Results tagged ‘ Javier Vazquez ’
Rays take season series.
Everytime CC Sabathia takes the mound I feel that the Yankees have a 99.9 chance of winning. Afterall CC has been a work horse his entire career and with the Yankees he has definately earned every penny of that contract he signed almost two years ago, as he has definately become the Yankees most dominant starter. So heading into last night’s game, I had a good feeling the Yankees would tie the season series with the Rays negating any tie breaker advantage the Rays could’ve gained. And during the first five innings of the game, even though CC wasn’t as sharp as he was last week, he still did a good job protecting a one run lead. Unfortunately in the top of the 6, CC not only lost the plate but his control and the Rays took advantage by putting up a huge 7 spot to put the game and the season series away.
The AL East race will go down to the wire, and the Rays right now have the upper hand as they will face weak teams the rest of the way, while the Yankees will face their hated rivals for six games and the pesky Toronto Blue Jays. But if the Yankees fail to win the division, I think Yankee fans can look back at this game as the reason why the Rays will enter the post season as AL East champs.
But not to worry…
There is no doubt that the Yankees will make the playoffs this year, whether they win the East or get into the post season as a wild card. And in October, I expect this team to play much better than what they have shown in August and September. But even though I’m not worried, there are question marks surrounding the Yankees. Will Boone Logan be the effective lefty specialist that Demaso Marte was last post season? Can the Yankees have the same success as last year with only three effective pitchers? And after last night’s debacle, where does Javier Vazquez fit in (I know one thing, Vazquez won’t be coming back next year, thank God). These are obviously huge question marks, but by the time the post season starts, the Yankees should be ready to defend their crown, so I have no worries.
What was the meal on that flight?
Russell Branyan just hit a shot, I mean a moon shot, into the upper deck of the New Yankee Stadium this afternoon that had me thinking about something I heard in high school: “what was the meal on that flight?” Branyan of course is the first to hit the upper deck at the new Yankee stadium, but not the first one to hit a bomb in the place. Remember last year, Adam Dunn hit a ball that I guess never landed inside the stadium, and in all probability it’s still in flight! Ok, maybe it isn’t, but you never know.
As for Javier Vazquez facing Branyan again, that would be a mistake as Branyan is now 4-for-4 off Vazquez. All of the hits are homeruns.
Yankees drop first game.
Red Sox draw first blood in this wrap around four game series in the Bronx tonight, as Clay Buchholz does what he does best by pitching a brilliant game tonight. After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first the Yankees once again come back with a first inning two run homerun to take the 2-1 lead headed into the top of the second. Unfortunately for the Yankees and Javier Vazquez, a drop pop fly by Francisco Cervelli allowed Boston to retake the lead 4-2 and with Buchholz taking command of the game, the Red Sox cruised to an easy 6-3 victory.
There wasn’t much Vazquez could do tonight as he actually pitched a decent game, but unfortunately had to work harder than usual after the drop pop fly. Had Cervelli caught the ball, Vazquez could’ve worked an easy one-two-three inning in the second.
I guess the only good news for the Yankees tonight is that the Rays lost their game tonight, so that means they are half a game behind the Yankees still.
Red Sox at Yankees!!
The rivalry will once again be renewed tonight as the banged up and injured Red Sox travel to the big ball park in the Bronx to play against their long time rival Yankees. The Red Sox want to make a statement during this four game set that starts tonight, but the team which has to make the biggest statement is the Yankees. Even though the Yankees are in first place, if they lose 3 games to the Red Sox, or split the series, the Yankees would still be 4 to five games ahead by Tuesday. But by either taking three games from the Red Sox, or sweeping the series, the statement the Yankees will make is that the AL East is their’s to lose. Secondly, by either taking 3 out of 4, or sweeping this series, the Yankees could begin another streak of series wins, which will mean more in August and next month in September as the marathon draws to a close.
Javier Vazquez….
