Latest loss highlights Cashman’s shortcomings

Saturday, August 07, 2010

Mike Parente, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

Javier Vazquez must’ve felt like it was Groundhog Day considering the last time he had pitched against Boston at Yankee Stadium prior to Friday night was Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS – a gutless performance he somehow managed to duplicate in last night’s 6-3 loss to the Red Sox.

At least now he knows what it’s like for Yankee fans to have to sit through one of his putrid outings every five days. And he probably now realizes why manager Joe Girardi went out of his way to skip his turn in the rotation the first two times the Yankees played the Red Sox this season.

In fairness, though, I can’t totally blame Vazquez, because if someone was foolish enough to pay me $11.5 million a year to do something I’m horrible at, I’d hop on the first train to mediocrity, too.

The real blame goes to general manager Brian Cashman, whose embarrassing attempt at restocking a team in need of a few tweaks during the offseason is the primary reason the Yankees won’t repeat as World Series champions in October.

Never before has a GM followed his best offseason with arguably the worst of his career, but Cashman pulled off this remarkable feat this past winter with the indefensible acquisitions of Vazquez – a failure in his first go-round with the Yankees six years ago – oft-injured designated hitter Nick Johnson, outfielder Curtis Granderson and castoffs Randy Winn and Chan Ho Park, who were so brutal that they’re no longer with the team.

You can’t reasonably expect the Yankees to get fired up over a big, four-game set at home against the Red Sox in August when Vazquez is starting the series’ opener. You’ll never hear a teammate publicly throw him under the bus, but it’s impossible to have any confidence in a guy with a 4.63 ERA whose own manager doesn’t even think he’s good enough to pitch against Boston.

The only reason he started last night’s game is because a.) the Yankees don’t have the luxury of skipping his turn in the rotation with Andy Pettitte on the disabled list and b.) the alternative, Phil Hughes, is on pace to serve up more home runs than “Wild Thing” Rick Vaughn. At this point, choosing between Vazquez, Hughes and Dustin Moseley (Pettitte’s replacement) is like choosing between getting squirted on or crop-dusted while changing your two-year-old’s diaper.

You could point out several other factors in last night’s disgraceful loss, but it all eventually comes back to Vazquez’s inability to pitch competitively against a team with a pulse.

Catcher Francisco Cervelli dropping an easy pop-up in the second inning certainly didn’t help – after all, Vazquez can barely get three outs an inning, let alone four – but that’s no excuse to walk slap-hitting outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury with two outs and the bases loaded to force in the tying run or serve up a two-run double to Marco Scutaro, who boasted a whopping .384 slugging percentage entering Friday night.

Great pitchers pick up their teammates every now and then. Lousy pitchers like Vazquez wet their pants in humiliating fashion at the first sign of adversity. Not to be outdone, Vazquez – as if right on cue –later served up a two-run bomb to rookie Ryan Kalish (the first of his career, no less) to put the game out of reach moments after the Yankees had closed to within a run.

Had this been six years ago during the pubescent stage of Boston’s offensive renaissance, I’d have understood Vazquez’s struggles, but this is a Red Sox lineup missing Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis that is currently ranked 25th in the league in runs scored since the All-Star break. If Vazquez can’t keep the ball in the park against Boston’s junior varsity lineup, he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a pitchers’ mound. Can you believe this team is relying on Vazquez to start a playoff game if it’s fortunate enough to make the postseason?

Again, this all falls on Cashman, who had a bird’s-eye view from George Steinbrenner’s owner’s box the last time Vazquez crapped his pants against Boston in Yankee Stadium and still had the urge to ship three players to Atlanta during the offseason to bring him back for an encore. Speaking of which, Cashman apparently didn’t learn his lesson with Johnson the first time around either, so he re-acquired him during the offseason for $5.5 million instead of paying proven veteran Hideki Matsui $6 million to stay in pinstripes. To no one’s surprise – except maybe Cashman’s – Johnson has been on the disabled list since May with a wrist injury, his 10th trip to the DL in 10 seasons.

The aftershock of Cashman’s ill-advised decision to re-sign Johnson reared its ugly head last night when newcomer Lance Berkman capped a pitiful first week in the Bronx with an 0-for-4 performance, dropping his batting average with the Yankees to .182.

Cashman acquired Berkman at the trade deadline to replace Johnson, yet his unexplainable presence in the lineup on a nightly basis is taking away at-bats from Jorge Posada and Nick Swisher, the latter of who spent three days in the No. 6 spot in the lineup before Girardi came to senses and yanked Berkman out of the two-hole.

Last night’s game could’ve been played at the New York Public Library and no one would’ve known the difference given the lack of energy in the stadium, but it’s difficult to get excited for a great night of baseball when Vazquez serves up a cannon shot to David Ortiz’s decaying corpse just three batters into the game.

The real question now, aside from whether or not the Yankees can hold off Tampa Bay and Boston in the division race, is whether or not they can overcome the irreparable damage Cashman did to this roster during the offseason and at the trade deadline.

Friday’s lethargic performance is a bad sign. The Red Sox are now five games back in the standings while New York is just 11-12 in its last 23 home games dating back to June. To even the series this afternoon, the Yankees will call upon C.C. Sabathia, whose annual strikeout rate is dropping faster than Rick Pitino’s zipper.

Another loss will make me sick to my stomach, sort of like watching Vazquez pitch all over again.