Results tagged ‘ Javier Vazquez ’
3 straight losses and the sky still ain’t fallin’
So would it be nice if the Yankees had won 3 straight instead of losing three in a row? Absolutely. But guess what? Before this they won 8 straight, so that still makes them 8-3 over their last 11 games. I’ll take that every single time. And even if they manage to lose a season high 4th straight today, it still ain’t the end of the world. The Yankees will still have the best record in baseball and a real shot at repeating as World Champs.
Of course if you live in the NYC area, all you will be reading about is how the rotation is in trouble and Derek Jeter is fading fast. Both of these stories are way overblown. I expect Jeter will get a little rest down the stretch and bounce back just fine in the playoffs. And as for the rotation, Andy Pettite will be back soon and I expect that either Burnett or Vazquez will come around eventually. Hopefully it will be for the playoff run. So watch out for this team folks. They will be very dangerous come playoff time. Amid all the doom and gloom, the naysayers are forgetting about how important Lance Berkman and Kerry Wood can be down the stretch. Both are money players with loads of talent and just made this team that much harder to beat.
We’ll take it
It is often the case that the team plays a bit flat on the first day of a road trip. I guess that can be attributed to the travel and adjusting to life on the road. Last night was a classic example. The offense did basically nothing with the exception of homers by Swisher and Granderson. That proved to be enough as Javy Vazquez went seven plus strong innings. The Yankees need to do as they did against KC and take three of four. Nothing against Cleveland, but they aren’t very good and first place teams should beat them three of four. That wasn’t a very exciting game, but a win is a win is a win.
The one that got away and thoughts about the non trade
Well, after seven straight wins, I guess the Yankees were due for a loss. This one just slipped away when Joba Chaimberlain couldn’t get through the eighth before giving up a grand slam, the lead and the game. Joba has been a bit erratic this year. My personal feeling is that he doesn’t get enough work. I believe he needs to pitch multiple innings like he did when he first game up. I’m not saying three or four innings, but two inning outings would be a way to get him a bit more work. I believe he is more effective when used that way than he is currently. Can’t complain too much though. They still have a two game lead with one to play before the All Star break. All things considered, that ain’t too bad
On another note, although I would have loved to see Cliff Lee in the Yankees rotation this year, I am glad that they didn’t trade Jesus Montero. I saw him play last week and this kid is the real deal. At 21 years old, he has adjusted well to AAA after a rocky start. He currently is heating up and even at 21 he looked like a man among boys when I saw him play. This kid is going to be an All Star some day and I hope that it is with the Yankees. Cliff Lee can wait and as we saw last night, Javy Vazquez is every bit as capable of putting up zeroes as Cliff Lee is on any given night.
Seattle does it again
Contrary to reports in the NY papers, the sky is not falling. When you get beat by Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez, you can’t really feel too bad about it. Granted, the Yankees countered with Phil Hughes and Javier Vazquez, both of whom looked pretty rotten. And the bullpen didn’t help much either night. But overall, this is just a bump in the road. The team is still in first and they will pick it back up again soon, both offensively and pitching wise. Nothing to worry about, just one little rough patch in a very long season. Let’s see where they stand by the end of the weekend. My guess is they will pick things up today and play well against Toronto as well.
“Lost” Weekend
Sorry, couldn’t help the reference to the Lost finale, even though I personally never watched the show. It is fitting though that on the the day of the finale, the Yankees finished their own lost weekend in Queens. Last night was a microcosm of what has been wrong with this team lately. They didn’t hit until the ninth innning, which is becoming a habit. They didn’t pitch, and nobody stepped up to lead this team. They need someone to step up big and right now nobody is. Last night it was Sabathia who had a chance and he failed. So did Texeira and so did A-Rod. It’s not the end of the world for sure, but this team needs a quick turnaround or they are in some serious trouble.
I still believe this is a very good team that will heat up again, but right now they need to start getting themselves together. They are only a half game ahead of Toronto and Boston is creeping back up on them as well. Tampa Bay is still red hot. This is a very tought division and there is no time for extended slumps. Let’s see what this team is made of. There is no time for head cases. ( Are you listening Texeira, Vazquez, Burnett?) There is no time for injury excuses. It’s time to man up. Let’s see if they can do that this week as they failed miserably last week.
twinbill split in Motown
Not much you can say about the first game. Bottom line is that you have to score runs to win. When you score zero, you will always lose. The offense looked sluggish in this one. They had their opportunities, but they came with Randy Winn and Ramiro Pena at the plate and they couldn’t deliver. The good news is that Vazquez looked good. Let’s hope he can build on this one and start pitching decently. That’s all this team really needs from him, not greatness, just pitch decently.
In the second game, Hughes was dominant and the offense finally broke through in the ninth. All in all, 3-3 for this road trip isn’t too bad considering all of the injuries to key players. Let’s hope they can get today’s game in and that CC can bring home a winning road trip. I would be impressed if they can do that considering all the adversity they have faced on this road trip.
A Great Comeback and Girardi throws it away
Let’s start with Javier Vazquez. This guy is obviously a head case. He will never be able to pitch in NY as he just doesn’t have the mental toughness. If I were the Yankees, I would put him in the pen until he gets himself together. At this point, almost anyone could do a better job than this guy. As if it wasn’t bad enough that he gave up 3 home runs and five runs in 3 innings, then the Yankees battle back to take the lead and Girardi over manages his way to a loss. The later innings of this game was classic Girardi over thinking and managing a win into a loss. No way in the world should Damaso Marte be in any game in a critical situation. The guy is too inconsistent and unreliable. When he entered the game, even I knew he wouldn’t hold the lead and he held true to form. If I know this, why doesn’t Girardi? And then there was leaving Thames in against Putz, but pinch hitting a lefty for a lefty in Johnson instead of Winn. I would love to hear his “logic” on those moves. So far, that is at least 3 games where questionable managing has cost the Yankees a game they could have won. One of the marks of a great manager is knowing when to leave things alone. Girardi has yet to learn this very important lesson. This one was ugly after a great game last night.
Vazquez rides again
OK, so now I have watched this guy for four straight starts and four straight times he has stunk up the joint. Even the game he won was ugly. Today they spotted him a three run lead and he pissed it away. Couldn’t even get out of the fourth inning. Absolutely pathetic. This guy looks exactly like the guy that left here after the debacle against Boston. He has no confidence in his stuff and looks like he is either unable or unwilling to attack the strike zone. The other “jewel” in this game was Marte. He has been horribly inconsistent in his time with the Yankees and today he looked a lot like he has most of the time. Wild and hittable. These two guys need to go as they seem to be the only ones on this team that are not performing. Vazquez obviously is just one of those guys that can’t pitch in NY and Marte is just bad. 3-3 on a tough west coast swing isn’t bad, but it could easily have been 5-1 with better pitching. They still have three in B’more so I predict they win two of three and come home at 5-4 from a tough 9 game road trip. All in all not too bad, but Vazquez had better figure things out quickly or the fans will boo him right out of NY.
First 10 games
So far, I can’t see anything that Yankees fans can complain about. The team is scoring runs, they are pitching well and playing good defense. All of this has led to a 7-3 start against four very good teams. To win all three series against Tampa Bay, Boston and Anaheim is a great way to start the season. Like I said, Yankees fans have got to be pleased. The only blemish on this first ten games has been Javier Vazquez. He hasn’t pitched well in his two starts and he also showed a lack of mental toughness when he got booed in his last start, calling it “unfair”. This is something to watch as we move forward. Javier had better toughen up or it could be a long season for him in NY again and then he will be gone again.
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