Backup catcher Francisco Cervelli fractured his left foot after fouling a ball off of it on March 2^nd and will now be sidelined for the rest of spring training and up to the first month of the regular season as well.

Most fans assumed that Jorge Posada would be able to step in and fill the role but it’s become very apparent that he is only around in case of an emergency and the team will have to look for a different solution for now. Posada is going to focus solely on being the designated hitter.

So that opens up an opportunity for a couple of lesser-known players like Jesus Montero and Austin Romine, who are the frontrunners to open the season with the backup duties.

Montero is the player that most Yankees fans want to get a closer look of as he is generally considered to be the team’s No. 1 prospect. He has already drawn good reviews for his excellent defense in spring training – especially after he threw out a pair of Pittsburgh Pirates would-be base stealers. He has some power in his bat too.

Romine was long considered to be the better defensive player, so it was thought that he might have the inside track but Montero has opened some eyes in spring training and he is likely leading the race right now. Romine has never played above Double-A ball, though, and that is something that could work against him.

Many players have made the jump before, such as Yankees manager Joe Girardi, so don’t be surprised if Romine does as well.

Keep an eye on how the backup role unfolds in the coming weeks as we move closer to Opening Day.

YANKEES DECLINE OPTIONS ON 1B JASON GIAMBI AND RHP CARL PAVANO

The New York Yankees announced today they have declined their options on first baseman Jason Giambi and right-handed pitcher Carl Pavano, making each player a free agent.

Giambi, 37, hit .247 (113-for-458) with 19 doubles, 32 home runs and 96 RBI in 145 games with the Yankees in 2008, making 112 starts at first base and 26 starts at designated hitter.  He ranked second on the team in home runs, recording his eighth career 30-homer season and reaching double-digits in home runs for the 13^th consecutive year.  Giambi’s 209 home runs as a Yankee rank 10^th on the club’s all-time list.

Pavano, 32, was 4-2 with a 5.77 ERA in seven starts with the Yankees in 2008.  He made his first Major League start and appearance of the season on August 23 at Baltimore, recording the win.  The victory was his first win and appearance since April 9, 2007 at Minnesota, after recovering from “Tommy John” surgery.  In four seasons with the Yankees (2005-08), Pavano went 9-8 with a 5.00 ERA in 26 starts.

The Yankees’ roster now stands at 36.

It just didn’t feel right.  All the Yankee greats coming back like it was old-timers day.  All the fans cheering like it was a playoff game…Yet the Yanks weren’t going to the playoffs.

It was like going to wedding for two people that you know just shouldn’t get married.  You saw it coming the night before as the bride was out a bit too late with the best man and the groom took two hours in the champagne room.  It all felt so wrong, but you were obligated to be there anyway.

As I’ve struggled for any kind of feeling on the close of Yankee Stadium, I begin to realize that it just should not have ended this way.  Numbers will tell you that the Yankees got a sweet ride off taxpayers for the new park when they could have upgraded for much less.  But if the Mets were getting a new toy…well, the Yanks would have to spend three times as much and get a more expensive toy.

The tragedy is that the Yankees could not send the Stadium off in style.  Or maybe the tragedy is that the Stadium is closing at all.  But it was an interesting night to say the least.  I was fortunate enough to see Willie Randolph before the game and to bump into Paul O’Neil in the hallway.

The pre-game introductions were nice, and Willie’s slide into second base was great.  Babe Ruth’s daughter was a good sport during her pitch and then later at the press conference.  Hal Steinbrenner followed Julia Ruth Stevens at the mic and sounded like a man who spent too many hours in economics classes and too few sitting with fans of the team he’s inherited.

Bernie Williams is missed.

And underneath it all was an empty feeling.  It was all so wrong…the Yankees were done in the regular season for the first time since 1993.  All the celebrities in the world couldn’t change it.

As for the game itself, no one I know was really watching.  I spent an hour or so walking around with the Bronx News’ Rich Mancuso as we took in the game from different gates.  First, behind home plate.  Then out in right field not far from where Jeffery Mayer helped send the Yankees into the ’96 series.  We tried the loge level for fun and then I started to look at my watch.  I didn’t really need to stay.  Someone could cover for me and I had to be up to teach at 6:30.  I didn’t feel like walking through the doors of my apartment at 3am.

So I left after the top of the sixth inning.

Spike Lee must have been feeling the same way because he was walking out of the press gate with his crew at the same time I was.  Spike went left and I took a right to the 4 train.

I looked back at the Stadium a few times and then over at the new one.  A wild rumor has it that the new one is so far behind schedule that the old one has had its lease extended one more year as an insurance policy.  It certainly looked far from done, but I’m sure it will somehow be ready for the new season.

