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Freddy Garcia served up a grand slam in the fifth as the Bisons dropped a 7-1 decision to the Syracuse Chiefs in front of an announced crowd of 5,140 on Monday night.

The loss dropped Garcia to 0-2 and extended the Bisons streak of 17 games where a starting pitcher has not recorded a win.

But more telling than the loss were the words of Freddy Garcia in his post game talk with the media where he definitely sounded like a man on the verge of leaving the game.

“I don’t know man. Maybe I want to try it one more time…I don’t know. I have to make a decision what I’m going to do. I don’t know,” Garcia said. “Hopefully next time I’ll feel better. We’ll wait for tomorrow and (see) how I feel tomorrow.”

Garcia, 32, began the season in extended spring training and was making his second start for the Herd since being added to the Bisons roster on April 22.

Chiefs’ first baseman Ryan Langerhans drilled a 79-mph fastball over the wall to highlight a six-run, four-hit fifth that gave the Chiefs a 7-1 lead.

“I made a mistake on that pitch. I feel a little sore in the front of my shoulder,” Garcia said. “I don’t feel any power. I try to do the best that I can with what I have.”

Garcia went six innings in his first start, a 6-1 loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, on April 22.

He lasted six innings and gave up three runs on three and three walks while fanning three.

Clearly not the same pitcher he was since the he underwent labrum surgery on his right shoulder in August 2007, Garcia was ranging from 77 to 82 mph in the start against Scranton.

Garcia said his arm felt sore the day after that start but chalked that up to the change in temperature from St. Lucie where he has been in extended spring training to Scranton, PA.

Monday’s start saw Garcia throw 53 of his 80 pitches for strikes with his velocity topping out at 85 on three occasions and as low as 60.

Not coming right out and saying the worse case scenario Garcia’s careful choosing of words and body language suggest all the signs of a pitcher with at the very least a dead arm. At the very worse someone who was done for good.

“Hopefully it will work out for me but right now I don’t know,” said Garcia.

Just before serving up the home run ball, Garcia looked out of gas as he circled the mound a couple of times trying to catch his wind. He also looked to the Bisons dugout in what appeared to be an effort to signal he needed to be lifted from the game.

But, with Garcia due up second in the batting order in the Bisons half of the fifth, the Bisons were not going to burn two pitchers in one inning so Garcia would have to sink or swim on his own.

Finishing second in the 1999 American League Rookie of the Year voting Garcia was a two-time AL All-Star (2001 and 2002) and was a member of the 2005 World Series champion Chicago White Sox.

Recording five seasons of 14-wins or more Garcia, who was signed by the Mets to a minor league contract on January 23, 2009, also has six seasons with 200 or more innings pitched.
But while Garcia didn’t help his cause the rest of the game was still the same old story-the Bisons are not hitting the ball.

They wasted a lead off home run by Cory Sullivan and managed just one other hit on the night.

For all the talk of working hard and righting the ship the fact is things have gotten worse. Nick Evans is batting a lowly .089 and Fernando Martinez has just one hit in last 15 at-bats. As a team they are hitting .115 with runners in scoring positions and two outs.

“It’s the same broken record day in and day out and I honestly don’t know what to say,” said Oberkfell.
“Would I go in there and break a bunch of tables will that get them going? I don’t know. Some how some way someone has to step up and produce with men in scoring position.”