What if Garcia, Colon keep this up?
New York Yankees pitcher Freddy Garcia, center, pats third baseman Eduardo Nunez, left, after being taken off the mound by manager Joe Girardi (28) during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays. (July 20, 2011) Credit: AP
ST.. PETERSBURG, Fla.
What if?
What if the Yankees really can't find any additional starting pitching by the non-waivers trading deadline July 31, and they must rely on those who have brought them this far?
What if, incredibly, that plan actually brings the Yankees their desired results?
The question comes to mind after watching Freddy Garcia put on another pitching clinic Wednesday night at Tropicana Field, carving up the Rays to propel the Yankees to a 4-0 victory over Tampa Bay ace David Price.
"He's a veteran pitcher, man," said the Yankees' Andruw Jones, Garcia's teammate with the White Sox last year. "He's pitched big games before, and he knows how to get it done."
No, the Rays won't be confused any time soon for the 1961 Yankees. Or even for the 2011 Blue Jays, who roughed up Garcia in his previous start July 15. But look, you pitch to your schedule, and the 34-year-old, after throwing 62/3 shutout innings, has pitched to a 3.21 ERA in 1032/3 innings.
Garcia followed the lead of his brother-in-surgically-repaired-arms Bartolo Colon, who looked once again like a front line starter Tuesday night. That gave the Yankees a dosage of positive information, as they march toward the trade deadline with the desire to upgrade their pitching staff.
Garcia, 34, lacks the stuff and the upside of the 38-year-old Colon. You can't envision him starting a playoff series before Game 4. Yet you need guys to get you to the postseason, and Garcia, pulling in a modest $1.5 million, has proved quite a guy.
"I'm a professional," Garcia said. "I expect to do my job."
He scattered eight hits over his work shift, and he finally departed when Eduardo Nuñez committed a fielding error (his 13th of the season) on Robinson Chirinos' bouncer in the seventh. Fittingly, Boone Logan entered and struck out Casey Kotchman, stranding another Tampa Bay runner in scoring position.
The Rays went 0-for-5 against Garcia with runners in scoring position, and three of those outs came on inning-ending strikeouts. His off-speed stuff fanned Matt Joyce in the first (splitter), Evan Longoria in the third (splitter) and Sean Rodriguez in the fourth (changeup) In the fifth, Garcia benefited from good fortune when -- with Tampa Bay runners on second and third -- Curtis Granderson crashed into the wall catching Longoria's bullet to straightaway centerfield.
"I got outs when I needed to," Garcia said.
Said Joe Girardi: "Freddy has the ability to get outs with runners on base."
Garcia made 28 starts for the White Sox last year, totaling 157 innings, but he wasn't close to this good, putting up a 4.64 ERA. Maybe he feels stronger a year further removed from his right shoulder operation of 2007?
"I feel fine," he said, shrugging in response to the question. "I go out there, do my job and find a way to get people out."
What if Garcia and Colon, who have a history of accomplishment -- only it's ancient history -- can keep this going until October? What if the Yankees find they have no choice but to rely upon these guys and their farm system?
It's a crazy plan. Is it so crazy that it just might succeed? Nights like this make you think that yeah, maybe it can.
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