What's The Big Deal?
Look at the ERA's of the Yankees starters: 3.71, 3.38, 1.79, 1.38, 8.10. Now tell me which one of these guys should currently be labeled "5th starter".
So why are the papers today filled with hysterical columns about the Yankees decision to move Vazquez's next start to Friday? With the rain last week, they needed to put Mitre back into the rotation for a turn which gave them flexibility to move their starters around. When you have four starters with ERA's below 4 and one with an ERA above 8, logic dictates you maximize the starts for the former and limit the starts for the latter.
The other reason for moving Vazquez to Friday is a practical one; the Yankees need to keep a starter rested to protect the bullpen. With Mitre pitching yesterday and Ivan Nova about to be sent to Scranton, the Yankees will be without a long reliever this week. If a starter has to be lifted early, the Yankees need someone to be able to step in a pitch multiple innings That guy is Vazquez, but assuming the Yankees get through this week without a blowup, Vazquez will pitch Friday and the Yankees will have Mitre back in his long relief role.
In reality, it doesn't matter at all who is called the #1 starter and who is called the #5 starter right now. That only matters come October.
Comments
Makes all the sense in the world -- also like the idea of Vazquez pitching in an NL park where his comfort level is.
Re the game yesterday, not every dropped game is "lost" by the Yankees. Sometimes the other team just deserves to win. Morneau reached out and hit a very good pitch for a homerun to the opposite field. It was a remarkable feat of hitting and strength. Kubel, who I don't particularly like, still hit a pitch that was in a tough location. It helped that the ball was not cutting as much as the ordinary Rivera pitch that breaks bats. Still, hitting a ball out in this location is a good bit of hitting.
There are a lot of good teams in the league -- certainly the Rays, Blue Jays, Twins, and Tigers fall in this category. And the Red Sox and Angels will put it together as the season goes on. The pennant race is wide open this year.
Posted by: Corey | May 17, 2010 11:40 AM |
I'm still not ready to give up on Vasquez. If we're going to put him the bullpen, we might as well just demote him to triple A so he can fix himself.
Posted by: Dylan Murphy | May 17, 2010 02:12 PM |
I also suspect that Girardi wanted to keep Javy out of the spotlight a little while longer so that he can get his confidence up a bit higher. The Bronx is a brutal place to struggle. I agree with Dylan - I think Javy can still make it as a sucessful starter for us. The only issue I have is that Javy needs to start eating some innings and make his regular starts so that Hughes can be skipped every once in an while. He (Hughes) *does* have an innings cap.
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May 17, 2010 02:26 PM
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