The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have had some classic battles at Yankee Stadium over the years. Sad to say, but it will be the last time that the two rivals will face each other in "the House that Ruth built."

In the past two nights, the Yankees have been beaten by Boston, which now puts them seven games out of the wild card and 10.5 games behind Tampa Bay for the division lead. The Rays have the best record in the American League, at a mark of 80 wins and 51 losses. The Angels are hot on their heals though, just a half-game behind.

This spells bad news for the Yankees, who have managed to make it to the playoffs for the last 13 seasons. This is not good news for Joe Girardi, either. Girardi took over managerial duties this season after the Yankees let Joe Torre go.

The Yankees, under Torre, managed to make the playoffs every year and wound up winning four World Titles in the process. Girardi will definitely be feeling the heat in New York if the Yanks don’t make it to the playoffs.

In last night’s game, the Yankees were trailing Boston 4-2 in the top of the eighth inning. But that is when it all began to fall apart for the Yankees.

Boston ended up scoring seven runs in the eighth, which included a grand slam off the bat of Dustin Pedroia. It was Pedroia’s first grand slam of his short career, and he did it at Yankee Stadium. I’m sure he will remember that moment for the rest of his life.

So, after Boston took an 11-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees' hopes of making a playoff run took an enormous hit. The Yankees managed to score one more run before the conclusion of the game to make it a final of 11-3, in Boston’s favor.

After this horrible defeat at the hands of Boston, the Yankees now have a record of 70 wins and 62 losses. I feel that the Yankees may still have a little life left in them to make a run at the playoffs, but if they lose again to Boston today, that may be it for the Bronx Bombers.

If the Yankees do end up winning today’s game against Boston, they will only be six games out of the wild card. Plus, the Yankees still have three games remaining against Boston in the regular season and six games against the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays.

So, if the Yankees can somehow manage to win tonight’s game, there is still hope that the Yanks can turn their year around and salvage their season. Unfortunately for the Yankees, if they do not make the playoffs, this season will be nothing short of a failure.