Struggling Yankees continue slump against Red Sox

RED SOX 5
YANKEES 4

So the Yankees lost a game to the Boston Red Sox.

That is not the big story Friday night; the bigger story is that the Bronx Bombers continue to struggle in every facet of the game. Losers of three in a row and seven of their last ten, the Yankees have fallen out of first place in the AL East, now trailing the suddenly surging Tampa Bay Rays by two games.

Against Boston, once again, the Yankees big bats struggled to get any wood on the ball. Derek Jeter went 1-for-5, Mark Teixeria went 0-for-5. A-Rod was 1-for-3, Jorge Posada 1-for-4, and Nick Swisher 1-for-4. These are the guys the Yankees need to deliver the big hits in the big moments if this team is going to go anywhere this year, and since the start of this season, this same group has been fairly inconsistent.

Much has been made of Jeter's struggles this year, but the captain is hitting .268; although he's never been known as a huge accumulator of statistics, at age 37, he is showing signs of deterioration.

Moreover, the struggles of Swisher and Posada are more troubling. Swisher is hitting only .221 with two homers and 14 RBI, and he has shown little sign of turning around this misfortune. In addition, Posada looks finished. He has been hitting a consistent .166 all year. Even though he has six homers, the man can't hit the baseball enough and should be removed from the batting order.

Certainly Teixeria and A-Rod make this offense go; with those two batters struggling, this offense is heading nowhere fast, but you know in your Yankee heart of hearts they will come around eventually.

Then there is the pitching. Bartolo Colon was decent against Boston, yeilding three runs in six innings, but he is always an implode away from being out of the rotation. Freddy Garcia is equally unreliable, and Ivan Nova has not been great.

With Phil Hughes out for the year, there is added pressure on CC Sabthia and A.J. Burnett to get it done this year. They need help and need it pronto.

The Yankees are looking more and more like an old team, full of guys who are waaaaaay past their prime, while getting out-muscled by teams like the Tigers, Rangers, Royals and now the Red Sox -- all teams that are younger than the Bronx Bombers.

Will it change? It better, and better faster than later.