Javier Vazquez

The Yankees were happy to leave Toronto after their first visit with the Blue Jays over the weekend.

This series provided a lot to think about in regards to what the Yankees are dealing with regarding strengths and issues.

Losing the first two games was making the Yankees look like has-beens. Thanks to Javier Vazquez’s impressive performance the Yankees avoided getting swept on Sunday.

Watching Saturday’s 14 innings proved that the Yankee pitching is pretty sturdy and continued to add more worries about the Yankee bats.

YANKEES (31-20)

Tonight, the New York Yankees will send their beleaguered starter Javy Vazquez to the mound against the hapless Baltimore Orioles.

This is a game the Yankees should win easily, considering the Orioles have been the bottom feeders of the AL East for the past decade and are the owners of baseball's worst record.

But for Javier Vazquez, this is not only a game he should pitch well in—it's also a must win.

Javier Vasquez was acquired by the Yankees this offseason. 

There were many arguments involving this trade because of the struggles he had as a Yankee back in 2004.

There were two sides.

One said that he can't pitch in the American League, and is not worth the salary he is getting paid.

One said that he was injured when he struggled in 2004, and did above average with the Chicago White Sox.

Looks like the first side wins.

The Yankees got a twin killing yesterday against the Twins, giving them exactly what they needed, as the division begins to tighten up a bit.

Every win is starting to mean more and more, now that the Red Sox are back into the swing of things, and the Tigers and Blue Jays remain in contention for the Wild Card spot.

  The way Javier Vazquez was pitching last night it looked like he was going to take care of the Mets all by himself. Six innings, one hit, six strikeouts and only 70 pitches. Unfortunately he bruised his hand while bunting in the top of the 7th inning and needed some help.

I can hear Yankees Featured Columnist Joseph Del Grippo saying somewhere, "another Javier Vazquez article from Doug."

Yes it is, because tonight could be a major night in deciding the future of the Yankees right-hander.

The Yankees will send Vazquez out to pitch in the second game of their four game series with the Tigers at Comerica Park.

This will be the first time since May 1 that Vazquez will be stepping on a mound for the Yankees to start a game.

It’s no secret that fans across the nation cringe at the sight of a poor performance from their team on a given night.

Often times, fans will use the excuse that it is still early in the year and these players and teams will turn it around.

The 2010 MLB season has offered up its fair share of great moments and performances from some of the league’s best; but as we head into mid-May, there is still some doubt amongst even the most faithful of fans that the following players will turn it around.

Joe Girardi refused to endorse Javier Vazquez. This was in response to his lousy outing last Saturday afternoon.

Not surprisingly, Girardi skipped Vazquez's turn last night. The Yankees manager realized Boston was not the place for Vazquez to fix his mechanical issues.

The beleaguered Yankee starter will start Tuesday evening against the Tigers.

The Tigers are salivating at that thought. Even the Twins feel optimistic about their chances against Vazquez when they play at New York next weekend.

The New York Yankees went into last night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles with a 16-8 record and have essentially gotten nothing from Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Curtis Granderson, Nick Johnson, and Javier Vazquez.

I guess that might be all relative because they have gotten some unreal production from guys like Francisco Cervelli, Marcus Thames, Andy Pettitte, and Brett Gardner. But going back to the players who have struggled, perhaps the biggest concern for the Yankees in the long run is Vazquez.