Phil Hughes Might Not Be The Only One Saying Goodbye Today

When you woke up today, the Yankees were still in playoff contentions -- technically. Last night in the Bronx, the Yanks, like the Mariano Rivera bobbleheads, failed to show up when the fans were counting on them the most.

After putting up a fight in late-August to put themselves back into the playoff mix, the Yankees folded up under the pressure, and most of the all, the terrible mess that has been the 2013 season.

Last night, Hiroki Kuroda continued to play that same old song that we've been hearing the past few weeks -- bad in the first, good after that. He gave up three runs in the first inning, letting the Rays jump out to a 3-0 lead.

"His stuff has just not been as crisp," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "His sinker has been a little bit flatter. It hasn't had the same amount of bite to it. It is more across. His slider has been OK, at times, but not as consistent as earlier in the year."

Then to make matters worse, Matt Moore walked six and threw three wild pitches, but the Yankees' offense was too busy playing the same song we've been hearing all season, called "We just can't hit it," causing them to collect just four hits on the night, and strand 11 on base.

In the end, the Yankees dropped the game to the Rays, 7-0, suffering their 11th shutout this season. More important, the Yanks, with the Indians winning on a two-run, walk-off homerun by former-Yankee Jason Giambi, fell to five games back in the Wild Card standings with five games left to play.

According to most websites, depending on what you read, the Yankees' postseason probability is now down to exactly 0%. That means that Yankees now have no shot at playing baseball in October, and we can pretty much start planing on how we're going to deal with what could be a rough offseason ahead of us.

"Right now, we need a ton of help and we need to win every game or we are not going to get in," Girardi said. "That is the hard part because of what you go through."

The Yankees aren't eliminated just yet, but with a loss tonight or even a win by the Indians, who are playing the last-place White Sox by the way, would end their season altogether.

If you though it couldn't get any worse than hear that, that guess what. Phil Hughes is starting on the mound for the Bombers tonight in what is, in all likelihood, his final start as a member of the New York Yankees -- start the applause.

That's right, with the Yankees entire playoff hopes hanging on by a fingernail, it'll be Hughes taking the mound tonight with his 4-13 record and 5.07 ERA, trying to lead the way.

Last night, the Baltimore Orioles were officially eliminated for postseason contention, and tonight, the Yankees could be the next team down. On Phil Hughes Day in the Bronx, the Yanks could be saying goodbye to more than just another pitcher.

Follow @GavinEwbank2013 on Twitter.