…really…

…it was very hard to have any interest in these games…outside of having the hope that no one on the Yankees got injured playing these contests.

And, now, it’s over…finally.

Next up: The first two games of the ALDS, to be played in the Bronx, next Wednesday and Friday – at 6:07 p.m. ET, each day. (Yeah, a six o’clock start – nice break for the kiddies…but a bit of a bummer for us working-stiffs.)

Actually, this is going to be very strange week coming up…with no Yankees baseball to watch sans those two games. Nada on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Zip, zero, zilch…

Very strange, indeed…

But, first, you have look at how New York was going before they met up with Los Angeles and Boston (in back-to-back series). In the nine games prior to the six games against the Halos and Bosox, the Bombers went 4-5. And, they were not looking good – at all.

Nonetheless, the Yanks took two of three against the Angels – on the road; and, then they took three in a row from the Red Sox. Nice turnaround there – for sure.

Granted, some of the games were close – by scores of 6-5, 3-2, 3-0 and 4-2. And, while the Yankees batters reached base 37% of the time in these games, New York only scored 27 runs, overall, in these 6 games – which is an average of 4.5 runs per game. (Something tells me that scoring 4.5 runs a game, in the post-season, will make things pretty tight for the Yankees – if they’re going to score that way in October…prittay, prittay, tight.)

But, in the end, the Yankees won these big games – locking up the A.L. East and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Not bad for a week’s work…not bad at all.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not great. But, it’s not terrible.

In any event, what stands out the most in my mind, this past week, is that the last game of this week was a loss, to the Mariners. And, with that loss, the Yankees have now dropped 5 of their last 9 games. During this time, they’ve gone from being 9 games ahead of second place Boston to being just 5 games ahead of the Red Sox.

Actually, since September 4th, the Yankees are 9-7. But, that includes going 4-0 against the Tampa Bay Rays who were pretty bad when they played in New York. So, in their last 12 games where they played someone other than the Rays, the Yankees have gone 5-7. That’s not exactly sprinting for the finish line, is it?

In fact, when you take the four games that the Rays played before that set with the Yankees, and the three games that they have played since, you’ll see that Tampa Bay currently has an 11-game losing streak going for themselves.

And, overall the Rays have lost 16 of their last 21 games – going from being just 3 games back of the Red Sox, in the Wildcard chase, to being 12 1/2 games behind Boston. Imagine losing about 10 games in the standings in a span of three weeks? Talk about a free fall…

The Yankees last three games of the season are at Tampa Bay. Hopefully, the Yankees will have clinched the A.L. East about four days before that series…making it a “Spring Training” like match for New York…because it will be for the Rays…for sure.

But, Tampa should be back next year…and the Yankees should not lose sight of that.

In any event, now, the Yankees are 23-8 this season when playing the Orioles and Blue Jays. And, they’re 19-3 when facing the Twins, A’s and Mets (combined) too.

Combined that’s 42-11 when facing the O’s, Jays, Twins, A’s and Mets. That’s .792 baseball. Which means they’re 45-39 against everyone else. And, that’s .536 baseball.

When this season is over, the Yankees really should send a dozen roses to the O’s, Jays, Twins, A’s and Mets – because, this year, those teams have shown New York a really good time.

What stands out the most in my mind, during week twenty, was that the Yankees, with the results of those games up at Fenway Park, basically relegated the Red Sox to the chase for the Wildcard (and out of the race for the A.L. East crown).

What stands out the most in my mind, this past week, is that the Yankees lost two of three to the Rangers – who are also in the hunt for the Wildcard – and then swept the White Sox – without breaking much of a sweat. It also makes me wonder if New York eased off the throttle…just a bit…when playing Texas to somewhat stick it to the Sox…

…ah…but that’s probably more suited for a Wild Thought rather than a Weekly Report…or, is it?

Now, at this junction, if the Yankees play just .500 baseball from here until the end of the season, then the Red Sox would have to win 31 of their remaining 45 games to pass them in the standings.

Can Boston play .689 baseball for the rest of the year? Maybe. But, then again, what are the odds of the Yankees playing just .500 at the same time?

