Javy Vazquez, To Pitch or Not To Pitch

Happy Monday everyone. We are now in May, so we know that Mark Teixiera will begin to hit like he didn’t hit for a month and needs to validate his paychecks. The Yankees seemingly don’t have any problems or do they???? The most glaring person of problem is Javier Vazquez, followed by Nick Johnson. I’ll break down Vazquez later, but let’s start on Nick Johnson. Nick Johnson, returned to the Yankees this off-season, to replace Hideki Matsui as the full time DH. The only Hideki Matsui that Nick has compared to is the one that is on the side of an Air Japan plane. Johnson, long lauded to have a patient eye at the plate and incredible On Base Percentage. Although he ha been extremely patient at the plate, think the 9th hitter in Little League who the bat never comes off his shoulder unless it’s a hit and run. Johnson is among the leaders in MLB in Strikeouts looking. Of his 87 Plate appearances this season 21 have ended in strikeouts and 22 have been walks. During a 12-3 win yesterday he recorded his first RBI since April 17, and it was his first multi-RBI game of the season. He ha played in 21 games of the Yankees first 24 games, of which 17 are starts. As of late you have seen Marcus Thames and Nick Swisher step in as DH. With Matsui and Damon’s success in their new homes, it is making Yankee fans long for either player back.

Onto Javy Vazquez, what other then HE HAS BEEN GOD AWFUL can be said. As I began writing this entry, Yankee Manager Joe Girardi, has announced that he would be skipping Javy’s next start, which would be Friday in Boston, to Monday in Detroit, which if you do the rotational math would give him a start on May 20th against the Tamp Bay Rays. In my opinion, I believe that Javy Vazquez’s problem is that he is afraid of Yankee fans. In his first start of the season against the Rays, he was absolutely shelled. In his first start of the season at the Stadium, he was ok, but the HR is what has done him in this season. Leaving the mound he was showered down with boos from Yankee Faithful. After the game, reporters asked him if he felt that Yankee fans were unfair to him by booing and he said that it was unfair how fans still remember the 2004 ALCS. Hello Javy, you were a part of ending the 86 year Boston Losing streak. his only win of the season was in his 3rd start of the season against the A’s, was decent but the Long Ball did him in again. His 4th start of the year against the Angels, he again gave up Home Runs. Saturday home runs. The guy gives up homers and isn’t throwing his fastball, with conviction. We will see how skipping him a start doe, but the one good thing that trading for him in the off season has done, Robbie Cano seems to have his head out of his you know what, and was awarded American League Player of the Month for April. Be sure to check out What’s Brewin Monday and Thursday night at 9 PM Eastern on Blog Talk Radio. www.blogtalkradio.com/whatsbrewin