The ball was in Johnny Damon’s glove…kinda.  And then it just popped out tonight in the bottom of the eighth inning as Jon Inglett went on to score the winning run from first for the Blue Jays with two outs.  2-1, Blue Jays take the opener.

It wasn’t just Johnny’s fault though.  Should he have been in center after playing left all year?  Well, that may explain one dropped ball, but the one he botched in the eighth was his second of the game.  What about Darrell Rasner?  Hell no.  Since mid-July, he’s been the 2008 Yankees’ answer to Aaron Small from a couple years back.

What about A-Rod getting nailed at second base after not hustling out of the box?  YES Network apologists notwithstanding, this was a dumb-ass move by the reigning MVP.  He didn’t hustle to first then tried to leg out a double on a blooper down the line.  If he runs the whole way, he makes it.  But he didn’t.  The leadoff man in the ninth should have been on second.  Then B.J. (why does an adult choose to call himself this?) Ryan closed the door.

Sure it’s one loss…but it’s the kind of loss playoff-bound teams don’t have.

All the Matsuis, (cough) Pavanos (cough), Hughes and Jobas in the world can’t save this season.

Let’s take a look at tonight’s defining moment:

Robinson Cano doesn’t run hard on a base hit to center to lead off the second inning, but still, somehow, winds up on third with no one out. Yet the Yankees fail to score as I-Rod pops out and Melky “Why isn’t Damon playing?” Cabrera grounds into a double play.

And that really seemed to be all she wrote as brand new dad, and latest Yankee-killer, Glen Perkins shutout the Bombers for eight innings.

It was pathetic…I think. To be fair I started to switch over to women’s beach volleyball and the Michael Phelps show over on NBC. Sure, I flipped back to the YES Network but it was only for a pit stop. The Yankees looked lost.

In fact, I’ve found myself doing that a lot recently. Like when the Yanks wasted Dan Giese’s six innings of one run ball this past Saturday. The Halos then pasted the bullpen for eight runs in the eighth inning which was about when I found myself curious about men’s archery.

Of course, it’s a rough patch in the schedule…but the Yankees have looked disgraceful against baseball’s best teams. In today’s game, a run in the second may have changed the complexion of a game against a guy who’s ERA against the Yanks so far this year was 9.00. But not today…not after Cabrera’s twin killing.  There was little doubt in my mind that they would roll over after that.

Is it all over for the Bombers? I’ve never been that much of an alarmist, so I don’t think the season’s lost. Still, this stretch could be what drowned the Yanks if we look back and see no playoff games in the Stadium’s final season.

The Yanks have two more against Minnesota before they can come home and bottom feed off the Royals on Friday. Before then, I hope I’m watching a little bit less of the Olympics.

Yankee team ERA in games that Pudge has caught: 7.80

Team ERA with Molina behind the plate: Awesome (sorry, couldn’t find that one…).

I’m not sayin’…I’m just sayin’…

Sure, it’s only five games for Pudge…and yes, those were games against the Angels and the Rangers…but the Yankee pitching has taken a turn for the worse with Pudge Rodriguez as the everyday catcher. He did call seven-innings of shutout ball for Sidney Ponson against Ervin Santana last week, but otherwise it’s been ugly. Aside from that Ponson game (a 1-0 loss), the last time a Yankee starter pitched well was when Mike Mussina got the win in an 8-2 victory over Angels — a game caught by Jose Molina.

Now, I’m not calling Pudge a bad signal caller, but Molina seems to have a certain knack. Let’s look at last night. Ponson struggles badly giving up two runs (and what should have been more) in two innings with Pudge behind the plate. Pudge gets knocked out of the game saving a third run and Molina comes in…Yankee pitching then only lets up one run the rest of the game.

Perhaps the data sample is too small to say anything at all…and again Pudge’s games have been against two teams that can really score runs. But I’m starting to wonder if Pudge’s offense is worth losing Molina behind the plate…

The Yankees have to be content. 2-for-4 against an Angels team that just beat the crap out of Boston is pretty good. Some may argue that the Halos gave this game away today. Sure, four errors and ten unearned runs is not pretty. But at the same time the Yanks did something with their extra at-bats and that is critical.