Vazquez has to come up big tonight and give the Yankees another quality start. Vazquez has an unfortunate tendency to be inconsistent, yet he has pitched very well in big games for the Yankees in the last month. His last start on Saturday night against the Rays was big, as he was able to hold the Rays down, just making one mistake to Matt Joyce. If the Vazquez holds the Red Sox to two runs, the Yankees will win this game tonight, since Clay Buchholz has a tendency to pitch poorly against New York.
But there is more: the Yankees offense has to come to life again. Since last Sunday, when James Shields shut this lineup down, runs have been hard to come by for the Yanks. On Wednesday afternoon, the Yankees scored 5 runs early, which seemed to have snapped them out of their little funk, however, with the day off and with Buchholz on the mound, the Yankees could find their way into another offensive slump. But as I said above, if Buchholz has another bad game against New York, this offense will definately wake up and score runs. So come on Yankees, lets sweep and take at least a 3 game lead over the Rays by Tuesday!
A few thoughts on the Yankees.
After a 3-2 win last night in Cleveland, the Yankees just keep rolling along as they’re trying to build (in vain) a bigger lead on Rays. The offensive hero last night was once again Curtis Granderson, who isn’t having a great season, but in his last two games has provided the Yankees with an offensive punch.
Even though Granderson has been struggling this season, for some reason however, he seems to come up with a big hit when the Yankees need it most. He did it earlier in the season in Boston during an extra inning game, and again in Arizona, in that wild and poorly played game. He scored to tying run in that crazy Sunday night game in LA against the Dodgers, and now last night, after a 2 homer game on Sunday, comes back the next day and hits a game winning two run shot.
It seems, unlike earlier in the season, that Granderson is now beginning to heat up, as he is hitting lazer beams all over the field.
Vazquez gets it done
After a shaky start against the Angels last week, Javier Vazquez pitched an excellent ball game last night, as he pitch 7+ innings and struck out 8 Indian batters. I said this before and I will say it again: If the Yankees want to repeat as champions this year, AJ Burnett and Javier Vazquez have to get the job done. So far, both pitchers have looked bad and at other times have pitched well, but now that the season is grinding down, it is time for both of them to come up big. Last night, Vazquez did his job, now lets see what AJ does on Wednesday.
Vazquez a complete disappointment
Coming into the fifth inning of today’s Angels/Yankees game, Javier Vazquez was not only enjoying a comfortable six run lead, but he was also pitching a very good game up to that point. Entering the frame, Vazquez had only thrown 31 pitches. A Yankee fan watching at home, or sitting at one of those very expensive seats in the Bronx, had to be thinking that this was going to be an easy game for the Yankees..right? Wrong. Not only did Vazquez begin to break down in that inning, but the Angels cut the Yankee lead in half after 4 straight hits to open the inning. Even though the Yankees got out of the inning with a three run lead, Vazquez finished his breakdown in the sixth inning, as Hideki Matsui hit a two run homer to cut the Yankee lead to one run.
How could Vazquez pitch so well for four innings and then all of the sudden just lose the plate? It is inexplicable, but not surprising. Vazquez is once again a bust, just as he was in the second half of 2004, and I don’t trust this pitcher to help the Yankees win while Andy Pettitte is on the DL. Right now, the Yankee rotation is made up of one reliable pitcher, the rest are not only unreliable, but could become a liability to this team. And Javier Vazquez is one of those liabilities that will certainly cost the Yankees crucial games during the second half run of the season.
Escape from Arizona.
The Yankees were lucky to win last night’s game, let’s be serious. They had every opportunity to put the game away early, and blew all of them by making boneheaded baserunning mistakes that would drive any manager, or any fan, insane. Dontrelle Willis, who clearly has lost his ability to be a MLB pitcher, was no where near the plate last night, walked 7 batters, and all the Yankees could do is just score 2 runs off him. The much maligned D-Backs bullpen, actually pitched well for most part, while the Yankee bullpen, in this instance, Mr. Marte, gave up a run after the Yankees tided the score at 4 in the top of the 6th.
