Yankees blame sweep on fans booing in the Bronx

There's a lot of blame to pass around for the New York Yankees pathetic showing in the four-game sweep by the Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship Series.

You can start with the team's lack of offense or any kind of spunk in the lineup but, if you ask the Yankees players — specifically one — they lost because they never recovered from all the heckling at Yankee Stadium in Game 2.

According to John Harper of the New York Daily News, an unnamed player privately made a far more indicting observation: that the ballclub was affected by the hostility from the fans at Yankee Stadium last weekend.

"I really think the booing spooked a lot of the guys," the (unnamed) player said.  "A lot of the guys hadn't been booed before, and they couldn't believe how nasty it got in the stands,"

Nick Swisher — who already shot back at the fans for blaming him for Derek Jeter's injury and sending nasty tweets about his wife — could be a suspect, but he isn't the only "sensitive" Yankee whose bat disappeared during the four games and got a hearty Bronx Cheer from the fans.

Suspect #2, Alex Rodriguez — who got more action over the dugout than in front of it — summed up the Yankees lack of fight during the four game beat down by suggesting Jeter's Game 1 injury "sucked the life out of us."

The unnamed player said Swisher and A-Rod weren't the only ones affected.

"A lot of the guys were talking about it in the clubhouse," he said.  "I was surprised how much it bothered them.  I really don't think they ever recovered."

The fact of the matter is that, outside of the starting pitching for the first three games, the whole team looked flat and uninspired — never mind looking older than Jim Leyland.

A-Rod — who fans want to put on the first 4-train out of Yankee Stadium faster than any one else — said it's not his fault.

"You can't take one guy," said the fading $114 million, no-trade clause in the lineup. "And say, 'Let's blame him, let's get him, put the coffin on him, knock his as out.'  But at the end of the way I felt the wind was sucked out of us the last two weeks."

Those are just two of the usual suspects in the mystery man lineup.  The Yankees could provide many more culprits where they came from.

The Bronx is booing.