Schadenfreude 107 (A Continuing Series)

The Yankees are 3-7 since May 3 and and have dropped five games in the AL East standing in ten days, from 3 GA to 2 GB.

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

The Yankees have to get a big hit eventually, right? ...

After leaving 20 runners on base and going a combined 4-for-22 with runners in scoring position in their two losses to the Royals, the Yankees were no better in either department Friday night.

The Bombers were 1-for-7 with RISP, stranding eight runners as they suffered their third straight loss - the second time in 10 days they've found themselves in such a slide.

George A. King III, Post:

Wednesday they couldn't hit water if they jumped off the George Washington Bridge with runners in scoring position. Thursday they looked like Edward Scissorhands trying to catch and throw baseballs.

Last night at Yankee Stadium, Joba Chamberlain trucked to the dark side of the Yankees' universe when he soiled a respectable outing by Bartolo Colon against the Red Sox. ...

Clay Buchholz limited the lame lineup to two runs in seven innings and Chamberlain's high-octane heat wasn't good enough to avoid a 5-4 before 48,254.

With two more games against the Red Sox this weekend and a two-game set against the Rays on Monday and Tuesday in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Yankees look like somebody attempting to get around an ice rink in sneakers.

Joel Sherman, Post:

[T]he Yankees were just 2-for-14 with men on base. The Yankees over the years have made their reputation by doing damage when working into favorable counts. But against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz and reliever Daniel Bard the Yanks generated 13 hitter's counts -- 2-0, 3-0 or 3-1 -- and went 1-for-11 with two walks, three strikeouts and not a single ball driven into the outfield in those situations besides Posada's ground single that preceded Martin's homer in the fifth.

John Harper, Daily News:

[W]hen the ball doesn't go out of the park, they don't score enough runs to win.

They've left 37 runners on base during this three-game losing streak, and they haven't played crisp baseball for the last couple of weeks. ... [I]t's the middle of May and Posada is still only hitting .165 [.147 in his last 21 games] , while Swisher is at .221 with two home runs [11-for-75 (.172) over his past 18 games].

Beyond that, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez haven't looked right the last couple of weeks, either. ...

Going into Friday night's game the Yankees were hitting .239 with runners in scoring position, which ranked ninth in the AL, and .202 with RISP and two outs, which ranked 10th. ...

And despite Derek Jeter's recent run, [scouts] continue to question his bat speed, pointing to his 72% ground ball ratio, easily the highest in the majors ...

Kevin Kernan, Post:

A-Gone is the new Big Papi. Get used to it Yankees. ...

[I]n his first game at the new Yankee Stadium, Gonzalez put his stamp on the rivalry, blasting a leadoff home run in the fourth off Bartolo Colon, deep into the second deck in right and driving in a run in the Red Sox three-run seventh with a long sacrifice fly to left off Joba Chamberlain ...

The Yankees have no real weapon in their bullpen to counter the lefty-swinging Gonzalez. ... He simply has the look of a Yankee Killer with that sweet lefty swing. ...

Mark Hale, Post:

Mark Teixeira's futility against the Red Sox has become frightening.

Teixeira went 0-for-5 in last night's 5-4 Yankees loss in The Bronx, making him a woeful 0-for-17 in the Yankees' four games against the Red Sox this season. ...

The first baseman also closed last season hitless in his final 11 at-bats against Boston.

Teixeira is now 0-for-his-last-28 against the Red Sox. During that time, Teixeira has produced 13 strikeouts and zero RBIs.

Last night in The Bronx, Teixeira helped kill three different Yankees rallies, stranding three runners.

"I didn't get the job done," he said.

Sherman, Post:

A scary thought for Yankees fans as their team lost 5-4 to the Red Sox on Friday the 13th: Maybe your club's best chance to separate in the AL East has come and gone.

Because are the Yankees really going to have more favorable conditions than they have experienced over the first six weeks this season? ...

The Red Sox's best play is almost certainly in front of them. The onerous aspects of the Yankee road schedule are coming, including both West Coast trips. Plus, the Yankees now have to make up those three postponements, which will mean fewer offdays and greater stress on that older roster. ...

Have the Yankees already fumbled their best chance to control the AL East?