August has been a month to forget for the New York Yankees.

The Bronx Bombers have fallen to second place in the American League East, pitching has become a tremendous concern, injuries are piling up, and the Toronto Blue Jays are only getting better. The Yankees are just 11-13 in August while the Blue Jays are 18-4.

Right in the middle of everything is Alex Rodriguez.

It appears as if the Yankees go as "Arod" goes. In the first half of the season, Rodriguez was playing like it was 2007 again. Despite missing all of last season, Rodriguez led the Yankees in home runs, runs scored and runs batted in at one point. However, August has been a terrible stretch for Rodriguez, who is starting to show his true age.

This month Rodriguez is batting just .138 at the plate in his 80 at bats. Rodriguez only has two home runs this month and has struck out 24 times. His slugging percentage in August is a mediocre .250. Because of this terrible slump, Rodriguez's season batting average has dipped to .255. Chase Headley, Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury all have higher batting averages at the moment. No Yankee is even batting above .280 this season.

General manager Brian Cashman was heavily criticized for not acquiring a big name pitcher at the trade deadline, but it has been the Yankees bats who have fallen asleep lately. The Yankees offense scored just four total combined runs against the Houston Astros in their latest three game series. As a team, the Yankees rank an acceptable 11th in total hits and second in runs scored (100 behind the Blue Jays) but their batting average has dropped to 17th. In other words, the Yankees are relying on the long ball too much.

Mark Teixeira isn't having an August to remember either.

Teixeira is batting a putrid .175 this month, and his season batting average is now the same as Rodriguez's, .255. Teixeira has only scored five runs in August, three of which have come by home runs, and has just six runs batted in. Just like Rodriguez, Teixeira is relying far too much on the home run ball.

Teixeira and Rodriguez have a combined five home runs, 21 hits and 14 RBIs in August. For the season, Teixeira and Rodriguez coincide for an impressive 57 home runs; however that accounts for more than a quarter of their 207 combined hits. When these two aren't hitting home runs, they're just not posing enough of a threat offensively.

The Yankees are currently in second place in the AL East, but they do hold the first wild card spot ahead of the Minnesota Twins. Thankfully for the Yankees, the Los Angeles Angels (much due to Mike Trout's wrist injury) have been in a terrible slump and are now seven games back of the Houston Astros in the AL West. The Yankees have a five win advantage over any AL team competing for a wild card.

 Follow Damon Salvadore on Twitter @DamonSalvadore1