Say the Yankees play .568 baseball for the rest of the season. (And, I think that’s doable. Basically, it’s winning 4 out of every 7 games.) Then the Red Sox would have to play .756 baseball from here until season end to catch them. (Now, that, I don’t think is doable.)

Boston is in a race…but it’s a race for the A.L. Wildcard. And, they have company there – with the Rangers and Rays also fighting for that playoff berth. (The Sox have 6 games left with the Rays this season too.)

Sure, I know…what about the Mets in 2007 and 2008? Sorry. That ain’t gonna happen in Yankeeland. And, if it does, and the Red Sox do end up catching the Yankees this season in the A.L. East…well…won’t that make 2004 seem like it was just a coming attraction?

Yes…sure…the win on Friday for New York was a close one. And, granted, the Red Sox were in the games, late, on Saturday and Sunday.

Also, I understand that Boston had to start John Smoltz and Clay Buchholz in two of the games (because Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsuzaka are out). And, Jason Bay missed the first three games with a sore leg. Further, Nancy Drew is reportedly somewhat banged up. Lastly…of course…Big Papi is besieged with his regret over not choosing Flintstones chewable vitamins back in the day…

But, Boston was still able to start their two best pitchers in two of these games: Josh Beckett and Jon Lester (and they both pitched like aces). And, the Red Sox still had Victor Martinez and Jacoby Ellsbury in the line-up. Lastly, Boston also had the two prides of Red Sox Nation playing, without issues, in these contests…you know…Yooooooouk and the reigning league MVP Dustin Gaedel…

So, let’s not make this out as if the Yankees just took four straight games from 1899 Cleveland Spiders. The 2009 Boston Red Sox, even with their current issues, are a very dangerous baseball team…or…they should be…

Brass tacks, the Yankees pitchers just took it to the Sox in these four games. Only Joba Chamberlain, Anthony Claggett and Phil Coke had some issues in this series. Otherwise, everyone else who threw the pill for New York was exceptional. And, if the Yankees pitchers throw like this, more times than not, over the remaining third of the 2009 season, it should be a cakewalk into the post-season.

Of course, the bad news is that the Yankees lost 4 of 7 games this week – and their play in those four losses was just terrible. They looked like chumps in those games…in as many ways as a team can look like chumps.

And, that’s scary – because the Yankees now play Toronto for two, Boston for four, then Toronto for another three, and then New York heads out to the West Coast for seven games. Yes, that’s 16 games in a row, meaning no days off, including facing Boston four times, Roy Halladay once, and then having to deal with adjusting to a different time zone…oh, and, then, after one day off, then the Yankees have to head to Fenway Park for three games.

The next nineteen games, given the Yankees position in the standings and the calendar, are make-or-break time for New York. If the Yankees don’t show up for half these games, like they didn’t show up for those four games this week, it’s possible that New York might go something like 5-14 between now and August 23rd. And, if that happens, you can stick a fork in the Yankees chances this season – because they will be done.

Me? Being realistic, I expect the Yankees to go 10-9 in their next 19 games. And, hopefully, if that happens, Boston and/or Tampa won’t use that result to pass the Yankees in the standings. Or course, in a dream world, I could hope for the Yankees to go 14-5 over their next 19 games and send a message to the league. But, I don’t think that’s really going to happen…based on what we’ve seen from New York so far this season…when they’ve had to play tough.

What do you think? Will the Yankees go 5-14, 10-9, or 14-5 over this span? Or, will it be something else? And, why do you feel this way?

I became a baseball fan in 1973. And, at that time, the O’s and A’s were the two best teams in the American League.

Now, granted, 1973 was a long time ago. But, Baltimore was very good in 1996 and 1997 – when the Yankees began their return to glory. And, while the Yankees were going great under Joe Torre, New York had to deal with Oakland in the post-seasons of 2000 and 2001.

And…sure…the Orioles and A’s have some good prospects today…but, right now, I’m not so sure if the starting line-ups of Oakland and Baltimore are better than the Louisville Bats or Durham Bulls?

Wait. I take that back. They’re better – just not all that much better. The Yankees should have gone 6-1 this week. Actually, it was almost a gimmie.