Javier Vazquez News: Pro Sports Daily

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November 19

ESPN.com

columnist Jayson Stark

"Teams that have talked to the Braves say they don't want to deal for just another bat. They want a cleanup-hitter kind of bat. So Javy Vazquez, Derek Lowe and Kenshin Kawakami are all out there as big-time Rumor Central fodder. But when teams zero in on Vazquez, they find the Braves are trying to steer the conversations toward Lowe, who has three years and $45 million left on the contract he signed last winter. If the Braves can move Lowe, they're expected to try to work out an extension with Vazquez, who is a year away from free agency. But can Lowe -- who allowed 299 baserunners in 194 2/3 innings -- get them the kind of bat they need? And is there even going to be a true cleanup hitter ..."

Braves are expected to take offers on Lowe and Vazquez

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November 18

SI.com

"Derek Lowe or Javier Vazquez: The Braves are expected to take offers on Lowe and/or Vazquez as they expect to pare down from six established starters to five. The Yankees could have some interest in Lowe, "but not at $16 million a year for three years," one person familiar with their thinking said. Vazquez was terrific last year, but one GM said, "Wherever he does go, he should stay in the National League.""

Vazquez could be going, but I bet he stays

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November 10

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"The well sourced Buster Olney of ESPN's Insiders keeps hearing the Braves will trade their best pitcher. (Link requires registration.) Writes Mr. Olney: "Some rival executives are convinced that Atlanta's Javier Vazquez, who was arguably one of the four best pitchers in the National League this past season, will be traded in the weeks ahead. Vazquez will make $11.5 million next season before becoming eligible for free agency, so the Braves might be compelled to move him now to take advantage of his value. Atlanta needs a right-handed-hitting outfielder, and the other possible trade pieces on the Braves' pitching staff - Derek Lowe (who is owed $45 million over the next three seasons) and ..."

Vazquez 3-hits Nats to keep Braves' hopes alive

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September 26

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Javier Vazquez allowed a run and three hits in his third complete game of the season, leading the Atlanta Braves to a 4-1 victory over the Washington Nationals on Friday night. His performance enabled the Braves, who started play 3? games behind Colorado for the NL wild card, to keep their flickering playoff hopes alive. Atlanta has won four straight and 12 of 14. Vazquez (15-9) allowed a leadoff home run to Josh Bard, his sixth, in the eighth inning. Vazquez also gave a leadoff single to Willie Harris in the first and a one-out double to Ryan Zimmerman in the fourth. He retired 11 straight between Zimmerman's double and Bard's homer."

Vazquez's gem nearly lost

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September 20

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Add Pedro Martinez to the list of streaking pitchers taken down by the Braves in eight days, and don't write off their playoff aspirations just yet. The Braves got another dominant start from Javier Vazquez and dealt Martinez his first loss with Philadelphia, keeping alive their slim postseason chances with a 6-4 win against the Phillies on Saturday night at Turner Field. The only negatives for the Braves: Rafael Soriano's four-run, ninth-inning misadventure, and Adam LaRoche's sore back that forced him out after 6-1/2 innings and could keep him from Sunday's series finale. Vazquez (14-9) pitched seven scoreless innings (three hits, three walks, six strikeouts) and got the kind of run ..."

Braves may be forced to trade Vazquez

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September 9

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Of all the things that didn't work out as planned for the Braves this season, we've known a for a while now that Javier Vazquez isn't one of them. What we don't know is: Where do they go from here? Or maybe the better question is: Where does Vazquez go from here? The ripple effect of the contracts the Braves gave pitchers Derek Lowe (four years, $60 million) and Kenshin Kawakami (three years, $23 million) is going to be felt this off-season. General manager Frank Wren has some options but he's also somewhat painted into a corner. The chances of trading either Lowe or Kawakami are minimal because of the contracts. So that's two starters. Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens are young and good and ..."

