Reilly
02-08-2005, 01:40 AM
Vazquez gets fresh start in Arizona
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN Insider
While Boston fans are obsessive and Chicago can be rough – if you happen to be a Cub – no city heaps expectations on a ballplayer like New York does with the Yankees. The fun part is figuring out how individual players will respond.
Reggie Jackson embraced the pressure and raised his profile to the next level in New York. David Wells sure loved playing there. And Paul O'Neill, a bundle of stress in Cincinnati, blossomed after being traded to the Yankees in 1992. While O'Neill won't make the Hall of Fame, he amassed 2,105 career hits and set a record for most times referred to as a "warrior" by George Steinbrenner.
The Bronx wasn't so kind to Ed Whitson, who received so much abuse from fans that he declared he couldn't pitch at Yankee Stadium, then lapsed into three-pack-a-day mode. And the classic bad fit was a lanky, laid-back Southern California dude named Jeff, whose ineffectiveness in New York led to rampant use of the term "Weaver-itis."
Few people who saw Javier Vazquez suffer through a god-awful second half in 2004 would lump him in with the Weavers, Ed Whitsons and Steve Trouts of the world. When Vazquez stunk, he stood and took his punishment like a man and kept asking for the ball. The problem is, he just kept on stinking.
Vazquez didn't lose his nerve in the Bronx, but he certainly misplaced his arm slot. He flung the ball from such a low angle, with such a pronounced lack of arm speed, that scouts swore he must be hurt. He went 4-5 with a 6.92 ERA after the All-Star break, and was so bad that manager Joe Torre had to swallow hard before sending him to the mound in the postseason.
Several months, a battery of medical exams and a high-profile trade to Arizona later, Vazquez is intent on proving that the man who wore No. 33 in New York last summer was a pinstriped imposter.
"When you pitch the way I did, you feel like you're letting your team down," Vazquez said in a phone interview with Insider. "I know a lot of people there didn't trust me, and I want to prove them wrong. I know I'm a better pitcher than I was last year."
After several weeks of speculation and a failed three-way deal involving the Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent Randy Johnson to New York in January for Vazquez, catcher Dioner Navarro, pitcher Brad Halsey and $9 million. While Johnson makes his peace with TV cameramen in New York, Vazquez is looking to re-establish himself as one of baseball's most reliable starters.
If life were like the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," Vazquez would just hire a memory-erasure specialist to expunge all details of 2004 from the bank. Instead, he's using the hard times as motivational fuel. He's worked on correcting the flaws in his delivery during winter workouts in his native Puerto Rico, and he's looking forward to hashing things out with Arizona pitching coach Mark Davis in spring training.
A year ago this time, the Yankees viewed Vazquez as the antidote to Boston's acquisition of Curt Schilling. Vazquez averaged 225 innings from 2000-2003 in Montreal, and the Yankees thought they had a Cy Young Award sleeper candidate in their midst when they acquired him in a trade for Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Randy Choate.
Things began promisingly enough. Vazquez threw eight impressive innings to beat the White Sox 3-1 in his debut with the Yankees, and started a game against Boston's Pedro Martinez on three days rest in late April when Torre was in a bind. Vazquez pitched well in a 2-0 loss, and catcher Jorge Posada proclaimed him a "horse."
But midway through the season, Vazquez began to encounter mechanical problems that hours of film study and side sessions with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre couldn't cure. His arm began dropping down, he started shot-putting the ball rather than throwing downhill, and the results were hideous. After the All-Star break Vazquez was the starting pitcher in losses by the following scores: 8-0 to Detroit, 8-2 to Minnesota, 22-0 to Cleveland, 14-8 to Baltimore and 12-5 to Boston.
The Yankees were sufficiently concerned to send Vazquez for an MRI, but he checked out fine. Then the Diamondbacks sent him for an arthrogram, which involved shooting dye into his right arm to detect tears that an MRI might have missed. He passed that one, too, and the Diamondbacks are proceeding under the assumption that a fresh start could make a world of difference.
Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. theorizes that a pitcher who's never had to think much about his mechanics can become obsessed with them when they mysteriously get out of whack. He compares it to a case of the "yips" in golf.
"New York in a pennant race is not the easiest place to work out mechanical issues," Garagiola said. "It's just really impossible to believe the pitcher we saw in the second half is who he represents. We don't for a moment believe that."
