Shortly after the Yankees traded again for Javier Vazquez, he held a conference call with reporters and outside of saying multiple times that he was happy to be back in pinstripes, he had this to say:
On being traded to the Yankees: “I’m glad to be back. I’m excited to be a part of the team again. Everyone that knows me knows I didn’t want to leave my first time out.”
On how he’s changed as a pitcher since 2004: “I know how to pitch a little bit more and I know what to expect. All the years that I’ve experienced pitching in the big leagues, you learn a lot from that. You learn a lot from the mistakes you’ve made in the past.”
On his dismal second half in 2004: “My arm didn’t feel as good as it did in the first half, and it’s really the only time in my career that I’ve felt a little that my arm wasn’t where it was supposed to be. … It may have been my mistake that I never said anything, but that’s over with. I’m ready for a brand new start.”
On Ozzie Guillen’s comments in 2008 that Vazquez wasn’t a big-game pitcher: “I don’t really want to get into what Ozzie said, because I’m not part of the White Sox anymore. I’m just glad to have an opportunity again to be a part of the Yankees and hopefully be a part of another postseason. That’s the main goal.”
On Game 7 of the ALCS being his final game in pinstripes: “You never want to end up with a bad taste in your mouth, but that’s what happened to me. It’s in the past.”
On getting a chance to make up for 2004: “As a baseball player and as an athlete, you know you’re going to have some good times and some tough times. For me, ’04 was a tough time, but it’s a great opportunity to come back. Hopefully I can erase those memories.”
Kevin Rozell
M. B. Rozell
Ray Rothfeldt
Eduardo Perez