The sloppiness and the ugliness of this game could have cost the Yankees a golden opportunity to increase their lead in the American League East, as both the Red Sox and Rays lost their respective games. But after the fifth inning, after Robinson Cano’s lineout that resulted in a double play, it was possible to think about the Yankees losing a series to the struggling D-Backs. Even worse, Javier Vazquez looked bad last night. Just like Willis, Mr. Vazquez couldn’t find the plate if his life depended on it. It could be that he just had one bad game, but Vazquez reverted back to his early season form, and that isn’t good news for the Yankees. Of course, it could be just one bad game, but I’m not encouraged by Vazquez’s performance last night.
But despite the sloppiness, and bad pitching, the Yankees rallied and took the lead, and in the process showed why they are the favorite to win the East. Not only did their big guns managed to get on base, but produced runs in the clutch. After both Jeter and Swisher got on base, Teixeira moved them to scoring position, and A-Rod drove in Jeter with a sac-fly. In the top of the 10th, Curtis Granderson gives the Yankees the lead with a solo homerun, and Mo comes in, manages to make the game interesting, but finishes off the D-Backs to earn the win.
Mo reasons why the Yankees will win the East:
It is rather simple really. The Yankees will in the AL East because of Mo. Let us compare and contrast Mo with another closer in the division. In Colorado last night, the Red Sox had a one run lead heading to the bottom of the 9th at Coors Field against the Rockies. Their closer Jonathan Papelbon comes into the game to try and nail down a win for the Red Sox. Win for the Sox right? ah no. Papelbon surrenders a leadoff homerun, allows a single, gets a quick out, then allows the game winning homerun to Jason Giambi, ball game over..Red Sox lose. On the other hand, Mo comes into the game, gets out of the 9th inning, the Yankees take the lead in the 10th, and in the bottom of the frame Mo allows: a single, double, and intentional walk. Yankees are in trouble right? no. Rivera proceeds to get a foul out, pop out and strike out, Yankees win…nuff said!
Girardi and Vazquez spark Yankees.
When Girardi shoved Nick Swisher away from home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman, a shove that seem to suggest a great annoyance at both Swisher and Dreckman, I had a feeling that this was what the Yankees needed to get off the schneid. When Girardi started arguing balls and strikes, he was immediately thrown out of the game, as you would expect, but the Yankees scoring three runs afterwards, to take a 4-2 lead, wasn’t as expected since runs were hard to come by in Toronto. But the runs came, the Yankees took the lead, and hanged on to win a 4-3 game, a much needed win. Yankee pitching was solid in Toronto for the most part. Aside from Burnett, who had a terrible outing on Friday night, Yankee Pitching during the weekend kept the Yankees in the game for the most part by matching Toronto’s young pitching. Yesterday was no exception as Javier Vazquez took a no-hitter into the 6th inning, before losing it. Before his mistake to Vernon Wells, Vazquez was throwing with command, establishing his fastball and finishing batters with his changeup. To mistake to Wells, came on a slider that was up in the plate.
More encouraging for the Yankees is the fact that Vazquez kept his head in the game. After the homerun, he finished the 6th inning, and pitched a one-two-three seventh. In the early part of the season, Vazquez would’ve completely fallen apart after giving up some runs. But now it seems that Vazquez is pitching with more confidence, as he finds ways to work out of mistakes.
When there is a winner, unfortunately, there has to be a loser..
And the loser of yesterday’s game was Brandon Morrow. Morrow frankly deserved a better fate, as he did a great job in 7 plus innings keeping the Yankees off the scoreboard, while the Jays were hitless. Morrow fell behind a lot in yesterday’s game, yet he found a way to retire Yankee batters, never giving in to the pressure New York’s lineup puts on an opposing pitcher. Even worse, his bullpen, a bullpen that did an incredible job in Saturday’s extra inning game, came up short once again as they couldn’t get the job done with a two run lead. Although Morrow got a no decision, his performance yesterday, and the performance of Romero and Cecil during the weekend sends a very strong message to the league that the Jays will compete in the American League east. Will they contend? I have no way of knowing, but I truly hope that they do.
