WasWatching.com

As I noted in the other thread, this is a disturbing trait of the Yankees organization...simply standing idly by while a pitcher obviously struggles with an injury (think Mussina in both 04 and 05, Pettitte, the list goes on). I blame "old school" culture for much of this. Torre and Mel did not like players "jaking it" in the colorful words of Lou Piniella. George probably didn't like players getting paid millions while lounging by the pool in Tampa for what he thought was an extended mid-season vacation. And Cashman is either powerless or uninformed...or both. But, it's got to stop. It's cost us 1 world series (Wells in '03)and 1 ALCS (Duque, Brown, and Vazquez in 04). As I said, only Clemens had the stature and the self-preservation instincts to just say, "I'm hurt, I can't pitch, see you when I'm o.k. again." Look at how Vazquez was treated, how Pavano has been lambasted, and ask yourself, in this atmosphere, would you admit to being injured? Wouldn't you try to be a hero and "gut it out?" Sad thing is, that never helps the pitcher or his team. We have seen what happens when the Yankees, with a $200 million payroll, have no Plan B. It's a culture that has to change.

Speaking of Vazquez.

He wasn't good his first year in New York. He was just as bad (maybe worse) for the D'Backs. But now he's in Chicago and he's pitching like the best fifth starter in the world. Is Don Cooper a genius or something? Instead of flirting with Leo Mazzone, they should have offered this guy a couple million a year. He's now turned around two pitchers that bombed here.

Maybe if we had Don a few years ago we wouldn't have had to trade Vazquez to begin with.

I still maintain it was the smart thing to do to trade Vaz to the D'Backs for Johnson (because of who RJ was before he got here). But considering the amount of money it cost, and as bad as RJ was in the playoffs last year and what he looks like this year, and the fact that he may end up being nothing more than our three/four starter, you really have to wonder if they'd do it again. Halsey was no loss, but I bet the Yankees would rather have Navarro (who's slightly overrated) and Vazquez here right now instead of Johnson, his injury, and his 16 mil for next year.

Actually Vazquez had a very good first half (despite changing leagues, i.e. having to pitch in the better hitting league). It was his meltdown in the second half that was a mystery. Perhaps he really was hurt. And 2005 was a year of recovery. The White Sox may have just had impeccable timing.