Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Here is my Sunday Insider, which focuses on Luis Sojo and his tenuous grip on the job of Team Venezuela manager in the World Baseball Classic.

Here is the Seventh-Inning Stretch.

Hope you're having a great weekend. Matt T., we did a second run at Bay Burger yesterday, to show friends how good it is.

Let's try getting back to baseball.

Have you been following the dispute between Pedro Alvarez and the Pirates? Fascinating stuff, and very unfortunate for Alvarez, who played his high school ball at Horace Mann School in New York City.

It seems to me that Scott Boras doesn't have much of a case here. But what struck me most was this statement that Pirates president Frank Coonelly released.

It's a very combative statement, wouldn't you agree? It's full of shots at Boras, with whom Coonelly battled in Coonelly's previous job as Major League Baseball's "slot" enforcer. Coonelly did all he could, as was his job, to convince clubs to adhere to the amateur draft slot figures established by MLB.

I was bothered by Coonelly's accusing Boras of hypocrisy _ trying to invalidate the Alvarez deal because it was finalized minutes after the Aug. 15 deadline, but not challenging Kansas City's deal with Boras advisee Eric Hosmer even though that took a few minutes longer than Alvarez's to complete _ because I think Coonelly himself is a hypocrite.

Coonelly spent years pleading with teams not to pay above slot. Then, in his very first drat pick as Pirates president...he paid Alvarez $2 million above slot. That's the essence of "Do as I say, not as I do," isn't it?

Who, I thought, was Coonelly to be claiming the moral high ground over Boras?

I e-mailed this sentiment to Coonelly, and to his credit, he called me back and we talked it out.

"I'm now the president of the Pittsburgh Pirates," Coonelly said. "It's different job, a
different role. My job was to recommend that teams not overspend on draft picks. Now I'm representing the Pirates. Sometimes teams' interests are wholly aligned with those of baseball, and sometimes they're not."

Alvarez's slotted signing bonus was $4 million. Coonelly said that he knew that Alvarez would cost more than that the slot, but that he felt the Pirates had such a need for top-flight talent that paying over slot was worth it.

"To be burdened by my former role would be a disservice to my new employers and fans," Coonelly said. "If I had not drafted Alvarez just because of my former job, my owner should've fired me."

I agreed with him - drafting Alvarez was the right thing to do, and I hope the two sides can work through these differences and Alvarez can begin his professional career with the Pirates. But, I suggested to Coonelly, there was a trade-off. In return for doing the right thing for the Pirates, he had opened himself to criticism because he so directly and so quickly contradicted his previous mission.

Coonelly didn't seem altogether offended by that statement.

I've heard only good things about Coonelly from industry people, and I think he and his general manager Neal Huntington are off to a promising start. I think they're going to wind up looking all right from the trades that sent Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady to the Yankees and Jason Bay to the Red Sox.

But our past is part of whom we are, whether it's baseball or politics. And if Coonelly is going to get all high and mighty with Boras, then I think it's fair to call out Coonelly for his own personal inconsistencies.

P.S. Because of this case, Major League Baseball has now disallowed Hosmer from playing until the Alvarez mess is settled, Jon Heyman reports here.

1. The Mets, locked in a dogfight with the Phillies, will take two of three games from the Marlins. Oddly, on Saturday morning _ hours before his start _ Mike Pelfrey will further increase his workload by participating in a lobster-eating contest at Joe's Stone Crab. "It was my idea," Jerry Manuel will say. "I told you there would be some damage to some folks in order to achieve our goals."

2. The Yankees will close out their homestand by dropping two of three games to the Blue Jays. Tonight Carl "American Idle" Pavano will allow five runs in 3 2/3 innings tonight, his first Yankee Stadium start since 2007 Opening Day, and Yankees fans will struggle with a difficult decision: Whom to boo more, Pavano or A-Rod?

3. Here is my column on Brian Cashman. Look, by virutally any measure, this has been an extremely disappointing season for the Yankees. But it's clear that Cashman has a plan. Will that plan work? Beats me. But it's a better plan than the 2002-05 idea of "Let's throw money at every player we can, and in the rare instance when we have a good prospect, let's trade him!"

The plan deserves another year to flesh itself out, and Cashman is clearly going to get that opportunity if he wants it.

4. I enjoyed that Hank Steinbrenner publicly proclaimed the Yankees' interest in CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett. If you're wondering whether this constitutes tampering, the answer is no, because such a sentiment is tampering only if it's spoken by someone who would actually have a role in recruiting the free agents.

