Take A Deep Breath Everyone
Yes, Javier Vazquez has not pitched well this season. But, we are talking about a grand total of two starts. Yet, the Daily News has a story today that is titled, "Vazquez Can't Handle Pinstripes". Other papers have similar stories as well.
The evidence for this conclusion appears to be that Vazquez surrendered a grand slam to Johnny Damon in the 2004 ALCS. It's true that he did do that, but if you want to blame him for losing that series you are crazy. And furthermore, why is anyone worried about 2004 anymore?
It might also be worth remembering that Vazquez pitched well when he first came to New York. He won 10 games and had a 3.56ERA in the first half of '04. A pretty good indication that he could handle the pressure. And don't forget there was a ton of pressure on him in 2004. The Yankees lost the World Series in 2003 and they lost Clemens, Pettitte and Wells in the offseason. They got Vazquez to come in and be an ace and for the first three months he did the job and did it well.
So, let's all back away from the ledge here. The press needs to stop making absurd claims. The fans need to give Vazquez a break and Vazquez needs to tune out the noise. If he is still pitching like this at the end of May then we can worry. But for now, it's probably best if everyone remember that it's only April 15th.
Comments
if healthy he will pitch well, he was a beast for the Braves and I think pressure hits younger players more than older veterans.
Posted by: blmeanie![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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April 15, 2010 08:35 PM
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Peter, do you view his previous Yankees career as 2 seasons? One the first half of 2004 and the other the 2nd half of 2004?
Aren't you picking and choosing periods of performance?
This is a tough one to digest as he has been a very, very effective pitcher, except when with NY as a whole. And thus far his complete Yankees body of work hasn't been good.
Do you see that as just sample size issues or something else?
I'm on the fence (the safe place to be). I took from your post that you thought his NYY experience was more an anomaly than anything else.
Posted by: Andy![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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April 15, 2010 10:19 PM
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Andy
It goes to this whole "it's different in NY/Boston" theory. If Vazquez couldn't handle New York, shouldn't he have struggled initially like everyone else does? Instead he pitched very well in the first half of 2004.
The stories that I have read suggested that something was wrong with his shoulder in the second half and when you compare those stats with the rest of his career, that makes some sense.
Posted by: Peter![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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April 16, 2010 09:13 AM
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It also could be the simple fact that the AL is way tougher than the NL. He's struggling because he has to adjust once again.
Posted by: Dylan Murphy | April 16, 2010 12:52 PM |
I think the booing is from, lackey or vasquez, NL to AL... great year last year scrub so far this year...and we seen this movie already do we have to sit through it again.. well maybe thats what i say..lets get Zack M ready quick...
Posted by: bornwithpinstripes | April 16, 2010 03:35 PM |
Javy's last outing was not terrible, not great, but certainly not terrible and much better than his debut. The guy has pitched in the AL before (CWS) and had some success so I can't buy the NL to AL argument for him. He *was* a winner for the Braves and I think he'll be fine as a number 4 for the Yankees.
His stuff looks fine and his command is coming along - I'm going to give him another 2 starts before I label him a bad pickup.
Posted by: Mitchell![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://yankeesredsox.com/nav-commenters.gif)
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April 17, 2010 09:05 PM
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