Yankees Drop To 3 1/2 Back; Starting To Fight With One Another

What a wonderful loss for the Yankees last night as Horacio Ramirez (Horacio Ramirez???) made the Yankees look foolish, ultimately silencing their bats, handing them a 5-2 loss. With the Boston win, the Yankees fall back to 3 1/2 out of first place and 6 1/2 out of the Wild Card. Though the season is only about half-over, the slow decline in the standings is something that Yankee fans should get used to.

Believe it or not, Wright finally pitched a pretty good game but it was the lack of offense that killed the Yankees last night. That offense, supposedly the best in MLB, could barely put up two runs against one of the worst teams in the National League.

Who is to blame? Is it Johnny Damon, with his lackluster evening, stranding two runners on base by striking out looking in the 7th? Is it Ron Villone, whose first pitch was a home run to Adam Laroche, giving the Braves the needed insurance runs? Is it Kyle Farnsworth who has everyone shocked because he is showing his true colors and isn't a quality pitcher like many Yankee fans would like to believe? Or is it Gay-Rod, who once again failed miserably by going 0-for-4 (one hit in his last 14 at-bats) and striking out as the tying run in the 8th inning? They are all at fault and are wildly overpaid players who can't get the job done when it is needed most.

And the Yankee "Boo-Birds" came out in full effect last night, letting their displeasure be known to Gay-Rod every time he made an out. Now Gay-Rod has acknowledged that it is affecting him. Awww, poor guy. I can't imagine why people would be upset with you when you are being paid $25 million/year and you just can't produce. Hey, Gay-Rod: You said you wanted to play in New York all your life. You know what comes with the territory - lame-ass fans that will turn on you in a second if you don't produce. So don't start your crying now. You could have easily stayed in Texas and been a perennial loser. You didn't need to come to the Yankees to make that a success.

The "Boo-Birds" were also all over Farnsworth last night as he left the game. No surprise there. When has that guy ever been better than "average" in his career? And now he is getting a huge paycheck from the Yankees to assist in losing games for them?

The Yanks can feel themselves slipping in the standings too. The pressure is starting to get to them as Jorge Posada and Farnsworth got in a heated argument after Posada was crossed-up on a Farnsworth pitch. Posada called time, approached the mound, and had a fiery conversation with Farnsworth. Slightly thereafter he walked away disgusted, causing pitching coach Ron Guidry to come out and try to calm some nerves. After the game both players claimed that there was no disagreement. I know what I saw. Other people know what they saw. Hell, even the Yankees resident bitch, Michael Kay was flapping his gums about it as it was happening. Note to the Yankees: this is just the beginning. The side effects of this inevitable slide will be much worse. Just wait until you drop the series to the most loved team in New York, the Mets this weekend and fall further out of the playoff hunt. You'll have the New York press after you and then crusty,old George Steinbrenner will be on all your cases, making the situation worse by calling you out individually. It's just a matter of time.

The Yankees play the rubber game of this Braves series in less than an hour. Chien-Ming Waaaaaah vs. John Smoltz. I like Smoltz in this one. If the Yankees lose this series - especially due to the lack of production from Gay-Rod, be prepared for the attack of the New York press.