Jeter tagging out Vlad

The Yankees fell short again today in Anaheim.

The Angels started off hot in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back. After two doubled by Vlad Guerreor and Tori Hunter, the Yankees already seemed like the air was taken out of their sail.

They fought back ahrd and gave it a valiant effort, butfell short. The only teo runs that the Yankees were able to get across home plate were thanks to two solo shots by Alex Rodriguez in the seventh, and Hidkei Matsui in the eighth.

The Yankees lead in the AL East is slowly shrinking as the Yankees continue to lose and the Red Sox continue to win. They are still up on the Red Sox by five games, but there is still a month of ball to play. Let’s hope they can keep their head’s up ad play the type of game they are exected to play.

Andy Petite got the loss for the Yankees while Joe Saunders got the win with his stellar pitching on the mound.

The Yankees look to be the first team to clinch a playoff spot tomorrow as they face off again against the Angels.

Washington Post–The New York Yankees have the best record in baseball (and the race isn’t particularly close). They are closing in on their first 100-win season in five years and have been alone in first place for nearly two months. Their lineup is stacked with MVP candidates, their rotation is topped by a former Cy Young winner at the height of his powers, and their bullpen is anchored by the greatest closer in history.

So why are Yankees fans feeling a little queasy as the season enters its final two weeks?

Okay, perhaps “queasy” is a bit strong. The Yankees are headed to October for the 14th time in the last 15 years, and you don’t amass a record like theirs (95-55) — in the AL East, no less — without being a fabulous team. Just two weeks ago, in fact, the Yankees appeared utterly flawless, and folks were beginning to draw comparisons to the 1998 Yankee juggernaut that went 125-50, including a sweep of San Diego in the World Series.

But on the eve of what looms as a huge week for the Yankees — three games in Anaheim, beginning Monday night, followed by three at Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox — it’s doubtful you will find a Yankees fan who has that ’98 feeling about this year’s squad anymore.

The evidence is right there in the standings, where the Yankees‘ lead over the surging Red Sox, now five games, is their smallest since Aug. 7.

More troubling, since an overpowering four-game sweep of Tampa Bay two weeks ago — stretching their AL East lead, at the time, to nine games — the Yankees have seen Andy Pettitte come down with shoulder soreness, A.J. Burnett continue a puzzling stretch that has seen him win just once since the start of August, and Joba Chamberlain look like someone trying to pitch his way out of an October rotation spot.

It’s no wonder the Yankees hope to snag a spot in the oddly configured “A” Division Series bracket, because the extra off-day between Games 1 and 2 will allow them to go without a fourth starter — which is to say, without Chamberlain — in the first round.

Contrast the Yankees‘ increasing instability in their rotation to the Red Sox’s increasing stability — highlighted by Josh Beckett’s return to form and Daisuke Matsuzaka’s return to health — and it’s easy to see why the title of best team in the AL is slowly shifting towards Boston.

The Yankees/Red Sox race is without its typical drama this fall — the collapse of the Rays and Rangers in recent weeks ensures both New York and Boston will make the playoffs, so the only race is for seeding — but not without serious implications.

The Yankees need to maintain their hold on first place for several reasons, chiefly because they would much rather face the reeling Tigers in the first round (assuming the Tigers hold off the Twins) than the relentless Angels, against whom they are 9-17 the past three seasons.

If the Yankees come out of this week in decent shape — we’ll define that as Pettitte looking sound Monday night, Burnett and Chamberlain looking decent, and a 3-3 record or better, combined, against the Angels and Red Sox — we’ll gladly revisit the question of who is the best team in the AL.

But at this point, there is no question at all in our minds: It’s the Red Sox.

The other night at the Phillies game, a man made an amazing grab on a foul ball. Being the loving father that he is, hands the ball to his three year old daughter. What did she do with the ball?

Duh! What any other three year old would do. She threw it back!

The Yankees were losing to the Blue Jays in the later innings of yesterday’s game, when the mayhem broke loose. You got to love baseball in the fall. Tempers go crazy and true emotions are shown as the playoffs near. My favorite part of the video is that it took about three or four guys to contain Teixeira.