5. Since we've been living in Newsday territory for two weeks, my son is actually reading the newspaper, which is nice. And many of you will surely be pleased to know that he is now referring to the Yankees' third baseman as "A-Flop."

Have a great holiday weekend, and thanks to the IMDb for the photo.

Don't tell my competition, but I spoke to Brian Cashman prior to today's Red Sox-Yankees game and intend to write about him for tomorrow's Newsday.

When I asked Cashman whether spending nine figures on another team's free agent would be inconsistent with his philosophies of building from within, not overspending and over-committing years and avoiding risk on big-league veterans who might not feel comfortable with New York, here is how he responded:

"No, not necessarily. Ultimately, what I feel is a strong reluctance to trade three or four assets to another team and then sign him to a multi-year contract. If you trade for a guy, give up three or four assets (and then pay him), then you've crushed your payroll and your assets at the same time."

"We have a lot of stuff coming off this winter. If you choose to play in that (free-agent) marketplace, the one thing you'd be sacrificing is a draft pick ...We're very protective of our draft picks, but for the right player and the right circumstance...I've always said were still big-game hunters. We're just going to be a little more prudent when we decide to take that dip."

In the first paragraph, Cashman obviously was referring to his decision not to trade for Johan Santana last winter.

In the second paragraph, he might as well have been referring to CC Sabathia. That's the kind of high-quality free agent he was discussing.

When I asked Cashman whether he felt the Yankees needed a frontline starting pitcher, the Yankees' GM responded, "I think we have two (Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain) sitting on the DL. They're frontline starting pitchers. Obviously, as we've seen this year, you can't have enough pitching."

Based on what has transpired since the trade deadline _ the continued problems for Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, more signs of slippage from Andy Pettitte _ a Yankees run at Sabathia makes more sense than it did even a month ago. Some Yankees officials are concerned about Sabathia's workload of the past few seasons, as well they should be, but that likely won't deter them too much.

But I still think that Sabathia very much prefers the West Coast and the National League.

I don't see the Dodgers signing Manny Ramirez, not when they already have two outfielders (Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp) who need to play every day and two others (Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre) who are going to be virtually impossible to trade. The Dodgers need starting pitching. With Derek Lowe, Greg Maddux and possibly Brad Penny coming off the books, and with just one year left on the perennially injured Jason Schmidt's contract, a run at Sabathia would make a great deal of sense.

I was chatting with Johnny Damon yesterday, and we were discussing the Yankees' surprisingly impotent offense. You know, the offense that reared its ugly head once more last night, in yet another brutal loss to the Red Sox.

The Yankees entered last night having scored 635 runs for the season _ it's now 638, through 132 games _ and Damon said, "I wonder if I've ever played on a team that scored fewer runs for the season."

Off to baseball-reference.com (linked on the left) I went. Damon has played on worse offensive teams. But it has been a while. These Yankees are on a pace to score 783 runs. Here is how Damon's teams have done, going back to his first full big-league season in 1996.

2007 Yankees - 968 runs
2006 Yankees - 930
2005 Red Sox - 910
2004 Red Sox - 949
2003 Red Sox - 961
2002 Red Sox - 859
2001 A's - 884
2000 Royals - 879
1999 Royals - 856
1998 Royals - 714
1997 Royals - 747
1996 Royals - 746

Here is what went through my brain, as I complied these numbers: "1) Wow, Damon has really been on some superb offensive teams; 2) Well, to be more precise, it's not like he's just a bystander. He often has been a primary reason for teams' offensive excellence."

Anyhoo, when the Yankees put this team together, they figured they could surpass the 900 mark yet again. Why not? Any veteran attrition would be covered by growth from Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Shelley Duncan, right?

That they're on target to not even reach 800 runs is the story of their season. And to put it in perspective, let's say they had the 1999 Royals' offense. As you can see here, that club featured Damon in leftfield, AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Beltran in center, the very good Jermaine Dye in right, the decent Joe Randa at third base and a healthy Mike Sweeney at first base. It also gave a ton of plate appearances to catcher Chad Kreuter, shortstop Rey Sanchez and designated hitter Jeremy Giambi, all of whom proved well below avearge, as was highly-regarded second baseman Carlos Febles.

Through 132 games, those '99 Royals had scored 709 runs but allowed 761, resulting in a brutal, 51-81 record (thanks to Retrosheet, also linked on the left). So what if these Yankees _ who, just so we're clear, possess far more talent the '99 Royals _ had scored 709 runs, rather than their actual 638, and given up their actual 603?

