Adam Eaton and Freddy Garcia - A Whole Lot of Buyer's Remorse For Phils' Front Office

Last week, it was noted here that after two miserable starts with the Orioles, Adam Eaton had a strong outing against the White Sox, perhaps a harbinger of better days. But on Tuesday night against the Angels, Eaton reverted to type. In 6 innings, he gave up 5 earned runs, 4 walks and 6 hits and took the loss. The right-hander had a similar pattern when he was in Philadelphia. Every 4 or 5 weeks, like clockwork, he would pitch reasonably well, raising hopes that he had "regained" his form, only to stumble badly the next time out. Unfortunately, this is and was Adam Eaton's form - 24 million dollars' worth.

The same day that Eaton lost to the Angels, the career of his partner in crime, Freddy Garcia, presumably came to its inevitable conclusion. After a couple of rocky outings with the Mets' Triple A Buffalo Bisons, Garcia was released. Recall that the Phils traded two prospects for Garcia in late 2006. For the miserly sum of 10 million dollars, Garcia started 11 games for 58 innings in 2007. He went 1-5 with an ERA of 5.90 before his arm went lame, apparently from a shoulder injury which he hid from the Phillies.

24 million for Adam Eaton and 10 million for Freddy Garcia. That's buyer's remorse you can believe in.

Are the Phillies Going to Miss Adam Eaton?

In the first few weeks of the season, the Phillies' pitching core has been decidedly underwhelming. The numbers are downright horrifying. Going into Thursday's matinee, opposing batters were hitting .294 against the home team, next to last in the National League. The staff ERA was 6.34, highest in the league. 29 home runs had been allowed, the most in the majors. And they can't blame Adam Eaton for any of this.

After two dismal seasons with the locals, Eaton is now plying his wares with Baltimore. His first two starts with the American League team gave no indication that the change of scene was helpful. In those outings, Eaton pitched a total of 8 innings, yielding 17 hits and 10 earned runs for a tidy ERA of 11.25. The Phillies are still signing the pay checks of Eaton, now in the final year of a three-year 24.5 million dollar contract. That contract had been looking like the only investment worse than General Motors stock.

However, in a start last night, the tall right-hander went 7.1 innings, giving up only 6 hits and 2 runs in a win over the White Sox. He struck out 9. Wouldn't it be ironic, with the Phils' rotation in shambles, if the much maligned Adam Eaton were to regain his form in Baltimore while still on the Philadelphia payroll?