Bronx, N.Y., June 11, 2006 — Having made constant headlines with potentially season-ending injuries to two star outfielders and minor scrapes and bruises galore, the Yankees and their fans were surprised the team was playing the best ball in the League just a few days ago. But they came crashing back to earth during a three-game sweep at the hands of the Athletics this weekend.

The day broke beautifully in the Bronx, with a bright sun that has been a stranger of late, and the hard-driving Saturday winds responsible for ushering out the everyday rains had subsided to a gentle breeze. What’s more, Sunday’s game got off to a great start. Fresh off the DL, Yankee starter Shawn Chacon retired the A’s around a two-out Milton Bradley triple, and the home team capitalized on A’s lefty Barry Zito’s three walks for two quick runs.

Chacon was sharp early, getting seven first-pitch strikes the first time through the A’s order, even if first baseman Mark Johnson halved the Yankee lead with a 3-1, one-out jack to right in the second. The veteran Zito, rumored to be on the trading block, with the Bronx one oft-named destination, settled down. It cost him 30 pitches to battle through the first, but he rebounded to retire the Yanks in the next three on just just 27 more. Through four he had allowed just two singles, and no hits at all to Yankees not named Robinson Cano.

We had the makings of a tight battle, if Chacon could only hold up his end. But something happened to Shawn’s game after the second inning. Sure, we was the victim of a bad break when Johnny Damon and Melky Cabrera collided just as Damon was about to retire Nick Swisher on a long liner to left center. Visions of Bubba Crosby colliding with Gary Sheffield (both on the DL now) in 2005 ALDS Game Five danced in my head as the A’s left fielder circled the bases and slid under Jorge Posada’s tag attempt for an inside-the-park home run, and a tie game.

And it got worse. As Zito continued to quiet Yankee bats, two no-out fourth-inning walks around a Jay Payton double led to an A’s 4-2 lead, with the runs scoring on Posada’s passed ball and a sac fly by Jason Kendall. The latter was on a shallow fly ball that made it painfully clear that Bernie Williams and not Gary Sheffield was patrolling right field. Chacon escaped the fifth with no further damage on a Marco Scutaro double play grounder, and the Yanks arose from the mat and gave Shawn a chance to win the game.

After Zito struck out Miguel Cairo to start the home fifth, he surrendered his fifth walk to Johnny Damon. Derek Jeter then drilled the next pitch to the gap in left center, a ball that left fielder Swisher badly misjudged, and Damon came around to score. The scuffling Alex Rodriguez flied to short left, but Posada blasted a long home run to left and the Yanks had retaken the lead, 5-4.

Chacon is one of the puzzles the Yanks need to answer. With titular ace Randy Johnson struggling, along with long man Aaron Small, the Yanks have but two starters they can count on, with Mike Mussina being routinely superb, and Chien-Ming Wang posting quality starts most of the time. Jaret Wright hasÊrecovered from ineffectiveness and a long 2005 stint on the DL to provide some quality starts, but he appears incapable of getting through the sixth inning.

Which bring us back to Chacon. One theory for his troubles has it that he was supremely confident last year when the Yanks rescued him from mile-high Colorado. The pop on his fastball returned as his breaking pitches snapped as they hadn’t in years, due to the more down-to-earth atmosphere one finds in the Bronx. But the fact is he did pitch well down the stretch; it seems obvious he should be able to again, given pitches of similar quality.

But after seven first-pitch strikes to the first eight A’s to start this game, Chacon became tentative, frustrating the fans by wasting his changeup far outside the zone and aiming for the corners with his slider and fastball. He managed to find the plate with the first pitch just three times while pitching to the next 15 A’s batters, and that did not change when Posada’s bomb got him a lead. He took the mound to start the sixth having thrown just 76 pitches, and a seven-inning start seemed to be in his grasp. But no. He promptly fell to 3-0 on Eric Chavez, then walked him after a strike.

It makes little difference, really, that the A’s got a couple of breaks in plating Chavez for the tie. Chacon gave them the chance, and they capitalized. A-Rod rushed a throw on Payton’s soft hopper. The ruling was infield hit, with an error allowing Chavez to get to third. Mike Myers cashed in a strike out of Johnson, and Scott Proctor pounced on a Kendall one hopper. But his wide throw to second nullified a dp chance and Chavez crossed.

Rookie Matt Smith started the seventh against two lefties. He struck out the first, then walked the next. Kyle Farnsworth followed with a four-pitch free pass of his own. He pounded 10 hard strikes to whiff the next two and get the Yanks through the seventh tied. But Jeter flied deep to left after a Damon walk, and the Yanks couldn’t score.

Just as the late Boston come-from-behind victory appeared on the out-of-town scoreboard, Johnson made the moment doubly bad as he reached Farnsworth for a one-out home run to left, a ball that Cabrera came oh so close to with a leap at the wall. It proved the difference. The Yanks failed to tally after Robby Cano’s third single, off reliever Kiko Calero, in the eighth, and although Mariano Rivera retired the final five A’s without incident, Huston Street retired the Yanks in order, and the A’s had won 6-5.

After a string of victories in games where the Bombers continually pounded 10 hits or more despite the losses to the offense, fans who screamed for adding a big bat were hushed as the Baby Bombers played well, and the team won. But now they’ve lost four straight, managed 10 hits in none of them. Worse, they got only four and five, respectively, Thursday against Boston and in this loss today.

But can they afford to go both after a big bat and a starting pitcher? Do they need to? It seems clear Randy Johnson will get his starts. After all, Kevin Brown did. And combined with Moose and Wang and Wright, his on-again/off-again presence forms most of a workable rotation. The team would be free to at least consider going after a bat if, as I believe, Shawn Chacon can be an effective starter. But after he threw the ball around the plate for three-plus innings today, the question is, does Chacon believe he can?

YANKEE BASEBALL!!!