Using the Pythagorean winning percentage, detailed in the middle of this item, we see that with a run differential of 709-630, the Yankees should have put up a .580 winning percentage, which computes to 77-55 after 132 games.

And that is exactly the Red Sox's record at the moment. So these Yankees didn't even need to live up to their standards of 2006 and 2007. An offense as good as the '99 Royals', a team that finished at 64-97, would have dragged the Yankees into a tie for the American League wild card.

Here is my column from last night's game. I thought Joe Girardi had interesting things to say about his dugout demeanor, and about the specter of being the guy who, in his first year on the job, ended the Yankees' 13-year playoff streak.

Here is a news story I wrote about visiting Major League Baseball's "command center" for instant replay.

And here is the evidence that Hank Steinbrenner actually attended a Yankees game. It's difficult to take seriously Hank's vows of "a lot going on this offseason," since his role is actually quite minimal.

So sorry I haven't checked in - it has been an extremely busy day.

Here is my Midweek Insider, which leads with Yogi Berra's memories of two encounters with Babe Ruth. This photo is from the first one, in 1947 at St. Louis' Sportsman's Park.

We lost the media game, 9-7, emulating the Mets. We blew a 7-1 lead, and it was 7-4 entering the last inning. I provided no help whatsoever - I went 0-for-2 strikeouts. I've never felt so old swinging a bat. Horrible. Richie G., you got a legitimate LOL from me when I read your comment, "Whatever Ken predicted about the media game, the opposite happened."

Instant trade analysis: Mark Kotsay to the Red Sox? Why not? Can't hurt Boston, which put J.D. Drew on the disabled list on Tuesday.

When you look at how the Red Sox picked up both Kotsay and Paul Byrd this month, and how the Yankees could've blocked both acquisitions and chose not to... you have to wonder how much even they believe they still have a chance this year.

The MLB demonstration on instant replay was interesting. I think it'll work pretty well.

All right, back to the Yankees game. Hope you all had a good day.

Thanks to this site for the photo.

Sorry, I've got a busy day ahead of me, including the annual media baseball game at Yankee Stadium and a visit to Major League Baseball Advance Media to see how instant replay will work. Plus, I'll be filing my Midweek Insider. And then there's tonight's Red Sox-Yankees game. So you'll be hearing from me.

For now, however, just the basics:

Here is my column from last night's Yankees game. Just two short days ago, I blogged that fans were blaming Alex Rodriguez too much for this season. But last night...ay yi yi. Fire away at the guy.

One note of interest: I know many of you were concerned that this would be merely the first step, and that we'd soon have instant replay for all fair/foul calls, as well as out/safe and ball/strike.

Here's what Bud Selig said about that, in a conference call about an hour ago: "Not as long as I'm the commissioner."

Ken Davidoff answers your baseball questions in a live chat today at noon.

One of the most challenging components of my job is determining what each game means. Is it a turning point? A mirage? Or just a forgettable one of 162?

This very week last year, the Mets visited Philadelphia and were swept in four games. The series proved to mean everything. While the Mets rebounded by boosting their NL East lead from two games all the way back up to seven, the Phillies had gotten in their heads, and a three-game sweep of the Mets at Shea Sept. 14-16 kicked off The Collapse. Had the Mets just won one of those four games in Philly, the last two of which were decided by one run, they might have held onto win the division.

This very week last year, the Yankees welcomed the Red Sox to the Bronx and swept them in three games. The series proved to mean nothing. While the Yankees later closed within a game and a half of the Sawx in the American League East _ the sweep got them within five _ they never took over the division. And they went down relatively quietly against Cleveland in the AL Division Series, while the Red Sox won it all.

Today, we kick off those same rivalries in the same locales _ Mets at Philly for two days, and Yankees playing host to the Red Sox for three. The beauty of both matchups is that it's likely the clubs are fighting for one playoff spot. The Mets and Phillies are trailing Milwaukee by four games in the loss column in the National League wild-card race. It's NL East or bust.

While in the American League, neither the Red Sox (4 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay) nor the Yankees (9 1/2) seem like they can catch the incredible Rays in the American League East. It's wild card or bust for the game's two super powers.

