What the hell just happened?

The Detroit Tigers belted three home runs in the first three innings and held on to defeat the Yanks 5-4 on Sunday afternoon.  In just over a week, the Yankees' deficit in the AL East has ballooned from four games to 7.5 games.

And I don't like it one bit.

The Good:

Jason Giambi.  Torre pulled the right strings again on Sunday.  Giambi homered for the fifth time since coming off the DL early in the month.  His solo shot in the second got the Bombers on the board and his single in the ninth gave the Yanks hope.  The Giambino finished 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI.

Robinson Cano.  Cano's three-run bomb in the fourth inning drew the Yankees as close as they would come on Sunday.  I was listening to John and Suzy at this point and they couldn't stop gushing about how far it went.  Sterling also patted himself on the back when he came within one foot of estimating how far the ball traveled.  Nice going, John. Cano finished 1 for 4 with a run scored and 3 RBIs.

The Bad:

Phil Hughes.  Hughes settled down after giving up the three dingers on Sunday afternoon, but it was too late.  This wasn't a terrible start by the Yankee rookie, but the Bombers need wins right now and the three homers put the team down early in this contest.  Again, the kid is going to have his ups and downs and normally it wouldn't matter, but the Yanks are fighting for a playoff spot and they're just going to need a little more from Hughes.  Hughes dropped to 2-2 with this: 6 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 3 K.

The Ugly:

The Captain sidelined.  You know Jeter had to be beat up when he didn't argue with Joe Torre after not seeing his name in the starting lineup on Sunday afternoon.  DJ has looked a bit sluggish in the last few games and it's really coming at a bad time for the Yanks.  They're going to need him if they're going to make a run for the post-season.  Jeter said he would play on Monday, but Torre wasn't too sure.  Let's see what happens.

The Yanks try for the split on Monday night and will have to face the Tiger ace Justin Verlander.  Verlander defeated the Yanks at The Stadium last week.  The Yankees will turn to Mike Mussina.  The Moose may be pitching for his spot in the rotation.  He's been bombed in his last two starts going 0-2 with an ERA of 18.87. Still, Mussina isn't worried and doesn't expect to lose his job.  "Who are they going to replace me with?" Mussina quipped.

The balls.

Still, he may have a point.