"The wallpaper on Javier Vazquez's computer shows him in happier times. He is standing along the New Jersey waterfront, the Manhattan skyline behind him, with his wife and three children. A wide smile creases his face.

As recently as late July, Vazquez was an anchor of the Yankees' rotation. Now he seems in jeopardy of not being part of their postseason bullpen. When he comes to the ballpark these days, he never knows if he will pitch. Chances are, he will not. Since moving to the bullpen after his Sept. 10 start in Texas - his second trip to the bullpen in three weeks - Vazquez had gone unused until coming in in the seventh inning Tuesday.

Asked before Tuesday's game to describe Vazquez's role, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi said: "He can be used short, long, a lot of different things. We could use him for multiple innings, to get certain hitters out. We can do a lot of different things with him.""