Another day, another loss.

At least we got to see Alfredo Aceves today. Facially, he reminds me of Jim Leyritz. Pitching? He looked great today. But, what can you tell from two innings at the back end of a game that’s on its way to the “L” column?

As I write this, the Red Sox are losing, 3-1, in the top of the 9th inning at Fenway. Assuming that Boston goes on to lose, this would make the Yankees tragic number, according to my quick math, to be “20″ – meaning any combination of Yankees losses and Red Sox wins from here out, equalling twenty, is when the Yankees will be officially dead in the Wildcard race.

I’m guessing that number will be down to “zero” around September 18th. What do you think?

I stopped watching this game while Jeter was grounding out during the bottom of the 6th inning. We had the usual Saturday errands to run – the bank, the Post Office, Costco, and the dry cleaners. At that time, the Yankees were up, 6-2. And, I’m thinking “Book it, Dano!” – this dress is in the bag. At that time, it was some time close to 3 pm EST.

We got back home at 4:30 pm EST. I flicked on the T.V. and was shocked to see the game still on…and then I heard Michael Kay say what a terrible loss this was for the Yankees….losing, 7-6.

What? How? When? Why? Nooooo…

Then I realized that the final play of the game had just occured a few moments ago. Via the recap, I caught up on what happened. Robinson Cano, huh? I betcha Jon Heyman is feeling pretty timely right about now.

Well, file this one away in that 26% drawer. It’s games like this one as to why the Yankees are where they are this season.

What a terrible, terrible, terrible loss. Just putrid. You have a four run lead with 9 outs to go – and you blow it. On top of that, you have a chance to tie it in the 8th, albeit with 2 outs, and a chance to tie it in the 9th, with one out, and cannot get the job done.

And, I have to say…I warned you about Veras and Ramirez. They both have been brutual this month. All of a sudden, that ‘great’ bullpen that Brian Cashman put together is not looking all that great – at a time where it’s killing the Yankees the most.

A.J. Burnett was A.J. Burnett again tonight (at least as he usually is when he faces the Yankees) – and then some.

But, Carl Pavano was…well, who was that guy? Did he really breeze through the first five innings on just 54 pitches – and end up going six on 72 pitches, all told, just allowing one run?

Pavano was Mussina-like out there today. You can’t ask for anything more than that?

In the end, the only questions left after this thrilling, nail-biting, victory are the following: Is Jose Veras cooked? Will Mariano Rivera’s arm hold up? And, how much will A-Rod be fined for showing up more than an hour late to the ballpark tonight? (Yeah, there was traffic; but, 24 other players and the entire coaching staff managed to get there on time.)

I missed innings six through eight – although I was told about the situation in the bottom of the sixth (shortly after it happened) where the Yankees had runners on first and second, with no outs, and Abreu, A-Rod and Nady due up – and they couldn’t score.

Luckily, I was able to see the bottom of the ninth, live, on YES – picking it up where Gardner had just stole second and Matsui was at the plate.

I’m glad that I got to see that last inning – and the eventual win…and seeing Papelbon suffer…allowing the game winning hit on an 0-2 pitch. (I’ll get back to the matter of “seeing” it in a minute.)

This was a good one for the Yankees to win. Very nice job by Giambi in his only two PA in this game. If they would have lost this one – after losing the previous two – wasting a wonderful effort from Mussina…well, just how much hurt can a team and its fans take?

The seven innings and two runs from Moose today was just outstanding. And, for what it’s worth, it seems like it should have been just one run allowed by Mussina. John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman were all over Robinson Cano for not taking Ellsbury’s grounder in the fifth for the out, himself, and then throwing to first for the double-play. I mean they were just killing him for making a stupid play (flipping to Jeter) and not being aware of the situation and the batter’s running speed, etc. It was very interesting to hear that from the two of them.

Now, in the big picture, this win means nothing. The Yankees are still in a huge hole. However, if by some miracle the Yankees win their next three in a row and Boston loses their next three in a row, then this win could be looked at as a turning point in the season. But, again, until that miracle happens, this one is just another game.

Speaking of just another game…and getting back to, as promised, the matter of “seeing” this game…there’s something that I should clarify. When I wrote last night that the season was over, I meant it was over in terms of the Yankees post-season chances. It doesn’t mean that people should stop watching their games and rooting for them to do well.

Hey, it’s the Yankees. And, we’re Yankees fans. Of course you should root for the team. And, of course, you should watch the games. Hey, on a standalone basis, you never know what you might see in any given game. Why not watch it, and enjoy it, if you can? That’s what baseball is all about.

