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
Sure, it’s an overreaction, but like I said I feel my criticism* (I corrected that error) is justified for now. I didn’t say it was impossible for him to turn things around…. And it created stir, so I guess I did my job. I also changed it a bit this morning. This is now what’s on the post:
I think it’s time we accept that Javier Vazquez might just be gutless bitch who can’t 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 criticism is well deserved. Hopefully he turns things around, bit I’m having a hard time believing he will.
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. Greg Cohen(Quote)
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I would give him one more start and if that start goes bad then we have a problem or we have trade bait. Simon(Quote)
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I’m pretty sure Vasquez is going to be here all year. If he is a complete and utter failure his trade value will be quite low. That being said, if you are a true Yankees fan and you want the team and all it’s members to succeed, calling him a gutless bitch doesn’t really seem that productive. Hopefully Javy has more sense than to read some of this tripe but if he does I don’t imagine it will help him much in any way. Maybe you are a closet RedSux fan? If creating a stir is your job, I would actually think ‘gutless bitch’ is a better moniker for you. the other Steve S.(Quote)
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While I don’t necessarily disagree with you, I’m not saying the Yankees should give up on him. He stunk again, I was in a bad mood, and I wrote it, mainly because I thought it was funny. That’s really all there is to it. Greg Cohen(Quote)
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Ah, the old you must be a Red Sox fan response, how refreshing.
Of course I hope Vazquez pitches well and turns his season around. Greg Cohen(Quote)
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There are tangible reasons for Vazquez’s struggles, mainly fastball velocity and swing and miss percentage. I think those things have much more to do with his lack of success than his being a “gutless bitch.” Matt Imbrogno(Quote)
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the other Steve S. Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
And let’s not forget Cano and Swisher dancing past the popup in right last week to go along with Thames’ feeble attenpt to catch that liner in left. the other Steve S.(Quote)
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Matt Imbrogno Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Yeah; while his FIP isn’t pretty at 4.87, it’s almost four full runs better than his ERA. His tRA, though, is at 7.87, good for a 22 tRA+. Matt Imbrogno(Quote)
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That was mentioned early in the day on the blog. There was a post about why Vazquez is struggling, so I figured that area was covered. The post quote above wasn’t, “Why is Javy Vazquez struggling” followed with the answer that he’s a gutless bitch. Greg Cohen(Quote)
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It looks to me like he is having a difficult time locating his fastball and is using his feel pitches (slider) to get the ball over. I have no #s to support it…just seems to be the case from what I’ve seen on TV. Tabata Daycare(Quote)
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Greg Cohen Reply:
April 26th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
That is part of it, he’s also lost a few ticks on the FB, which can’t be helping his cause. Greg Cohen(Quote)
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Fans seem to get overly excited when players start the season either hot or cold. Why? Probably has a lot to do with those nabobs at espn, and hysterical rag-writers. If a pitcher has a four game slump in August it’s a “dead arm”. In April, he’s a “gutless bitch”. Huh, settle down, Beavis… BTW, Scott Podsednik leads the American League in hitting, Podsednik for MVP, right? Kevin Ocala, Fl(Quote)
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Phrases like ‘gutless bitch’ says less about the player and volumes about the writer.
Writing something just to create a stir is garbage. Especially something as mean-spirited and thoughtless as this. oldpep(Quote)
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Kevin Ocala, Fl Reply:
April 27th, 2010 at 2:08 am
Amen to that… Kevin Ocala, Fl(Quote)
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Anybody look at Josh Beckett’s numbers? I’d hate to imagine the vitriol being spewed if he just signed a big contract extension with the Yanks. “The Gutless Eunich” maybe? Kevin Ocala, Fl(Quote)
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