From 12/22 NY Post:
Yankees to trade Melky to Atlanta for, GULP, Javier "Mr Clutch" "Mr one of many chokers in 2004" Vazquez. Please, anyone, tell me why this is a good idea.
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9:16 AM, December 22, 2009 ι By Joel Sherman

The Yankees are working hard to re-acquire Javier Vazquez from the Braves, the Post has learned.

A person briefed on discussions between the teams used the word “close” to describe the status of trade negotiations. However, there was no confirmation yet of a completed deal.

Vazquez had arguably his best season as a major leaguer last season, going 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA. However, Vazquez had a poor year in his lone season as a Yankee, in 2004. He went a respectable 14-10, but he had a 4.91 ERA and fell out of the rotation by the playoffs. Out of the bullpen, he was one of the villains of the Yankees’ Game 7 loss to the Red Sox in the ALCS.

Because Vazquez did not handle the New York experience well and was later criticized by White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen for not having enough late-season fortitude, the Yankees were hesitant to bring him back when his name originally cropped up at the beginning of the offseason.

After reading several blogs and columns, this deal seems to get the 'thumbs up.' I just haven't followed him since I tried to exorcise as many ghosts as I could from 2004. Hopefully we can re-sign Damon and NOT trade Swisher.
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From Newsday:
Most Yankees fans probably don’t have fond memories of Vazquez. The team acquired him prior to the 2004 season, as part of a plan to make the team’s starting rotation younger, and Vazquez put up a 4.91 ERA. Joe Torre didn’t use him as a starting pitcher in the 2004 American League Championship Series, and when Vazquez relieved Kevin Brown in ALCS Game 7, he promptly served up a second-inning grand slam to Boston’s Johnny Damon.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: NYI 1972,

i think this is a very good trade for the yankees. yeah vazquez had his struggles in 04 but that was years ago and he was young and some players have a hard time adjusting to NY.

he is in the last year of his contract, so that gives us flexibility for next years free agent class which includes cliff lee and brandon webb.

the last 4 years javy has been good for 200 innings and is always around the tops in the league for Ks. thats perfect for a 3/4 starter which is what he will be in our rotation.

we lost melky but we still have gardner and hoffman, who was regarded as the dodgers top defensive OF in their organization. i doubt that we will start the season with either of these guys starting in left field though, we will surely bring in someone to play left.

I personally would hope to bring back Damon, but DeRosa has been tossed around a lot, or we could land holliday if we want to spend the money. Bay and Dye are also FA left fielders so there are plenty of people to choose from.

Fair enough. Hopefully Vazquez in his walk year will amp it up. Playing for a contract can sometimes bring out the best. And I forgot about Hoffmann. Let's hope Carolina does, too, as I hear they're putting Aaron Ward on waivers.
DeRosa would be a good fit; price, flexibility.

Why even bother letting this guy prove he can't pitch in the American league ...again. I don't count any pitcher's stats coming from the NL.

quote:

Originally posted by Paulzzy:
Why even bother letting this guy prove he can't pitch in the American league ...again. I don't count any pitcher's stats coming from the NL.

Look at 2006-2008 stats with White Sox. Pitching in the AL in a big hitters park.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/.../stats?playerId=3786