In case you missed it, Curt “Captain Bloody Sock” Schilling was a guest on ESPN’s The Colin Cowherd Show Tuesday, where he sounded off on the recent struggles of the Javy Vazquez. Schilling, who always takes great delight in attacking any and all things Yankee, was highly critical of Vazquez, telling Cowherd, ”He’s not a guy that I’ve ever felt was comfortable in the glow. You’re seeing what you’re going to get from him consistently all year. Having said that, he could turn around next week and throw a one-hitter with his stuff. I just don’t see him being a consistent winner in the American League.” He also stated the obvious, that it was much easier to pitch in the National League than in the American League due to the DH and the superior lineups of the “Junior Circuit.”

For the record, I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of Schilling, whom I’ve always considered to be a complete jerk and loudmouth. That being said, there was some truth in what Schilling stated. While I don’t agree that what we are currently seeing from Vazquez is indicative of what we can expect to see the rest of the season, I do agree with Schilling that we should not expect the same numbers out of Vazquez that he accrued last year, when he went 15-10 with a 2.87 ERA, 237 strikeouts and a 1.026 WHIP.

I reached out to two friends of mine, one an NL Executive who has had first hand dealings with Vazquez, and the other, an NL scout who has seen Vazquez pitch from his days in the minor leagues to get their thoughts on the situation.

NL Executive:

I spent a couple of seconds on this (Schilling’s statement) which is more than it was worth. Schilling should get lockjaw.” He (Vazquez) needs to fix his head. Javy always had super stuff but has never been a winning pitcher or person. We beat him twice in salary arbitration while with Montreal/Washington and the second time he fired his agent. He has moved from club to club since then but made a lot of money along the way. I think it is too late to change his mechanics. He is what he is!”

NL Scout:

First off, I don’t get why Cowherd, who is a great guy and very fair to the Yanks, would ask someone like Schilling, who always goes out of his way to attack the Yankees, his thoughts on Javy Vazquez. Colin might as well have interviewed the president of Red Sox Nation if he wanted to hear garbage like that.

That being said, it doesn’t  take a genius, which Schilling surely isn’t, to figure out that it’s easier to pitch in the NL than the AL. Javy is going through a bad stretch right now, but I think once he gets back some consistency with his pitches he should be OK. I’m more worried about his mind than anything. He is very mindful about things and really wants to show people that he can win in New York. I think if he does have a chink in his armor, it’s that he might be a little too thin skinned. He needs to take on the attitude of the other starters. Fans are going to boo, there is nothing you can do about it. The only way to stop the booing is to win some games. I think his next start against the White Sox will be a crucial in getting him going in the right direction.”

So there you have it, two opinions from two credible baseball people on Javy Vazquez. While I still believe that it’s way too early to make any sort of final judgments regarding Vazquez, I do believe that the team would have been better served bringing in a different starting pitcher this off-season like a Derek Lowe or even a Jon Garland. That way, they could be avoiding the type of questions and skepticism that they were sure to get by bringing back a Javy Vazquez.

Frank is a resident of East Brunswick, NJ and former radio announcer. He is a 4th generation Republican and Yankees Fan. He also enjoys listening to talk radio. His favorite announcer is Shawn Hannity of “Hannity” on FOX and enjoys reading about military history. In addition to rooting for the Yankees, he also has a passion for the New York Islanders. You can enjoy Frank’s work at The Dead Ball Era and his book “Bury My Heart at Cooperstown”. Check out his “Rants and Raves” on New York Baseball Digest.

Frank Russo

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Tags: Boston Red Sox, Captain Bloody Sock, Colin Cowherd, Curt Schilling, ESPN Radio, Javier Vazquez, New York Yankees