And just look at the new guys hit. Xavier Nady with his six RBI. Pudge with a home run…

So what happens to Darrell Rasner who got mauled today (five runs in four innings)? Ian Kennedy is getting a starting spot and either Rasner or Sidney Ponson is taking the hit. Who sits??? Rasner who has been consistently just below average all year or Ponson who somehow has managed to turn 111 hits in 89.1 innings into a 6-2 record. And yes, he did look impressive Friday against the Angels by tossing seven innings of two-hit ball.

Tough call…the almost average farmhand or the career underachiever who’s winning for some reason… I want to say Ponson should go because he feels like a ticking time bomb to me, but at the same time I find him fascinating. How long can he keep giving up this absurd number of hits and still win ballgames? It’s like watching a guy on a greased tightrope slowly wobble his way along. You’re almost sure that he’ll fall, the question is…when?

In the end, this question probably won’t matter as Phil Hughes will be back soon and given a chance to join Kennedy in the rotation. Meanwhile, Rasner and Ponson will be watching, hoping Hughes continues to be a chronic injury problem.

Hangovers ARE no fun…like the one the Yankees experienced last night when they hosted Baltimore. The 13-4 loss was an experience in emotional letdown compounded by 4am arrival back in New York. It’s hard to blame the Yanks who just went through the emotional high of having their season become relevant again up in Boston. Still, it would also be hard to blame any Yankee ticket holder who demanded his/her money back last night (seats ain’t cheap these days).

Where to start?…Mike Mussina. He’s not getting old and alarmists don’t have to worry that the magic ride is over yet…Moose just looked bad and also had key defensive lapses behind him. Jason Giambi let a ball past him for a key double to start the fifth. To that point the Yanks were still in the game, down 4-0. A few hits later it was 6-0 and the wheels pretty much fell off.

Later in the game Bobby Abreu once again proved he’s chronically afraid of the right field wall while the Yankee bullpen looked mortal for the first time in recent memory. All said, it was a game to forget about and move on from.

If there’s any consolation from getting whupped like that, it’s knowing that the Sox and the Rays also lost last night. Now, the Yanks will take another crack at the last place O’s with Daniel Cabrera (who has had some career days against the Yankees) going against Daryl Rasner.

Sure, the Yankees lost the last game of their three game set against the Red Sox yesterday, but they proved they can match, and defeat, Boston’s pitching. It was only after the Red Sox teed off on a soon to be gone Sidney Ponson that they took control of the final game of the series. However, over the weekend, the Yankees accomplished quite a bit.

They shaved one game off the lead Boston had over them in the Wild Card standings.

The Yankees’ best (Joba) outpitched the Sox best (Beckett).

Xavier Nady is now in left field and the bottom part of the order looks respectable again.

Damaso Marte is also now a Yankee and he struck out Big Papi in an important situation on Saturday.

Not bad. But now it’s back to business against the O’s and then the Halos come to town. After that it’s off to Josh Hamilton’s home in Texas…

Now, in the coming days there will be a lot of speculation about the Yankees trading for a starter to replace Ponson. I think replacing Ponson is important. However, much of the speculation is currently around Jarrod Washburn (Stats) of Seattle coming to New York in exchange for prospects. Bad idea. It’s not to say that Washburn would be a bad number five guy on the Yanks, but with a season ERA of 4.50, it ain’t worth it.

Ian Kennedy will soon be available. Phil Hughes will follow shortly thereafter. If the Yankee brass had enough faith to start the season with these two in their starting five, they should stick with them now. One of them should get Ponson’s job.

Yes, 2008 did not start well for either…Kennedy has a 7.41 ERA in eight starts. Hughes’ ERA is even higher at 9.00 after six starts. However, a combined 14 starts is no reason to trash a couple of guys who have shown as much promise as these two have. To think one of them cannot pitch with an ERA around 4.50 the rest of the year would mean the Yankees badly misjudged their worth.

