Jobu reviews the Yankees series loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

Has everyone seen Spaceballs? You know the scene where Lord Helmet is sucking the air out of Druidia, and Dick Van Patten (aka King Roland) is writing the letter to his daughter, Vespa, as his air is slowly running out? That’s what it feels like to blog about the Yankees lately. After another series loss, this one to the Orioles, I’m about ready to pass out. I really wish we hadn’t given the O’s the combination to the air lock…

I’m not going to break down each game in this series review. Frankly, if the Yankees aren’t going to put their full effort into salvaging the season, then I’m certainly not going to put my full effort into blogging about their slow collapse. I mean seriously, we’ve been watching this disaster the entire second half. It’s slow, it’s excruciating and I just wish it would finally all be over.

The Yankees needed to show the Orioles that the division wasn’t just going to be up for grabs in September. They needed to come out and make a big statement in game one. Just now that the Orioles are reaching the top of the ladder and nipping at their feet, the Yankees needed to put their feet on Buck Showalter’s face and shove him, and the rest of the Orioles, off of the wall. They didn’t do that.

They came out about as flat as they’ve been since the first series of the year against Tampa, and the Orioles dominated them 6-1. Kuroda gave up three runs in the second inning, but it might as well have been twelve, because the Yankees didn’t score until Curtis Granderson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. Thanks for the effort, men. Nothing says “you’re not gonna steal the division from us” like getting nearly shut out by Miguel González.

There was more of the same in game two, but I think the Orioles felt bad because they basically gave the Yankees the game in the bottom of the seventh. The Yankees had two hits until then, but managed to tie the game on a bases loaded walk by Derek Jeter and took the lead on an error by J.J. Hardy on the next batter. They snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in this one… with a lot of help from the Orioles.

You would think escaping with a win in game two would have motivated them in game three, and for a while it looked like the Yankees would salvage the series. Unfortunately, Phil Hughes completely collapsed in the top of the sixth. The Yankees took a 2-0 lead on a home run by Chris Dickerson, of all people, and eventually led 3-1, before Hughes decided to forget how to pitch. The Orioles scored four runs in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead, and added three more late runs off of Joba Chamberlain (can we shut him down, please?) to win the game 8-3.

The series was pretty brutal, but at least the Yankees managed to not get swept and held onto the division lead for another few days. At this point, the way they’re playing (and the fact that the O’s don’t lose anymore), there’s not a lot of hope in Yankees land. However, you’re in first place until you’re not anymore, and the Yankees still have time to stop the skid before they slip in the standings.

Featured image courtesy of: KATHY KMONICEK/AP