Chicago White Sox: Javier Vazquez is No Ace

Though he leads the first place White Sox in innings pitched and is second on the staff with seven victories, Javier Vazquez is anything but an ace pitcher.  Coming into this season, the White Sox and pitching coach Don Cooper believed that Vazquez was finally coming into his own. 

Coming off his best year in nearly half a decade, in which he posted a 3.74 ERA and grabbed 15 wins on a 90-loss team, Javier seemed prime for a run at 20 victories and a Cy Young bid. 

The season started encouraging enough as the Sox right-hander racked up a quick six wins and hovered near the league lead in strikeouts.  But since the start of June it has been a different story for the White Sox supposed ace.

From the beginning of June, Vazquez has produced only one quality start, a complete game loss to the Oakland Athletics last week.  Most maddening about Javy’s struggles is the way in which he gets into trouble.  Armed with four above average pitches it is almost unfathomable that the 31-year-old right-hander sits a mere two games over five hundred for this career. 

But there is a difference between having great pitches and knowing how to pitch. Vazquez has not suffered from a lack of run support.  His problems are his own. Since 2003, he has posted a sub 4.40 ERA only once.  He gives up too many homers and fails to get the big out when he needs them.

The numbers don’t tell the whole story.  Giving up a solo home run in a 5-1 ballgame doesn’t kill you.  Surrendering four runs over seven innings is fine when your team is running up the scoreboard to the tune of seven or eight runs.  But to watch Javier pitch, as White Sox fans have been forced too over the past two and half seasons, is the most brutal thing since Jaime Navarro. 

Setting aside starts like last night, which saw the Royals hit two strike pitch after two strike pitch for singles and doubles, even Javy’s quality starts leave fans shaking their heads. 

Take his only quality start of the last few months.  Staked to a two run lead early against the nearly unhittable Justin Duchscherer, the Sox starter seemed to be cruising through the first four innings. 

Then with two outs and no one on in the fourth he let one get away and hit Kurt Suzuki.  For most big league pitchers, let alone top of the rotation guys this would be no big deal.  But before you could say “Bullpen Sports Bar” Jack Cust had sent a hanging curve ball over the fence to tie the game. 

In the next inning, with two outs and nobody on facing the .188 hitting Donnie Murphy, Vazquez surrendered another bomb that would prove to be the game winner. 

Yes, he turned in a good start, but not a winning start, because he simply refused to pitch like a winner.  He refused to hold leads in situations where the other team wasn’t even threatening.  That’s the frustrating thing about Javier Vazquez. 

He can cruise for a few innings, then the minute something goes wrong, BOOM, the lead is gone.  He can quickly jump ahead of hitters but can’t put them away. 

As the White Sox lead in the AL Central begins to grow it is in spite of the pitching of their “Ace,” and not because of it.  Any hope for a division title will slowly dwindle if Javier Vazquez can’t put it together and pitch to his ability. 

And stop throwing that ridiculous slow breaking ball that usually ends up in the seats.