This game is a perfect example. You don’t give up on the season – from the perspective of tracking the games and hoping for the Yankees do to well on that day. You just take the game for what it’s worth – and try and enjoy what it represents.

Just don’t delude youself with any notions about the Yankees playing this October. Because, barring some sudden miracle, that’s still very improbable albeit not yet an indisputable fact.

Yes, that’s when the Yankees 2008 season, in terms of any possibility of being a championship contender, ended. When Dustin Pedroia (pictured, right) hit a grand slam for the Sox in the 8th inning of this game it not only locked up this contest for Boston…it killed any hope for the Yankees to remain in the chase for the American League Wildcard.

With this loss, New York now sits seven games back of Boston, in the loss column, in the A.L. Wildcard standings – with only thirty games left remaining on the Yankees schedule.

Do the math on that puppy, if you must. If the Red Sox play just .500 ball for the rest of this season, the Yankees would have to win 23 of 30 games – a winning percentage of .767 – to pass them.

Forget the fact that Boston has many home games left on their ticket as well as some games against teams with less-than-great records…and that it’s very remote that they would ever play just .500 ball from here out. Just focus on the Yankees, for this moment.

The Yankees have one more game against the Red Sox in this series – facing Jon Lester who is murder on left-handed batters. Then, New York has to play Toronto for three games. In these games, the Yankees will have to face A.J. Burnett and Roy Halladay.

After those four games, the Yankees go on the road: Playing one against the Tigers, three against the Rays, three against the Mariners, and three against the Angels.

After that insane road-trip, New York returns to Yankee Stadium to play three games against the Rays and then four against the White Sox.

In total, between tomorrow and September 18th, the Yankees will play 21 games. (And will have nine left after that.) To have any hope, whatsoever, the Yankees will need to win at least 16 of these 21 games.

So, basically, for the Yankees to get back into this thing, this is what needs to happen:

They have to play Boston again, the Jays for three – including Burnett and Halladay, then play the road-trip from hell for 10 games, and then play the best team in the A.L. East for three and the best team in the A.L. Central for four…and only lose five (or less!) of those 21 games. Further, on top of that, they need the Boston Red Sox to play no better than .500 ball between now and September 18th.

Yeah, like that’s really going to happen.

Sorry, it’s over for this Yankees team – as far as having any chance to play some games in October. It’s wait till next year time…turn out the lights, the party’s over.

As a result of this loss, New York needs to win the next two games – just to stay somewhat alive in the Wildcard chase. Yes, winning the next two only keeps them slightly alive – as New York would still be ice skating uphill after that…having to face the Blue Jays next and then go on a killer road trip for ten games starting on September 1st.

Worse, while the Yankees must win the next two games – again, just to barely stay alive in the ‘card race – Boston is sitting in the driver’s seat now (for this series) as they get to face Sidney Ponson tomorrow and they will have Jon Lester (who is murder on left-handed batters) pitching for them on Thursday.

It’s not over for the Yankees – but, it’s as close to being over as it can be in terms of their place in the standings, the calendar, and the remaining schedule for them and the teams that they’re chasing.

You can blame the home plate umpire for squeezing Pettitte tonight. You can blame all those seeing-eye hits for Boston. You can blame all those 2-out hits for the Sox with runners in scoring position. You can blame Giambi’s defensive play. But, those are all excuses.

The Red Sox played without Drew and Lowell. They don’t have Manny anymore. And, they started a rusty Tim Wakefield. Yet, they won this game.

Was it just me, or, did this game have the look and feel of a cheap reenactment of Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS? Man, the Yankees just didn’t look good…except…

You have to give credit to Damon, Jeter and Abreu for doing a great job setting the table in this one. You really couldn’t ask for anything more from those three. However, the “meat” of the Yankees line-up was…well…let’s just say “lacking” tonight.

And, how about Alex Rodriguez’ big symmetrical evening (K- GIDP-FO8-GIDP-K)?

Let us review each PA in this game for A-Rod:

1st inning: Yanks leading, 1-0. No one on base. Two out. Alex goes down on strikes.
3rd inning: Yanks losing, 3-2. Runner on first. One out. Alex hits into a double-play.
5th inning: Yanks losing, 6-3. Runners on first and second. One out. Alex flies out to shallow center.
7th inning: Yanks losing, 7-3. Bases loaded. One out. Alex hits into a double-play.
9th inning: Yanks losing, 7-3. Runner on first. Two outs. Alex goes down swinging.

