The Greatest Expectations

[Dash Treyhorn, formerly of the now-defunct "TheFightins.com" penned this post. Look for his opinion from time to time in this spot on Phillies Nation.] Take a walk back in time with me. The year was 2006. It was December, and I was at a Christmas party. A week or two earlier, the Phillies traded for White Sox pitcher Freddy Garcia, who was a good, but not great pitcher. Durable, sure; He tossed at least 200 innings in just about every season of his nine year career to that point, with a career ERA just north of 4.00 in the American League. For us fans, it was a coup by Pat Gillick, who traded away two prospects* for an Ace. *Gavin Floyd, the “he’s the next big thing!” pitcher, who never really stepped up in Philly but had success in Chicago, and Gio Gonzalez, who is 24-year-old left hander who had a nice year for the Athletics. Five years later, and the trade somehow gets worse. At least, that was our perception – that Garcia was an Ace to go along with what we thought we...