A couple of things, Yogi. First, age is factoring in. Pettitte, Mussina, Posada, Abreu, Damon and Giambi are past their prime seasons, and don't have the talent to match their salaries. Jeter is still productive, but has lost a little something in the field perhaps, and his best seasons may have already been played.

The commitment to the young arms may work out okay, but Hughes and Kennedy haven't lived up to the hype that was poured on them. Rivera and Chamberlain have done well, but the team needs to be leading in the seventh inning to take advantage of them.

Also, the Yankees have not come close to the team chemistry that allowed them to win championships in the late 90s. The big name/big money players they reeled in with cash that only the Yankees were willing to pay, like Giambi, Mussina, Sheffield, Rodriguez and Damondidn't provide the cohesiveness that slightly less heralded players, like Brosius, Martinez, O'Neill and Williams, provided.

Finally, some of the other teams in the league improved. While it is not unusual for the Yankees to be 6 or 7 games out of first place this time of year, it is odd for them to be in last place on May 21. Reaching the top of the division when you're 7 games out is much harder to do when there are 4 teams in front of you than one.

I still expect the Yankees to contend for the division or play-offs. Four of fourteen teams advance and about 5 teams don't have a realistic chance. Their payroll alone should keep them above .500.

It's too bad that you are pretty much limited to Boston and New York as there are some very exciting and interesting teams in the league. But here too the national media focus on the Yankees and Red Sox, and to a lesser extent, the Mets. American sports coverage in general has adefinite east coast bias, and the Yankees and Sox tend to be the biggest draw.