Garko
In what has been a miserable season for Indians' first baseman Ryan Garko, Wednesday would have to be the low point.

At least one would hope it is.

Garko was removed during the Indians 10-7 loss to the Rays for standing at home plate after hitting a ball he thought would go foul.
It did not.

Garko's been in a tight race with Rafael Betancourt and Asdrubal Cabrera for Most Disappointing Indian This Season.

There are several other candidates, to be sure, but the three listed above have stood out.

After batting .289 with 21 homers last season, Garko has regressed in 2008. His power numbers are way down (he has eight homers) and his average is .239.

The reason Garko can separate himself from the other two on the list is because his fall was so unexpected.

Relievers blow up all the time. Betancourt is just another one in a long line of pitchers who have struggled (or in Rafael's case, imploded) trying to string two quality seasons together.

Cabrera was up for so little time last season, you wondered what would happen when pitchers got a book on him. The pitchers adjusted, he didn't in his sophomore season. Such a thing happens to many rookies.

But Garko's problems are hard to figure out.

He came up late in the lost season of 2006, and hit. He continued to do so in 2007, winning the first base job.

This season, the 27-year old player looks lost.

With his struggles, he has opened up another hole that the Indians will need to plug in the offseason. Maybe Garko can rebound, but it would be foolish for the Indians to assume he will.

They took that approach with Travis Hafner, and look what happened.