Javier Vazquez and the New York Yankees

I was forwarded an Ian O’Connor article by a colleague today and it got me thinking about the New York sports culture, more specifically the culture of Yankee fans. I would be hard pressed to find another professional team, outside of Soccer in Europe and South America, who has fans as critical as the Yankees do. Let me note that although it may appear on the contrary, this is not a bad representation of what a Yankee fan stands for, but it is truly a culmination of supreme dedication and pride with a mix of a strong desire to be the best. New Yorker’s don’t have a problem wearing their heart on their sleeves and telling you how it is, when they are happy, you know it and when they are angry, you feel it! There is no exception to this rule when you are at Yankee stadium.

The Yankees have a long-standing history of bringing in high value players for more than their market price and expecting them to perform well above their actual means, need I remind you of Jaret Wright? My point being that when these players come to play here they are expected to perform at their best immediately, and that means no ‘grace period’. We were reminded of this when Javier Vazquez took the mound yesterday.

Everyone cringed a little when the Yankee front office made a trade to the Braves for Javier Vazquez, chances are if you are reading this you already know what I am about to say next. Needless to say he still doesn’t have the fans on his side and will have to work very hard at gaining their trust back after the grand slam he served up in the 2004 championship series. Vazquez is a very interesting case, a guy coming off the best season of his career and landing back in New York, of all places, trying not to repeat history, and so far this year he hasn’t made that great of an impression.

We have seen this numerous times before and it is bound to happen many times more over in the future where players can just not handle New York scrutiny. Vazquez has joined an elite list of Yankees who have made comments about the way they are treated by New York fans. One instance comes to mind right off the bat, Jack McDowell and his famous one finger salute to the Yankee faithful.

Vazquez didn’t lash out the way McDowell did but his comments show that he clearly expected a bad welcome home and that’s just what happened. I am not going to say that the fear of being booed was the cause for his poor performance yesterday against the Angels, but I will say it had to be in the back of his mind. Performance anxiety may have been the reason for his shortcomings so far, but let’s not get too critical it’s only been two starts, both being against very strong lineups. I must also note, whether you believe it or not, new information has surfaced that Vazquez was battling a bad throwing shoulder in the 2nd half of the ’04 season that carried into the playoffs, I believe this was deliberately released as a way to release the pressure of pitching in New York again. I don’t think New Yorker’s will show much sympathy or forgive him because of that, just a thought.

Vazquez was disappointed by the way the Yankee fans treated him after he gave up 4 runs to the Angels before being taken out of the game. He wasn’t given a warm reception or a great effort cheer that the Yankee fans are known for, seriously?

Did Javier forget where he was playing?

This is a place where you better grow up quick and get over the fact that you are owned by the fans and they expect nothing less of brilliance every time. This is a place where they have booed their own hometown hero in Derek Jeter. A place that has booed a Yankee legend in Don Mattlingly. A place that has a history of winning and expects nothing less, they don’t sugar coat their disappointment and they are a true barometer to how you are performing. If Vazquez doesn’t take his medicine and smile then it’s going to be a long year, and you will only have yourself to blame when the fans and media are critical of your performance here.

I will defend Javier to some degree however. It is a little ridiculous that after giving up 2 runs in the 3rd inning the boos started raining down, you have to give the guy a little leniency and time to adjust to the AL once again. Bottom line is the Javier is a talented pitcher who offers a lot to this Yankee rotation. He is probably the best #4 starter the MLB has to offer and fans have to remember that. Vazquez wasn’t brought here to be an ace, he was brought here to strikeout batters and eat up a ton of innings. If we get a performance from him like last year with the Braves it is a bonus, but the money the Yankees shelled out to him should have nothing to do with how loud you boo him when he underperforms.

That being said, Javier, and all other Yankee players, have to accept and embrace the fact that New Yorker’s don’t care about your track record. If you don’t perform well for them they will let you know it, and in case you haven’t noticed they aren’t very shy or nice about it either. You were brought here to be in the spotlight and join a winning club that is rich with that tradition and whether you like it or not, the fans expect nothing less.

Side Track: Today is Jackie Robinson day so please remember to think of the barriers he broke down and what he has provided to the game as we know it today.

Let’s Go Yankees!!!

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