Davidoff: Time for Yankees to put Vazquez in rotation

The Yankees' magic number to clinch a playoff spot now stands at 25, after they blew out the Athletics by an 11-5 score last night at Yankee Stadium. If we're not quite at the moment to guarantee the defending World Series champs a 2010 playoff spot, we're at least approaching the turn.

Which means that the Yankees have to start shifting their gears toward a two-tiered view - securing their playoff bid, but also planning for the postseason. And in light of that, it's time to return Javier Vazquez to his spot in the starting rotation.

"I want to be a starter," Vazquez said after picking up his second relief victory of the season. "But I've told everybody the same thing: If they think I can help the team in the bullpen, that's fine. I want to help the team win a championship."

When Dustin Moseley couldn't pick up the required 15 outs to get credit for the win against the feeble Oakland offense, Vazquez entered, for his second relief stint since getting booted for the rookie Ivan Nova. He allowed just one run in his 42/3 innings, and more important, he displayed the kind of stuff that could keep more powerful offenses honest: a fastball that frequently surpassed 90 mph on the radar gun, and strong off-speed stuff.

"We like the way he's throwing the ball now," Joe Girardi said. "His fastball seems to be truer."

"My arm feels good. My arm was feeling good, anyway," Vazquez said. "Obviously, I wasn't having the zip on my fastball that I usually do."

You could safely conclude that the down time, from being out of the rotation, gave Vazquez some of his arm strength back. He also made a slight mechanical adjustment.

Girardi made no promises after the game. "Right now, we're on rotation," he said. However, we've managed to put together a Girardi-to-English dictionary in Girardi's time running the team, and "Right now, we're on rotation" means, "I can absolutely change my mind as soon as the next time you see me."

The Yankees' best postseason rotation would feature CC Sabathia in Game 1 and a rehabilitated Andy Pettitte in Game 3, and two of the righthanded trio of A.J. Burnett, Phil Hughes and Vazquez slotting in Games 2 and 4. Hughes leads that derby based on his performance, but he's also dealing with his innings limits; he has about another 30 to go in the regular season.

Vazquez has been taken out of the rotation twice this season because of performance, and Burnett is a well-established roller-coaster ride. If Burnett can get on a good run in these final five weeks, perhaps he could start, with the idea that Vazquez represents a more reliable, long-relief backup plan to Burnett than the other way around. Ultimately, though, you want to go with your best, and Vazquez at his peak is a better bet than Burnett.

The Yankees have plenty of time to decide. Nevertheless, they have to start preparing for the postseason. That means getting the starting pitchers and position players their proper rest; getting Pettitte, Lance Berkman and Alex Rodriguez healthy; and figuring out if anything can be done to fix Derek Jeter.

The club's playoff chances look excellent, but not so much on the American League East title. With Tampa Bay's 6-2 victory over Toronto, the Yankees and Rays share the division penthouse for an eighth straight day.

"The division is very important, and I would love to have the home-field advantage," Girardi said. "But you can't do that at the risk of injuring someone. That's the one thing you have to avoid during this."

Putting Vazquez back in the rotation, immediately, entails no risk. It carries only a potential playoff payoff.