Garko goes; Tribe rolls on

It came as a bit of a surprise that the Indians traded Ryan Garko yesterday. No one had been talking about Garko as possible trade bait. But as usual, it's about salary. Garko is making less than half a million this year, but he's going to be much richer next year, as he is eligible for salary arbitration for the first time. He's hitting .285/11/39 so far this year, which are decent numbers but nothing special for a part-time first baseman who's no wizard with the glove and can't run.

In return, the Tribe got 21-year-old A-ball pitcher Scott Barnes, who went 12-3 with a 2.85 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 98 innings for the Giants' California League affiliate in San Jose. Those are fine numbers, and Barnes appears to have a lot of upside. But it needs to be said that a 21-year-old pitchers' arms are fragile things, and I just hope Barnes stays healthy.

After the trade was announced, the Tribe brought up Andy Marte, who's been a colossal flame-out so far in several shots at the majors, but was tearing it up for AAA Columbus this year. Marte was hitting .327 with 18 home runs and just 50 strikeouts in 300 plate appearances for the Clippers. He'll take Garko's spot at first base, and I have some hope that he'll actually succeed this time. If he does, the trade will have some positive value, regardless of what Barnes does. So in summary, it's a bit of a risk, but all trades are, and I'm optimistic about this one.

Whether this is Shapiro's last deal before Friday's trading deadline or not, we'll just have to wait and see. I remain hopeful that we can be contenders next year, which should mean he'd have to be blown away to trade Cliff Lee or Victor Martinez. We'll see.

In unrelated news, the Tribe pulled out their fifth straight win last night, after many Northeast Ohioans (myself included) had already gone to bed. The aforementioned Martinez hit a three-run homer off All-Star closer Brian Fuentes in the top of the ninth to make it 7-6, and a Jhonny Peralta solo shot tied a bow on it, to make it 8-6. It was Peralta's fourth hit of the game, as he and Shin-Soo Choo (also with four hits) led an eye-popping 20-hit attack off the Angels' pitchers.

It was a bad start for Carl Pavano, who's had a lot of those lately, as he gave up back-to-back-to-back homers in the second inning on the way to surrendering six runs in six innings, but Jose Veras and Kerry Wood combined to shut out the Angels over the last three frames, and that was huge.

Yes, we're out of the race, and yes, we're losing key pieces left and right as we rebuild. But this team is fun to watch right now.