The departure of Floyd, the fourth overall pick in the 2001 draft, overshadowed the other components of the deal, mainly because Floyd was an unmitigated disappointment. Gonzalez served as a solid second story line, since he was a vestige of the 2005 deal that sent franchise first baseman Jim Thome to the Sox.
Incredibly, the arrival of Garcia in Philadelphia lacked much punch . . . that is, until Garcia's new teammates gave voice to the reality that the long-sought, top-flight successor to Schilling had arrived.
Then Rollins began his "We're No. 1" campaign.
The tandem of Brett Myers and Cole Hamels might be ascending but Garcia, 30, is more accomplished. And, with no disrespect meant to the former would-be No. 1s - Andy Ashby, Kevin Millwood and Eric Milton - who turned out to be less than No. 2s, Garcia is better than them, too.
"No doubt. It's not even close," Rollins said. "Brett has that profile, but he was homegrown. Freddy came in with the reputation. He has the field work that earned that reputation. And he has the [2005 World Series] ring, and the big games that he's pitched in, to back that up."
So, yes, Rollins was a bit incredulous that the addition of Garcia caused little impact. So was his boss.
"I was surprised, because he's a big-name pitcher, and that's what we were looking for," said Manuel, whose starters were the worst in the National League through the trading deadline last season and third-worst at season's end. "But that's when Jimmy Rollins and some of our other players said, 'We know we have a chance to win.' With the media and the fans, it might have been underplayed. But it definitely had a big impact with the players."
