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.
With the Yankees, Diamondbacks and Tigers reportedly