“Three days of rest” was a common phrase for me last October, and into November, as the Yankees were forced to employ a thin three-man rotation throughout the postseason, due to the lack of a clear fourth option (well, there were several options, however, such options were far from confidence inspiring). This winter, in order to prematurely preclude this potentially problematic issue, the Yankees opted to further their starting depth by acquiring former Yankee, Javier Vazquez, from the Braves. All it took, in the end, was Melky Cabrera plus two minor-league pitchers (although one of those pitchers – Arodys Vizcaino – was considered one of the Yankees’ best pitching prospects).
In his latest piece, SI’s Sky Andrecheck goes on to dub the Vazquez acquisition as the second best pitching gamble of the winter – Cliff Lee to Seattle is the first, of course – stating that the strikeout out throwing workhorse is “projected to have a 2010 ERA in the high 3.00’s and should be one of the more valuable pitchers around – easily worth his $11.5 million salary.” If one actually looks at the “advanced” numbers (e.g., peripherals, FIP, xFIP, etc.), it is rather evident that Andrecheck’s evaluation could not be more accurate, for Vazquez, despite his well-documented struggles in 2004, has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the past three seasons. In fact, as it stands, the 33-year old right-hander might actually be the difference maker in the AL East—that is how important he is to the Yankees this year.
I say this because I know that there are a number of Vazquez detractors out there. I implore those fans to be patient in 2010. As he has done for the majority of his unlucky and underrated career, Vazquez will pitch well this season.
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3 Responses to Give Vazquez a chance
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TIQ IQ
It’s not easy to wash the taste of 2004 out of our mouths. One reason: I can’t think of a single guy who was unsuccessful with the Yankees, then came back a second time and was significantly better. (I’m talking about people who went to another team, not someone who was sent down to the minors or missed time for military service.) The best I could come up with was Ruben Sierra – he was below average with a bad attitude his first go-round with the Yankees, then was much worse on the field, but with a much better attitude in his second stint. None of this affects Vazquez, of course, but it would be easier to get over his 2004 performance if you could point to one person who made good in his second stint in pinstripes.
Give the guy a break, He was hurt the 2nd half of the 2004 season. Forget the 2004 season, .This season could be a season to remember and Javiar Vasquez could, and should be , a big part of something special. This team can hit, hit for power, has excellent speed, and should be one of the best defenses in Baseball. Our Pitching can compete with anybody . And of course our superior defense is going to save our Pitchers a lot of runs. Our Bullpen is also as good as anybodies. Our bench depth and versatility is another plus. And everybody is going to be happy we had Javiar Vasquez to help us win # 28.
I fully expect him to get booed opening day at the Stadium A-Rod style, ugh. So I REALLY hope he pitches a complete-game shutout with 15Ks more than I usually want every Yankee pitcher to throw that kind of game. ;)