Now, you could argue that the two young Yankee starters still need to go through growing pains before they can help the team and a pennant race is no place for such development. Additionally, you can argue that Washburn’s veteran experience is exactly what the Yankees need through the rest of the year and into the post-season. I suppose. But these two kids are supposed to be better than an overpaid number five starter. They have shown flashes of this in 2007. If the Yankees really want to go for a championship this year, they take a chance on one of the kids pitching like an ace.

Washburn is the type of pitcher that will do enough for the Yankees in the regular season and then get battered in the post-season. That’s not enough. If you recall, Hughes won the only post-season game for the Yankees last year by pitching an impressive game.

He, or Kennedy, should get the chance to win important games once again in ‘08.

I felt bad for Warner Madrigal tonight.

Poor kid.  His first appearance in the big leagues and he sets off an offensive explosion for the Yankees.  His hair was puffed out the side of his hat indicating that he, Warner Madrigal, was young and ungroomed unlike the veteran players around him.  He was an innocent pup taking the mound in the seventh inning against Bobby Abreu, Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi.  Just 24 years old, the neophyte from the Dominican allowed six of the seven batters he faced to reach base safely and absorbed six earned runs.  Warner also picked up the loss.

This, however, was good news for the Yankees who turned a 7-6 seventh inning deficit into a 12-7 lead — and ultimately a 18-7 victory — fighting back with a punch rarely seen this year.  The key hit was Jason Giambi’s two-run double to the left-center gap that gave the Yanks the lead.  Yes, for the love of God, he hit the ball to the left-center gap.  Damn.

From there, the rest of the crew laid into Warner and Jamey Wright.  A-Rod even hit home run number 17/535…yes, he’s good.  And no, I don’t believe he’s the devil for skipping the home run derby.  All A-Rod has to do is look across the clubhouse at Bobby Abreu to see how a home run contest can mess with a guy’s swing for a year or so.  I’d rather see him do right by the Yankees, not MLB.

So, here the Yankees sit, 7.5 games behind the Rays — the RAYS! — and 4 behind Boston who are in town starting tomorrow.  Sure, Tampa sits atop the majors, but until they crack the post-season, my money’s still on another Yanks-Sox battle in the AL East.

Lester vs. Pettitte in round one tomorrow in the Bronx.

I made it to the front end of today’s doubleheader and saw enough baseball to last a week. About four hours for eight pitchers to throw close to 400 pitches. I hardly cared who won after the Mets’ 15-6 drubbing of the Yanks was all over.

The big story was the Mets and Carlos Delgado’s nine RBI (a record for a visitor to Yankee Stadium…A-Rod holds the overall record at ten) so I made my way to the visitors’ clubhouse area. It was a crunch between games as the Mets had 20 minutes to get their things and get on their police-escorted bus to Shea. The media was directed into two circles in which three players and manager Jerry Manuel were rotated in and out. Delgado was a happy camper, but part of you could tell that he wanted to tell the media to shove it since every outlet in the city’s been calling for his head. Perhaps that inspired the .233 hitter to have a big day.

Now I see that Sidney Ponson went six shutout innings in a 9-0 revenge match at Shea. I’m not placing the ranch on this one panning out yet. Seriously, Ponson’s still listed at 6′1″, 258. He sweats when he’s standing still. Until my man sheds some pounds, I’m predicting his second term with the Yanks will be short.

Nonetheless, it’s always nice to see the Yanks beat Pedro.

Before closing, I have one comment on the media’s clear bias in favor of the Yankees over the Mets (which then helps, to some degree, sway public opinion). A colleague up at the stadium, Rich, griped about how he’s given up on being a Met fan after the Willie Randolph firing. Then he seemed to get to the heart of the matter just a little bit more. “They treat you with respect at Yankee Stadium. It’s a class act around here.” And it certainly is. Although media access to players leaves a bit to be desired, the Yankees certainly provide cushy work spaces for the press, keep everything clean and everyone who works there is happy and happy to see you. More importantly, the food is GOOD…famously better than the food at Shea (think high school cafeteria). Today I ate a full plate of eggs, bacon, hash browns, fried chicken and a mini-muffin before putting together a turkey sandwich from the cold cut platter to bring upstairs and eat during the game. As for Shea, let’s just say the last time I ate a full press meal I was on the throne for an inning and a half.