Vazquez reaches strikeout milestone

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September 9

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"His first strikeout Tuesday was the 200th of the season for Braves pitcher Javier Vazquez, his fifth career 200-strikeout season and third in a row. The only other active pitchers with at least five 200-strikeout seasons are Randy Johnson (13), Pedro Martinez (nine), and John Smoltz and Johan Santana (five apiece)."

Vazquez shuts down Astros

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September 9

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"If it's too late for the Braves, someone forgot to tell Javier Vazquez. He showed again Tuesday why he has been the true veteran ace of the staff, limiting the Houston Astros to three hits in seven scoreless innings of a 2-1 win that snapped the Braves' five-game losing skid. "We have to keep battling," Vazquez said of the position the Braves are in - fourth place in the wild-card standings, seven games behind leader Colorado with 24 to play. "Crazier things have happened." Adam LaRoche and Nate McLouth hit home runs to supply all the offense for the Braves, and slumping third baseman Chipper Jones made the defensive play of the game on a barehanded catch-and-throw with the bases loaded ..."

Vazquez, Braves nip Cubs to end skid

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July 8

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"After the Braves scored two runs in the first three innings Tuesday night, Javier Vazquez had to know there was a good chance they wouldn't score again. So this time, the Braves right-hander made sure it was enough. Vazquez (6-7) pitched seven crisp innings, and Brian McCann drove in a pair of runs as the Braves snapped a three-game skid with a 2-1 win against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. "Vazquez pitched a big-time game, and our bullpen was very good," said manager Bobby Cox, whose Braves moved ahead of the New York Mets into third place in the National League East, four games behind division leader Philadelphia. It was only the second win in eight starts for Vazquez, who has three ..."

Mets have interest in Sox's Javier Vazquez

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November 4

Chicago Tribune

"While White Sox GM Ken Williams has gone underground on responding to trade rumors, one from a well-placed source at the general managers meetings said the Mets had interest in Javier Vazquez. The source did not know what the Mets were offering in return, but it might not be much if they would take the entire $23 million owed to the right-hander for the next two seasons. The Mets are looking for at least one starting pitcher and maybe two. All Williams would say Monday at the opening of three days of business meetings for GMs was, "There are some things in preliminary discussions, but I don't expect anything to materialize. ... I'm going to explore all the possibilities to win." Vazquez ..."

Vazquez's future in Sox' hands

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October 7

Chicago Sun-Times

"When the Tampa Bay Rays put the White Sox' season to bed Monday, it also ended the soap opera surrounding right-hander Javier Vazquez. Manager Ozzie Guillen was asked daily whether the Sox would go back to Vazquez in the postseason, despite one dismal outing after another. Now there are bigger questions about Vazquez's future, including whether he still has one with the Sox. Asked if the best therapy for Vazquez at this point would be a trade, Guillen didn't hesitate to say no. ''No matter if he's coming here or another place, he has to clear his mind up and show people how good he is,'' Guillen said. ''He is good. A lot of stuff didn't go his way. ... He just has to continue to be what he ..."

Guillen has Vazquez's back

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October 7

Chicago Tribune

"Even though the White Sox planned to bypass him for a Game 5 start had one been necessary, Javier Vazquez remains part of the team's plans. And Vazquez would like to correct his problems with the Sox, not elsewhere. "It's not like me to run away from anything," Vazquez said Monday after manager Ozzie Guillen announced Mark Buehrle would jump ahead of Vazquez and start a Game 5 that became unnecessary when Tampa Bay eliminated the Sox 6-2. "I want to stay here and see what happens." Vazquez's 12-16 season was magnified by the fact that his three worst starts occurred at the end of the regular season with the AL Central title at stake. Then he was tagged for six runs in 41/3 innings in Game ..."

