Wednesday night, it was Adam Warren, still pitching out of the bullpen, who was victimized by a home run late in the contest while Betances wasn’t used yet again. In the eighth inning, former Yankee Steve Pearce drilled one deep to left field giving the fourth-place Orioles another late lead for their lights out closer Zach Britton to preserve. Warren, however, can’t be blamed for this loss because the game never should’ve reached that point.

In the fifth inning, the Yankees led 3-1, but the Orioles had loaded the bases with two men out. Jonathan Schoop hit into a fielder’s choice that would have ended the inning with no damage done, but a missed catch error by Stephen Drew allowed two runs to score. Drew also botched a perfect double play ground ball in the first inning and the Orioles would score first on a two out RBI single to right field by Davis. Starter CC Sabathia officially gave up one earned run in his 4 2/3 innings, but really all three of the runs that came across were Drew’s fault. Just a brutal night in the field for the second baseman.

It was a bad time for the Yankees to drop back-to-back games at home to a floundering Orioles team as the Blue Jays make their way to the Bronx for a four-game series starting Thursday. The Blue Jays also lost to the Red Sox Wednesday night, but the Yankees of course weren’t able to make up any ground as they still trail Toronto by 1.5 games in the AL East.

It goes to show just how important every game and every decision is this time of year. After getting out to a 12-1 lead in Boston last week, the Yankees bullpen collapsed and Joe Girardi decided to bring Betances into a six-run game with the bases loaded. Andrew Miller was also used in the eventual 13-8 victory. I’m not saying Girardi should go all Matt Williams on everybody and stay away from his best relievers until he absolutely has to use them, but they really could’ve used Betances in there in these tight games the past two nights and it’s worth noting he was used to protect leads of three runs or more in two of his last three outings.

This takes us back to the trade deadline where the Yankees didn’t make a move to bolster the bullpen or the lineup, which it seems like they really could’ve used. As other BP Bronx writers have said this week, it’s great that the Yankees have good young players in their system and some depth. New York wouldn’t still be in this position without the performances of Luis Severino (2.04 ERA in six starts) or Greg Bird (112 wRC+ in 94 plate appearances) over the past few weeks, which is wild because nobody should expect rookies to step into a pennant race and immediately flourish. Each has done a remarkable job and you could even say that as a whole this Yankees team has overachieved, which only makes it even more maddening that the “big” acquisition they made at the trade deadline turned out to be Dustin Ackley.

Every decision matters this time of year, but even more than Girardi’s usage of his best reliever is the problem of finding offense with Teixeira out and Gardner banged up. In 11 games since sitting out with a hip injury, Jacoby Ellsbury is hitting .186/.255/.279 with one home run, three walks, and 10 strikeouts. That won’t cut the mustard. At least Alex Rodriguez is heating up again as he has four home runs in his last six games.

It doesn’t get any easier tonight as (if it doesn’t rain) the Yankees will square off with Blue Jays ace David Price in the Bronx. The Yankees have gotten to Price a few times in the past two years, most notably two eight-run shellackings while he was with Detroit (both were at Comerica Park). Gardner might even be in the starting lineup after pinch-hitting last night. New York hopes his return can help boost what has been a good, but inconsistent offense this year. If they could pick a series to breakout in, this would be the one.

(Photo: Andy Marlin-USA Today Sports)

If we are to take this stance at face value and while putting any faith in a team’s public posturing can be dangerous just bare with me, it seems like the Yankees want to have their cake and eat it too. The Yankees want to add a big pitcher as they’ve been linked to both Price and Cole Hamels before that, but they weren’t kidding when they said the Phillies were asking for more than they were comfortable with parting with as Philadelphia ended up accepting a package of six players from Texas for Hamels. While the Rangers didn’t have to part with their very best prospects Nomar Mazara, Joey Gallo, Chi Chi Gonzalez, or Dillon Tate, Hamels still cost them a hefty package of players that the Yankees deemed too steep of a cost.

If the Yankees aren’t able to find a deal that suits their needs over the next two days, then it’ll really be time to start asking some questions. The Yankees are in first place with a sizable lead and unbelievably we’re actually asking the question of what to expect when your team didn’t expect to contend this year? The Yankees don’t want to part with their top prospects for a player set to hit free agency at the end of the season and that’s understandable because those deals hardly happen anymore. Hamels has three years left on his contract after 2015 and required significantly more talent in return than, say, Johnny Cueto, who is a free agent this offseason (though it’s also worth noting that the Phillies also sent Texas money and took Matt Harrison’s contract to offset Hamels’ remaining contract).

Still, if the Yankees were so worried about hanging onto their prospects and keeping the future in tact, why didn’t they spend their money on an ace this past offseason? It’s one thing to be shopping for an ace now that the team is two months away from its first division title since 2012, but even with Masahiro Tanaka and Michael Pineda both surrounded by question marks coming into the season, New York’s big offseason move to add pitching was getting Nathan Eovaldi and they created a major hole at second base when they gave up veteran Martin Prado (as well as David Phelps) to do it.

