1. The Yankees have made the right call on Javier Vazquez, keeping him out of the Red Sox series and having him start Monday in Detroit.
There were a lot of folks trying to suggest that this was a bad choice because the Tigers have a better offense than the Red Sox. Yes, at this second, in a 25-odd game sampling, Detroit’s offense may be better. But it is not really better. And that is off topic anyway.
This was about the forum as much as the opponent. Fenway is the worst atmosphere to send out a Yankee who has lost his confidence and is easily rattled, and – right now — Vazquez could have that description embossed on a business card. He would be fresh meat for Red Sox fans who would know full well what was going on with Vazquez, and would be doing everything possible to unnerve a pitcher who is already unnerved.
The Yanks are trying to build Vazquez back up. Both his stuff and confidence are down. This is a process the Yanks are undertaking with the big picture in mind to get Vazquez – they hope – back to the point where he could go into a hostile place such as Fenway sometime during the 2010 season and not be shaken up.
This does not mean Detroit will be easy (Johnny Damon will be there, after all), but taking the Rivalry and the Red Sox faithful out of the equation should allow Vazquez to better concentrate on just the job, and not what is going on in the stands or within a heated Rivalry.
2. Damon is the major demon on Vazquez’s radar in Detroit. For Damon is the player most associated with Vazquez’s misery in his first stop as a Yankee. Damon hit the second-inning grand slam off Vazquez in ALCS Game 7 in 2004, the most memorable blow in the Curse-concluding contest.
Overall, including the playoffs, Damon is 9-for-25 with four homers, four doubles and 11 RBIs off of Vazquez.
You can bet Damon will be extra motivated in this series. He ended up a Tiger only because of contentious negotiations ended without a deal with the Yankees.
And as opposed to Vazquez, Damon loves the pressure, loves having the spotlight on him. I would suspect he is looking a lot more forward to Vazquez than Vazquez is looking forward to him.
3. Here is one final item to remember about Vazquez and it is not inconsequential: When the Yankees traded Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and Aroldys Vizcaino to the Braves they thought they were getting more than Vazquez. They also thought they were going to get two high picks in the 2011 draft.
Vazquez pitched so well last year for the Braves that he put himself on the track to Type-A status. The Yanks were planning on Vazquez retaining his Type-A status, which is determined on stats accumulated over a two-season span. If Vazquez were able to retain Type-A status going into free agency then the Yanks planned to offer the righty arbitration. In that scenario, had Vazquez signed elsewhere, then the Yanks would have received either a first-round pick and a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds or the sandwich pick and a second-round selection depending on the record of the signing team.
But Vazquez’s horrendous start has imperiled his Type-A status. He might still be a Type-B, which would net the Yankees a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.
However, it is looking more and more as if the Yanks could not even risk offering arbitration to Vazquez on the risk he would accept and earn in the $11 million range again for the Yanks in 2011.
There is still a long way to go for Vazquez to determine his status and for the Yanks to determine how they will proceed with him in the offseason. But the early signs are that Vazquez is not only hurting the Yanks in 2010, but beyond, as well.