First, I’ll admit something.  I left early.

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.

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.

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.

Well, the official press release is below, but I’m gonna add my two cents on the Ivan Rodriguez for Kyle Farnsworth deal. The swap sounds like a winner for the Yankees. Get a Hall of Fame catcher for a few months and then cast him aside when Jorge Posada is ready to return. You only give up a solid arm in the bullpen…

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.

Hangovers ARE no fun…like the one the Yankees experienced last night when they hosted Baltimore. The 13-4 loss was an experience in emotional letdown compounded by 4am arrival back in New York. It’s hard to blame the Yanks who just went through the emotional high of having their season become relevant again up in Boston. Still, it would also be hard to blame any Yankee ticket holder who demanded his/her money back last night (seats ain’t cheap these days).

Where to start?…Mike Mussina. He’s not getting old and alarmists don’t have to worry that the magic ride is over yet…Moose just looked bad and also had key defensive lapses behind him. Jason Giambi let a ball past him for a key double to start the fifth. To that point the Yanks were still in the game, down 4-0. A few hits later it was 6-0 and the wheels pretty much fell off.

Later in the game Bobby Abreu once again proved he’s chronically afraid of the right field wall while the Yankee bullpen looked mortal for the first time in recent memory. All said, it was a game to forget about and move on from.

If there’s any consolation from getting whupped like that, it’s knowing that the Sox and the Rays also lost last night. Now, the Yanks will take another crack at the last place O’s with Daniel Cabrera (who has had some career days against the Yankees) going against Daryl Rasner.

Sure, the Yankees lost the last game of their three game set against the Red Sox yesterday, but they proved they can match, and defeat, Boston’s pitching. It was only after the Red Sox teed off on a soon to be gone Sidney Ponson that they took control of the final game of the series. However, over the weekend, the Yankees accomplished quite a bit.

They shaved one game off the lead Boston had over them in the Wild Card standings.

The Yankees’ best (Joba) outpitched the Sox best (Beckett).

Xavier Nady is now in left field and the bottom part of the order looks respectable again.

Damaso Marte is also now a Yankee and he struck out Big Papi in an important situation on Saturday.

Not bad. But now it’s back to business against the O’s and then the Halos come to town. After that it’s off to Josh Hamilton’s home in Texas…

Now, in the coming days there will be a lot of speculation about the Yankees trading for a starter to replace Ponson. I think replacing Ponson is important. However, much of the speculation is currently around Jarrod Washburn (Stats) of Seattle coming to New York in exchange for prospects. Bad idea. It’s not to say that Washburn would be a bad number five guy on the Yanks, but with a season ERA of 4.50, it ain’t worth it.

Ian Kennedy will soon be available. Phil Hughes will follow shortly thereafter. If the Yankee brass had enough faith to start the season with these two in their starting five, they should stick with them now. One of them should get Ponson’s job.

Yes, 2008 did not start well for either…Kennedy has a 7.41 ERA in eight starts. Hughes’ ERA is even higher at 9.00 after six starts. However, a combined 14 starts is no reason to trash a couple of guys who have shown as much promise as these two have. To think one of them cannot pitch with an ERA around 4.50 the rest of the year would mean the Yankees badly misjudged their worth.

Now, you could argue that the two young Yankee starters still need to go through growing pains before they can help the team and a pennant race is no place for such development. Additionally, you can argue that Washburn’s veteran experience is exactly what the Yankees need through the rest of the year and into the post-season. I suppose. But these two kids are supposed to be better than an overpaid number five starter. They have shown flashes of this in 2007. If the Yankees really want to go for a championship this year, they take a chance on one of the kids pitching like an ace.

Washburn is the type of pitcher that will do enough for the Yankees in the regular season and then get battered in the post-season. That’s not enough. If you recall, Hughes won the only post-season game for the Yankees last year by pitching an impressive game.

He, or Kennedy, should get the chance to win important games once again in ‘08.

The Yanks and the Sox…Yanks and Sox….here we are again and I have to say this is the one series I’m in favor of MLB keeping an unbalanced schedule for. Do I need to see Yanks-O’s 19 times a year? No. Do I need to watch nine or ten games a season at the backdrop of the Skydome…ahem, Rogers’ Centre? Hell no.

But Yanks-Sox? Now there’s a series I’ll always be ready for…particularly now that more than half the games are off the schedule and the Yanks are on the verge of making it a three-way race in the East. Yes, they’ve won six in a row and the pitching has been smokin’…plus, the June-July hot streak (thank you interleague ball and second rate teams…and that includes the Rays — yes, I said it) has been noteworthy. But who are we kidding? The Yankees aren’t for real until they send a message to Boston at Fenway Park and that means winning this weekend series.

Let’s look at the starters over the next three days.

Chamberlain vs Beckett. I’ll take Beckett who is 3-0 against the Yanks this season. Still, Joba does better commercial endorsements.

Pettitte vs Wakefield. This is the one game where Boston is at a disadvantage from the mound. Pettitte has been gigantic in the second half of any season for years now, but Wakefield is a mystery. We’ll know early if the knuckler is working or not…and if it is not, the Bombers will have batting practice until Terry Francona has seen enough.

Ponson vs Lester. Jon Lester has thrown a no-hitter, beaten cancer and carries a 3.20 ERA into his start on Sunday. Sidney Ponson is 6-1 with a respectable AL ERA of 4.01…but a closer look shows 99 hits and 27 walks in 78.1 innings. Somehow, he’s been a 258-pound Houdini getting out of jams with double plays and strokes of luck. Unfortunately for Sidney, the Red Sox are not a team that forgives too many base runners.

One never really knows how starting pitching will shake out as nothing ever really goes according to plan. Ponson may win the only game of the series for the Yanks and Beckett may get shelled in a winning effort. Baseball is funny like that. Still, the Yanks will need enough starting pitching to keep them in games so that Robinson Cano and the Yankee bullpen can win them (okay, Cano’s not the only one hitting, but he is on FIRE). Joba and Pettitte are the most likely Yankee heroes…or it could be Edwar Ramirez.

One last thought. If Ponson soon explodes — as he probably will — there is immediate help available. Ian Kennedy (I still have faith) has just completed 14 innings of one-run pitching in AAA ball.

We’ll likely see him soon.