also been to two All-Star games, both with the Seattle Mariners (2001-2002). He also helped the White Sox to a World Series victory in 2005.

But then Garcia hit a snag from 2007-2009. A man marked by injury, Garcia looked like a pitcher clinging to a job in the show.  

But Garcia fought back from life support during the 2010 and 2011 campaigns. Although Garcia was not nearly as effective as he once was during his days with Seattle, he nonetheless earned a 24-14 record with a low four ERA during these years. Not dominant, but effective enough to help the Chicago White Sox and Yankees to the postseason in back-to-back years.

The Yankees had a proven winner in Garcia.

But with that disease called what have you done for me lately syndrome, Garcia is treated like chopped liver lately, like he never picked up a broom to help sweep the porch.

Sad as it is, Garcia lives on the butt end of some fans and writers who obsess about his fall from grace.

Yes, Garcia has struggled, but so have other pitchers this early in this season. Yes, Garcia has lost velocity in his pitches that has resulted in his demotion to the bullpen. Yes, Garcia needs to retool his mechanics so as to get back to efficiency.

But some have jumped on the bandwagon and stomped their feet. “Trade him!” “Cut him!” “Chop off his hands and bury them in lyme!”

It is ridiculous. Like the guy is supposed to be a machine like RoboCop.

So what if Garcia is just five wins away from tying famous Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean on his way up the all-time MLB wins leaderboard?

Brandon Inge, here come reinforcements, for my stomach still turns over at how some fans treated you on your way out of Motown too.

For once, it would be nice if people actually got behind a guy like Garcia who struggles, as opposed to washing their hands of this veteran.

It is amazing how an athlete can find inspiration in people who actually root for them, vice booing them and heralding them as bums.

Thankfully, there are baseball fans who despise the type of defamation that goes on toward players whose only crime is being in a slump.   

They are the logical souls who cheer to drown out a chorus of unnecessary jeers.

Interestingly, I have watched enough baseball to know this. This game has a funny way of making heroes of men come fall who were deemed goats in the spring.  

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It’s time for the Yankees to make a change on the team.

I know it’s only April, but Freddy Garcia needs to go, and needs to go now.

His last outing on Saturday against the Detroit Tigers is just another example of why he can’t cut it for the Yankees in 2012.

On Saturday, 1.2 innings pitched, five hits, six runs, two walks and three strikeouts. Garcia’s 2012 record goes to 0-2 and his ERA all the way up to 12.51

That just won’t cut it. Not in New York. Not on any major league team, and really, not in the minor leagues either.

Garcia has yet to have one start where he lasted six innings and lately, every time he has pitched, he’s getting chased out of the game so early, he’s taxing the bullpen.

The American League has figured out Garcia in 2012. Garcia was able to fool hitters in 2011 with his deceptive breaking stuff, but not now.

When all of his pitches have little to no movement on them and are in hitters’ happy zones, starts like the one against Detroit and Boston are bound to happen.

And enough is enough. It’s time for the Yankees and Brian Cashman to designate Garcia for assignment and get him off the roster.

Garcia shouldn’t go to the bullpen and be the long-reliever; that would basically be a waste of a roster spot for a young arm like Adam Warren, who could do that.

I know the Yankees are waiting until Andy Pettitte is at 100 percent strength to get called up, but for the mean time, Garcia’s starts could just be given to David Phelps.

At this point in the season, Phelps has been a better overall pitcher than Garcia, and every time Garcia is on the mound, he’s putting the Yankees in an early hole.

The Yankees cannot afford to have another repeat performance from Garcia like what they saw on Saturday afternoon.

Garcia’s time in New York has come and it’s time to send him packing as soon as possible.

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Freddy Garcia, who is 0-1 with a 9.75 ERA on the young season, is likely pitching for his spot in the Yankees‘ rotation on Saturday afternoon against the Tigers.

The right-hander, going on an extra day of rest, will be looking to give the Yankees a solid performance after Friday night’s 7-6 Yankee victory.

Opposing Garcia will be rookie Drew Smyly, who is making his fourth career start.

Andy Pettitte will likely be returning very soon, and either Garcia or Phil Hughes will be getting the bump from the rotation.

Every start counts for both pitchers at this point in the season—the one who shows the least promise by the time Pettitte is ready will be given the hook.

Garcia can keep himself in the rotation with a quality start against the Tigers, but it won’t be an easy task.The Tigers boast a very powerful lineup and their biggest star, Miguel Cabrera, has fantastic career numbers against Garcia.

In his career against the fellow-Venezuelan, Cabrera is 11-for-26 with four homers.

It’s essential for the Yankees to get an early lead. The less pressure on Garcia, the better off the team is. Scoring early hasn’t been a problem for the Yankees so far this season. They’ve scored a first-inning run in eight of their 11 wins.

It should be a good matchup on Saturday, but look for Garcia to have a little extra motivation.

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New York Yankees‘ right-hander Freddy Garcia was shelled yet again in Saturday’s game against the Red Sox, allowing five runs on seven hits in just 1.2 innings of work.

On the season, Garcia has allowed 14 runs in 12 innings—that equates to a 9.75 ERA.

Both he and Phil Hughes (1-2, 6.75 ERA) have struggled mightily this season, and it may not be long before one or both of the starters are replaced in the rotation.

Hughes has been slightly more reliable than the 35-year-old Garcia, so I expect him to be given a longer leash.

