I like Ryan Garko. I don’t like his .239 average, but I voted to give him another shot next year. Then last night happens. With the team down by just a run, and men on the corners Ryan Garko swung at a 2-0 fastball that was above his eyes. Instead of a 3-0 count he gave Balfour new life, and Garko ended up flying out to shallow right field, and the Tribe managed to escape the inning without scoring.
Ok, so he swung at a ball that was high, it happens all the time. Then he pulls a stunt today. Leading off the second inning, Garko hits a weak ball to the first baseman, who grabs it short of the bag and steps on first for the out. The problem was Garko never left the batter’s box. He didn’t give the old hustle down the line just in case it stays fair bit. He simply watched the play unfold in front of him. Wedge, apparently too angry for words…said nothing. But he did pull Garko for a pinch hitter in Ryan’s next turn up to bat.
On both plays Garko’s face told a story. The story is I quit. I quit on this season. I quit trying to win games, and trying to get better for next year. Ryan I hope that isn’t the case. If it is though, you can take your bat and glove somewhere else next year.
Author: Rick
Rick is a co-founder and editor of WFNY. His love of Cleveland sports is surpassed only by his faith and love of his family. Follow him on Twitter- @rickwfny.Rick has written 743 articles for Waiting for Next Year.
I could stomach Garko’s numbers at 3B or behind the plate… but as a 1B anything under .280/30/100 is unacceptable. With our current drought of ‘uninjured people able to use bats’, he’s pretty much our only option – but lets hope he either reverts to 2007 form or hits the minors for some corrections.
Wow. Well, since he’s given up, I say he’s expendable. There’s nothing more than I despise than lack of hustle.
Glad to hear Wedge pulled him.
I legitimately thought Wedge’s head was going to explode for a second. Very pleased he was pulled, we don’t need that crap on the field.
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1. Ryan Garko is the biggest peice of crap the Indians have this year, with perhaps the exception of Franklin Goot or any of the other bums on this team. As a team, the Indians are as bad as I have ever seen them. I’m not saying that there aren’t good players on the team, just as a whole, the Indians are terrible. Ryan Garko should not have a job next year, and hopefully that bum will be riding the pine for the entire season. I’d much rather see Michael Aubrey try out at 1st base rather than the garbage that Garko produces every day.
2. As everyone on 850 AM calls it, the Bullpen from hell strikes again. Everyone in that bullpen minus Rafael Perez is expendable. Get rid of them all.
3. This is the most painful season of baseball I have ever watched.
1. Why do we need him when we could switch VMart to 1b and keep Shoppach as the C next year?
2. Since are doing voting for whether to keep players, how about one for Wedge? I ask this only because I do not think he knows how to handle a pitching staff. His decisions this year have been horrendous. Why Mujica to close, why not start the 9th with Kobi?
Okay, to say that anything under 30 home runs and 100 runs batted in for a first baseman is unacceptable is to have unreasonably high expectations.
But that doesn’t mean that Garko isn’t playing very disappointingly. With the emergence of Shoppach (and eventual emergence of Toregas or Santana), I think that having Victor take over at 1B and Shoppach at C is the way to go, if not from here on out, starting next year. It looks like we could also use Andy Gonzalez or Sal Fasano (as odd as that was) at 1B if need be.
Hopefully this is a wakeup call for Garko. He’s better than this.
Everybody goes through ups and downs in life – it’s unfair to fault him for doing the same. So let’s see how he responds before declaring him a lost cause.
Never been a big fan of Garko, just hated him less than Blake. Didnt’ think he could take the 1b job full-time, and haven’t seen anything to disprove that theory. He can be a throw-in on a trade this winter for all I care. He’s not the next Richie Sexson or anything like that.