Ah, perception.
The Giants, naturally, said they were happy to acquire Ryan Garko from the Indians. "This guy can drive in a run, he can hit the three-run home run," Giants GM Brian Sabean said. Added manager Bruch Bochy: "You don't acquire a guy like this to sit him."
Nor do you get him to play left field when he's never played there before in his life, but that's a separate matter.
Oh … the Giants also are happy that Garko is going to be arbitration-eligible next season, because it means they have him for that season as well as this. Part of the reason he was traded from Cleveland — along with the presence of Matt LaPorta in the minors — was the arbitration/payroll issue.
Naturally things are different from the Indians prism. This analysis from letsgotribe.com was a tad more insightful than my initial thoughts on the trade. OK, it’s a lot more insightful, but who’s checking? It mentions Garko's defensive shortcomings and absolute lack of speed and says good things about the pitcher acquired: "Garko is more than three years removed from free agency, but will become less and less of a value as he gets into his arbitration years. And if the Indians feel that Matt LaPorta will be best at first base, Garko needed to go anyway."
Then there is this analysis from fangraphs.com. It gets into some of the same numbers that the Indians probably use in their analysis and concludes that Garko is just above average as a hitter and adds little in terms of defense or speed, which means that he's not the kind of guy to spend a ton of money on. It also says the Giants paid a "high price" in giving up Scott Barnes: "He’s not one of the premier pitching prospects in baseball, but he’s the kind of good arm that could turn into a quality pitcher down the road."
The conclusion: "For the Indians, they get another look at Andy Marte and a nifty pitching prospect for a guy that is fairly easily replaced. Good move for Cleveland – not as big a fan of San Francisco’s end of this."
Yeah, we already have enough fatties clogging the basepaths. The next time Hafner, Victor or Peralta steal a base will be the first time. Ryan just wasn't "versatile" enough, which–on this team–is really saying something!!! I agree with Eliz, I wonder how much worse he could've been at catcher than Victor and Chopwhack. They rarely throw out a runner, and their pitching staff has an ERA over 5.00. There's little or no power with lots of K's. Seems like Ryan would HAVE to be an upgrade there.
Let's remember what speedsters have played 1B for the Tribe in the last 15-20 years. No one's winning a foot race against Lofton or Sizemore. And, why would you need speed if you're just going to be hitting doubles and home runs all the time?
The worst aspect of the Indians front office approach is the fact that they think their front office approach is more important than talent.