While there’s still time for Brian Cashman and company to get a deal done and we all know how perfect Future Yankee David Price would look in pinstripes (and the Yankees and Tigers are familiar trade partners and Detroit also a productive but expensive second baseman), this entire dilemma could’ve been avoided had the Yankees addressed their needs better this past offseason. Retaining the services of Chase Headley was the Yankees big move while they let reliever David Robertson walk and never made a play for Max Scherzer. Each of those players would’ve only cost the Yankees money and now the club finds itself in a bind where they should be adding talent, but might ultimately resist the high prospect cost in this seller’s market.

Spending money to add talent isn’t the oldest trick in the Yankees’ book, but it was once the most popular. Here, it looks like management actually undersold this roster on their preseason outlook and now they have to deal with that fallout and decide whether or not giving up some of their future to take a shot at winning the World Series is worth it when it means topping the Dodgers’ offer for Price. Same old Yankees, huh?

(Photo: Matthew Emmons-USA Today Sports)

After hitting a massive home run against the Orioles on Wednesday, Rodriguez is now just four home runs shy of tying Willie Mays for fourth all-time with 660, but earlier in the week the club conveniently left the upcoming milestone out of an official press release. The Yankees likely did this to try to support their argument that the home run milestone bonuses were put in the contract in an effort to market Rodgriguez’ ascent to the all-time home run crown in pinstripes, and that they shouldn’t have to pay them now that irrevocable damage has been done to Rodriguez’ legacy and marketing him won’t be nearly as easy as they once imagined. How they expect someone who doesn’t have to pay this money to Rodriguez to agree with them, remains an open question. It’s not smart to hand out a 10-year contract to any player and the Yankees lost that bet a long time ago–though some columnists are still making bad give back the 2009 World Series trophy jokes–but if the club really believes that they can just hope those bonuses away, they might be in for a surprise. If anything, it might push even more fans to his side because for all his faults, Rodriguez can’t be blamed for merely signing a contract that was offered to him.

Another thing pushing fans to support A-Rod is the fact that Alex Rodriguez is the best hitter currently playing in the Bronx. It’s only been nine games, but Al from Miami leads the team in RBI (7), AVG (.286), and OBP (.394). At the beginning of spring training new hitting coach Jeff Pentland forged a relationship with Rodriguez right away. Pentland was interviewed recently and noted that despite Alex’s strikeouts, he’s not getting blown away by fastballs, which would be a main concern given his age. Pentland said Rodriguez believes he can hit and part of that could be from going back to his old swing and leg-kick. Pentland watched film from many Yankees hitters’ previous seasons before spring training and showed up to camp with certain things for the players to watch.

That’s from Wednesday night. A Bud Norris fastball that Rodriguez hit the stuffing out of. But it looked awfully familiar.

That’s the first pitch A-Rod saw in 2009 after returning from offseason hip surgery. He had no spring training and missed all of April, but on that May 8th day he got a fastball from Jeremy Guthrie, cleared his hips, and let it all hang out. He did this for much of that season and through the Yankees eventual World Series run, so it makes plenty of sense for Rodrgiuez to try to replicate his swing from that time in his career.

While nobody should expect Rodriguez to carry the Yankees on his back like he did in 2009, the idea that he can’t be a productive hitter at his age and after missing an entire season seems to have been overblown. It’s only been nine games, but Rodriguez has already proven that he worked his tail off to get back to this level and as long as he remains healthy I don’t anticipate him slowing down too much. On Monday night, an Orioles fan turned his back during each Rodriguez at-bat, but he’s actually the player on the Yankees I most look forward to seeing come to the plate now, though I might turn away while he’s playing defense at first base if that happens again. I was even slightly disappointed on Tuesday night when he had a day off. I like watching him hit and it’s a habit I’m not ready to break yet.

In these last two years since the Yankees have made the playoffs, the club garnered fans’ attention out of nostalgia for what is now a bygone era. New York said it’s tearful goodbyes gradually to modern legends Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter and they held fans’ interest all season long, right down to their last moments on the diamond in the Bronx. In 2013, Rivera was overcome with emotion when Jeter and Andy Pettitte came out to the mound signifying the end of his career. Last year, Jeter walked off the Orioles as the Core Four, Bernie Williams, Tino Martinez, and Joe Torre were all there to congratulate him. He saluted the fans, and even took a private moment for himself alone on the field as he crouched down on the grass behind where the shortstop plays soaking in the moment. It was very compelling. Even though the Yankees weren’t going to the playoffs, you couldn’t turn away.

The end of this season doesn’t signify an end for Rodriguez and the Yankees. He’s signed through 2017. Unless something major changes with the Yankees offense, though, or the bullpen proves to be a weapon that can make up for the team’s other deficiencies, the Yankees season will end with the club left out of the playoffs for the third consecutive year. If that day comes, much like in the dispute over A-Rod’s home run bonuses, the Yankees will have only themselves to blame for their troubles.