The Bombers dropped the first eight games to the Red Sox this season and let’s face it, Boston has had the upper-hand since 2004. The Red Sox have won two World Championships while the Yankees haven’t won’t a playoff series over the last 5 years. But after this weekend’s sweep in the Bronx, there is definitely a feeling that the Old World Order of the Yankees owning the Red Sox may be on its way back to form.

The Oakland A’s dropped Jason Giambi like a bad habit on Friday. Giambi was hitting less than his non-steroid weight (.193) and had a paltry 11 home runs in 269 plate appearances. Unfortunately for A’s GM Billy Beane, he didn’t get much from Giambi for the $5 million he paid to the former slugger.

Let’s not shed too many tears that Giambi’s playing days are over. After all, he really cash in on a fraudulent baseball career.

After the Yankees lost the 2001 World Series to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Brian Cashman reached out to Giambi to help put some pop in a line up that lost fan-favorites Paul O’Neill and Scott Brosius to retirement, while Tino Martinez was allowed to test the free-agent market.

Needless to say, the Yankees didn’t get their money’s worth for their $120 million investment in Giambi.

In Giambi’s seven seasons in the Big Apple, New York advanced to the World Series one time and advanced past the Division Series only twice. Giambi hit five home runs in 33 playoff games, but only one since the 2003 Series loss to the Marlins.

You really can’t blame Cashman for making the move. The former AL MVP definitely was ripe for the picking in 2002: Giambi was coming off four-consecutive 100-RBI seasons, belting 116 home runs over the last three years and had six-straight seasons of hitting .290 or better and a career high .342 in 2001.

Unfortunately for Yankee fans, Giambi was never the dominate player as advertised after MLB’s steroid policy was put in place before the 2004 season.

From 2004 through 2008, Giambi never reached 500 at bats in a season; reached 90 plus RBI’s twice; hit only 12 home runs in 2004 and 14 in 2007 and hit .253 or below in five of his last six seasons in the Bronx.

Not exactly MVP numbers.

Future Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz was designated for assignment by the Red Sox after he was bomb shelled in the Bronx last Thursday night.

The Yankees tattooed Smoltz for 8 runs in 3 1/3 innings of work. It’s sad to see players like Smoltz switch teams and hang around too long. It makes me think of Joe Namath with the Rams or Mohammad Ali hoping for one more shot of glory like he did against Larry Holmes.

Smoltz was 2-5 with a 8.32 ERA in eights starts with Boston. No worries John, in five years you will be standing alongside Tom Glavine to accept your rightful place in Cooperstown.

Smoltz notched  212 career wins, with 154 saves and a 3.32 ERA, despite playing in a time when hitters had numerous advantages over pitchers.

Mike is a MLB Producer Sirius-XM Satellite Radio and the Game-Day Producer for the NY Giants Radio Network

You might remember that one when the Ranger’s GM scrambled to fill his team with Czechs, just to keep Jaromir Jagr, his one superstar, happy. That worked with the Rangers making the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

But since then…Uggh.

The next off-season, Sather signed Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward, and Brendan Shanahan. Sure, Shanny worked out ,but he solicited the Rangers, not the other way around. While Cullen was gone the next season and Ward turned out to be a disaster, coming into camp out of shape and getting into arguments with Jagr.

Then came the signings of Scott Gomez and Chris Drury the following year. If you listen to Sather you can hear him admitting his mistake.

“If you perform up to expectations, play hard every day, game in and game out and be productive, there’s a chance you’ll never be traded,” Sather said.

Gomez was shipped to Montreal on Tuesday.

And then we had last off-season with the bad signings of Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival and Markus Naslund. We all saw how that turned out.

So now with the Rangers signing Marian Gaborik to a five year contract worth $7.5 million a year, you can see where the trepidation comes from. It looks good on paper, but with Sather’s track record in the free agent market it’s hard to get excited.

If healthy, Gaborik gives the Rangers the sniper they needed since Jagr. He’s scored over 30 goals in five of his eight seasons in Minnesota, including 42 goals in 2007-08. But last year was an injury riddled season with hip surgery in January limited him to 17 games last year.

“His health is fine,” Sather kept repeating last night in a conference call. “He came back and played the last (11) games last season, and it hasn’t bothered him since.”

Sorry if I don’t share Sather’s optimism, but with his spotty track record, the Rangers general manager will have to show me proof before I start believing. Each off-season you think the team has enough to make it to the next level, but the season always ends in disappointment.

For this off-season to be a success, Gaborik and Chris Higgins – acquired for Gomez on Tuesday – need to play healthy seasons, while Donald Brashear, who was signed earlier yesterday, needs to play a more controlled game, meaning no suspensions and no stupid penalties.

Otherwise this off-season will be just another typical Ranger July. It looks great on paper, but that all changes when the games are played.

Perez will take his high wire act to Citi Field (Bill Menzel/NYSD)

One year and one day ago the Mets announced the trade and signing of Johan Santana, giving them a legit ace for the first time and a long time.

This year, the team inked the other lefty in the rotation as the Mets signed Oliver Perez for three-years, $36 million.

Much like Santana, general manager Omar Minaya was willing to play the waiting game, especially after seeing an ice cold free agent market. Instead of bidding against themselves – a classic Scott Boras tactic – Minaya stood fast until Perez was willing to take the Mets offer.

Of course, that didn’t stop the Mets from looking at other options like Derek Lowe, who proved to be too expensive, and Randy Wolf, Ben Sheets, and Jon Garland, if Perez went elsewhere.

Although some in the Mets organization preferred Lowe, Minaya’s first choice was the 27 year-old lefty who went 10-7 with a 4.22 ERA last season.

He now joins a staff with Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and either newly signed Tim Redding, rehabbing free agent Freddy Garcia, or rookie Jon Niese.  Former ace, Pedro Martinez seems to now be off the radar.

The move also means the Mets may not be able to afford signing a high ticket outfielder like Manny Ramirez or Bobby Abreu, both of whom would have been on the radar if the Mets couldn’t re-up Perez.