In one night, the Yankees once again strangle what hopes that seemed to briefly sprout

Aww, shoot, Yankees... you rascals, you got me. My bad... I fell for it... hook, line and stinker. 

Damn. The same ol' joke, from the same ol' Yankees, losing the same ol' way... I shoulda known better. Stupid, stupid, stupid... I'm too old for this. 

They win four of five, come from behind a few times, and there I go - thinking this team would - aww, shoot - what was I smoking?   

Last night, the New Millennium Yankees were on full display. Stranded base runners. A blown lead. Strikeouts. Errors of judgement. In every critical moment, something  went wrong.

But this was no anomaly. This is us. We keep waiting for someone, anyone, to lead us from the darkness. But we're walking in circles. I hate to say this but... 

Clint Frazier is not improving. All these years, we've waited for his inevitable stardom. It may have been a mirage. Last night, he went 0-5 with three Ks, including one in the ninth with the tying run on second. For one brief brain fart this week, I foresaw him raising his average above .200 - (that's a measly .200, mind you) - and securing a corner OF slot. Nope. This isn't working. Frazier needs to go to Scranton, reboot his swing and hit .350. Maybe he can return in September. At this point, Socratres Brito cannot do worse. And we're going nowhere.

Gleyber Torres - 1 for 20 in the last week - may also be reaching a point of no return. It's hard to imagine that in 2019, he hit 38 HRs. (This year, he has three.) For the last three months, the YES announcers have pounced upon every hopeful moment - a base on balls, a line drive, a bloop single - as a sign that Gleyber is back. But he's not back. It may just be that he is a mediocre SS who had a good year and then flatlined. (See Odor, Rougned.)

Last night, the Rays unveiled Wander Franco, reputed to be the best prospect in all of baseball. He whacked a three-run HR - (imagine that, a HR with runners on base!) - to lift Tampa. He's 20. They're already comparing him to Vlad Jr. and Tatis - an MVP-level acquisition. The mere notion of such an impact player boosting Tampa reminds us that their organization is an assembly line of young talent. (Meanwhile, we bring in Odor, Rougned.) The Yankees are only three games (in the loss column) behind Tampa, four behind Boston. But yeesh, these teams are growing younger. 

Today's fear must be for Jonathan Loaisiga, who last night took some tough breaks -  broken bat singles and a hiccup by the normally reliable Tyler Wade. Loaisiga's history is one of perennial injuries. Last night, he just didn't look right. Keep your fingers crossed.

Remember the name Shed Long? He's the 2B we received from Cinncinati for Sonny Gray. We dealt him to Seattle for a minor league OF, now with Pittsburgh. Long homered last night - his second game-winning hit in three nights - to beat Colorado. He's 25. A second baseman on the upswing. What a concept. (We have Odor, Rougned.)