The Mets, after last night's victory, have to be feeling somewhat good about themselves. They have gone 15-6 since putting Billy Wagner on the disabled list. But tonight kicks off an extremely challenging, 11-game stretch: Two in Philly, three in Miami, three in Milwaukee and three at home against the Phillies. With the way they're hitting, and the way they seem to handle adversity, I'll say they pull through all right

The Yankees, meanwhile, are coming off a three-game sweep of the Orioles in Baltimore. Can they build on that, in a way they have rarely been able to put together momentum this season? I'm sticking to my "Yankees won't make the playoffs" prediction, but they deserve credit for assuring the relevance of this series, after their season seemed in tatters last week.

Everything, or nothing, in these next three days for our two teams? I guess I'm copping out and saying, "Something, but neither everything nor nothing." Your thoughts?

Nice move for the Twins, who have been looking to upgrade their bullpen. "Everyday Eddie" made his name in Minnesota, and you'd think he'd be fired up to return to the Twins and help them reach the finish line.

I don't know anything about Mark Hamburger, the young pitcher the Rangers received in return. But if Hamburger makes it big, and someone wants to make a movie about him, this title is already taken.

What amazes me most about the Twins' run is that they're doing so despite getting close to nothing from the quartet of players they received from the Mets for Johan Santana. Carlos Gomez enters tonight with a brutal .256/.291/.348 line, and Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey have combined for zero appearances. The youngster Deolis Guerra has a 5.44 ERA for Class A Fort Myers.

Back to work today, and for the past seven days, I didn't watch much baseball.

But I talked plenty on the subject, with friends, family members and friends of friends with whom I socialized during my vacation. And I was taken aback by how angry Yankees fans put so much blame for this playoff-missing season on A-Rod.

Perhaps I'm just naive. But I thought that A-Rod would've earned some cover after his phenomenal 2007.

Yes, A-Rod symbolizes the Yankees' team-wide problem of a failure to hit with runners in scoring position; he has a .405 on-base percentage (very good) and .419 slugging percentage (pretty terrible) in such situations.

Throw in a poor 2007 American League Division Series _ although better, it should be noted, than the teflon Derek Jeter _ and A-Rod has regained his reputation for never producing in the clutch.

But, again, this has been a team-wide issue. A-Rod hasn't been the only wrongdoer. And overall, he's putting up a pretty darn good season. HIs .992 OPS ranks sixth in all of baseball. It's not like all of those 28 homers and 29 doubles came when the Yankees were either leading or trailing games by 17-0 counts.

Not to mention the fact that, to think that A-Rod NEVER, EVER comes through, is to ignore all of last year. A-Rod put a phenomenal .460 OBP and .678 SLG with runners in scoring position. The Yankees wouldn't have sniffed the playoffs without him.

Of course, A-Rod is going to get the most scrutiny. He makes the most money. His messy personal life makes him even less sympathetic.

But at some point, if you want to have a serious baseball discussion, you have to set aside your A-Rod contempt and realize that there are bigger question marks all around the diamond for the Yankees, for now and looking ahead to 2009 and beyond. Like Jeter. Robinson Cano. Centerfield. Catcher. The starting rotation.

A-Rod? He's still immensely valuable, even while continuing his recent cycle of experiencing downturns in even-numbered years. Although, just for comparison's sake, his 2008 is considerably better than his 2006 and 2004.

Who wants to defend A-Rod? He's such an easy target. But really, if we want to break down what went wrong this year, there are many other places to go first.

The beaches are gorgeous. The villages are charming. I'm getting my workouts in at Soul Cycle, and the supermarkets offer great, fresh food.

Matt T., today we went to Bay Burger for lunch. "Best burger I've ever had," my wife told Newsday.

I'm sold. I love being the contrarian, and I was excited about hating the prime vacation locale in Newsday's readership, but sorry. There's too much to enjoy here. Even the traffic becomes more bearable once you know all of the other assets.

Catching up on everything:

When I filed yesterday's item at 8:24 last night, I had no idea about the Billy Wagner news. Gotta love vacation.

So now we're headed for what should be one of the more captivating plotlines in recent years: The Mets are trying to win their division without a closer. They're managing all right so far without Wagner _ 11-4, after last night's victory _ but the challenge will increase once the schedule grows tougher, which happens in earnest when the Mets go to Philadelphia next week.

What I especially anticipate is September, when teams can expand their big-league rosters to 40. That Mets bullpen is going to be so bulky, you're going to think they're performing scripts from "Brothers & Sisters."

In his column in today's Post, Joel Sherman throws some potential names out there: Brandon Knight. Bobby Parnell. Ricardo Rincon. And today, Joel broke the story that the Mets signed Al Reyes, whom the Yankees designated for assignment five years ago, to a minor-league contract. Relievers Are Volatile, Lesson 3,562.

