Bronx, N.Y., June 8, 2004 — When Javier Vazquez was acquired from the Expos during the offseason, the Yanks got themselves a great pitcher with lots of skill, but one who had a losing record in six years in Montreal. They were confident in the skill, but Yankee fans had to wonder if the kid could win in the big city.

After a promising start and a 3-1 win over the White Sox on Opening Day, Vazquez appeared to be on his way. He was even better in losing to Pedro Martinez and the Red Sox on May 25 on one bad pitch to Manny Ramirez. He had taken the ball in an early-season game on three days’ rest, and performed beyond expectations. And his first two months-plus in Pinstripes have certainly been more good than bad.

But although he has a good fastball, he throws a lot of offspeed pitches, and observers who measure pitching prowess and potential solely on the readings of a speed gun were less than impressed. He had a few bad games, and found himself with an under-.500 record in New York for a bit. Although few denied his talent, the concern was real that the result of a wedding of young Vazquez and the Bronx would be emblematic of that May 25 loss, and of the six years in Montreal: a great pitcher who did everything good but consistently win games.

But you can banish those thoughts. Young Javy has come into his own. His numbers in the Yanks’s opening interleague game against the Colorado Rockies are fully deserving of the kinds of reviews that win Tony Awards on the Great White Way. Mike Mussina wowed the Stadium in a 2-1 sparkler on Sunday that was competed in a crisp 2:12. The unheard of time was attained because Texas righty contributed to the hurry-up pace, and because Mike kept his pitch count down.

Moose threw 11 pitches in each of the first four frames for a four-inning count of 44. On Tuesday night Vazquez retired the first 12 Rockies to stride to the plate to get through four frames on just 42 tosses. Mike threw 18 of 27 first-pitch strikes and 68 of 98 for strikes. Very good, but Javy threw an amazing 21 of 26 first pitches for strikes, and his strikes-to-balls ratio was 66-to-29. Mussina did manage to strike out 10 while Vazquez whiffed only six, it’s true, but on Sunday four of those punch-outs came via called strikes from home plate ump Tim Welke; both Yankee hurlers got six guys swinging. Both guys managed that by being able to overpower batters with their fastballs after mesmerizing them on much softer stuff. But although Mike got the Rangers to swing and miss 13 times, Javy successfully threw 16 pitches past hard-swung wooden clubs. In 24 2004 games during which I’ve kept track, the only Yankee starter who has bested Javy’s 16 this night also wore 33 on his back. Young Vazquez blew 22 throws past swinging Red Sox bats in that fateful loss to Martinez back on May 25.

With all that, though, this game was even more of a nail-biter than Mussina’s 2-1 win Sunday. The Yanks have solved Jeff Fassero numerous times in the past, but they hit very few hard off him Tuesday. It seemed when they waited him out, they were successful in getting walks (four, in 5.7 frames), but they just couldn’t wait that long. Hideki Matsui threatened to hit a booming homer to Death Valley the opposite way as the home team’s second batter (ex-Met Jeromy Burnitz made a fine running catch a few feet short of the fence), and it seemed the Yanks spent the rest of the time trying to duplicate the left fielder’s feat while adding a couple of feet to its length.

They got two on base in the second inning via a Sheffield walk and a Posada single, but Sierra forced Shef at third on a two-foot grounder and Cairo lined to left. Fassero was not as lucky in the third, but virtually none of the almost 52,000 in attendance suspected that the Yankee offense was done when Posada grounded to second to close that frame. The Bombers loaded the bases on one-out singles by Williams and Matsui and a two-out walk to Sheffield. Giambi hopped the first Fassero pitch down the line past Todd Helton at first and the Yanks had the only two tallies they would need, or get, in this game. They managed a single in the fourth, a walk in the fifth, and Fassero passed the baton to young righthander Tim Harikkala after the home team both walked and singled in the sixth. The Rockie reliever fell to 3-0 to Enrique Wilson, but he recovered to fly him out to left, and a Giambi one-out walk in the eight was the only other baserunner the Yanks would have.

It was important, therefore, that Vazquez maintain his intensity, and he did after surviving a bump in the road in the fifth. He popped Vinnie Castilla to second leading off to retire the first 13 Rockies up, but Burnitz and rookie left fielder Holliday stroked one-out singles to right. Lefty DH Mark Sweeney battled Javy gamely, fouling off two straight 2-2 pitches and then lifting a soft liner into the right field corner that Ruben Sierra, playing out there yet again for the flu-slowed Sheffield, couldn’t get to before it bounced, and the Rockies had halved the lead. Vazquez toughened and struck out ex-Yankee Todd Greene and Luis Gonzalez on seven pitches to preserve the meager advantage.

Vazquez got through the sixth on a mere nine pitches despite the Miles bouncer up the middle that surprisingly eluded Wilson, playing short while Jeter continues to have his injury treated. After a sacrifice, Todd Helton’s first-pitch, on-the-nose liner was hit right at Giambi at first, and Castilla bounced to third on the next pitch. But while Javy got through four batters on nine tosses in the seventh, three Rockies forced him to throw more than twice that many in the seventh. After already hurting the Yankee righty with his rbi single, Sweeney did the most damage, costing Vazquez eight pitches before bouncing to Cairo to end the inning. So when Greene stroked a first-pitch single on Vazquez’s 95th pitch to start the eighth, Joe Torre summoned Tom Gordon.

There was a play in the eighth that could have been a turning point. Miles scarificed Choo Freeman, running for Greene, to second on a play where Jason Giambi awkwardly but effectively bounced a throw to Cairo at first for the out. The ensuing 1-2 pitch to Royce Clayton appeared to be a ball; it was recorded that way on the scoreboard anyway. When the ball hopped out of Posada’s glove momentarily, Freeman broke for third, and he beat Jorge’s throw. But Posada protested and Freeman was sent back to second base. If the ball was actually fouled, the scoreboard recorded it incorrectly. I believe rather that it was a ball, but that when it popped out of Jorge’s glove it became a dead ball because it hit Clayton’s bat, but you who had the opportunity to see TV replay have the advantage over me there. It’s important because Clayton then bounced hard to Cairo, a ball that certainly would have gone through with the infield in and scored Freeman. As it was, Choo merely moved to third, and did not score when Helton followed with a grounder to first for the third out.

There was just a bit more drama left, as Mariano Rivera came out for the ninth to face the Rockies’ three best hitters. He pegged Castilla out himself on a swinging bunt, but Burnitz singled his next pitch to left. Mo overpowered Holliday with high heat for a five-pitch K, and Sweeney came to bat with Hocking running for Burnitz down at first. Perhaps most were surprised when Hocking broke for second on the 2-2 pitch, but Posada calmy flicked a throw from his knees to Cairo, who tagged the pinch runner out to end the game.

Although the Yankee organization and their fans were reluctant to ship Nick Johnson and Juan Rivera to the Expos for Javier Vazquez, most were confident the Yanks were getting a good young starter in return. After an outing like this one and the five-hitter over seven innings to beat the Orioles last Thursday, I think the 40,000 plus that day and the 50,000-plus who stayed to the end for this one believe what I do: We no longer just have the best pitcher with a losing record in baseball.

Tuesday morning much of the planet’s population witnessed a celestial marvel, as our close neighbor Venus moved across the sun’s face, transforming itself, from our perspective, from an evening to a morning star. With Tuesday’s win, Vazquez’s career mark is now 68-68. He is no longer in the red. Fifty thousand Yankee fans just witnessed No. 33 become a star as well.

BTW,TYW

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!