Can Vazquez turn it around at home Saturday?

Javier Vazquez is running out of chances to prove he belongs.

The harder he tries to win over Yankees fans, the faster he self-destructs, leaving a trail of burning questions in his wake. Vazquez (1-3, 9.00 ERA) gets a chance to turn it around Saturday against the team he pitched for from 2006-2008.

But while patience may be running thin among fans, manager Joe Girardi refuses to see Vazquez as an American League dud or a pitcher who can't handle the pressures of playing in pinstripes.

"I don't say, 'What's our alternative?' because that's a negative thought and I can't do my job as a manager that way," Girardi said before Friday's series opener. "Javy's pitched at a very high level. And he's struggled this year, but four starts, or five starts, or six, doesn't make a season."

It's almost fitting that Vazquez will face Chicago and former manager Ozzie Guillen, who criticized his lack of heart and said he wasn't a "big-game pitcher."

Girardi thinks he could simply be trying too hard. "You see a lot of the starting pitchers pitching at a high level and you want to feel like you're part of it," he said. "You want to get in the parade. You want to prove you're worthy of being a Yankee and performing at a high level."

Apology accepted

Jorge Posada said he harbors no ill will toward Jeremy Guthrie, who plunked the catcher behind the right knee Wednesday night.

The Orioles starter apologized Thursday, but Posada said he has no issues with Guthrie, whom the Yanks will face again next week when the Orioles visit the Bronx. "I didn't see anything wrong with what he did and I don't think he needed to say what he said but it's good that he said it," said Posada, who pinch hit and struck out Friday night.