New York Today: Damn Yankees

Brian Snyder/Reuters The Yankees fell behind Boston early on Friday, and stayed there most of the weekend.

Do the beaten, battered Yankees still stand a chance?

Even devout fans must harbor doubts this morning, after the Bombers spent the weekend losing, losing and losing to the first-place Red Sox in Boston.

Sunday’s defeat was a particularly lamentable 9-2 affair.

The team also kept its season-long streak of injuries going: Alex Rodriguez exited with a sore calf.

The math is pretty daunting.

In the race for two wild-card spots, four teams have better records than the Yankees.

We asked David Waldstein, who covers the team for The New York Times, if it was time to abandon hope.

Not quite.

“Going into this series with Boston, I thought they were probably going to lose two if not all three games,” Mr. Waldstein said, noting that the Red Sox have been dominant all season.

“That was kind of stitched into the fabric of the pennant race.”

The good news is the Yankees’ remaining schedule.

They have nine games against last-place teams, and three head-to-head with the Tampa Bay Rays, who are tied for one of the wild-card spots.

“I’m not saying the Yankees are in the best position,” Mr. Waldstein said. “But it’s not over yet.”

Here’s what else you need to know for Monday.

WEATHER

It’s beginning to feel like fall. Mostly cloudy today, with a light, Octoberish shower and a high of 71.

The temperature will dip to near 50 tonight, and we won’t see 80 all week.

Bring the umbrella, and watch for falling leaves.

TRANSIT & TRAFFIC

- Mass Transit [5:55] Delays on northbound 6 trains. Click for latest M.T.A. status.

- Roads: No major delays. Click for traffic map or radio report on the 1s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect.

COMING UP TODAY

- City officials visit 22 public schools that scored high marks in the new Common Core exams. The mayor speaks at one, TAG Young Scholars in East Harlem.

- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reviews plans to buy $1.8 billion worth of  commuter rail cars.

- “Interwoven Globe,” a show on the international textile trade and its role in shaping cultures from 1500 to 1800, opens at the Met. [Free, but a $25 admission is suggested]

- The run-up to Sunday’s Brooklyn Book Festival begins with a discussion on Brooklyn’s place in the literary universe, an opening party and a panel on John O’Hara. 7 p.m. [All free]

- Thinking about graduate school for social work, public-interest law or public policy? The Web site Idealist hosts a grad-school fair at Metropolitan Pavilion on West 18th Street. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. [Free]

- Gasland Part II, Josh Fox’s follow-up (it showed on HBO in July) to his Oscar-nominated film about fracking, screens at John Jay College at 7 p.m. Panel talk with prominent  officials to follow. [Free, but R.S.V.P. required.]

- Thomas Witte, who cuts beautifully intricate portraits out of paper, explains how he does it at Mid-Manhattan library. 6:30 p.m. [Free]

-The Mexican novelist Lorea Canales discusses her book “Los Perros,” a tale of love, betrayal and corruption in Mexico City, at the Instituto Cervantes on East 49th Street. It’s part of the Celebrate Mexico Now festival. 7 p.m. [Free]

- For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts & Entertainment guide.

IN THE NEWS

- William C. Thompson Jr. is still campaigning. [New York Times]

- F.B.I. documents show that members of the 1981-82 Knicks shaved points for their cocaine dealers, a new book says. [Daily News]

- The police are under scrutiny again after officers’ stray shots wounded two female bystanders in Times Square on Saturday. [New York Times]

- The Port Authority raised bridge and tunnel tolls without proper public review, the federal Government Accountability Office found. [Daily News]

- The Giants lost, too, 41-23 to Denver.

- At least the Mets won, shutting out the Mariners 1-0 in 12 innings.

Joseph Burgess contributed reporting.

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