Vazquez Bombed In Yanks 7-6 Loss To White Sox

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chi. White Sox «	1	1	1	2	0	0	2	0	0	7	9	0
N.Y. Yankees	0	0	1	0	1	4	0	0	0	6	11	0

WP: S. Linebrink (1-0) LP: D. Robertson (0-2)
SV: B. Jenks (5)

Whadda ya know? Javier Vazquez got bombed again. The Yankees are now 1-4 in Vazquez's starts, and I've gotten to the point where I expect them to lose when he takes the mound.

Today, he lasted just three+ innings, allowed five runs on seven hits, walked four, and struck out two. Four of the five runs scored via the homer; two solo shots by Andruw Jones in the first and third, and a two-run blast by Mark Kotsay in the fourth. Jones now has seven homers off Vazquez in his career. It would be one thing if were we seeing some sort of improvement, but today's performance might have been his worst of the year, and raised his ERA to 9.78.

Vazquez is dealing with a lot of stuff right now, his head, his mechanics, command, velocity, etc., but one of his main problems yesterday was an inability to put hitters away. There were many at-bats throughout the game where he would get ahead 0-2 or 1-2, only to fail to put the hitters away.

Javy also took a beating from the 45,000 in attendance at the stadium, who booed the the right-hander throughout his short outing, and then once again when he was taken out of the game. Even the umpires got in on the action, making Vazquez changes gloves prior to the third inning. When he came out of the dugout to warm up the umpired informed him that his two-tone glove was not allowed and he would have to change gloves.

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5/1 Minor League Report

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(Triple-A) Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (13-9) lost to Norfolk (10-14) 2-1: Box Score -Recap

Batting:
Kevin Russo, 3B: 1-for-4
Eduardo Nunez, SS: 1-for-4
Juan Miranda, 1B: 1-for-4, HR, RBI, R
David Winfree. RF: 1-for-4
Jesus Montero, C: 0-for-3, 2 K's - threw out two of three base runners trying to steal.
Chad Huffman, LF: 1-for-3
Reegie Corona, 2B: 1-for-3

Pitching:
Romulo Sanchez (L, 0-2): 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (6.48 ERA)
Zack Segovia: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (9.31 ERA)

Pitches-strikes: Sanchez, Ro 109-70, Segovia 13-9.
Groundouts-flyouts: Sanchez, Ro 4-4, Segovia 0-1.

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Granderson Headed To DL

LoHud's Josh Thomson is reporting that the results for Curtis Granderson's MRI are back and show that he has a Grade 2 strain of the left groin. He will be placed on the 15-day DL either and the Yanks will callup Mark Melancon from Scranton-Wilkes Barre. There is no timetable for his return at the moment.

You figure Brett Gardner will start in center everyday now, with Randy Winn and Marcus Thames splitting the left field duties. As of now I assume Thames will start against lefties and Winn will start against righties.

If there's a positive in all of this, it's that Mark Melancon will get another shot in the big leagues, and with the way the bullpen has looked lately they could use another arm. In 13 games for the Yankees last year, Melancon went 0-1, with a 3.86 ERA. In 16.1 innings he allowed 7 ER on 13 hits, walked 10, and struck out 10. This year for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre he's 3-0, with a 1.76 ERA in ten games. In 15.1 innings pitched, he's allowed 3 ER on 13 hits, walked 5, and struck out 15.

5/1 Demolition Update

This group of 22 new photos were taken yesterday by Baseball-Fever member DNRL. There's still one section of outer wall left--the area by Gate 6. They've completely destroyed the Gate 4 staircase that had still be up as of last week, and cleaned a lot of the fallen outer wall between Gate 6 and 4. Click the images to see full size, and for the main demolition updates page click here.

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A Little Posada Talk

Jorge Posada is entering his 16th season as a catcher for the New York Yankees. Over those years he has caught many different pitchers. Recently on Yahoo!Sports Posada provided his thoughts and rankings on the pitchers he has caught over the years.

Here's some of the highlights I thought were very interesting:

Best fastball

Kyle Farnsworth or Scott Proctor. Proctor would throw 98, 99, 100. Farnsworth is 100-plus. That’s based on straight velocity.”

Best curveball

“Hideki Irabu had a very good curveball. Just a straight up and down, swing-and-miss curveball.

Best slider

“I would say Joba Chamberlain. Straight down, great velocity. Roger Clemens had a very good slider, too. I think Joba’s is better.”

Best changeup

"Probably Jimmy Key. CC Sabathia's got a very good changeup. It’s about arm speed and location.”

Best cutter

“Mariano.”

Best junk pitch

“Clemens’ splitter."

Smartest pitcher

“Mariano’s pretty smart. El Duque was very smart. So was Clemens."

Best big-game pitcher

“I would say Andy Pettitte. The way he took upon the challenge, the whole challenge. Getting ready, getting prepared, his focus. Really nothing gets in his way of what he wants to do.”

Pitcher he best connected with

“David Wells. Yeah, that’s frightening. You know what, you’ve got to put him in the curveball category. He had one of the best curveballs. You have to include him in there. He never shook me off. And he said I would call pitches he wanted to throw. I don’t know how true this is. But, he would have the grip on the ball and I would call that pitch. It was kind of weird, you know? He’d go to that grip and then I’d be calling it.”

