Yankees Putting Javy Back into the Rotation Full Time? Hopefully Not
I recently stumbled across an article that that is stating Javy Vazquez should go back into the rotation. I have several concerns about this.
“Well, he was hitting 91 mph last night so his deadarm appears to be over.” That is what the writer of the article stated. My response? Okay? 91 STRAIGHT isn’t exactly going to blow it past anyone considering he was 93-96 last year and through most of his career. 91 doesn’t make him locate, and it doesn’t help the command over his curve ball and his once devastating change up. Javy has had more problems than strictly his Velocity.
Javy did come in and threw nicely in relief of Dustin Moseley who didn’t pitch well. 4.1 innings doesn’t even quality him for a win if he gets lit up in the 5th, which has happened from time to time this year. I’m not willing to just say you know what- go get ‘um kid. I mean look at his past? Javy is NOT a big game pitcher. So what has he done to warrant shots down the stretch in an important pennant race?
Ivan Nova has pitched well since he came up, and frankly- with Pettitte looking like he’s coming back relatively soon, I’d rather go with CC, Pettitte, Burnett, Hughes, and Nova down the stretch, with Javy/Moseley getting a spot start and pitching out of the bullpen. Javy just flat out has not deserved to be a guy down the stretch the Yankees can count on.
Manny Ramirez Going Home To New York?
With Manny Ramirez being put through waivers, there’s going to be several teams that find themselves interested in the potential hall of famer. The Rays, White Sox, Rangers, are among the teams interested in his services. However- it seems like everyone is counting out the Yankees as a potential fit, and I think that could be real misguided.
The impact Manny could have on the Yankees would be insanely beneficial. Since the Berkman trade, well…he’s been pretty much as bad as he has been all year, and now he’s sitting on the DL. Arod just went on the DL as well, so the lineup could be lacking a little thunder. Insert Manny. Manny’s thunder in that ball park could be monstrous. This year, he’s been plagued with a couple injuries, but if you dig into his numbers- he definitely can still hit. LA is known as a pitchers park at night, which definitely IMO have hurt his power numbers. If could get Manny in the lineup at DH with Arod (healthy) and Teixeira? Yikes. There isn’t a manager in baseball that would enjoy going through that heart of the order. You can platoon different guys at different times.
These are the potential lineups I see- if the Yankees can SOMEHOW bring Manny back to his roots. (Lineup when Arod comes back)
Against lefties-
1. Jeter-SS
2. Swisher-LF
3. Alex Rodriguez-3B
4. Mark Teixeira-1B
5. Manny Ramirez-DH
6. Robinson Cano-2B
7. Jorge Posada-C
8. Austin Kearns-RF
9. Brett Gardner- CF
Scary right?
Against Right handers
1. Derek Jeter-SS
2. Robinson Cano-2B
3. Alex Rodriguez-3B
4. Mark Teixeira-1B
5. Manny Ramirez-LF
6. Jorge Posada-C
7. Nick Swisher-RF
8. Lance Berkman-DH
9. Curtis Granderson/Brett Gardner CF- depending on match ups.
Again…Yikes. The good thing about Manny would be- you could sit him in favor of Gardner against the real tough right handers or a guy he doesn’t hit well against. You could move him to the DH and play Gardner and sit Berkman. Managers would have a tough time playing match ups because it’s going lefty, righty, lefty, righty. You also would have a good, strong bench- anyway you cut it. Either way- There wouldn’t be a better, more powerful 1-5 in baseball. Arguably…there wouldn’t be a better 1-9 in baseball. And frankly- the way the rotation has performed (up and down all year) it might be wise to stack the line up as best one can possibly do.
Am I dreaming? Sure- it’s likely a team will put a claim on Manny…even if it’s simply a blocking move. But if he falls allllll the way to the Yanks, I don’t see the Yanks allowing him to clear, just to potentially get traded to Tampa or another potential postseason foe. Again- it’s likely this won’t happen. But I wouldn’t call it as far-fetched as some people want others to believe.
Yankee Fire
Was anyone else upset that the benches cleared last night? I actually was a BIG supporter of that. Down the stretch, it’s outstanding to see a team with fire, a team willing to stand up for a rookie teammate. The Yankees may have lost the game, but Ivan Nova took things into his own hands, and demanded respect. I LOVE that.
