New York Yankees' Lack of Competitiveness vs. Rays May Come Back to Haunt Them

Make no mistake, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees don't like each other.

It's the kind of rivalry that you have to be a fan of either team in order to truly understand. From Bucky "Bleeping" Dent to Boston's shocking comeback in 2004, the rivalry is bitter and remains one of the best in sports.

With three games left to play, the Red Sox found themselves up one game on the Tampa Bay Rays. In a month that saw Boston blow a nine-game lead in the Wild Card, the season had come down to the final series of the season.

Meanwhile, the Yankees had clinched the division and the No. 1 seed in the American League. With three games remaining against the red-hot Rays, many believed the Yankees wouldn't play their starters in hopes of resting up for the playoffs.

The underlying story, however, was the fact that the Yankees also had a chance to stick it to the Boston Red Sox one more time in the 2011 season.

If the Yankees tanked the final three games of the regular season, and with Boston struggling with injuries (Youkilis, Buchholz, Dice-K all gone for the season), the Yankees could assist in knocking off the Red Sox from the playoffs.

And that's exactly what happened. The Yankees played their starters sparingly in comparison to the Philadelphia Phillies, who played all out in a successful attempt to knock off the Atlanta Braves.

Up 7-0 in the bottom of eighth inning, the Yankees allowed six runs by Tampa, including a three-run home run by Evan Longoria.

In the ninth inning up 7-6, Cory Wade, not Mariano Rivera, came out to close the season for the Yankees. With two outs and two strikes, Wade threw a perfectly placed ball, as he had done with the previous two batters, down the middle which was sent over the fence and tied the game at 7 apiece.

In the end, the Yankees decided to play with their Triple-A players against a team that needed to win and did. In the bottom of the 12th inning, Longoria's second shot sent the Rays to the playoffs.

There are some who may argue that the Yankees didn't tank anything, but take into consideration what the Phillies were doing in Atlanta, playing all their starters for most of the game. Hunter Pence hit the game winning hit in the 13th inning. What was Pence still doing playing in such a meaningless game?

Playing to win, that's what the Phillies were doing, playing to win. The Yankees, however, played to spite the Red Sox, and they did just that.

However, the biggest storyline has yet to be written.

The Yankees laying over to spite the Red Sox may come back to haunt them. Boston did not have the team to win this year's World Series. Injuries to two starting pitchers and third baseman Kevin Youkilis, along with a lack of production from overpaid busts like John Lackey and Carl Crawford, was going to signal a quick end for the Red Sox in the playoffs.

This team was built to win the World Series, but injuries and lack of production wasn't going to allow it.

Tampa Bay, however, has everything Boston has, but most importantly, they are healthy.

The Rays have the pitching, the bats, the speed, and above all, the momentum thanks in large part to the Yankees giving them a helping hand.

The moves made by the New York Yankees have allowed a sleeping giant to enter into the playoffs, while the Red Sox most certainly would not have made it past a Texas Rangers squad who dominated the season series.

In the end, the Red Sox are out of the playoffs and the Yankees assisted in pushing them over the ledge. The move, however, may come back to haunt the Yankees.