Pitcher he least connected with

“It was probably because I was intimidated by him – David Cone. I was a young guy, he was older. Nothing against the guy.

Funniest guy when he went to the mound

“Jon Lieber. He was hilarious. He was out there, just weird. I’d come out to the mound and if he had given up a home run, he’d say, ‘That was your fault.’ He was pretty good.”

Scariest guy when he went to the mound

“David Cone. I was just intimidated. I would not even go to the mound. I was, like, scared, you know? He was the nicest guy in the world, but when he pitched, oof, don’t get near him. He was scary. He gave up a home run to Ken Griffey Jr. in Seattle once. I wanted him to come in and he didn’t want to. He gave up a home run on a split. Probably hung in there and Griffey hit a home run. So, I go out there and he says, ‘How the hell would you pitch him?’ I said, ‘I think we gotta come in.’ Next time, Griffey comes up, we go in and he hits a double.’ I go back out and Cone says, ‘How the hell you gonna pitch him now?’ ”

If he could take one pitch back

“Probably the pitch before Tony Womack hit that double in Arizona off Mariano [in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series]. And then we went back to that same pitch. The location of that second pitch, we needed it a little deeper probably, a little further inside. It kind of stayed in the middle of the plate a little bit. That’s the pitch. Both of them.”

The article is a good read, check it out.

Granderson Leaves Game With A Leg Injury

While rounding second base on a Brett Gardner single in the sixth, Curtis Granderson did something and ended up limping off the field with an injury. It looked like he pulled something, maybe a hamstring or groin muscle, neither of which would be good for the Yankees. More info as it comes.

(UPDATE 4:09 p.m.) Granderson has a strained left groin muscle and is headed for an MRI.

Regular Season Game 23: Yankees vs. White Sox

Regular Season Game 23

Yankees vs. White Sox
Yankee Stadium - Bronx, NY
Game Time: 1:05 p.m.
TV: YES | Radio: WCBS | XM: 175

Here are the lineups:

YANKEES (15-7)
Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada C
Marcus Thames DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Brett Gardner LF

Pitching: RHP Javier Vazquez (1-3, 9.00 ERA)

WHITE SOX (9-14)
Omar Vizquel SS
Gordon Beckham 3B
Andruw Jones CF
Paul Konerko 1B
Mark Teahan 3B
Carlos Quentin DH
A.J. Pierzynski C
Mark Kotsay RF
Juan Pierre LF

Pitching: LHP John Danks (3-0, 1.55)

(sorry this wasn't posted earlier, I had a lot of stuff going on this morning and wasn't at home)

Is It Only a Number?

Since the White Sox are in town, I remembered something I heard a few weeks ago. It was about Omar Vizquel who was signed to be a utility infielder with the Chicago White Sox. When he joined the team he was looking to wear the number 13, which he has worn his entire career. However that number is worn by Ozzie Guillen, the manager. Both men have been wearing that number in tribute to fellow Venezuelan Dave Concepcion, a great defensive shortstop for the Big Red Machine back in the 70's. Guillen made it very clear he wasn't giving up his number to Vizquel so he requested number 11 next.

Unfortunately that is the retired number of White Sox HOF shortstop Luis Aparacio, who's number was retired 26 years ago in the year he was inducted into the HOF. Aparacio, a gold glover, was one of the best shortstops ever and his number 11 is one of only 7 White Sox numbers that have been retired.

According to the article, Vizquel to Wear Aparacio's No. 11 on MLB.com, Vizquel requested permission from the White Sox and Aparacio to use the number. As Vizquel recounted:

"I was sitting around with some of his friends, and I was talking about how I wanted to honor Luis in some way," Vizquel said. "I wondered if No. 11 would be available.

"We thought about it. On one of those days hanging out, I had the courage to ask him to let me wear the number."

Aparicio thought about it for a while, and with a little smile, said Vizquel's idea was a great one.

"If there is one player who I would like to see wear my uniform number with the White Sox, it is Omar Vizquel," said Aparicio in a statement. "I have known Omar for a long time. Along with being an outstanding player, he is a good and decent man."

"It will be nice to have No. 11 come out again on the field," said Vizquel, recounting Aparicio's words to him.

So Vizquel is wearing the unretired number 11 this year.

Are you kidding me? I get the whole honoring the Venezuelan baseball player thing. But still, how do you un-retire a number? Really? Vizquel has had a good, long career, but he is a borderline HOFer at best. When a number is retired doesn't that mean it's never to be worn again?

Can you imagine the Yankees giving Tex the number 23? We all know how badly Wells wanted Babe's number or Giambi wanted Mantle's. If that were to happen, what would be next? Putting the names on the back of the pinstripes?

I can guarantee you without a doubt this would never be given a split second of consideration by the Yankees. They are all about legacy and tradition. The championships and pinstripe jerseys. This is what distinguishes this team from the rest. They're the class of the major leagues. If you are a Yankee fan wearing a Yankee jersey with a number 7 or 4 or 3 or any retired number on the back, no one will doubt who's number it is.