It will be interesting to hear A-Rod’s post-game quotes after this one…

No question about it. When you have a 7-2 lead, needing 18 more outs for the win, and then you allow the other team to tie the score, that’s not pretty at all. But, on the plus-side, the Yanks did manage to eek-out an 8-7 win in this one…and, winning is all that matters, right?

So what if it’s not exactly a fine display of championship level play…or even just a good display of baseball, period?

Thank the stars for the off-day in Yankeeland tomorrow. After the way the Yankees had to use their pen in this series, they can use it.

At the close of business on August 23rd, Carl Pavano had more wins for the Yankees than Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, combined.

Baseball is such a funny game, isn’t it?

I watched the first two innings of this game. During that time, I saw Carl Pavano throw 50 pitches – allowing 3 runs in two frames…where more balls were hit hard, including the outs, there were not.

At that point, it was 8 pm EST, and “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry” was starting on HBO. My wife and I had not seen this movie yet…and it was the first time it was on HBO…and, well, Pavano was looking shaky (and that’s being polite)…so, I switched off the game.

But, I do remember thinking, to myself, “What’s Girardi thinking? Every game is must win, just about, at this point. You cannot let any one of these games get away from you too quickly. Get this guy out of here. Monday is an off-day. If you have to go to the pen in the third inning…so be it. You would do it in ‘Game Seven’ of a playoff. Do it now. If you keep Pavano out there, it’s going to be six-two, or something like that, in a heartbeat.”

When the movie – which, by the way, had some very funny moments/lines – was over, I tuned back to the game. It was then the bottom of the eighth, with the Yanks up, five-three, and Veras was pitching to Millar. Within a minute or two, Michael Kay and Ken Singleton (on the YES coverage) started to talk about how Pavano went five in the game – and was followed by Bruney for two and now Veras.

Pavano for five? Did they really say that?

Wow. Good thing that Girardi is managing this team and not me, huh?

I did watch the close of the game, from there, and caught up on all the highlights via the post-game coverage.

Pretty interesting game. In the top of the first, if Hernandez makes a better tag on Damon, or, if Roberts and Guthrie make a better play on Giambi’s grounder, New York is not scoring two runs in that frame. Also, if Guthrie doesn’t hit A-Rod with a pitch in the third, then the Yankees are also not scoing two runs in that inning. So, in this one, New York was helped out by Baltimore mistakes. Still, at this point, it’s all about the “what” and not about the “how.” Same thing goes for Pavano, in terms of getting the “W.”

As a kid…I want to say back in 1975…I remember a quote that I once saw attributed to Thurman Munson (which had to do with his unorthodox style of throwing to second base). It went to the tune of “Don’t measure me by my methods. Measure me by my results.”

At this point of the season, considering where they are and what they need to do, that should be the Yankees mantra from here out. And, for this one, that’s what it was all about. Good job. Now, they have to come back and do it again tomorrow.

Nothing like a late, comeback, effort…then turned into a mini-laugher, of sorts, with some breathing room. Too bad for Mike Mussina that most of the runs came so late in the game…but, Moose still has probably six more shots to get four more wins.

This was a good win. One down, two more needed, before the big set in the Bronx with Boston.

Oh, and, in case you missed it, I’m guessing that Phil Hughes still has the flu, or poison ivy, or chronic hiccups, or something else that brings cause for too many pitches in the hitting zone…

The restaurant we were in had the game on…but it was on a TV in the bar. And, it was behind me – so, I really couldn’t see it. At one point, I peeked and it was 1-0, Jays, top of the second and Giambi was getting doubled-off first. Later, when I stole another glance, it was 2-0, Jays, top of the third and Pudge Rodriguez was up at the plate.

Still, a close game…and I hoped that I might be surprised tonight.

That was it (in terms of having access to the game)…until our evening was over and we got back to our car. Once we were all buckled in, I tuned the radio to the game – and, at that point, it was the bottom of the seventh, Alex Rios was batting for Toronto…and the Yankees were losing, 13-3.

Looks like I missed a lot, huh?

Immediately, upon hearing the score was 13-3, I turned off the game and put on some music.

Hey, Yankees, what happened? I thought every game, from last Tuesday out, was supposed to be played like it was a playoff game? Then again, Sidney Ponson pitched like a turd, the Yanks’ 3-4-5 hitters had just two hits between them, and New York lost the game. Sounds just like what might happen…should this Yankees team actually play in a post-season game…

At this point, all I can say is that Mussina, Pavano and Rasner better have their “A” games going in Baltimore…because the Yankees now need to win all three contests, coming up, against the O’s.