Overreacting to Javier Vazquez’s latest start
April 26, 2010, 11:00 am by iYankees · 71 Comments
I saw this over at Sliding Into Home and figured a response was necessary:
I think it’s time we accept that Javier Vazquez is a gutless bitch who cannot handle New York or the American League. After today’s stinker, the goat of 2004 is now 1-3 with an ERA of 9.00, and clearly the weak link of the 2010 New York Yankees. Am I being too harsh? Possibly, but for now I think my criticizm is well deserved.
Today was his fourth bad start in four chances. In just 3.2 innings, the pathetic right-hander allowed five runs on five hits, walked three, and struck out three on his way to his third loss of the year. And once again it was a game where the Yankees handed him a lead which he couldn’t hold.
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but is this not the dictionary definition of an overreaction? To criticize a Yankee for his lack of effort or for a mindless play is fair game, however, to label Javier Vazquez a “gutless bitch” and then to deem him “pathetic” seems excessive to me (it reeks of unbridled anger, as if Vazquez just kicked a small child). I think, at this stage in the season, it is certainly true that Vazquez has been a failure. That is fine to say. Of course, we are only 18 games into the season – 4 of those games were started by Vazquez (he has roughly 30 more to go) – which means that we have plenty of baseball left to see over the next 6 months. Therefore, I would refrain from fixing a label to Vazquez until he gets a few more innings under his belt. Let’s not fall for small samples, even if they are alluring.
Photo by Jacob de Golish/Getty Images
