They no longer need to worry about getting caught by the Red Sox. That’s over. That’s done. That’s history. Suddenly, here in a new baseball world order, the Yankees are the ones lagging behind and looking ahead at the new pacesetter, with a slight touch of envy, with a reasonable and understandable degree of concern and without any guarantee of gaining ground anytime soon.

Do you question this?

Do you see the signs and the evidence and pretend not to notice?

Well, we’ll break it down and break the news gently, then. The Red Sox, winners of two world championships in four years, are the hunted.

The Yankees, without a world championship since 2000, are very much the hunters now, and without a pair of weapons named Torre and A-Rod.

It hardly means anything that the Yankees, with their money and championship-or-else mentality, are laps ahead of the rest of baseball. Since when did the rest of baseball matter? In Yankeeville, there’s only one team to measure against and one scorecard to keep and one face to paste in the middle of a dartboard. That’s the Red Sox.

Now, while Boston basks in the foliage of another beautiful and bountiful October, the Yankees are busy, maybe even desperately, trying to play catch-up.

And they are doing so dangerously. They refused to give Joe Torre enough good reasons to return as manager, which sparked plenty of celebrating up in Boston.

Now they’ve drawn a pinstripe in the sand regarding Alex Rodriguez.

Now that A-Rod has opted out of his contract and is taking bids in $30-million-a-year increments, the Yankees say they’re finished with him.

The Yankees say their approach to winning remains unchanged, and only a fool would question that, because there’s not one but three Steinbrenners pulling the pursestrings now.

However, they’re in a bind. In some ways, they’re in transition. They’re about to challenge the Red Sox with a new manager and without a third baseman who just had one of the best offensive seasons in recent baseball history.

Is this even possible?

Do you think the Red Sox are shaking in their champagne-soaked shoes right now?

Look, as the face of the franchise and a leader of men and a communicator, Torre can’t be matched by Joe Girardi. It’s quite possible that Girardi might become a better strategist and motivator and developer of young pitchers. Torre hardly had a patent on any of that, and therefore, who knows if the Yankees will take a step backward in the dugout?

There was always the chicken-or-the-egg question about Torre and whether the Yankees made him, or Torre helped make the Yankees. We’ll see at this time next year.

But still, the Yankees decided to gamble here, dumping Torre, a sure thing, for Girardi, a dice roll. Again, you could assume the Red Sox aren’t sweating this development.

Then there’s A-Rod. Say what you will about his postseasons, and while you’re at it, be sure to mention his overall body of work, which will include a pair of MVP awards in three seasons.

Things aren’t as stable in the Bronx. Torre’s gone, A-Rod’s about to follow, big decisions are forthcoming at catcher and closer, and the rotation could always use a reliable arm. The Yankees are in the strange position of being chasers, and the team ahead of them, much to their surprise, isn’t looking back.