Vazquez flops again on big stage

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October 3

Chicago Tribune

columnist Rick Morrissey

"Maybe if somebody had bribed a Tampa Bay player to challenge Javier Vazquez on Thursday, it would have made a difference. The fire and anger with which Rays reliever Grant Balfour reacted to Orlando Cabrera's dirt-kicking provocation in the seventh inning served as a stark reminder of just how quietly Vazquez tends to go in big games for the White Sox. No surgical procedure exists that would help him rise to the occasion in important moments, but how about an outpatient visit that at least makes him throw strikes? Thursday's effort was a 41/3-inning, six-earned-run playoff loss that looked very much like Vazquez's 41/3-inning, seven-earned-run loss in a key game against Cleveland last week ..."

Vazquez a no-show when White Sox need him most

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September 24

St. Paul Pioneer Press

"So the question was which Javier Vazquez would show up Tuesday night. The one who was 5-0 in his previous seven starts against the Twins? Or the one with the reputation for not being able to win big games? Javy? Or Javy-not? See if this tells you anything: White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper visited Vazquez on the mound in the second inning and made another well-being check again in the fourth, just as Clayton Richard began warming up in the bullpen. Manager Ozzie Guillen said the media had overblown some of his earlier comments about Vazquez, specifically the one about Vazquez needing to come up big in a big game. Implicit in the comment was "for once.'' It will have to wait until the ..."

Kubel has a big game, which seems no place for Chicago's Vazquez

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September 24

Minneapolis Star Tribune

columnist Jim Souhan

"Ozzie Guillen was right when he called Javier Vazquez a lousy big-game pitcher. He was wrong when he said the key to the biggest series of the season would be to "make sure you grab a big net and get those piranhas and put some poison in the water to make their teeth fall out." It wasn't the "Piranhas" -- the Twins' scrappy singles hitters -- who tormented the White Sox on Tuesday as much as a less-exotic species. Jason Kubel -- an average-looking station-to-station hitter on a team that prizes sleek athletes -- hit two home runs and a triple and accounted for the Twins' first three runs in their gotta-have-it 9-3 victory over the White Sox. Kubel became the first Twin to hit two homers ..."

Vazquez part of a good, not great, staff

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September 23

Chicago Tribune

"Javier Vazquez developed into the ace of Montreal's staff by the time he left the Expos in 2003. But manager Ozzie Guillen acknowledged that Vazquez hasn't emerged as a big-game pitcher since leaving Montreal for the Yankees, Arizona and now in his three seasons with the Sox. "That's the bottom line," Guillen said of Vazquez, who is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night against Minnesota to open a pivotal three-game series. "Javy is a consistent pitcher sometimes, and we haven't scored enough runs for him. [But] sometimes he hasn't pitched well enough. I don't have an ace here. "I have a good pitching staff. I don't have the guy who is going to step it up and fight for a Cy Young and win 20. ..."

Guillen challenges Vazquez: Go out and kick Twins' butts

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September 22

Chicago Sun-Times

"Considering what's at stake for the White Sox this week, why not throw down the gauntlet? Manager Ozzie Guillen has done it before -- too many times to count -- so why change now? The subject of Javier Vazquez and his lack of success as a big-game pitcher came up again Sunday. Guillen's response, two days before he puts the ball in Vazquez's hand for the critical series opener against the Minnesota Twins: ''He hasn't been [a big-game pitcher], that's the bottom line.'' A bottom line that Vazquez seems tired of addressing at this point in his 11-year career. ''You know what? It's not going to [change a lot of opinions] because I'm really the type of guy that when I retire, I'm going to be ..."

Vazquez part of a good, not great, staff

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September 22

Chicago Tribune

"Javier Vazquez developed into the ace of Montreal's staff by the time he left the Expos in 2003. But manager Ozzie Guillen acknowledged that Vazquez hasn't emerged as a big-game pitcher since leaving Montreal for the Yankees, Arizona and now in his three seasons with the Sox. "That's the bottom line," Guillen said of Vazquez, who is scheduled to pitch Tuesday night against Minnesota to open a pivotal three-game series. "Javy is a consistent pitcher sometimes, and we haven't scored enough runs for him. [But] sometimes he hasn't pitched well enough. I don't have an ace here. "I have a good pitching staff. I don't have the guy who is going to step it up and fight for a Cy Young and win 20. ..."

