For the
second straight start, Javier Vazquez gave up
only crooked numbers when he allowed runs in an inning, with all of them coming from the bat of Aramis Ramirez. Not only did Ramirez's big hits inflate Javy's ERA past the 5.00 barrier, but they also came with runners in scoring position.
Vazquez's numbers with runners in scoring position entering the game were already bad, and they're going to look worse when he wakes up in the morning. Here's what he's done while in jams, compared to the other Sox starters. I've arranged the other four in order of ERA, and I'll update the numbers when ESPN updates them with numbers from today's start.
| Pitcher | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | ERA |
| Vazquez | 88
| .330 | .386 | .477 | 5.00
|
| Garland | 92
| .239 | .275 | .359 | 5.60
|
| Garcia | 91
| .198 | .279 | .308 | 4.65
|
| Contreras | 65
| .200 | .272 | .292 | 3.54 |
| Buehrle | AB | .261 | .321
| .359 | 3.22 |
And here's the rate stats against with RISP and less than two outs:
| Pitcher | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | ERA |
Vazquez
| 46
| .391 | .462 | .587 | 5.00
|
| Garland | 44
| .250 | .313 | .386 | 5.60 |
| Garcia | 46
| .152 | .264 | .174 | 4.65 |
Contreras
| 39
| .231 | .362 | 3.33
| 3.54
|
| Buehrle | 44
| .250 | .353 | .341 | 3.22
|
On one hand, these numbers may not mean much, because the sample size isn't all that large. On the other hand, with the exception of Contreras, who missed a couple starts, all of them have faced around the same number of hitters in these situations. Because of that, I think the case against Vazquez is pretty damning. To put it simply:
The guy is soft.
Compare his line to Jon Garland and Freddy Garcia's and you'll see what I mean. The G-Units both have the reputation of not caring as much as they should -- because Garland's a
laid-back Californian and Freddy (allegedly)
rocks the ganj -- but both of them bear down as well as the rest of the Sox staff when it comes to working out of jams. The difference between Garland and Mark Buehrle is maybe a couple of hits.
Meanwhile, when the pressure's on Javy, he crumbles. With RISP, hitters are collectively as good as
Nap Lajoie against him; with RISP and two outs, they're all pretty close to a present-day
Todd Helton.
The only reason Javy's ERA is in the same ballpark as Garland's is all due to home runs allowed. Before today's game, Javy had allowed nine homers in 95 innings; Garland had allowed 19 in 101, Freddy the same in 102 IP. But with Jon suppressing the gopher ball (none allowed in his last four starts) and Freddy learning how to work with his reduced velocity, they could be leaving Javy in the dust as soon as next month.
I was initially a fan of the Vazquez deal, only because I thought either Garland or Contreras would be gone by the July 31 trading deadline. But then Garland signed...and then Contreras signed...and then I was just confused. Now I'm getting perturbed.
Last start I said that Javy had taken the crown away from Freddy as the "Most frustrating Sox pitcher to watch." But that title could only get worse if he continues to struggle, because the guy they traded for him,
Chris Young, has rebounded from a wrist injury to put up a superb line in Tucson for Arizona's Triple-A team, and it's only going to get better. Had the Sox not acquired Vazquez, Young would've been a nice security blanket for Brian Anderson, if not a possible replacement. Instead, he might be Arizona's center fielder of the future, all while Vazquez is posting back-of-the-rotation numbers for $11 million a year.