T.J. Quinn has an exclusive on Jason Giambi reportedly failing a test for amphetamines: "Jason Giambi failed a Major League Baseball-administered amphetamines test within the last year, which has subjected him to additional drug testing, sources told the Daily News. Giambi tacitly admitted last week that he has used steroids, but he failed to mention that he has been caught using other drugs."

Columnist Mike Lupica has more on Giambi's troubles: "For such a long time, in what became the steroid era of the sport, nobody on the players' side seemed particularly interested in the integrity of the game, just the integrity of the money coming in. Drug testing was supposed to be a great battleground, and then the Players Association got backed into a corner on that one five years ago and had no choice. Now there is drug testing, for some more than others, apparently. And the battleground could become the sanctity and strength of contracts like Giambi's.

"Always those contracts were supposed to be stronger than ballplayers wanted to become. Before long, we might find out if those contracts are made of the same strong stuff guys like Giambi, and his agent, and his union, always thought they were."

Bill Madden looks at an uninspired night for the Bronx Bombers: "The embattled Yankee manager, who had all his 'good luck' pals - Yogi Berra, Billy Crystal, Marvin Hamlisch - in-house last night for what was one of the most important games of his 12-year tenure, sounded like he truly believed the turning point of this miserable season was at hand. Maybe it was actually a good thing the schedule-makers had deemed the Red Sox to follow the first Subway Series with the Mets on the Yankee docket. After all, didn't the Sawx always bring out a renewed intensity and focus with Torre's troops?"

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George King writes about Mike Mussina's rough start last night: "After three games of administering the Dead Bats Society barbituates, the Yankees used sticks made of soggy scrolls last night against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium."

Jay Greenberg writes about the Yankees facing reality again after the loss: "The cavalry riding in to save the season is on a 44-year-old horse and a young colt coming off the DL and only two major-league starts."

Kevin Kernan looks at Roger Clemens, who pitches tonight against the Portland Sea Dogs, and writes that he could miss the series at Fenway: "If Clemens pitches Tuesday, and not Monday in Toronto, it's likely he will miss the Red Sox series, and will make his second start on Monday, June 4, in Chicago against the White Sox. The Red Sox will have to wait until the end of August."

Michael Morrissey has more on Dustin Pedroia's reaction to the slide of Alex Rodriguez into second base: " 'I haven't played football in years, though, but that was all right,' said the perturbed Pedroia."

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Ken Davidoff looks at the hard times that have fallen on Yankees right fielder Bobby Abreu: "The boos came when Abreu struck out against Red Sox lefty reliever Javier Lopez to conclude the sixth. And again in the eighth, when the 33-year-old came up with one run in and Yankees on first and third and hit into a harmless 4-6 forceout against another lefty reliever, Hideki Okajima. Abreu shrugged and smiled afterward when asked about the fan treatment. 'It is what it is,' he said."

Davidoff also writes about Manny Ramirez waking up against the Yankees: "Manny hasn't been Manny for much of this 2007 campaign, unless you're referring to former Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen. That the Red Sox have plenty coming from him, serves as yet another indication that they don't look like a team primed for a collapse.

"No, count Manny as yet another reason that the Red Sox won't be falling apart any time soon. That the Yankees will have to reach October (and will, in this space's humble opinion) by winning the wild card."

Johnette Howard on the Yankees continuing to look up at the Red Sox in the standings: "About the same time tonight's series finale gets under way, Roger Clemens will be making his second and perhaps last minor-league tune-up in Trenton. Last night, maybe it would've helped if Clemens had made another schlocky surprise appearance in The Boss's private box just to juice the crowd or distract the Red Sox or remind his teammates that help could be on the way.

"Right now, very few of the Yankees' other headliners seem to be spooking Boston.

"They look more like ghosts of themselves."

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Bill Pennington looks at the money wasted on bad contracts by both the Red Sox and the Yankees in recent years: "Last night at Yankee Stadium, [Matt] Clement was, like [Carl] Pavano, nowhere to be found. Clement is rehabilitating his surgically rebuilt shoulder in Florida and is not expected to pitch for the Red Sox again. Although he won 13 games in his first season for Boston, most of that success came from a 6-2 start. Last season, Clement was Pavano-like, frequently injured and appearing in only 12 games with a 5-5 record.

"Pavano's Yankees record to date: 5-6 in 19 starts. Or about $8 million a victory."