Yankees Bring in Vazquez to Strengthen Rotation

For the second time this decade the Yankees made a deal with an NL East team for the services of Javier Vasquez. Unlike that first deal back in December of 2003, Vazquez comes to New York with lowered expectations. He will no longer be looked upon as the savior of a dismantled rotation, this time he will come in as the third option behind CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett with a solid veteran in Andy Pettitte behind him.

Yankee fans may only remember Johnny Damon launching a grand slam off of Vazquez when he attempted to relieve the waste of space known as Kevin Brown back in '04, but the righty has been better than solid since he left New York. Over the last three seasons Vazquez has cracked up 200 strikeouts and has an ERA of 3.74. He still has occasional issues with his command, but for what he has to be for the Yankees it is a great pick up.

It is also worth noting that even though Vazquez is scheduled to make $11.5 million this year that price is off-set by the unloading of Melky Cabrera in the deal. Cabrera probably will pull in around $3 million in arbitration making and Melky's likely replacement, Jamie Hoffman, will still be making league minimum.

I like the pick up for the Yankees a lot. They have trying for years to get something valuable for Melky Cabrera and it looks like Cashman finally found a deal he liked. While Vazquez wont approach a 2.87 ERA in the AL East, I'm sure he will be a solid option at the back end of the rotation. I always liked Vazquez and while it seemed impossible for him to stay in the Bronx after '04, giving up on such a young talented arm for an aging Randy Johnson was, in hindsight, a mistake. When Sports Illustrated's 2005 baseball preview came out I was impressed by how Vazquez responded to his terrible second half in 2004. Now Vazquez finally has the chance to show short-sighted New Yorkers the kind of pitcher he really is.

The only problem with his aquisition is that we will never hear the end of Hughes and/or Joba to the bullpen... ever.

Mitre Pitches the Yanks Into First

Mitre gave the Yankees exactly what they needed last night. The 28 year old pitched into the sixth inning while only allowing three earned runs on eight hits. He limited the damage by only walking one and by throwing two double play balls. It wasn't the prettiest start, but it is better than Chien-Ming Wang of April and better than watching someone like Sidney Ponson.

The offense finally came alive after scoring just six runs in the previous three games. They scored six last night and they managed to score them in almost every conceivable fashion. First they manufactured a run when A-Rod walked, stole second and then scored on two consecutive fly balls. They followed that up by scoring on a walk, a hit and run single by Jeter, another walk then a bases loaded single by A-Rod. Cano added the mandatory home run the following inning.

The only negative for the offense is Melky Cabrera who has hit his normal mid-summer swoon. After giving Yankee fans false hope with a solid May, he has completely fallen off. Hopefully Brett Gardner can step up for the time being. Girardi hasn't been giving him enough at bats recently, but he should start getting plenty.

It's an early start today as the Yanks go for their second consecutive sweep and look to stay undefeated in the second half. A.J. Burnett pitched effectively against the Tigers, but could stand to limit his walks (as always) and get a few more strike outs. Here's hoping he has the feel for his curve ball today.

1-0: The Perfect Season?

One down, 161 to go. For the Yanks and Girardi the season opener could not have been more formulaic. Wang looked strong and when he did struggle he was bailed out by some solid defense from the Melk man and, of all people, Giambi at first base. Girardi went down the check list tonight; Wang for seven, Joba in the 8th and Mo for the save. The Yanks didn't make Halladay work as much as they could have but give credit to the Doc for pounding the the strike zone. It was nice to see Cabrera sneak a home run inside the foul pole. Melky is going to need to show some kind of progress with his power numbers for the Yanks to keep their eyes on him and not towards the fast rising prospects Austin Jackson or Jose Tabata. But anyway baseball is here and it couldn't have been better or faster. 2:31 might be the fastest game the Yanks play all season.