Just Wait Until...

Yes, the 11-inning loss to the Red Sox was a bone-crushing, debilitating, awful defeat. Yeah, seven games out in this division with August right in front of us is pretty demoralizing. And yes, the pitching is starting to catch up with the hitting in the not-so-good department.

It's time, friends. There's no quick fix here. The cavalry is not coming over the hill anytime soon, and "over the hill" seems way too appropriate a word for what might be coming. As of today, the Yankees could field a lineup of disabled players that most teams would envy:

Jeter 6
Nix 4
Teixeira 3
Granderson 8
Rodriguez 5
Almonte 7
Youkilis DH
Cervelli 2
Phelps/Pineda 1

Throw yourself in a right fielder, and that's some team. But it's not coming to the Bronx anytime soon. In fact, Teixeira won't be back this year, Mr. Rod could be back anytime between tomorrow and forever, and Granderson and Youkilis will surely be gone by Opening Day 2014, if not sooner.

So it's time. Time to take a cold, hard look (with the Coors Cold Hard Look Freeze-Cam!) at this year's Yankees and say, you did a nice job keeping hope alive, boys, but it ain't gonna stick. Pick up your consolation prizes at the door.

It's time to start thinking about next year.

Without any cries of, "But wait, a trade of Joba for Miguel Cabrera is in the works," or "Jeter will be back and carry the team all by himself!", the truth is this Yankee team has overachieved to be THIS tood, and this good isn't that good. The game last night epitomized exactly where the problems are:

1. The Yankees don't hit for power at ALL. Imagine saying those words in any other season.
2. The starting pitching is beginning to crumble. Aside from Hiroki Kuroda, you don't know what you're getting on any given night.
3. When the Yankees have opportunities and don't cash in, you're in for a long night.
4. Joba Chamberlain has sunk so low on the depth chart that another team would have to be a few steps beyond desperate to trade for him.
5. The Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells experiments have failed. The team getting the placebo (Raul Ibanez, Nick Swisher, Russell Martin) was cured.

With that in mind, next year isn't looking a whole lot better.

Presumably, we'll be starting with a healthy Derek Jeter. That's always a plus, but it'll be a healthy Derek Jeter pushing 40, and while it's always a bad idea to count him out, you can't change the laws of physics, even if Mr. Scott did it once a week from 1966-1969.

Beyond that, we'll probably also have a healthy Mark Teixeira, which is also very good, but not what it used to be. A healthy Alex Rodriguez might not exist anymore, and even if it does, one serving a 100-game (or more!) suspension can be Superman and isn't going to help.

What will (probably) be lost this winter: Curtis Granderson, Jayson Nix, Andy Pettitte, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Travis Hafner, Kevin Youkilis, Hiroki Kuroda (that'll hurt)

and Mariano Rivera.

Not all of that is awful. Hughes needs to pitch in a larger home ballpark. Chamberlain just needs to go. Hafner was barely ever here. Youkilis really wasn't ever here.

Pettitte should retire. He's done enough, and all he can do now is add a sour taste to leave in the mouths of Yankee fans. He should probably retire now and not wait until the end of the year. If Hughes isn't traded--and few teams will want a rental on him--David Phelps is coming back and Michael Pineda, if there really IS a Michael Pineda, is said to be waiting in the wings. There are young arms in the bullpen who were slated to be starters; maybe they could get a chance.

What will (probably) be coming back for 2014: Wells, Ichiro, Chris Stewart, Eduardo Nunez, Brett Gardner (he of great speed and no will to steal), Almonte, Phelps, Ivan Nova, most of the bullpen (sans Rivera) and Joe Girardi (probably--his contract is expiring, too, and his phone will ring).

Doesn't exactly inspire confidence, and given the Yankees' uncharacteristic insistence on (relative) thrift for next year, we shouldn't be expecting that high-priced free agent on the horizon, no matter who it might be.

No, things are not looking good, folks. Is Raul Mondesi available?