Spectacular Collapse Still In Progress

"Bad Boy Mowers"? More like, "Bad Boy Left Fielder."

There are Yankee Fans online who want the Great Collapse to be complete: Not just blowing the entire 15 1/2-game lead that the Yankees had on July 8, but missing the Playoffs completely. Only such a collapse would cause team owner Hal Steinbrenner to fire general manager Brian Cashman and field manager Aaron Boone, and bring in competent people to fill both jobs.

In the words of the immortal Michael Corleone, "Who's being naive, Kay?" That won't do it:

 * Boone will never be fired, because he's doing exactly what Cashman wants him to do.

* Cashman will never be fired, because he's doing exactly what Hal wants him to do.

* And Hal will never sell the team.

Last night, at home, the Yankees the last series of the regular season against the Tampa Bay Rays, the team closest to them in the American League Eastern Division. This series shouldn't have mattered. Now, it does. And it was just like the previous game, against the Minnesota Twins: They fell behind, tried to come back, and couldn't. It could go down in history as "The Aaron Hicks Game."

Frankie Montas started, and, yet again, this season's key pitching acquisition of Cashman's proved he is not good enough, going 5 2/3rds innings, allowing 4 hits on 9 runs and 4 walks. Lucas Luetge and Ryan Weber went the rest of the way, allowing no runs on 2 hits and no walks, but it was too late.

It wasn't all Montas' fault: The hitters didn't do their jobs, either. Again, Boone/Cashman batted Aaron Judge leadoff. Again, he faced a strike 2 that was no strike, and then swung and missed on a bad pitch for strike 3. When is Boone/Cashman going to let the best slugger in baseball bat 4th, like he's supposed to?

In the top of the 4th, with 2 men on, Wander Franco hit a ball down the left-field line, and Aaron Hicks mishandled it, and seemed to stop. He seemed not to notice that the ball was fair. He also seemed not to notice that there were 2 outs, meaning the baserunners were running on the pitch. Both runners scored, making it 4-0 Rays.

And Hicks is batting just .211. Fans began chanting, "Jo-ey Gal-lo!" These same fans had previously booed the hell out of Gallo, whose batting average was .159 when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers (he's batting .191 with them), but was, at the least, a good fielder. When Yankee Fans prefer Joey Gallo to you, you know you've pissed them off.

It was still 4-0 Rays before the Yankees got on the board in the 7th. Oswald Peraza drew a walk. After 2 outs, 1 of which advanced Peraza to 2nd, Judge singled him home, although it looked at first as though Peraza was out at the plate. Boone challenged the call, and it was overturned by replay. But that was all the Yankees would get in the inning.

With 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, Kyle Higashioka hit a home run. With 2 out, Judge drew a walk. The tying run was at the plate. It was Gleyber Torres. Now, Yogi Berra used to say, "In baseball, you don't know nothin'." But Doris Kearns Goodwin says, "There's always these omens in baseball." You know how you just know something is going to happen? Well, I just knew Torres was not going to come through. Well, almost: He gave it a ride, but it wasn't quite long enough, and it was the last out.

Rays 4, Yankees 2. WP: Drew Rasmussen (10-4). SV: Shawn Armstrong (2). LP: Montas (5-12).

The Rays close to within 3 1/2 games of the Yankees, just 2 in the loss column. Forget catching the Astros for best record in the AL: Right now, the Yankees' best chance at winning the Pennant is somehow hanging on for the Division title, and then hoping the Astros lose their Division Series. Because the Yankees would have to win at least 1 game in Houston -- and they're not going to do that.

The Mets' blowing of their National League East lead is complete: They are now half a game behind the Atlanta Braves, 1 game in the loss column. And yet, nobody is talking about how this big-spending team with their big-talking fans has put themselves in position to be such a spectacular failure -- because the Yankees' failure, while perhaps not more shameful, is, by its size, more spectacular. And it is still in progress.

The fans have had enough. It was Derek Jeter Hall of Fame Night, and in his speech, Jeter thanked both Hal and Cashman. Both of them were booed. Jeter responded, "I see you guys are ready for the Playoff push." It wasn't a call to stop, only an acknowledgement.

The series continues this afternoon. Jameson Taillon starts against former Yankee Corey Kluber. To adapt a phrase we're hearing from London these days, God save the Yanks. It looks like no one else will.