Sorry for the delay between blogs, my real-life job has seem to have grown a second head over the past week and a half, causing my blogging time to shrink. Today, I did manage some time at lunch to write something for any readers I might have.
As I skimmed over www.MLBTradeRumors.com , I noticed the following spat of information:
"Yankees pitcher Javier Vazquez spoke to Puerto Rican newspaper La Perla del Sur. MLBTR's translator Nick Collias supplies this interesting quote: "I don't have much playing time left...I go year by year, and I don’t know if it will be one, two or three years, but I'm definitely not going to play until 40." Vazquez is eligible for free agency after the season."
Now this has given me my first "Uh-Oh" moment of the year, which has caused me to wonder about the Vazquez-Melky trade. I am worrying over a stupid little quote because of a few things.
Vazquez is 33, turning 34 in July, and coming off arguably the best season of his career, being traded to a World Series favorite, and will be Free-Agent after next season; which, if he has a decent season, should cash in pretty good next year. So, WHY would you state you might only have 1 year left?
My answer to this question is very simple, DESIRE. Does he really love the game, or is he just amazingly talented (I.E. Keith Foulke's comments a few years ago)?
Anyone who has played the game and could not continue knows how hard it is to truly hang up your cleats, yet you have Vazquez coming into one of the most important and what could be best years of his career and he is already talking about retiring.
It just makes me wonder what guy will show up in the last series of the year vs. Boston, with the playoff implications on the line; will it be Vazquez of 2009 with the Braves, or will it be Vazquez of 2007 White Sox, whom struggled, or will it be Javier, the retired pitcher?
This might be a little over-the-top, but comments like his, at a time like this in his career, are not the most re-assuring words a Yankee fan would want to hear.