Vazquez has made it clear that he would prefer to play for an east coast team, closer to his home in Puerto Rico, but Arizona appears to be in no rush to spin him around. Most likely, the Diamondbacks will wait until the trade deadline in July to assess their options. "We haven't gotten an inkling that they're interested in doing anything," said an executive with a club that's approached Arizona about trading for Vazquez.
Contrary to speculation, Vazquez says he's not automatically opposed to staying in Arizona because of the Moorad factor. Earlier in his career, Vazquez fired Jeff Moorad as his agent and replaced him with Seth and Sam Levinson of New York. That made for some potentially awkward moments when Vazquez, Garagiola, the Levinsons, Arizona managing partner Ken Kendrick, manager Bob Melvin and Jeff Moorad – the Diamondbacks' new CEO – all went out to dinner after the Johnson trade.
But as Garagiola recalls, it was a "perfectly pleasant" evening all-around. They didn't even have to hide the sharp objects at the dinner table.
"I never had a problem with Jeff personally when I decided to change agents," Vazquez said. "People have to understand, there's a personal side and a business side to this game. Just because you change agents, that doesn't mean you don't like the guy."
Since Vazquez was traded in the middle of a multiyear deal, he has the option to demand a trade after this season. If the Diamondbacks can't accommodate him, he'll become a free agent. The downside risk is that he would have to relinquish the final two years and $24 million left on his contract.
Vazquez is fully aware that most big leaguers who play in Phoenix seem to enjoy it there. Last year, when the Diamondback went 51-111, was a notable exception. But the addition of Vazquez, Russ Ortiz and Shawn Estes to the rotation, Shawn Green, Troy Glaus and Jose Cruz Jr. to the middle of the order and Craig Counsell and Royce Clayton to the middle infield makes the Diamondbacks a better team. Unit or no Unit.
"They're doing their best to have a good team," Vazquez said. "They've signed some good players. But it's too early for me to say what I'm going to do at the end of the year. I have to honor my contract and play there, and at the end of the season we'll explore our options."
Shortly before the Johnson trade, Vazquez made a bold proclamation to a newspaper in Puerto Rico. "I still trust in my abilities and if the Yankees trade me, they'll regret it," he said. Vazquez's self-confidence is back. Now all he has to do is find a release point to match.
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN Insider
While Boston fans are obsessive and Chicago can be rough – if you happen to be a Cub – no city heaps expectations on a ballplayer like New York does with the Yankees. The fun part is figuring out how individual players will respond.
Reggie Jackson embraced the pressure and raised his profile to the next level in New York. David Wells sure loved playing there. And Paul O'Neill, a bundle of stress in Cincinnati, blossomed after being traded to the Yankees in 1992. While O'Neill won't make the Hall of Fame, he amassed 2,105 career hits and set a record for most times referred to as a "warrior" by George Steinbrenner.
The Bronx wasn't so kind to Ed Whitson, who received so much abuse from fans that he declared he couldn't pitch at Yankee Stadium, then lapsed into three-pack-a-day mode. And the classic bad fit was a lanky, laid-back Southern California dude named Jeff, whose ineffectiveness in New York led to rampant use of the term "Weaver-itis."
Few people who saw Javier Vazquez suffer through a god-awful second half in 2004 would lump him in with the Weavers, Ed Whitsons and Steve Trouts of the world. When Vazquez stunk, he stood and took his punishment like a man and kept asking for the ball. The problem is, he just kept on stinking.
Vazquez didn't lose his nerve in the Bronx, but he certainly misplaced his arm slot. He flung the ball from such a low angle, with such a pronounced lack of arm speed, that scouts swore he must be hurt. He went 4-5 with a 6.92 ERA after the All-Star break, and was so bad that manager Joe Torre had to swallow hard before sending him to the mound in the postseason.
Several months, a battery of medical exams and a high-profile trade to Arizona later, Vazquez is intent on proving that the man who wore No. 33 in New York last summer was a pinstriped imposter.
"When you pitch the way I did, you feel like you're letting your team down," Vazquez said in a phone interview with Insider. "I know a lot of people there didn't trust me, and I want to prove them wrong. I know I'm a better pitcher than I was last year."
After several weeks of speculation and a failed three-way deal involving the Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks sent Randy Johnson to New York in January for Vazquez, catcher Dioner Navarro, pitcher Brad Halsey and $9 million. While Johnson makes his peace with TV cameramen in New York, Vazquez is looking to re-establish himself as one of baseball's most reliable starters.
