Going down without swinging

Wolcott, Conn.: The Yankees gained possession of first place in July and never let go and won the division. They didn’t beat the Orioles, they outlasted them and then fell apart completely with Detroit. Poor Derek Jeter must be crying all the way to the bank because he won’t have another ring.

Marie Porcellini

Manhattan: I went to yankeesfragrance.com to order “The Scent of October,” the Yankees’ cologne; but it really stinks. Kevin Gallagher

Brooklyn: Start spreading the news. Mayor Bloomberg will have this year’s celebration of the Yankees in the Canyon of Zeroes. Fred Smith

Old Bridge, N.J.: I saw all these zeroes in the newspaper and thought they had printed the national debt, but it turned out to be the Yankees’ postseason box score. Nick Portantiere

Struck out

Staten Island: So some Yankee players are upset over the fan reaction to their terrible showing at the end of the season and the playoffs. What do they expect? The fans pay hard-earned money to watch them, so we should be able to let them know when we are upset. Also, when they play in New York, they should expect us to be upset when they don’t get the job done. They really looked like they laid down. Please stop chewing gum and eating sunflower seeds! We were told in school that it takes away from your concentration! Jeffrey Karpen

Poetic licence

Manhattan: As a lifelong Yankee fan, it saddens me to paraphrase the great T.S. Eliot: This is the way the season ends / Not with a bang but a whimper. Trey Rosier

Plenty of time for dates now

Hicksville, L.I.: Hey, A-Rod: Sleep in with your hotties; it’s gonna be a long winter.

Kevin Abberton

Caning Candy

Glendale: It was quite obvious who moderator Candy Crowley was favoring in Tuesday’s Presidential debate. She and the mainstream media couldn’t be more biased in their reporting in favor of the President. Bill Harvey

Hear us roar

Whitestone: President wanna-be Mitt Romney claims that our current President has failed America’s women. The truth is that it is not President Obama who has failed America’s women, but instead it is the American people in general who truly believe that women are not sufficiently competent to run for the highest office in the land. Wake up, folks. There are many women who have what it takes, and more, to keep the United States of America strong, economically, socially and in all the significant ways that matter the most to people from all walks of life. Never underestimate the ability of females to accomplish what is necessary for obtaining the good life. Leonore Brooks

No debate about it

Staten Island: Who picked the debate moderators? Martha Raddatz had Barack Obama at her 1991 wedding and Candy Crowley wrongly called Mitt Romney out on his terror statement. After the debate I flipped from MSNBC and Fox, the former said a CBS poll had Obama 37% to Romney 30% and the rest undecided. And right after, Fox said CBS goes Romney 65% and Obama 35%. I guess they all think Americans are stupid! Personally, I saw through the lies, and if I had to pick what kind of man to run America, I would opt for a businessman, not a community organizer. We are deep enough in debt. Nuff said!

Lee Heydolph

Promises, promises

Bronx: What planet is President Obama living on? He claims we are better off since he became President than before. Bridge tolls are going up. Train fares are going up. Property taxes are rising. Gas prices have risen. Car insurance is up. Fewer jobs are available. I could go on and on, but wait, we might receive an increase in our Social Security checks, which will result in an increase in Medicare. Candidates promise you the world, but in the end we get a shafting. May the best man win. God bless America.

Catherine Santarpia

Ring of steel

Staten Island: Terrorists should know that placing a bomb outside the Federal Reserve building is about the worst place possible for that kind of plot. I’ve worked downtown in the Financial District for many years and walk past the New York Stock Exchange every day, twice a day. Especially after 9/11, I see just how tight security is. Many streets are closed to traffic, and the NYPD’s presence is very noticeable. After 9/11, we here in New York, especially, are so diligent, smart, astute, aware and on our toes. Everyone from the NYPD, FBI, Homeland Security to an average New Yorker like myself has prepared for almost any situation at any given moment. This terrorist from Bangladesh didn’t do his homework!

Gail Chase

Not so safe

Oakdale, L.I.: How could there possibly be an Islamic terror plot foiled in New York City? I thought Obama got Osama. Oh, wait, that essentially accomplished nothing. But letting your ambassador and other Americans get killed on 9/11 after they begged for more security, then lying about the cause for two weeks, now that actually matters. Eight years of Bill Clinton emboldened the Islamic terrorists and got us 9/11. I’m scared to think what eight years of Obama will get us. Better stock up on potassium iodide, New York, because the terrorists have to get it right only once. Chris Poppe

Libya fallout

Hopatcong, N.J.: I am impressed with Richard Clarke’s resume but was disappointed with his assessment of Mitt Romney’s and the President’s reactions to the assassinations in Libya (“Romney on Libya: Just shameful,” Op-Ed Oct. 18). It may indeed take time to sort out the specifics of who was responsible for the attack, but the shame was that upon learning of the attack, my commander in chief apologized for a video. How can the government apologize and rebuke an American exercising the constitutional right to free speech? William Cook

Obamacare will help

Schenectady, N.Y.: To Voicer Ralph Cioffi: Your letter is more reason we need Obamacare. Unless we all are in the same game, prescription drugs, hospital and doctor costs are going to continue to go up because they can charge what they want. Overpayments are being taken away from providers, not medical benefits from seniors. In your case, the drug companies are making billions, so why are they increasing their prices? Just like the oil companies making billions but getting subsidies and tax breaks, and still gas prices continue to rise. You’d better hope Mitt Romney does not get elected, as the increased prices you paid for your wife’s prescriptions will really look good. Diane Hombach

Keep our water clean

Manhattan: Thursday marked the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act, and we have a lot to celebrate. Forty years ago, corporate polluters used our waterways as their personal sewers. Ohio’s Cuyahoga River was so polluted it repeatedly caught on fire. The Hudson River and Long Island Sound were in much worse shape than they are today. We have come a long way from rivers Reuters catching on fire, but today our waterways face a new set of problems. Here in New York, 87% of our streams may no longer be protected from pollution under the Clean Water Act, putting the drinking water of more than 11 million New Yorkers at risk. It’s time for the EPA to restore clean water protections to all streams, set limits on pollution for factory farms and protect our drinking water from fracking.

Eric Whalen Environment New York

A liar and a cheat

Brooklyn: The truth has finally come out that Lance Armstrong is a liar and a cheater. For more than a decade, he has been proclaimed as one of the best sports icons in history. For years, he arrogantly denied taking drugs and shunned anyone who said otherwise. My question is, why isn’t he in jail? He stole millions of dollars in endorsement deals and lied to the public and the anti-doping agency. If Michael Vick can go to jail for two years for what he did, Armstrong deserves some jail time for lying to the public and stealing money from endorsement deals with his fraud.

Shariyf Jones

Too many hands out

Glen Oaks: Every day, my mailbox is flooded with requests for money. If you do not send anything, they mail second and third notices. What nerve. It is especially bad at this time of year, with the holidays coming. I give to some, but not to all. Connie Kaplan