Never mind the biased title, I just was wondering if anybody had any opinions about what this guy has to say about Vazquez. http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=5139949 This guy is such a prick, bashing the shit out of a fellow pitcher he has never met. And all he really does IMO opinion is point out the obvious. It's harder to pitch in the NL than the AL, no shit. Vazquez was unsuccessful in his first year as a Yankee, no shit. Vazques has shown he struggles under the spotlight, no shit. With Javy, the negative always outweighs the positive? Eat shit. "He could throw a 1 hitter next week, but I don't see him being consistent." Awesome cop out of an answer with one again no professional insight. For a guy who was such a strong pitcher, he fails to give any type of professional insight what-so-ever. He doesn't explain why he believes Javy velocity is down (or even states that he realizes it), and why he thinks Javy is only an NL pitcher. I didn't want Vazquez back, but I even thought it was a good deal for the team. To say he can't be successful in the AL because of one bad stint is stupid. 2.87 ERA, 238 strikeouts, and only 44 walks in the NL does not translate into a failure in the AL. It's has to do with either an injury and something wrong in his motion IMO.
He's paid to give opinions now, is he wrong? Vasquez hasn't shown the ability to get it done here YET. It's still early but as of today Curt is correct.
I think something is wrong with his head. I thought being the low man on the Yankee totem pole would benefit him, but it clearly hasn't. I think you're just mad because it's Schilling. To be frank, his criticism is pretty dead on. Schilling doesn't need statistical analysis, it's as clear as day. His XFIP numbers are worse in New York, noticeably, than anywhere else; but he's wrong in saying he's not an AL pitcher. He could probably succeed in Kansas City. -X-
Is he wrong? Yes, absolutely. Although it depends a bit on what you take from what Schilling was saying. Vazquez had a phenomenal first half for the Yanks in 2004 and a fantastic 2007 in Chicago, so the problem is obviously not that he isn't equipped (mentally or otherwise) to get outs in the American League. Especially not as it pertains to his first four starts since returning to the AL. It also depends on what you mean by "getting it done." Last time around, he was supposed to the be front-line starter. This time, if he's league average and chews up innings (which I think/hope he eventually will be able to do, pending the return of a few mph to his fastball), the signing will be a huge success. And that's the real issue here and why Schilling is a moron for opening his trap about this... you're watching a guy whose fastball has lost about 3-4mph on his fastball, for whatever reason. Sort of a weird time to blame it on his return to the AL.
Vasquez is just another Cashman "I am smarter than you" decisions and the results could have been foreseen the day he signed him. As usual we are at least one pitcher short and nobody to fill in.
Just by reading the title, you can obviously see I am not a Schilling fan. But to say Schilling doesn't need statistical analysis to prove why he doesn't believe Vazquez can A. Succeed as a Yankee and B. Succeed in the AL is completely ignorant. If he gave any type of insight at all I wouldn't have such a strong hatred towards this guy and his apparent beliefs. People like you and I can see Vazquez has lost a few MPHs for whatever reason, and this paid baseball analyst who was in the league for 20 years fails to even brush on the biggest reason for his failures. You put Javy in KC baby blue right now, and he's still struggling.
Vasquez was not "phenomenal" the first half of 2004. he was decent and made the AS game as a replacement. he had a good year in '07 for Chicago but they weren't in a pennant race. AGAIN, it's too early to give up on him but schilling has every right to question vasquez.
10-5 with a 3.56 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and a 2.97 K/BB ratio. Sorry, dude... using whatever metric you want to use, that's pretty awesome for the AL East. Don't change the context of what I said. Schilling said he couldn't pitch in the AL. I showed that's not true. He has pitched very well for extended stretches in the AL. If you want to say he's not equipped to pitch in high pressure situations while pitching for a big market team, that's different. But that's not what Schilling said the other day. Sure, he has every right to question him... the issue is whether he's questioning the right things. Questioning his mental makeup to pitch in the spotlight or the AL after his first four starts when you have a much larger glaring problem (his lack of velocity, whether due to mechanics or whatever) is just asinine.
if having met a player was a requirement to be critical, we'd have to shut down the Jets forum here and pretty much every source of sports journalism in the world.
What the fuck does this even mean? Are you implying that it's a bad trait to have a G.M that tries to be shrewd and be outsmart other executives? Anyways, here is a clear example of why so many good players are terrible analysts. Curt Schilling was great at pitching and has forgotten more about the subject than I will come close to knowing, but his analysis sucks. Speaks in platitudes, goes in circles with his logic and really offers up nothing new, and sounds like a condescending douchebag in the process.
People simply hate Curt Schilling. Rarely is the guy just outright wrong. And he's not necessarily wrong here. He's being a dick. Yeah, that's what Schilling does. He gets off on that, and moreso on the reactions he generates. It's no small wonder that he's now an analyst for ESPN is it? Will Javy have success? Who knows? But right now, Vazquez is a disappointment. Also, Schilling is saying the same thing so many of us AL fans say all the time. Pitching in the NL is far easier than pitching in the AL. Especially in the East.
That's not the issue, though. Everyone knows the AL is harder to pitch in than the NL. That's a given. No news, there. Schilling seems to think that some pitchers are cut out for the AL and some are not, when really, it's a trend you'll see hold true for any pitcher. And Schilling also seems to ignore that Vazquez has had success in the AL already. Is he a disappointment right now? Of course. Is it because he "can't pitch in the AL"? Obviously not.
The thing Schilling got wrong is "AL." He can pitch in the AL, as he made abundantly clear for the White Sox. He *can't* pitch for the Yankees. It is clearly more than baseball related, as this was the case the first time around, in his prime, and now, in his twilight. In both Yankee stints, he has career worsts in WAR, xFIP, ERA, HR/9, and BB/9. His walk numbers are through the roof and so are his BABIP numbers. Then again maybe Schilling's not wrong. The guy has averaged 216 IP over the last decade. There is a significant decrease in the velocity of his fastball and that's probably not helping sell his changeup. Maybe he's gassed. -X-
If you look at Vasquez' pitch fx chart on fangraphs...his fastball velocity is significantly down, while his changeup velocity is still consistently in the low 80's. One of these things has to change. It's probably why he's getting hammered. -X-
Exactly. This time around, it's really too soon to judge. Fastball is a problem, though. As for the last time around, he was great in the first half with the Yanks. So the issue is not that he CAN'T pitch well for the Yanks. He supposedly had a neck injury in the second half of 2004, causing his struggles. But since that second half -- and worse, that grand slam -- are all people remember, they chalk it up to some mental deficiency. That's not to say there isn't some truth to that, at this point. But it's certainly not something that can be determined after four starts with diminished velocity. And incidentally, a high BABIP for a pitcher points to variance. You expect that to normalize.
Normally I'd agree, but I think he's getting slugged simply because his stuff isn't so hot. He's not fooling anyone this year. Fewer first pitch strikes, swings and misses, and more contact. Didn't know this, but in his last season with Chicago, Vazquez went 2-4 with a 6.25 ERA down the stretch. I thought this would be a no pressure situation for him, being at the back end of the rotation, which is why I didn't hate the deal for Yankee fans, but I guess I didn't account for the high profile opening schedule. -X-
You can't even draw that conclusion yet, though. It's only been four starts, and he's had a mysterious drop in velocity. To ascribe the problem to pressure is jumping the gun the same way that Schilling did. As for the BABIP, you are correct that it could be due to him getting hit harder. But if that's the information you're looking for, you're better off looking at both his LD% and his HR/FB (both of which are very high).
