Yankees will skip Vazquez's turn in Boston

Javier Vazquez's struggles have apparently forced the Yankees' hand.

Manager Joe Girardi announced Monday that the team will push back the righthander's next scheduled start so he'll face the Detroit Tigers on the road next Monday instead of the Red Sox at Fenway Park Friday.

"We're going to give him a couple days to catch his breath," Girardi said during his pregame news conference. "We're just going to move him back a few days, give him a couple of bullpen sessions and see where we're at."

Vazquez is 1-3 and has a 9.78 ERA after allowing five runs on seven hits in three innings of Saturday's 7-6 loss to the White Sox. The pitcher was not available for comment before the start of last night's series opener against Baltimore, but Girardi told reporters Vazquez was eager to get back on the field.

"I said, 'You know what, Javy, I know you want to get right back out there and we want you to get right back out there. I just think, it's my personal opinion, that a couple of days might help you,' " Girardi said.

The manager said the heated Red Sox-Yankees rivalry was not the sole factor in the decision.

"I know everyone's going to think it's because of the Red Sox," he said. "But at some point you have to do something a little differently after you've had five starts and he's struggled."

Though general manager Brian Cashman said he has concerns about Vazquez's diminished velocity, he said the pitcher insists he's healthy and no tests are scheduled. Whether Vazquez's struggles are mental, mechanical or both remains to be seen. But for now, the Yankees said they will do whatever they can to ensure Vazquez's location and the velocity on his fastball return.

"We'll keep trying," Cashman said. "I know he's committed to try to figure it out for obviously his team . . . the fans. He's frustrated. He's hurting right now. And I want to make sure that we collectively find a way to get this thing right."

But for all the Yankees' optimism, there also is realism. "He's not the first one that's struggled and he won't be the last," Cashman said. "I don't think it's going to be - shazam! - a lights-out Javy Vazquez start that we saw obviously last year. I think we're going to wind up building up to that."

Said Girardi: "This is a hard game. When you're out there struggling, it could be a lonely place."