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Gary Matthews Jr

Posts Tagged Red Sox

Skipping Vazquez a Panic Move

May 3

Posted by Jerry Milani in Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, News | No Comments

Amidst the Yankees’ terrific start — wins of all but one series and a 16-8 mark with 15 road games (including six against Boston and Tampa Bay) and one West Coast swing in the books — comes the first panic move of the year.  Javier Vazquez, it was announced today, will be held back three days, pitching at Detroit next Monday instead of in Boston this Friday.  With an off day this Thursday following a three-game home series with Baltimore, the move keeps Phil Hughes, C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett on regular four-day rest for the games at Fenway.

I still hate the move.

Vazquez is a 13-year veteran, having thrown 200 or more innings in the past 10, except for 2004, when he threw 198.  He’s coming off his best year (15-10, 2.87 ERA, 238 K, 181 H in 219.1 IP).  He’s had five starts, all of them mediocre or worse, and has incurred the wrath of fans and talking heads who remember that 2004 season in Pinstripes, which was among his worst as a pro.

Vazquez is even getting the label as someone who can’t “handle the pressure” in New York, and some feel that pitching in the cauldron of Fenway Park on Friday would do more harm than good.

Not that Detroit on Monday will be a picnic; the Tigers are fourth in the league in runs scored (averaging about a run per game more than the Sox).  But Yanks-Red Sox is a different animal, and along with Yankees-Mets is the closest thing to a playoff atmosphere there is.

Which is exactly why I think Vazquez should pitch Friday.

The Yankees’ starting staff is shaping up to be as good as anyone’s in baseball, top to bottom, if Vazquez can veer back towards his 2009 numbers.  But he’s going to have to pitch in big games somewhere along the line; he’s one of the team’s five starters, he should go in regular rotation, particularly after just five appearances.  A great outing on Friday at Fenway would do more for his confidence — and that of the team and fans in him — than the same in Detroit.

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For Starters, Yanks-Sox a Hit

Apr 4

Posted by Jerry Milani in Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, Sports on TV | No Comments

Jack Chesbro

“You always get a special kick on opening day, no matter how many you go through. You look forward to it like a birthday party when you’re a kid. You think something wonderful is going to happen.” - Joe DiMaggio

For most of the 30+ years that I have been a baseball fan, I’ve looked forward to Yankees Opening Day almost from the last game of the previous season.  Because the Red Sox have been the Yankees’ Opening Day opponent only four times in the past 36 years, it seems like the matchup is a rare one.  The Yanks have opened on the West Coast, in Tokyo, and against Central and Western Division teams, but only in 1985, 1992 and 2005, and now tonight, have the Yanks and Sox gone at it in game one, since 1973.

But the teams have actually met 29 times in the opener, with New York holding an 18-10-1 advantage.  Just about every other year from 1917 through the 1930s, the rivals squared off for the first game, though not with the same anticipation as the 2005 game presented.  That, of course, was the first meeting between the teams after Boston’s first World Championship in 86 years (when they also opened the following season against the Yanks), and of course the Red Sox’ historic comeback from 0-3 in the ALCS.  That day, Randy Johnson beat David Wells as the Yanks won, 9-2.

The first time the two franchises met in the season opener was 1904, when the Highlanders’ Jack Chesbro won the first of his A.L.-record 41 games, beating none other than Cy Young, at the old Huntington Avenue Grounds, the team then known as the “Americans” coming off the first World Series title in 1903.  The Yankees won 14 of the 16 Opening Day matchups with Boston from 1923-1960, when expansion and increased air travel made it less likely that the teams would meet in the opener.  Indeed, they have played just seven times since then, the Sox winning five.

Some have argued that the Cincinnati Reds should host he first game of the year, as they did for more than 100 years because of their status as the first recognized major league team.  I think this former tradition, while nice, is easily usurped by a showcase of one of the two or three biggest rivalries in the game in prime time on ESPN on Sunday night.

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Stylin’ in New Tommy Bahama MLB Team Shirts

Mar 8

Posted by Jerry Milani in Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Logos, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies | 5 Comments

It might be time for me to update my Yankees wardrobe — for games I usually go with the old-time 1903-era New York Highlanders cap and a home or away jersey over a Yanks or plain tee, at least during the warmer months.  While I don’t usually stray from the traditional (no multi-colored caps or inane “Got Rings?” t-shirts), these new offerings from Tommy Bahama combine the classic Yankees design with an updated look.

According to the Tommy Bahama news item, they will only be offering eight teams — the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, Phillies and Cardinals. I’m not sure how the M’s got in there over, say, the Mets, though I suspect the Ichiro effect on the Asian market might have something to do with it.

In any case, the company says that the Yankees and Red Sox shirts will be rolled out first, in time for their season opener on April 4.

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