It may be a while before you see the name of New York starting pitcher Javier Vazquez on the bookmaker board. The Yankees have sent Vazquez to the bullpen and indications are he may not be returning to the starting rotation. The Yankees gave Ivan Nova a starting spot on Monday and he did well enough that he will be replacing Vazquez in the starting rotation so look for Nova’s name to be on the odds board at the Internet bookmaker.
Bookmaker odds at Sbg global.com will favor the Yankees with Nova on the mound just about as much as they did with Vazquez. Nova is not a household name but Vazquez was not pitching well so New York may be better off without him.
The Yankees are probably headed for the playoffs and they are winning without a strong starting rotation. Other than CC Sabathia and sometimes Phil Hughes, the Yankees don’t have a quality third starter with Andy Pettitte injured. Nova could be a big help to the rotation.
He started on Sunday against the White Sox and was very solid. Manager Joe Girardi liked what he saw.
Vazquez Will Not be Missed: The Yankees are not going to miss Vazquez. He simply can’t handle the pressure in New York. He was great last year for the Braves but he has been a flop with the Yankees. He is 9-9 with New York but he only has nine wins because the Yankees can hit.
His ERA is 5.05 and that is not a good number with a team that could win the World Series again this year. Vazquez had not even made it out of the fifth inning in his last three starts. The Yankees are looking at keeping Vazquez in the bullpen for the foreseeable future. They have simply had enough of his rotten pitching.
Nova: The Yankees called up Nova from Triple-A Scranton and he threw 5 1/3 innings against a very good hitting Toronto team on Monday. The Yankees had no real plans to use Nova beyond the one start but he impressed Girardi enough to be put into the starting rotation.
New York’s Current Rotation: With Pettitte on the DL, the Yankees are going with a rotation of Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes, Dustin Moseley and Nova.