Davidoff: Vazquez can't shake past as Bosox gain life

The Red Sox now stand as a long shot to make the playoffs, but don't take my word for it.

"At this point we'll need another miracle," John Henry, Boston's principal owner, told AOL FanHouse on Friday.

Wow. I'm sure financial genius Henry didn't mean for it to come out like that, but way to express faith in your organization.

So with a comfortable six-game lead (seven in the loss column) to start this wrap-around weekend series, the Yankees could have viewed the four-game set as a chance to squash their rivals, and also as a simulation for October pressure without the consequences.

Give the team a failing grade for the former Friday night, and Javier Vazquez one for the latter.

If you think the righthander, who was rocked in relief in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox, has busted that ghost, then you didn't hear the Yankee Stadium fans get on him as the second inning turned into a nightmare. Or again in the sixth, when Vazquez earned his ticket out of what wound up a 6-3 loss to Boston in this series opener. He gave up six runs (three earned) and six hits in 51/3 innings, walking four and striking out five.

His fastball spent most of the game at about 87 mph, a drop in velocity, a development for which no one had an explanation.

"Definitely, I wanted to do the job out there today, throw the ball better than I did," Vazquez said. "But a couple pitches here and there . . . ''

Remember, the previous time the Yankees played Boston, May 17-18 at the Stadium. Vazquez pitched in relief the first night because the Yankees rearranged their starting rotation to avoid starting him against the Red Sox.

Since that victorious relief appearance, Vazquez had made 13 starts and put up a 3.36 ERA. Opposing hitters had recorded just a .274 on-base percentage and .405 slugging percentage against him. If you were an optimist, you thought he had moved beyond his past reputation as a guy who wilts under pressure.

All we saw, however, was more adversity for Vazquez. With the Yankees up 2-1, and with Adrian Beltre on second and one out in the top of the second, Mike Lowell hit a harmless pop fly up the first-base line. Francisco Cervelli, Vazquez's catcher during this run of strong pitching, was somewhat impeded by Vazquez and dropped the ball in fair territory, allowing Beltre to trot to third in the process.

"I just dropped it," Cervelli said. Vazquez said he should've called off his catcher, and Joe Girardi indicated that perhaps Vazquez was right. The Red Sox went on to score three runs with two outs, thanks to two walks and a two-run double.

"That play's over with," Vazquez said. "I still have to concentrate. I still have to make pitches."

Girardi, ever the optimist, credited Vazquez for hanging around until the sixth inning, when he gave up a two-run blast to Ryan Kalish. Earlier in the year, Girardi said, Vazquez wouldn't have made it that far. Eh.

It says here that the notion of being a "clutch" player can be overstated, and that it's remarkably simple to transition from unclutch to clutch. Nevertheless, you can bank on those "clutch" doubts surrounding Vazquez come October, when - as of now - you'd write him into the Yankees' starting rotation.

The 2004 Red Sox can take credit for dirtying Vazquez's name. The 2010 Red Sox don't seem likely to duplicate their baseball ancestors, even as they picked up ground on both the Yankees and Tampa Bay (2-1 losers to Toronto) for the first time since July 2.

Yet for one night, these Sawx at least managed to aggravate an open wound in the Bronx.