Are The Yankees Doomed?

That was quite a heartfelt mea culpa by WWL columnist Jeff Pearlman on Monday, eh? Basically, Pearlman proferred a sloppy apology to Joe Torre for writing off the Yankees — and calling for Torre's head — in May. You can get in on the fun right here. But here's the thing: What if New York still ends up losing the East by 12 games? It could very well happen, and for proof, let's take a look at Mr. Schedule.

Derek Jeter singled home the winning run in the ninth in the Yankees' 7-6 win over the Orioles on Monday, New York keeping pace four games behind Boston. The Red Sox were 3-0 winners over the Devil Rays behind Tim Wakefield's screwballs of mystery. And therein lies the problem for Torre and the Yanks. The Red Sox have the majority of their tough games behind them; of Boston's 44 remaining games, 11 are against Tampa Bay (45-73), which Boston has already beaten six of seven times, outscoring the Devil Rays 50-22. Meanwhile, among its 44 remaining games, New York must still play eight games against Detroit, and three each vs. the Angels and the very deadly-when-provoked Mariner Moose. Plus the Yankees and Red Sox play each other six more times; but even if New York were to win five of those, it may not be enough. And five is a stretch, considering that Beckett will pitch twice. So Pearlman, you may have been premature, my friend.

• Other Jeff Pearlman Columns He Should Probably Apologize For. Dog Fighting — Feh! — What's The Big Deal? ... Unlike The Rest Of Us, Merv Griffin Is Pretty Much Immortal ... Manchester United And Why They Will Win It All ... Joe Morgan Makes Perfect Sense To Me ... Bonds' 756th Home Run Ball, And How I Will Catch It ... The Seattle SuperSonics, Now And Forever.

• Arrrrr, Barry, Arrrrrr. Was this Barry Bonds' last game in Pittsburgh? He singled in a 3-1 loss in the first game of a makeup doubleheader, then sat out the Giants' 10-3 win in the second game (featuring Ryan Klesko grand slam goodness).

• Polanco Power Chad Gaudin, who had been 0-5 after the All-Star break, struck out nine as the Athletics beat the Tigers 7-2. Detroit fell into a first-place tie in the AL Central with idle Cleveland, whom the Tigers will play in a two-game series beginning Wednesday. Also, the Tigers' Placido Polanco set a major league record for second basemen by playing his 144th straight game without an error. He hasn't made an error in more than a year.

• Now Witness The Firepower Of This Fully Operational Mark Teahen! If Mark Teahen is taking steroids, he isn't doing it right. Teahen homered for the first time in more than two months — 250 at-bats — as the Royals beat the Blue Jays 6-2.