The Sky is Falling?

Hardly. Look, I'm not having any fun watching the Yankees lose seven straight (eight, going back to last year) to the Sox, but the Yankees are only one game behind in the standings. One game, even after spotting Boston seven--seven!-- wins. Things could be a whole lot worse, believe me. All a fan needs to do is think back to last year, when the Yankees, on the last day of August, were a staggering 12.5 games behind the Tampa Rays, eventually missing the playoffs for the first time since 1995. The Yankees, despite their team-wide impotence against the Sox, are still 34-18 against the rest of baseball, a very healthy 16 games over .500. Boston, on the other hand, is a rather uninspiring 28-24 against teams not from the Bronx. Amazingly, then, a game or two here or there, and the Yankees would currently enjoy a comfortable advantage over their rivals. Should've. Could've. Would've. That's why they play the game. And that's why, later tonight, the Yankees get a chance to win their first game in nine attempts against the Sox, and walk out of Boston in a flat-footed tie for first, not worrying at all about which team they're supposedly looking up at in the standings.