Vazquez faces a must win. Washington Nationals in 2nd place…Seriously
I know it is still early in the season to say that a team, let alone a pitcher face a must win situation, but for Javier Vazquez that’s exactly the situation he finds himself in. It is obvious to me, and I guess to many Yankees fan, that Vazquez is still rattled pitching in New York and that grand slam that Johnny Damon hit in the 2004 ALCS is still affecting his psyche. After 5 incredibly rotten starts (ok, he had a decent start in Oakland), Vazquez is now under greater pressure to get the job done in a Yankee uniform than he was the last time he wore the pinstripes.
Tonight, therefore, it is imperative that Vazquez gives the Yankees at least 5 or even 6 innings of quality baseball. He doesn’t have to pitch a one, or two hitter, with 13 strike outs, but he should at least keep the Tigers off the scoreboard and keep the Yankees in the game. I’m sure that now, as the Yankees big hitters are beginning to heat up, Vazquez will get all the necessary run support that would allow him to pitch a solid game.
If Vazquez doesn’t get the job done tonight, his next start at Yankee Stadium will be a rough one. Judging his work against the White Sox a week ago, if Vazquez gives another unimpressive performance, he will be booed out of the mound and out of town.
Break Up the Washington Nationals..
The Washington Nationals are sitting alone in second place in the National League East. Their 3-2 victory of the Mets last night now gives the Nats a 18-14 record for the season, which is a 7 game improvement from last season. I wish that the Nationals continue to play well as they are a mixture of young players and veterans. Ivan Rodriguez has done a good job at handling the starting pitching staff and the bullpen. Because of his work, Livan Hernandez is one of the league leaders in earned run average early on with a 1.04 ERA. Scott Olsen has posted 2-1 record and in his last three starts has given the Nationals an average of 7 innings of work. On his last start, Olsen took a perfect game to the 8th inning.
Out of the bullpen, Tyler Clippard has become the bridge to Matt Capps, as the reliever has struck out 18 batters in just 14 innings of work. As for the aforementioned Matt Capps, he leads the Majors with 13 saves.
I know it is early May, but with Stephen Strasburg waiting for his call up, the Nationals are becoming an exciting team to watch.
Vazques is dreadful…Pelfrey wins rain-shorten game.
How dreadful has Javier Vazquez been so far this season? The answer is pretty dreadful. On his fourth start of the year, Vazquez once again failed to make it into the 6th inning, just pitching 3.2 innings against the Angels yesterday afternoon. The reason why the Yankees traded for this guy was to avoid the three man rotation during the post season. Unfortunately for the Yankees, it looks like they still only have 3 legitimate pitchers and question marks at the end of the rotation (even though Hughes has pitched well).
Next time, just walk the guy….
Next time Joe Girardi gives the walk sign to either Posada or Cervelli, he should stick with the decision! Girardi’s overmanaging, whether to walk Kendry Moralies or pitch to him, with the Yankees down one run in the bottom of the seventh, cost the Yankees three runs and any potential momentum received after the Cano solo homerun. Girardi, seriously, you made the right call the first time stick with it. Kendry Morales killed Yankee pitching in the two games the Angels won this weekend; on Friday night he hits a two run bomb off Chamberlain, and then yesterday afternoon he victimized Demaso Marte. Clearly the right move was to walk him, but for reasons unknown, Girardi had second thoughts and decided to pitch to Morales. I know it is early in the year, but I hope the overmanaging stops…
Pelfrey…
Unfortunately I missed the rain shortened Sunday night game between the Braves and Mets, but what I have gathered from the game, after watching the highlights on TV, is that Mike Pelfrey was in a jam early in the game and somehow survived by inducing a double play grounder from Jason Heyward. What has to be an encouraging sign to Mets fans everywhere, the fact that Mike Pelfrey, who really had nothing from what I saw, was able to keep it together after two runners reached base, and more importantly Pelfrey was able to retire Jason Heyward, who had a .617 batting average with runners on scoring position. Pelfry is no 4-0 with one save. He is clearly emerging as the Mets second best pitcher behind Johan Santana.
David Veloz
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