This might be Brian Cashman’s greatest move ever…and no, I’m not talking about signing Hideki Matsui or Mike Mussina, or selling beer in plastic bottles instead of easy-to-spill cups — I’ll give Cash credit here.  I’m talking about the mid-season acquisition X-Man, Xavier Nady. The man has brass cajones.  In tonight’s 9-4 victory over the O’s, Nady singled in the go-ahead run and then tacked on a solo homer in the ninth for good measure.  When the Yanks win these days, it seems like Nady’s right in the middle of it.

In under a month as a Yankee, Nady is now hitting .319 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs.  Nice. And you know what’s nicer?  He shuts his mouth and does his job in a way that doesn’t command too much attention — of course he does get to hide behind the glowing lights that are A-Rod and Jeter.  If Cashman wants to make another good move here, he locks this 29-year-old up long-term.  Then again, Cashman may try to trade X-Man off to whatever team the Yankee GM winds up with next year…

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Derek Jeter got his 2,500 career hit tonight, putting him on pace to get to 3,000 sometime in 2011…assuming he doesn’t get injured or go into a major tailspin.  And every time I see Jeter move along on the all-time Yankee hit list, I can’t help think of Joe D and his service to Uncle Sam.  Yes, the Yankee Clipper spent three of his prime years playing ball for the U.S. Army during WWII.  Give DiMaggio 200 hits in each of those three years and he passes Lou Gehrig for first place on the list with around 2,800.

But I guess you can’t play the “what if?” game like so many Yankee fans do with Joe D or Mickey Mantle and his injuries…and his booze.  Personally, I’ll argue that the latter may have helped Mickey play better.

Check out the Yankee all-time list here.

Still, Joe D does not have the highest Yankee lifetime average.  That honor goes to Babe Ruth with a .349 lifetime mark…Jeter is currently fifth at .315 and DiMaggio was fourth at .325.

The ball was in Johnny Damon’s glove…kinda.  And then it just popped out tonight in the bottom of the eighth inning as Jon Inglett went on to score the winning run from first for the Blue Jays with two outs.  2-1, Blue Jays take the opener.

It wasn’t just Johnny’s fault though.  Should he have been in center after playing left all year?  Well, that may explain one dropped ball, but the one he botched in the eighth was his second of the game.  What about Darrell Rasner?  Hell no.  Since mid-July, he’s been the 2008 Yankees’ answer to Aaron Small from a couple years back.

What about A-Rod getting nailed at second base after not hustling out of the box?  YES Network apologists notwithstanding, this was a dumb-ass move by the reigning MVP.  He didn’t hustle to first then tried to leg out a double on a blooper down the line.  If he runs the whole way, he makes it.  But he didn’t.  The leadoff man in the ninth should have been on second.  Then B.J. (why does an adult choose to call himself this?) Ryan closed the door.

Sure it’s one loss…but it’s the kind of loss playoff-bound teams don’t have.

All the Matsuis, (cough) Pavanos (cough), Hughes and Jobas in the world can’t save this season.

Let’s take a look at tonight’s defining moment:

Robinson Cano doesn’t run hard on a base hit to center to lead off the second inning, but still, somehow, winds up on third with no one out. Yet the Yankees fail to score as I-Rod pops out and Melky “Why isn’t Damon playing?” Cabrera grounds into a double play.

And that really seemed to be all she wrote as brand new dad, and latest Yankee-killer, Glen Perkins shutout the Bombers for eight innings.

It was pathetic…I think. To be fair I started to switch over to women’s beach volleyball and the Michael Phelps show over on NBC. Sure, I flipped back to the YES Network but it was only for a pit stop. The Yankees looked lost.

In fact, I’ve found myself doing that a lot recently. Like when the Yanks wasted Dan Giese’s six innings of one run ball this past Saturday. The Halos then pasted the bullpen for eight runs in the eighth inning which was about when I found myself curious about men’s archery.

Of course, it’s a rough patch in the schedule…but the Yankees have looked disgraceful against baseball’s best teams. In today’s game, a run in the second may have changed the complexion of a game against a guy who’s ERA against the Yanks so far this year was 9.00. But not today…not after Cabrera’s twin killing.  There was little doubt in my mind that they would roll over after that.

Is it all over for the Bombers? I’ve never been that much of an alarmist, so I don’t think the season’s lost. Still, this stretch could be what drowned the Yanks if we look back and see no playoff games in the Stadium’s final season.

The Yanks have two more against Minnesota before they can come home and bottom feed off the Royals on Friday. Before then, I hope I’m watching a little bit less of the Olympics.

Yankee team ERA in games that Pudge has caught: 7.80

Team ERA with Molina behind the plate: Awesome (sorry, couldn’t find that one…).

I’m not sayin’…I’m just sayin’…

Sure, it’s only five games for Pudge…and yes, those were games against the Angels and the Rangers…but the Yankee pitching has taken a turn for the worse with Pudge Rodriguez as the everyday catcher. He did call seven-innings of shutout ball for Sidney Ponson against Ervin Santana last week, but otherwise it’s been ugly. Aside from that Ponson game (a 1-0 loss), the last time a Yankee starter pitched well was when Mike Mussina got the win in an 8-2 victory over Angels — a game caught by Jose Molina.

Now, I’m not calling Pudge a bad signal caller, but Molina seems to have a certain knack. Let’s look at last night. Ponson struggles badly giving up two runs (and what should have been more) in two innings with Pudge behind the plate. Pudge gets knocked out of the game saving a third run and Molina comes in…Yankee pitching then only lets up one run the rest of the game.

Perhaps the data sample is too small to say anything at all…and again Pudge’s games have been against two teams that can really score runs. But I’m starting to wonder if Pudge’s offense is worth losing Molina behind the plate…

The Yankees have to be content. 2-for-4 against an Angels team that just beat the crap out of Boston is pretty good. Some may argue that the Halos gave this game away today. Sure, four errors and ten unearned runs is not pretty. But at the same time the Yanks did something with their extra at-bats and that is critical.

And just look at the new guys hit. Xavier Nady with his six RBI. Pudge with a home run…

So what happens to Darrell Rasner who got mauled today (five runs in four innings)? Ian Kennedy is getting a starting spot and either Rasner or Sidney Ponson is taking the hit. Who sits??? Rasner who has been consistently just below average all year or Ponson who somehow has managed to turn 111 hits in 89.1 innings into a 6-2 record. And yes, he did look impressive Friday against the Angels by tossing seven innings of two-hit ball.

Tough call…the almost average farmhand or the career underachiever who’s winning for some reason… I want to say Ponson should go because he feels like a ticking time bomb to me, but at the same time I find him fascinating. How long can he keep giving up this absurd number of hits and still win ballgames? It’s like watching a guy on a greased tightrope slowly wobble his way along. You’re almost sure that he’ll fall, the question is…when?

In the end, this question probably won’t matter as Phil Hughes will be back soon and given a chance to join Kennedy in the rotation. Meanwhile, Rasner and Ponson will be watching, hoping Hughes continues to be a chronic injury problem.