After giving up a homer to Jose Bautista, Ivan Nova came up and in. Intentional? Maybe…maybe not. I don’t care. That was outstanding, and guys are not going to feel comfortable digging in. Pedro Martinez was a guy with that reputation. I’m not saying Nova is like Pedro in anyway shape or form, but I have nothing against some chin music. It’s an old school mentality, and the pitcher owns the plate…not the hitter. The pitcher controls the game, and the tempo- not the hitter. Ivan Nova showed the Yankees that he in deed belongs in this pennant race, and he deserves a couple more starts to show what he can do.
After all- he did pitch extremely well against one of the best offenses in baseball.
David Robertson took the loss with giving up the 8th inning homer to Bautista. He’s pitched pretty well lately, and one mistake…it’s not the end of the world.
If the Yankees offense can survive Arod being out, I think they’ll be okay. Either way- you can’t hate the fire.
Still Can’t Handle the Heat: Javy Vazquez Lives Up to Reputation
Javier Vazquez came back to the Yankees this past off season in search to rid his reputation of not being a big game pitcher. He was looking forward to putting the game 7 meltdown in 2004 against Boston behind him, and help the Yankees defend their world series title. Javy was coming off an outstanding year with the Atlanta Braves in 2009, and we were all excited to see what he could bring to the table this year.
Well- it’s been more of the same, and we all have seen the Javy Vazquez we all remember for a better part of this season. He’s not only failing to get anyone out consistently, but he’s lost basically his entire fastball. Once sizzling in the mid 90′s, Javy has fallen to the mid to upper 80′s, barely hitting 90 mph now. That’s a sudden drop-off for anyone which definitely should and will raise the injury questions. It was reported he was struggling with a tired shoulder, but he’s had that tired shoulder for quite some time now. So what is it? Is it just the age? Injury? Fear? I can’t answer that because only Javy can. All I can say is watching him pitch today was like watching anyone whose about at the end of his career. You can get away with 88 if it moves. Javy’s fastball…straight. He isn’t even locating the way he’s been able to in the past, and that leads to disaster. When you don’t have a fastball, it makes everything else in your arsenal look pedestrian. His curveball and changeup, average at best with his curveball lacking the depth he once had. Javy was once a strike out pitcher, but that isn’t there anymore either. He’s never been a pitch to contact type of guy, and I don’t think he knows how to be that guy. The problem is, the Yankees cannot continue to run him out there for 3 innings a start. When you do that- it kills your bullpen. It leads to over use, and down the stretch, that REALLY could come back to haunt this team.
So what do you do? It’s simple- you have to make a move into the rotation. I don’t know if you can go to a 6 man rotation, but if anything, someone has to step in and tell Javy to hit the bricks and find his niche as a longman for the rest of the year. A DL stint- something. He’s a glaring hole in the rotation, and there isn’t anyone that can do a worse job. What’s gonna happen when he faces the Rays or Sox in September? With the season on the line? I don’t even want to think about that.You have some options- Chad Gaudin pitched well enough today to deserve a shot, Ivan Nova is another name you can look at. Unfortunately, the Yankees farm system lacks the arms right now- but like I said….can they do any worse than Javy has done?
No Arod- No Problem. Yankees Win Again
Alex Rodriguez looks like he might be out close to a week with that calf strain. Many people were fearful, that the Yankees could lose some of it’s lead without their RBI man in the middle. Well- so far that isn’t true. The Yankees win again today, 9-5 against a Seattle Mariner team that has disappointed many this year.
It was an auspicious start for the Yanks as Ichiro went yard to lead off the game against struggling right hander Javy Vazquez. Seattle tacked on another in the first as Russell Branyan continued his hot ways with another homer. I’m sure every Bronx Bomber fan was a little upset and worried about the start, but the Yankees showed they’re more to a team than simply Arod. Robinson Cano singled home a pair and then Jorge Posada went bingo bango into the seats for a 4-2 lead. However, Javy couldn’t hold it as he gave up another homer to Ichiro and a Casey Kotchman single tied the game at 4. It was all Yankee offense after that. The Yanks took advantage of some sloppy defense by Seattle and scored 5 unanswered.
What a job by Chad Gaudin. Three scoreless after coming in to relieve Vazquez, and that really was a lift. He was able to keep the Yankees around to score some runs, and turned it over to a right now hot bullpen. Mariano came in for an inning and a third and gave up a meaningless run, as the Yankees continue to stay hot- and hopefully can put some distance between them and the pesky Rays.