You can envision Jerry Manuel using eight, nine pitchers in a game, if that's what it takes. It should be fascinating.

This must be energizing to the Dodgers. Brad Penny goes down with an injury, and poof! Here comes a 353-game winner to replace him.

I've been in enough clubhouses to know that surge of adrenaline when players feel that management has their backs. It's another boost for Joe Torre's club, in what's looking like a very exciting race for the NL West crown: Torre, Manny, Maddux and Nomah against Arizona's big three of Brandon Webb, Dan Haren and Randy Johnson.

Maddux, 42, is obviously near the end of his illustrious career, but he's not totally done yet. In the latest example that won-loss records hold minimal value, Maddux has a respectable 1.220 WHIP and 98 ERA+ (meaning he's been a tick below average) to go with that 6-9 record. The Cubs' Jason Marquis, for instance, is 8-7 with a 1.442 WHIP and 96 ERA+.

Here is my column off yesterday's Yankees game. I didn't exactly split the atom, but I thought it was interesting that, as difficult as the Yankees' task is, the solution is quite simple.

Here are your updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. White Sox/Twins (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Arizona/Dodgers (3)
Mets (2) vs. Milwaukee (4)

All right, first day of actual vacation. I'm going to try to figure out the Hamptons, and why people love it out here so much...

Here is my Sunday Insider, in which I checked in with Lastings Milledge and also spoke with former Braves general manager John Schuerholz.

It's the first ever Weekend Predictions from a moving train! Plus, any excuse to salute our greatest living actor - the former Yankee Billy Crystal - I mean, can you blame me?

1. The Mets will win three of four against the Pirates, beating up on a bad team as they should. They'll fail to get the sweep on Monday when their bullpen teams to blow an 8-1 lead. In the wake of last Monday's debacle against the Pirates at Shea, the Bangles will smell a marketing opportunity and suggest a new team song.

2. The Yankees, after a miserable road trip, will at least show some life in sweeping a three-game series over the Royals at Yankee Stadium. However, the weekend won't be completely stress-free. When Mariano Rivera drops his giveaway Yankees luggage tag on Saturday, neither Wilson Betemit nor Robinson Cano will attempt to grab it, infuriating the Yankees' usually unflappable closer.

3. This is very, very bad news for the Yankees. Barring a dramatic change of heart from Gerrit Cole by tongiht's midnight deadline, the Yankees aren't going to sign their top draft pick. After giving every indication to team officials, prior to the draft, that he wanted to be a Yankee, Cole seems to have his heart set on attending UCLA. He hasn't even let the Yankees present him an offer.

Don't blame Scott Boras. The super-agent might drive a hard bargain, but he bargains. His client wound up having no interest in negotiating.

The whole idea behind this Yankees "transition season" was that, even if they missed the playoffs, there would be procurement and development of youngsters. And part of that was the draft. For the Yankees to not bring in Cole...well, that's one less high-ceiling arm in the system. And that's a bad thing.

Damon Oppenheimer, the Yankees' vice president who authorized this selection, has to take a hit on this one. Of course, we would've hit him more if he had chosen lower-flying fruit in a more signable but less talented player. It's not a 100 percent loss. Thanks to the collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees will get pick "28a" in the 2009 draft. That could mean the 29th pick, if the first 27 picks from this year sign. But it sounds like, contrary to what I wrote in my Midweek Insider two days ago, Cole is going to be one of a handful of first-rounders who don't sign.

Meanwhile, the Yankees are still working on signing their sandwich pick, left-hander Jeremy Bleich of Stanford, and are cautiously optimistic they will do so.

4. As Jon Heyman reported last night, the Mariners are retaining both Raul Ibanez and Jarrod Washburn. The Tigers were awarded a waiver claim on Ibanez and the Twins on Washburn, according to my mentor, but in both cases the Mariners couldn't work out trades and elected to pull back the players. That means they can't be traded for the duration of the season.

The Mets put in a claim on Ibanez, a source told me yesterday. They weren't surprised that Ibanez didn't make it out of the American League; as per the waiver rules, teams in a player's own league get first dibs on him. While the Mets are very pleased with the performances of corner outfielders Daniel Murphy and Fernando Tatis, they recognized that Ibanez has a far greater body of work than that duo and would've represented an upgrade.

5. Here is my column off last night's Mets game. I find Oliver Perez to be fascinating, because of his obvious pitching ability and his inconsistency. He really does look so much more together on the mound, doesn't he? Tufts? baileywalk? Tufts, where would you rank "Throw Momma..." in the Crystal canon?

