For years, 26 of them in fact, New York in terms of baseball has always been the Yanks' domain. The House That Ruth Built, The Boss, The Don...Mattingly that is...and methinks right after their 1981 World Series loss to the Dodgers, who had Fernandomania running wild, I didn't see the Yanks have another winning season until the mid 90s. Come to think of it, until that time, the Mets came into their own, winning a couple of NL East crowns and one World Series title in 1986. But two, isn't anywhere near 26, right? Well, here's the thing that most Yankee fans aren't willing to admit, but are seeing unfold right before their very eyes.

The Mets are a helluva lot closer to winning World Series #3 than the Yanks are from winning #27. And what's more, the Mets haven't had to bend worse than a pretzel to get some aging arm to help a craptacular rotation out. Hell, the Mets are without their best arm (Pedro) and we're still ahead of the Bravos by a fairly decent margin. Can you imagine just how deadly this rotation's going to be when Pedro returns in August?

The fact remains that no matter how great the Mets do going forward (and a ton of folks see no reason why this won't get better in the future), this is and will continue to be the Yanks' town, even if the majority of their roster could file for Social Security and nobody would bat an eye. I mean, this team's sad. Even the Devil Rays feel sorry for these clowns right now. Nobody's hitting, nobody's pitching and I'm pissed for taking Mariano Rivera, thinking saves would be in the bag when he's not having spit to close.

Right now, the Sox could fall into a swoon and the worse that would happen is they find themselves about 7 to 8 games up on New York. Let me put it this way: if the Sox find a way to blow this one, they deserve to be laughed at for all of eternity. Curses and what not be damned, I'll give the Yanks their due but right now...maybe Rasputin Torre's just run out of time and magic. Maybe there's nothing left to pull out of this team of washed up has beens and never will be agains. Maybe it's time for every Yankee fan to stand up and admit that Cashman's made some horrible decisions (choosing Pavano over Beckett was brilliant) and their $120M first baseman just isn't as great as he used to be now that he's apologized for not using what we know he used.

Oh and Johnny Demon? Since Clemens found a way to talk himself into showing up one out of every five days, maybe they'll let you get your hair back. Maybe your swing that killed the Yanks in Game 7 of the ALCS three years ago will return with it. Names aren't what win titles. Right now, the Yanks are the most decorated cellar dwellers in all of baseball. When we look at the Royales With Cheese, we see why they're in last. You couldn't pick one of their starters out of a lineup with their moms present. When you see the Nationals, well, does the word 'duh' cover that one?

Fact is, right now the mystique is gone and barring a major revival (and I ain't talking about finding the oldest sacks of crap you can think of and putting pinstripes on them either), the Yanks are done for the foreseeable future. The Empire lost and Theo Skywalker won. He took a year off to enjoy his World Series ring, kick himself for not keeping the core group together and managed to put together a somewhat better one that's looking like they're gonna have the division locked up by the time we all gather to watch fireworks on the 4th.

By this time, as I can pretty much tell you from firsthand experience having lived in the Tri-State Area for most of my life, the media will not let up. The back page will continue to eat the Yanks alive as long as they continue to struggle and if Clemens doesn't show folks what he had in Toronto winning 3 straight Cy Youngs and then some...it's a bust. And even if it's not, him being there for one day out of five isn't going to get this team swinging again. It's not going to rub off on the other pitchers, who couldn't find the strike zone with a GPS tracker and a torch. The fat lady's singing and to be all the way honest with it, trace it all the way back to the 2004 ALCS.

There are certain moments, subtle at best, that crush franchises and we don't even realize it. In 2000 when the Blazers blew that 4th quarter lead against the Lakers in Game 7, their franchise never recovered. Until it won the lottery and even that's a wait and see deal. When the Vikings were blown out in the 2000 NFC Championship game by the Giants, that franchise never recovered. Sure, they beat the Pack in Lambeau, but the King of Dogfighting did it first. The Vikes had Sex Boat and the team's been blown up. Again, they never recovered. The Sacramento Kings were probably a hiccup away from the Finals a few years ago, probably the only other franchise in the West other than the Spurs who weren't afraid of the Lakers, but choked away a Game 7 on their home floor. Team's been blown to bits, they have yet to bounce back.

You don't just blow a 3-0 lead to your worst enemy and expect your team to turn it around with a few signings and stuff. That'd be like your significant other leaving you for your best friend and you saying "you're not bothered by it". Either you're totally made of ice or trying to fool yourself, because nobody's buying that. And while nobody's openly saying it, I will. 2004, more so than the Marlins and Beckett shutting them out in the Bronx in Game 6 of the World Series, killed the Yanks' mystique. When the world saw how the Sox did it, people realized the Yanks were just a team that wears pinstripes and play in the Bronx. Nothing more, nothing less.

It's like Tyson after he was knocked out by Douglas. His mystique took a hit that never was the same after the fact. Everybody took their shots and never let up. You're seeing the same from the Yanks now. If this were the old Yanks, I'd say give them a month and they'd turn it around. Not this time. They're in too deep and there's not enough heart on this team of high priced mercenaries and fogeys to want to get out of this. Game over, Yanks. Thanks for playing.