Are The Yankees Actually Playing The Red Sox This Weekend?

And does it even matter if they are anymore?  The Red Sox haven't been relevant since June.  Can't we just skip this series and the next 2 and get right to the ALDS?

The rivalry used to mean something, but now it's almost like picking on a 5-year-old blind kid compared to the level of competition the Rays present.  The bottom line is the Yankees have bigger fish to fry than the sad sack, ass backwards, "boo-hoo, we have so many injuries" Red Sox.  I'm sure they will put up a good fight and use this series and the season ender as some kind of pathetic rallying cry to build momentum for 2011, but the fact is the Red Sox have fallen off the radar and they aren't going to be part of the playoff picture next year either.

Normally I wouldn't miss a Yanks-Sox series, but when I think about the one starting tonight, all I can say is...

Would You Let This Man Pitch For Your Team?

Seriously, what the fuck was that last night?  3 hit batters in a row.  2 of them on curveballs.  The last one to force in a run.  That was really all I needed to see to know that I no longer want Javy Vazquez pitching for this team in any situation, no matter how meaningless it may seem.  The guy is an absolute pussy, a total headcase, and the fact that his stuff has diminished to the point where he probably wouldn't start in a Little League game makes it even more difficult to tolerate the fact that he's a pussy and a headcase.

People want to get all up in arms about CC's shitty outing last night.  George King is already predicting doomsday and Joel Sherman thinks the sky is falling.  I'm going to be a little more rational about it.  The dude had a bad night.  He started off strong, but it was obvious even early on that he didn't have great command of his fastball and CC works everything off of that.  For whatever reason he just didn't have it last night and that sucks, but it was one game and after it was over the Yanks were still in first place so just chalk it up as a bad game and move on.  If CC was a little tired from his last start against Tampa then last night probably served to help him rest a little since he only pitched 5.1 innings.

My bigger concern is Javy and what the Yanks are going to do with him in the postseason.  Right now they have no set option as a long man out of the bullpen.  Joe hasn't showed much faith in Mitre, Chad Gaudin is a disaster, likewise Moseley, and Nova's role still seems in flux.  The job was Javy's for the taking, even if it's not what he wanted, and he absolutely shit the bed last night.  He really has no business being on the postseason roster, and it's sad because Joe is going to take him, he's going to use him at some point, and Javy is going to fold under that pressure.  I didn't like him back when the Yankees first made the trade and I should have stuck to my guns on that one.  He couldn't get it done here in '04 with good stuff and he can't get it done now with no stuff.

Javy Vazquez is a big piece of shit and offers absolutely no value as a pitcher to the Yankees.  His second go-around with the Bombers has been even more disastrous to the first and the inclusion of him on the playoff roster weakens the Yankees' chances of winning and will come back to bite them in the ass.