Simply put, the press gets the royal treatment at Yankee Stadium. At Shea, the security often looks at me like I’m trying to steal something. The inside workings of Shea are a dump. There is no space for the media to work besides back upstairs at their game seats (a real pain if you have a deadline or want to keep electronics dry when it rains and water leaks through the ceiling) and paint is peeling off the walls. Hopefully, it’s a lot better next year at the new place.

Now, you could have a worse life than working baseball games at Shea for a living. But when a press member sees his favorite manager go out in the middle of the night AND he’s not fed well…it may be just enough to start influencing some columns.

First of all, I gotta say I was surprised to hear that ex-Yank Shawn Chacon is in trouble for assaulting his boss, GM Ed Wade down in Houston.  Chacon’s side of the story is that Wade got in his face and the GM wouldn’t stop yelling.  That’s when the veteran pitcher slammed Wade to the ground by his neck.

Frankly, I’m stunned.  Back when I covered the Yanks in the ‘05 and ‘06 seasons, Chacon often appeared to be a few hours removed from a session with the peace pipe.  In my interactions with the guy, he was nothing but relaxed and pleasant, exercising a vocabulary that including surfer terminology.  I recall him admitting to “taking a serious digger” once when he slipped on the field.

Still, he choked his boss.  I don’t see the mellow reputation saving him.

As for the Yanks, it’s been a typical two-game stretch where the world has both deemed the season over and then praised them for getting hot at the right time.  I love this town. 

The fact is, Joe Girardi did what he needed to do after Tuesday night’s loss by tearing into his team.  Tuesday was pitiful.  Jeter and Abreu swinging against Tom Gorzelanny after the Pittsburgh starter walked Daryl Rasner (a pitcher) and then Melky Cabrera on four pitches.  The result, of course, was a fielder’s choice ground out and a double play against a guy that couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. 

I turned off the game after that…the Yanks were destined to lose.

As for last night, the Yanks got the message.  When I saw Bobby Abreu leg out a single in the first and then Alex Rodriguez go hard into second to force a wide throw from Jack Wilson — allowing two runs two score on what would have been an inning-ending double play — I knew the Yanks were going to win.   The fire was there last night.

This weekend it’s the Mets…I’ll be at the Yankee Stadium end of things to watch Dan Giese take on Mike Pelfrey.  I hope, somehow, Hank Steinbrenner has Willie Randolph back in a Yankee uniform either tomorrow or at least to showcase at the All-Star game.  What happened to him was awful.  He’d be a great mentor to some of the young players on the Yankees and is the kind of guy who excels in a professional atmosphere…something that I hear was lacking across town.

I like this guy. Always have…I’ve been watching Joe Girardi on the tube tonight and have seen a couple of moves I’ve found impressive.

First, when Melky Cabrera lined out hard in his first at-bat you could see Joe trying to catch Melky’s eye while the center fielder was putting his helmet back in the cubbie. Moments later the camera panned back to Joe, with his back to the game, talking to Melky and seemingly offering encouragement to the struggling young player. The next time up Melky hit a double. Now, Melky may have hit a double regardless of Girardi’s pep talk, but all players — particularly young ones — need encouragement from time to time.

Second, Darrell Rasner has just finished the top of the fifth inning and has struggled, yet managed to keep his team ahead 4-2 to this point. Once again, Girardi is up and this time talking to Rasner. Maybe it’s the teacher in me, but I can’t help but find this mentality refreshing in a world of laissez faire managing.

The Yankees are getting hot right now, and I begin to wonder if Joe G’s personality is beginning to take hold on a club that may have felt a bit unstable without Joe Torre anymore. The jury is still out, and the Yankees are not hot enough to get too excited, but it’s nice to see a coach connecting with his players.