Yes, he did pitch fine in NY, until probably a COMBO of late season pressure and wear and tear got to him. Playing in late season games against the Red Sox is very different than April and May games against the D-Rays. He's looked strong this spring (pitching in the low 90's and not giving up too much). Something also to note is that before 2003, he typically struggled one half of the season and was dominant the other half.
Conner wrote:There's really not much reason to say that he wasn't "made to play in NY".
He pitched perfectly fine at the beginning of the season.
As the year went on, his mechanics definitely changed, and the velocity on his pitches went down quite a bit...probably due to pitching a whole lot of innings over the last few years.
Let's also talk expectations here. I'm not looking at him being as good as his 2003 numbers. I think 12-8, 3.7 ERA, 1.20 WHIP is pretty reasonable to expect.
FWIW, I expect Vazquez to have a solid year despite ballpark effects in AZ. I'm expecting 3.75 era and a whip between1.20 and 1.25...the AZ offense is improved from last year...13-15 wins from Vazquez isn't out of reach. Plus, he is being undervalued by almost everyone!
On the same note, I expect D.Lowe to be pretty decent too...not as good as Vazquez, but a 4.00 era with a 1.28 whip and 13 wins is reachable...not a bad guy to round out a staff.
hybrid wrote:Because people have short memories, espcially in sports. We live in the "what have you done for me lately" era.
It's mostly bitter Yankee fans who fall into this category with regards to Vazquez (it was the same with Weaver before last season). But a lot of other people dismiss the first 6 years of his career and focus on last season only. Who's loss is that? Not mine.
"Jack, will you call me, if you're able?"
"I've got your phone number written, in the back of my Bible."
LBJackal, here's one Yankee fan not letting the bitterness get to him. Besides, the pain from watching him throw up a great year will be easier to swallow with him on my fantasy team
Tampa's not a bad hitting team. Impatient as hell, but they can generate some runs. Scrappy team.
Nobody's worse than the Nats. I'm sorry.
As for Vaz, I don't know. I can't bear drafting him for some reason. He just went in the 10th in one of my drafts, which I felt was too early for that type of risk. I scooped up Odalis after him in about the 12th. It really does seem that there's a lot of short memory in Fantasy Baseball. Pavano is going way too early, as is Ja. Wright. I was guilty of taking Sheets in the 4th...if last yera was a fluke, I'm screwed. It does appear like he made true gains, though.
You can make the same argument for Fatolo Colon. As well as Barry Zito.
warrick95
Hall of Fame Hero
Posts: 5440
Joined: 27 May 2003
Bases this season: 0
Home Cafe: Baseball
Location: The empty seat next to the Tampa Bay heckler
My whole staff is made of comeback players this year, and I hope it works out:
Halladay
Vazquez
Zito
Pettite
Wade Miller
I'm especially optimistic about Vazquez and Halladay because both are great pitchers, but we'll see what happens.
It's a good thing that a lot of people don't like the pitchers I took, because my batting is great, and I was able to get all of these guys pretty late...
An unanswered question is better than an unquestioned answer
I don't think I have seen this yet, but he has admitted that his mechanics were out of whack last year. To me that is another big factor in what happened to him. Some people just can't handle big market teams like the Yanks.
I'm of the group that thinks he was way overworked as a young pitcher and his arm is tired. When the arm gets tired, the mechanics changes, and the ball is up in the strikezone.
I see vasquez getting off to a good start but fading similarly to last year. I don't think his arm can take the abuse.
Cafe Home
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by donny23 » Mon Mar 21, 2005 1:59 pm 
