Streaking Bronx Boners Lose Again But Cannot Gain on Baltimore in Quest for Last in AL East

The Yanks did everything possible Sunday, losing to whomever it was they played, but the Baltimore Orioles lost to Oakland, maintaining their healthy 12-game lead for last place in the AL East.

With 19 games left, give or take a few -- (In honor of the Presidential campaign, we no longer feel compelled to look up facts) -- we'd have to lose all 19 and then get help from Baltimore to secure that coveted AL East basement bucket of slop, which this team has been angling for all year.

Guess what: Next time we schedule an exhibition with Virginia Tech, they'll be trying to boost our spirits!

I'm sorry, folks. This gets harder every day.

It's tough on you. It's tough on me.

You know, I can't remember the exact moment when it became apparent that we flat-out stink. There are too many. How many times did Abreu, Arod and Giambi -- back to back to back -- kill a potential rally? Or was it when Chien-Ming Wang collapsed? Or that frozen moment when Giambi held the ball at first while Coco Crisp scored from second on an infield hit? (Nah, they were long dead before that. Sadly, though, that might be my enduring memory of Giambi. Isn't that awful? It's like having a beloved uncle get Alzheimers, and the current memories are so bad that they overcome the old ones.)

Pick a nightmare, any nightmare. This has been a season of them.

And as for politics, here's one piece:

America better take heed: A Yankee collapse of this proportions cannot bode well for the national consciousness. When the adjustable lending rates re-set in November, the housing crisis is going to shoot off the charts. We're going to stuck in war zones for a long long time. We can't drill our way out, we can't tax our way out, and we can't just cut taxes and think everything will be solved. We are screwed.

Like the Yankees.

Won't matter who's President, folks. It didn't matter that Joe Giardi was manager.

All he can do is write out the lineup. Fourth place in a five-team division.

The Bronx Boners. That's what they are.