If life were like the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," Vazquez would just hire a memory-erasure specialist to expunge all details of 2004 from the bank. Instead, he's using the hard times as motivational fuel. He's worked on correcting the flaws in his delivery during winter workouts in his native Puerto Rico, and he's looking forward to hashing things out with Arizona pitching coach Mark Davis in spring training.
A year ago this time, the Yankees viewed Vazquez as the antidote to Boston's acquisition of Curt Schilling. Vazquez averaged 225 innings from 2000-2003 in Montreal, and the Yankees thought they had a Cy Young Award sleeper candidate in their midst when they acquired him in a trade for Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Randy Choate.
Things began promisingly enough. Vazquez threw eight impressive innings to beat the White Sox 3-1 in his debut with the Yankees, and started a game against Boston's Pedro Martinez on three days rest in late April when Torre was in a bind. Vazquez pitched well in a 2-0 loss, and catcher Jorge Posada proclaimed him a "horse."
But midway through the season, Vazquez began to encounter mechanical problems that hours of film study and side sessions with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre couldn't cure. His arm began dropping down, he started shot-putting the ball rather than throwing downhill, and the results were hideous. After the All-Star break Vazquez was the starting pitcher in losses by the following scores: 8-0 to Detroit, 8-2 to Minnesota, 22-0 to Cleveland, 14-8 to Baltimore and 12-5 to Boston.
The Yankees were sufficiently concerned to send Vazquez for an MRI, but he checked out fine. Then the Diamondbacks sent him for an arthrogram, which involved shooting dye into his right arm to detect tears that an MRI might have missed. He passed that one, too, and the Diamondbacks are proceeding under the assumption that a fresh start could make a world of difference.
Arizona general manager Joe Garagiola Jr. theorizes that a pitcher who's never had to think much about his mechanics can become obsessed with them when they mysteriously get out of whack. He compares it to a case of the "yips" in golf.
"New York in a pennant race is not the easiest place to work out mechanical issues," Garagiola said. "It's just really impossible to believe the pitcher we saw in the second half is who he represents. We don't for a moment believe that."
Vazquez has made it clear that he would prefer to play for an east coast team, closer to his home in Puerto Rico, but Arizona appears to be in no rush to spin him around. Most likely, the Diamondbacks will wait until the trade deadline in July to assess their options. "We haven't gotten an inkling that they're interested in doing anything," said an executive with a club that's approached Arizona about trading for Vazquez.
Contrary to speculation, Vazquez says he's not automatically opposed to staying in Arizona because of the Moorad factor. Earlier in his career, Vazquez fired Jeff Moorad as his agent and replaced him with Seth and Sam Levinson of New York. That made for some potentially awkward moments when Vazquez, Garagiola, the Levinsons, Arizona managing partner Ken Kendrick, manager Bob Melvin and Jeff Moorad – the Diamondbacks' new CEO – all went out to dinner after the Johnson trade.
But as Garagiola recalls, it was a "perfectly pleasant" evening all-around. They didn't even have to hide the sharp objects at the dinner table.
"I never had a problem with Jeff personally when I decided to change agents," Vazquez said. "People have to understand, there's a personal side and a business side to this game. Just because you change agents, that doesn't mean you don't like the guy."
Since Vazquez was traded in the middle of a multiyear deal, he has the option to demand a trade after this season. If the Diamondbacks can't accommodate him, he'll become a free agent. The downside risk is that he would have to relinquish the final two years and $24 million left on his contract.
Vazquez is fully aware that most big leaguers who play in Phoenix seem to enjoy it there. Last year, when the Diamondback went 51-111, was a notable exception. But the addition of Vazquez, Russ Ortiz and Shawn Estes to the rotation, Shawn Green, Troy Glaus and Jose Cruz Jr. to the middle of the order and Craig Counsell and Royce Clayton to the middle infield makes the Diamondbacks a better team. Unit or no Unit.
"They're doing their best to have a good team," Vazquez said. "They've signed some good players. But it's too early for me to say what I'm going to do at the end of the year. I have to honor my contract and play there, and at the end of the season we'll explore our options."
Shortly before the Johnson trade, Vazquez made a bold proclamation to a newspaper in Puerto Rico. "I still trust in my abilities and if the Yankees trade me, they'll regret it," he said. Vazquez's self-confidence is back. Now all he has to do is find a release point to match.