Jack Curry of the YES Network opines that the Yankees could potentially skip Garcia’ on Thursday, as that is a scheduled off day for the team. His next scheduled outing would then come May 1, but the Yankees may opt to give that start to somebody else.

Quite frankly, I agree.

The Yankees would be smart to give rookie David Phelps the opportunity to start in his place.

I recently wrote an article about Phelps possibly replacing Hughes in the rotation but, given Garcia’s recent struggles, it may be more beneficial for the Yankees to remove Garcia.

Prior to Saturday’s shaky outing against the Red Sox, Phelps owned a 1.08 ERA through 8.1 innings of work.

That’s just one run.

That run was a home run off the bat of Vernon Wells.

Oh yeah, that was also the only hit off of him until Saturday’s contest.

The Yankees would be smart to consider making the move, as it really couldn’t make things any worse.

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It’s the offseason, a month away from spring training.  Like many of you, I’m a bored Sox fan.  In my previous articles, I have come off as extremely pessimistic.  It’s a curse, what can I say.  

It’s a new year and a chance for me to change it up.  Let’s focus on the good. Introducing your Chicago White Sox all-decade team..

For those of you who wanted to recall the illustrious careers of Dan Wright, Billy Koch and Rob Mackowiak, you’ve come to the wrong place.

Maybe if I get enough positive feedback on this piece, I’ll come up with the franchise’s worst players of the decade next week. Enjoy. 

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Despite hurling some of his best stuff in five years (1-0/2.40/15 IP/17 K), Bartolo Colon will start his season with the Yankees in the bullpen.

Yankees skipper Joe Girardi announced Sunday that the team will round out their rotation with Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia as their fourth and fifth starters.

Though the announcement was touted as “expected” by many media outlets, including ESPN, it still comes as a surprise to anyone who has followed both of their springs, or even their careers.

Colon was the victim of a manager already making up his decision as to who he was going to pick before either of them took to the mound. In an article from ESPN, Girardi touts what Freddy Garcia had done in the lead up to spring, and in the past season, as the reason he picked Garcia over Colon.

Colon did not have any stats to speak of in 2010 due to injuries.

So if Colon outperformed Garcia so blatantly this spring, and Garcia has been mediocre at best over the past few seasons, what put the nail in the coffin for Colon?

Versatility.

That’s right. Joe Girardi’s reason to ESPN was, in essence, that he didn’t expect Colon to be this good:

“Bartolo was the wild card in all of this,” Girardi said. “I didn’t really have any expectations for Bartolo. I had no idea what to think, what he was going to do. You didn’t know his velocity was going to be as high as 93, that he’d have that much movement on his fastball, that he’d be able to pick up a cutter in a day. And it happened.”

So the only place that makes sense to keep him is in the “mop-up duty” roll in the bullpen, where Colon will see very limited action.

This could very quickly become a moot point, however.

Both have a very long injury track record over the past five years, we could see one (or both!) of these guys land on the DL before we even have time to argue who should have gotten the spot.

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New York Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi has named his starting rotation to start the regular season. Here is what it will look like come Thursday…

1. C.C. Sabathia

2. Phil Hughes

3. A.J. Burnett

4. Ivan Nova

5. Freddy Garcia

One through four is no surprise, but the fifth starter is. I am really surprised Garcia got the nod over Bartolo Colon.

Girardi’s logic? “The innings that Freddy logged in, the wins last year, he stayed healthy all of last year,” Girardi said through the NY Daily News.

As we all know, that thinking makes absolutely no sense. I don’t know how you judge a pitcher on A. wins and B. the amount of innings logged last season.

I thought you would make a decision based on who gives you the best chance to win in 2011. But that’s just me.

While neither are anywhere near what they used to be eight years ago, I thought Colon would have been a better choice.

I thought overall he looked better than Garcia did this spring. Colon had 17 K’s and a 2.40 ERA in 15 spring innings, while Garcia struck out 12 and had a 5.93 ERA in 13.2 innings.

Colon will serve as the Yankees’ “Swing man” in 2011. They are hoping he will grow into the role and be their next Ramiro Mendoza or Alfredo Aceves.

I guess my question are; if the Yankees want Colon to be the next Aceves, why not just keep Aceves? And do they want Colon to grow anymore?

Kevin Millwood could factor into things as the season progresses as well. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees yesterday.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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On Saturday, Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi announced the final spot in his rotation would go to Freddy Garcia, effectively ending the spring training battle between Garcia and fellow offseason signing, Bartolo Colon. Colon will start the year in the bullpen as the long reliever. 

The decision seems to have come down to history rather than performance; While Colon outperformed Garcia during the spring, he spent all of the 2010 season sitting at home getting wider, while Garcia threw 157 innings as a starter in Detroit. 

“The innings that Freddy has logged in, the wins last year,” Girardi said. “He stayed healthy all of last year.”

Neither pitcher is a particularly attractive option for the Yanks, but upon losing out on the Cliff Lee sweepstakes, there options became limited. Still, other avenues could have been pursued (this week’s signing of Kevin Millwood being one of those avenues).

Garcia is almost the very definition of a “pitch to contact guy.” His strikeout rate in 2010 was unimpressive, as was his groundball rate, indicating part of his success was a product of playing his home games in Comerica Park. Even with the ballpark help, Garcia’s ERA (4.64) and FIP (4.77) in ’10 are indicative of a fringe starter and moving into both the AL East and Yankee Stadium will probably only compound the problem. 

The prospects here don’t bode well for the Yankees. Expect a season long game of musical chairs in the back-end of the rotation. 

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