The old Stadium has a ton of memories for me just like it does for a number of other people.  There were good memories for the most part like my first Yankees-Boston game taken in from the bleachers (in the days when one could drink out there).  I’ll never forget how the cops hogtied a Red Sox fan in the concession area as I stepped out to use the restroom.  Awesome.

So, thank you for those memories Yankee Stadium.  You weren’t given the sendoff you deserve, and your end may have come too soon.

But you were one hell of a place to catch a ballgame.

But New York Yankees tickets are still very popular with most games sold out. With the 56,000 seat Yankee Stadium closing, fans want to come one more time to the place that gave them so many memories over the years. And that may mean going to a New York ticket broker to visit Monument Park or do the roll call in the place they always have known and loved.

But it’s going to end very soon. With only seven games left, Yankee fans will say one last goodbye. It will be sad because there will be no October for the team either. If the fans want World Series tickets they will look to New York Mets tickets or Boston Red Sox tickets.

Many won’t and will forget sports until they gets New York Yankees tickets to New Yankee Stadium next year. Rather they will >find Broadway musical tickets, concert tickets for Madison Square Garden or Cheech & Chong in New York.

Whatever they look to do, these show will be more affordable New York City event tickets than the New York Yankees.

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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

And that’s where the reservations begin coming in. Farnsworth had seemly found new life under Joe Girardi this year. His ERA is down over a full run from last season at 3.65 and he was only getting better as his July ERA was 2.16. On the other hand, you could argue that the Yanks are selling high as Farnsworth’s career numbers show his ERA at 4.42 while averaging close to a hit an inning.

Nonetheless, the bullpen has been the backbone of the Yankees this year and you hate to pull a Jenga block out of the building. Now Edwar Ramirez, Jose Veras and Damaso Marte will combine to set up Mariano Rivera. On paper it looks okay…but you never want to mess with a good thing…

Then there’s the catching side of things. It’s hard to say that Jose Molina is the answer for a full-time catching job, but pitchers love to throw to him and he’s more or less shut down all running against the Yankees…then again, Pudge can do that too…still, Mike Mussina called Molina the best catcher he’s every worked with and it might not be coincidence that the Yankees’ pitching staff got smoking hot with Molina behind the plate (the best ERA in the majors in July).

Molina is hitting .226 while Pudge is hitting .295 so there’s no argument there. Plus, Pudge is a proven winner who has been critical to success in Texas, Florida and Detroit…But I just have this lingering doubt about taking Molina from behind the plate. I’ve heard Pudge get knocked for the way he’s called a game, but have really never paid close attention. Perhaps it’s all just people trying to hate on a legend. Pudge is a great offensive catcher with a great arm…but how will he handle the Yankees pitching staff?

Anyway, here’s the official word from the Yanks:

YANKEES ACQUIRE CATCHER IVAN RODRIGUEZ

The New York Yankees announced today that they have acquired catcher Ivan Rodriguez from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Kyle Farnsworth.

Rodriguez, 36, was batting .295 (89-for-302) with 16 doubles, 3 triples, 5 home runs and 32 RBI in 82 games (79 starts at catcher) with the Detroit Tigers this season. Over his last 30 games since June 10, he is batting .382 (42-for-110) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs and 11 RBI.

Signed by Texas as a non-drafted free agent on July 27, 1988, Rodriguez is a 14-time All-Star (1992-2001, 2004-07) and the all-time Major League leader with 13 Gold Glove Awards at catcher (1992-2001, ’04, ’06-07). He owns a .302 (2,584-for-8,549) career batting average with 520 doubles, 48 triples, 293 home runs and 1,214 RBI in 2,234 games over 18 seasons with the Texas Rangers (1991-2002), Florida Marlins (2003) and Detroit (2004-08). Rodriguez is also a seven-time Silver Slugger Award winner at catcher (1994-99, 2004), second-most all time behind Mike Piazza’s 10.

In 1999, Rodriguez won the American League MVP Award, batting .332 (199-for-600) with 116 runs scored, 35 home runs and 113 RBI for the Rangers. In his only season with Florida in 2003, he won the NLCS MVP after batting .321 (9-for-28) with 2 home runs and 10 RBI in a seven-game series against the Chicago Cubs.

Farnsworth, 32, was 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA with the Yankees this season, leading the team with 45 appearances out of the bullpen. In 181 games with the club over three seasons since being signed as a free agent on December 2, 2005, he compiled a 6-9 record with a 4.33 ERA (170.1IP, 165H, 87R, 82ER, 72BB, 166K, 28HR). The former Tiger made 60 or more appearances in five straight seasons from 2003-07, appearing in 357 games, fifth-most in the Majors over the span.