Vazquez can undo some damage

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September 21

Chicago Sun-Times

"It was an issue Javier Vazquez finally wanted to get off his chest. And who cares if it was almost three years after the fact. ''I know what kind of pitcher I am,'' Vazquez told the Sun-Times early on in the 2007 spring camp. ''The only thing that really bothers me over the last few years is people saying I couldn't handle New York. It actually really [ticks] me off because I started really well, and then all of a sudden I had a bad month, and then it starts with all the 'he can't handle New York stuff.' ''I know what kind of pitcher I am,'' Vazquez told the Sun-Times early on in the 2007 spring camp. ''The only thing that really bothers me over the last few years is people saying I ..."

Sox waste excellent outing by Vazquez

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August 24

Chicago Tribune

columnist Rick Morrissey

"Javier Vazquez is capable of doing what he did Saturday, but he's just as capable of throwing poorly, which explains why he's a career .500 pitcher. So when Vazquez and excellence do rendezvous, it's best to squeeze every drop out of it when you have the chance. That's why Saturday felt so wasteful. Don't the Sox know there are starving baseball teams that would love the kind of success Vazquez was serving on a hot, muggy August afternoon? Finish your food, kids. Surely the Sox know the importance of opportunism, locked in a pennant race as they are. True, it was Vazquez who loaded the bases in the eighth inning before exiting against the talented, emboldened Rays, but he received little ..."

Vazquez dominant, White Sox cruise past Royals

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August 13

Chicago Tribune

"The White Sox survived nicely Tuesday night without top slugger Carlos Quentin in part because they hit three home runs. A bigger contribution, however, came from Javier Vazquez. Vazquez gave the starting rotation a lift and the bullpen a break with eight shutout innings to lead the Sox to a 9-0 victory over Kansas City. "I threw strikes and was ahead of the count," Vazquez said. "That's the combination you should have." The Sox pulled away with a five-run eighth that included Chris Getz's first major-league hit—a pinch-hit RBI single that resulted in a standing ovation. "I couldn't even feel my legs," the former Michigan standout said after getting his first hit off Josh Newman, who ..."

Vazquez's desire driven by daughter

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August 4

Chicago Tribune

"One of the reasons pitcher Javier Vazquez signed an extension to stay with the White Sox beyond the 2007 season was the medical care his oldest daughter, Kamila, received during his first season in Chicago. In a show of support and to raise awareness, Vazquez will host the first K's for Kids Gala to aid juvenile diabetes programs. The event will be held Monday night at the Intercontinental Hotel, starting with a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m. and followed by dinner, entertainment and an awards program. Several White Sox players are scheduled to attend the event. Vazquez had worked with deaf children in his native Puerto Rico. But when Kamila, 4, was diagnosed with Type 1 juvenile diabetes ..."

Struggling Vazquez 'in rough patch'

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June 29

Chicago Sun-Times

"The White Sox went 3-2 in right-hander Javier Vazquez's starts in June, and they should be grateful for that. ''The last four or five starts for me haven't been the best,'' Vazquez said after being roughed up for five runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings in the Sox' 6-5 victory Saturday against the Cubs. ''I have two wins, but the reality is I haven't thrown well.'' Leave it to manager Ozzie Guillen to offer a reality check. ''I don't like the way Javy was throwing at all,'' Guillen said. ''He was swimming against the current."

NL experience gives Vazquez edge as hitter

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June 17

Chicago Tribune

"It is safe to say the White Sox don't have a Carlos Zambrano when it comes to hitting, but among their pitchers, Javier Vazquez is their most experienced hitter, and their best one. Vazquez, scheduled to start Sunday's game at Wrigley Field, has a .212 lifetime average. He also has 17 walks and 24 RBIs. "I hit for a lot of years in the National League," Vazquez said. "I was OK as a hitter, but I haven't hit consistently in a few years. In the National League, we would take batting practice almost every day when we were home. It's better when you practice a lot, but I'm confident I can handle the bat pretty good.""