-After another excruciating one-run loss today at the hands of the Tigers, you have to wonder how a team as talented as the Yankees could be so dreadful in close games?

They fell to 11-17 in games decided by a run after falling to Detroit 5-4 to drop 7.5 behind the Red Sox. The bigger problem is they now trail the Mariners by 2.5 (4 in loss column) pending how Seattle fares tonight against the Rangers.

With 32 games left and Boston coming in for three on Tuesday following the series finale in Motown, the Bronx Bombers need to turn it up a notch. Especially against stiffer competition where you’re not almost guaranteed to blow out inferior opponents.

These are the types of games which have given Joe Torre’s ballclub all sorts of trouble this summer. The heartbreaking 11 inning loss on Saturday morning and today’s nailbiter in which the Tiger pen silenced their bats the final five frames summed it up.

Down the stretch, the Yanks need to reverse this trend if they’re going to see a 13th consecutive October.

-One other aspect that has to be extremely disappointing when it comes to the Pinstripes is their play on the road. While they do post a very good home record (41-24) at the Stadium, they’re now three under (31-34) away from the Bronx.

The real good teams are capable of winning on the road. Just look at the Yanks’ crosstown competitors the Mets as example No.1. The Amazin’s have actually played their best baseball away from Shea Stadium.

Their 38-26 record away from Queens ranks second only to the Red Sox, who improved to 40-28 with a four-game dismantling of the hapless White Sox earlier today. At home, the Mets are only six over .500 (35-29) while baseball’s best team comes in at 40-23 at Fenway.
For the Yanks, they still have 17 road games left including the final six of the season in Tampa Bay and Baltimore. While the D-Rays might be pushovers, the Orioles have been a thorn in the side of the Bombers taking eight of the first 12 winning the first four series.

They’ll see the Birds six times in the final two weeks.

-Those White Sox sure put up a fight against Boston, huh? Outscored 46-7 on their home field. Just pathetic. How does Ozzie Guillen still have a job? The fiery skipper should still be getting more out of this hapless bunch than their dreadful 56-74 record after losing their fifth straight.

With players such as Paul Konerko, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Javier Vazquez and Bobby Jenks still around, it’s just ridiculous to think that this team won the World Series two years ago. Especially when you see Contreras’ record (6-16) and ERA (6.18).

Toss in rookie third baseman Josh Fields (16 HR) and there’s no way this team should be performing this badly.

Right now, they’re a laughingstock.

-Remember when Baseball Tonight’s Steve Phillips proclaimed that the Braves would win the NL East and that both New York teams would miss the postseason? It sure explains a lot about ESPN these days.

-So Brett Myers ripped a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter over giving up a couple of gopher balls in hitter friendly Citizens Bank Ballpark yesterday referring referring to them as “retarded” and “just a fill in who didn’t know the game” because they questioned the pitcher’s claim that the two dingers were “just pop ups.”

Sadly, maybe the former starter turned closer had a point because on some days, almost anything can go out there. It kind of reminds us of the old Tiger Stadium where at times, you had pop ups winding up in the second deck.

Is it time for hitter friendly parks to reconsider moving fences back? Maybe it is.

-Andy Roddick having to play Roger Federer in a potential quarterfinal showdown at the U.S. Open stinks. You’d think they would have more sense than to put them in the same section of the draw. However, if it happens, it would be another opportunity for Roddick to make a statement against tennis’ best player. A night match could be memorable.

-I don’t normally put much emphasis on NFL preseason but who would you rather have QB-ing your team if you’re a Gang Green supporter? Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens?

-Where was Tiki “Meki” Barber on NBC last night while the “leaderless” Eli Manning looked splendid against the Jets in the first half? Instead, you even had respected sports anchor Len Berman defending this clown. It says here Eli has his best season without the talented yet selfserving running back.

-Don’t you just love how Mike Lupica always has to use the Mets to bash the Yankees in his Shooting From The Lip columns? He still probably believes Pedro Martinez is the best pitcher on the Mets. Newsflash: Whatever they get from him will be a bonus because he’s not even the third best pitcher on that staff.

If they had any guts, he’d be in their bullpen. It’s not the staff which could potentially wreck their October aspirations.

-If Chase Utley was in the Phillies’ lineup the past few weeks, you have to believe they’d be a little closer to the Mets.

-If they covered preseason football games anymore, you’d swear it was already January.