6. Here is my news story on the MLB owners meetings. For Bud Selig to speak so confidently about instant replay, that means we're definitely getting it, and soon.

7. This isn't baseball, per se, but congratulations to my colleague Neil Best, the Watchdog, for being all over the Mike and the Mad Dog breakup from beginning to end. Neil had the courage to go with his story on June 22, then sit tight while the blogosphere ripped it and the mainstream media ignored it. And now he is fully vindicated. Amazing work.

More to the point for the rest of us, while I discouraged Dennis from touting Mike's nonexistent baseball expertise here, I greatly enjoyed listening to the duo. As a somewhat experienced national traveler and car renter, I've heard enough sports talk shows elsewhere to appreciate that Mike and the Mad Dog were the absolute gold standard for what they did. It won't be the same without them.

8. With the Phillies suffering their fourth straight loss, allowing the Mets to take the NL East penthouse for themselves, here are your updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. White Sox (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Arizona/Dodgers (3)
Mets (2) vs. Milwaukee (4)

9. Ah, yes, vacation for me. Off to a super-secret location for some fun in the sun. It's a little weird in that I'm going from my Manhattan home, which is technically not Newsday territory, into Newsday territory for vacation. But don't tell my bosses (no, not those bosses).

I'll probably check in from time to time, and I'm working Sunday's Yankees game, so I'll definitely be around then. But we'll rev it back up at full pace on Monday, August 25.

Have a wonderful week. And in all sincerity, thanks to those of you who regularly stop by and read, and especially those who take the time to comment.

Jim, as per your instructions, I asked Bud Selig if the designated-hitter issue was still on his radar screen. Here is his response:

"It isn’t. Years ago, we had a lot of discussion. Now there’s no discussion. Both leagues seem entrenched.

"I said at the time (about 10 years ago) I thought it would take a catalytic event to change it. What did that mean? Overall geographic realignment, which was a dream of mine at one time. I have other things to do now.

"(Phillies chairman) Bill Giles said something to me years ago. He said to me, ‘I like it the way it is.’ I said, ‘Tell me why, Bill.’ He said, 'Competitiveness between the leagues is good.’…I think it’s right. Of all the things I want to do, that doesn’t strike me as being (relatively important)."

Bob, Bud said he hasn't yet done anything on the Team Venezuela front but would. Remember, the PA is involved, too. I learned my lesson from the first WBC, when I predicted that Japan wouldn't participate: All of the players will be placated.

Selig wouldn't say quite this, but MLB is very confident that instant replay will be up and running before the end of the regular season. My news story should be up shortly.

Talk about the perfect storm for Yankees haters yesterday:

1. Yankees lose, again, to wrap up a miserable, possibly season-killing, 3-7 road trip.

2. Red Sox win, dropping the Yankees six games back in the American League wild-card race.

3. Rays win, dropping the Yankees nine games back in the AL East.

4. Mets win and Phillies lose, vaulting the Mets back into a first-place tie in the NL East.

5. Oh, and the Phillies lose to Joe Torre's Dodgers, and with the Diamondbacks losing, the Dodgers are now tied with Arizona for the NL West top spot.

Amazing. This doesn't merit a mere "Yeesh," or "Good Lord." As Jerry and George said, when they saw Elaine dance, "Sweet Fancy Moses!"

There is no doubt, none, that back in the day, George Steinbrenner would've done something today. Fired hitting coach Kevin Long. Traded for Gary Sheffield. Maybe even fired Girardi.

But times have changed in Yankees Land, so they will stay the course, and stick to The Plan, hopeful that their farm system continues to churn out talent. Yankees fans won't want to hear this right now, not with a first October at home since 1993 awaiting them, but there's something to be said for a season that further develops a possible future ace in Joba Chamberlain and a possible future everyday centerfielder in Austin Jackson.

Stranger things have happened than a Yankees comeback. But they sound like a defeated team. And while they have a relatively easy week ahead, their overall schedule is still challenging. Look at their September. It's no wonder that Baseball Prospectus, Dennis' least favorite site, has the Yankees as 7.3 percent likely to make the playoffs.

Here are your updated playoff seedings:

AL
Angels (1) vs. Boston (4)
Tampa Bay (2) vs. White Sox (3)

NL
Cubs (1) vs. Arizona/Dodgers (3)
Phillies/Mets (2) vs. Brewers (4)