Curtis Granderson

Even after an early Mark Teixeira home run (23), Ricky Romero and the Toronto Blue Jays were too much for the New York Yankees.

As of today, the Yankees have lost three consecutive games, four of their last five.  But yesterday, they lost something more.

The division lead.

With an 8-2 Yankee loss to the Blue Jays, and a Tampa bay 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins, the Rays have taken the division lead from the Yankees, a spot the Yankees have held since June 12.

Bench, bench, and more bench is what New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman added right before the non-waiver trade deadline.

Will Cashman’s last minute moves help the team down the stretch?

Let’s hope so, but for now, we might as well get to know the two new Yankees hitters.

Other than adding Cleveland Indians pitcher Kerry Wood to help the bullpen, Cashman added fellow Indians outfielder Austin Kearns and Houston Astros first baseman Lance Berkman.

Well, that was unexpected.

For weeks leading up to MLB’s trade deadline, the Yanks were mostly quiet. Once the Cliff Lee deal fell through, the only names being thrown around were bats off the bench and middle relief help.

Well, the Yanks got their bench bat in Austin Kearns. And they paid the Indians $1.4M to rent Kerry Wood for the rest of the season.

But the one guy who came completely out of nowhere (and has the most potential to improve the team) was Lance Berkman.

Well, that was unexpected.

Friday night, the New York Yankees are at Tropicana Field to face the Tampa Bay Rays, and it will be a true battle of the young guns on the mound.

Since pitching and defense will dictate the outcomes of all three games, the match-ups on the mound will set the tone. Let's look at the Friday night's pitchers.

After splitting the first two games in Cleveland against the Indians, the New York Yankees have shortened their lead in the AL East to just two games over the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays are on fire right now. Starting pitcher Matt Garza pitched the franchise’s first no-hitter on Monday night against the Tigers and Tampa followed it up with another win. The Rays have won their last four in a row.

It's not working.

When the Yankees acquired center fielder Curtis Granderson this past winter in a trade with the Tigers for top prospect Austin Jackson, New York knew that Granderson struggled against left-handed pitching.

Last year, Granderson, who only hit .249 overall, batted a measly .183 versus southpaws. But the Bombers thought they could turn him around with the help of hitting coach Kevin Long.

As of July 19, the 29-year-old is batting .216 with a horrid .295 slugging percentage against lefties.

Of the Yankees’ remaining 74 games of the 2010 regular-season schedule, 13 are against the Tampa Bay Rays. That’s nearly 18% of all remaining games for the Yankees against the rival best team in baseball. The first of those showdowns between the two powerhouses begins today.

For a snapshot of where we are today, July 16, the AL East Standings look like this:

Much will be made of the Yankees’ terrific victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game after the All-Star Break. There was the somber aspect of the first game since Steinbrenner’s death. There were the dramatic back-to-back shots from Robbie Cano and Jorge Posada to tie the game in the 6th. There were the heroic hits from Nick Swisher–first, the game-tying dinger to lead off the 8th and then the game-winning single in the 9th.