I'm of the opinion that TechCrunch knows a thing or two about technology. But writing sensationalist headlines and then attracting all the loons to come out and post comments about Rails suck and so on...
My point is this: some people look to TC as an authority now and when the articles and comments reflect one perspective on something it's going to sway some people.
I don't have specific links. It's more of a vibe over the past few months of reading reddit and this site. Ruby, in general, seems to be getting put aside. BUT, what would i know?!
I think it's just the honeymoon is over and people are looking at it a bit more objectively then a year ago when all the Web 2.0 fashionistas were gobsmacked over it.
Don't get me wrong, I like Rails and it's a great framework as long as you keep in mind its warts, but there was a period of about 8 months where Rails was the Second Coming of Christ in web app framework form...