First, the nitty-gritty: Sidney Ponson throws six innings, gives up three runs on five hits, a walk and a strike out. That’s a win and a quality start. Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi pick up six hits and five RBIs. Mariano Rivera gets a save and makes his first September appearance. The Yanks win and are still, barely, alive.

That’s all well and good. But let’s look a little bit closer at this one. Sidney Ponson threw six innings today and picked up a win. Every time that happens, I feel like I should sacrifice something to the Baseball Gods. In reality, Ponson was on the shortest leash you’ll ever see. Girardi yanked him after a whopping 66 pitches.

This will, of course, give the Yankees another excuse to start Ponson in five days. It will give them another excuse, when they’ve been just about eliminated from postseason contention, to give some washed-up never-was more innings when they could be tossing some of the kids. And it will give me another reason not to watch the game in a few days.

At this point, it’s a small complaint. Ponson won’t be with the team next year, and the Yanks are playing out the season. Tonight’s game definitely had that air of inevitability about it. It’s on the schedule; it has to be played; some team is going to win; and someone has to pitch. Tonight, the cards fell for the Yankees.

If it’s any consolation, this afternoon’s game will have some meaning as Mike Mussina goes for win 18. Meanwhile, I’m just hoping Joba and his rotator cuff are okay. His stuff isn’t quite there yet, and his line sure shows that. The Yanks have a weeks to make sure he’s healthy; they ought to be using him for more than an inning at a time every three days. That seems like small beans though right now, but small beans are all we have left.

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Brandon Morrow is 24 years old. Prior to Friday evening, he had thrown 100 big league innings and had made a grand total of zero starts.

This year, Morrow, one of the Mariners’ top pitching prospects, has thrown up some impressive numbers. In 36.2 innings, he’s allowed 18 hits and has a better than 3:1 K:BB ratio. He also throws in the upper 90s.

The Yankees, meanwhile, were coming off a night game in Tampa and a cross-country flight. Clearly, that’s a winning combination for the Mariners, and Morrow did not disappoint. The youngster didn’t give up a hit until Wilson Betemit doubled in a run in the 8th. He walked three, struck out eight and threw 72 of his 106 pitches for strikes. On nights like these, you just tip your cap to the opposing pitcher and salute him for a stellar game.

On the Yanks’ side of the ball, Andy Pettitte, with his pinstripe future in doubt, had himself a nice outing. He threw seven strong innings, striking out nine Mariners and allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk. He did what he’s supposed to do against a punchless offense. Too bad the Yankees were even more punchless tonight.

With that loss, the Yanks fall 8.5 games behind the Red Sox for that final playoff spot. More alarming, however, is the 0.5 games separating them from the Blue Jays. Right now, I’ll retire my pipe dream of seeing the Yankees overcome the odds to play in October and start rooting for them to avoid a fourth-place finish. Considering their schedule the rest of the way, they don’t have a lock on third place.

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Is there a game out there more illustrative of the frustrations of the 2008 Yankee season that this one? Because this one really laid it all out there for us.

It started out so promising. The Yanks had two on in the first against Scott Kazmir, and while they didn’t have a hit, it seemed as though the one-time Mets farmhand didn’t have his best stuff. Of course, Kazmir settled down and Darrell Rasner, well, he pitched just like Rasner. In fact, to cap of a progression of bad starts, Rasner reached some valley. It may well have been the last start Rasner makes for the 2008 Yankees.

After getting out of the first, Rasner just ran out of everything. He made it through four outs and twelve batters today. He allowed six hits and two walks en route to a five-earned run effort. When Al Aceves took over, you could feel that collective “here we go again” sigh ripple its way across the Yankee Universe.

While Rasner couldn’t deliver, Aceves could. The Mexican Gangster threw five stellar innings. He allowed one run on five hits. And two walks while striking out four. Sixty one of his 97 pitches went for stikes. I would have liked to see Aceves take Sidney Ponson’s spot a few weeks ago, but now it seems as though he’ll inherit Darrell Rasner’s starts this month.

As the game progressed, the Yanks couldn’t put much of anything together. But in the ninth, an unlikely rally materialized. Cody Ransom - 3 for 3 on the evening - drove in the Yanks’ first run of the night. Derek Jeter blasted a three-run shot, and A-Rod went back-to-back with another monstrous home run. But 7-5 would remain the final score, and the Yanks would slip another half game in the Wild Card.

Rasner’s outing tonight highlights something that has impacted the Yanks all year. While some fans feel the Yanks just had bad pitching this year, Darrell Rasner had no business being in the rotation. Had Joba not gotten hurt, had Chien-Ming Wang not gotten hurt, had Phil Hughes remained healthy, we wouldn’t be watching Darrell Rasner fall to 5-10 with a 5.43 ERA on the season.

But for the Yanks, 2008 has been one long season of what-if’s. Tonight’s loss and the short Rasner outing is just one more of those games in a season filled with them.

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We all know the Carl Pavano Story by now.

Coming off of a career year, an overrated pitcher attracts a lot of attention and signs a four-year, $39.95 million deal with the Yankees. Said pitcher makes 17 mediocre starts, hits the disabled list and can’t get healthy for the next two years. He’s in weird car crashes, hurts hits buttocks during Spring Training and has surgery. Said pitcher than starts Opening Day 2007, has one decent and one good start and then opts for reconstructive surgery.

By the time September 3, 2008 rolls around, said pitcher is on the verge of making his 23rd start for the Yankees. So far, Pavano has made $1.7 million per Yankee start, and the end of his contract is near. On Wednesday, Pavano faltered early, and with the Yanks up 6-3, Joe Girardi yanked that short leash with no outs in the fourth. Pavano’s line wasn’t terrible — 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K and 47 of 79 for strikes — but his post-game comments were truly hilarious.

“I feel like I cheated my team tonight,” he said. Well, better late than never, I guess.

In the end, it would matter little. Edwar Ramirez bailed out Pavano, and he combined with Phil Coke and Brian Bruney to throw four scoreless innings. By the time Jose Veras gave up a run in the ninth, the Yanks had an 8-3 lead and were able to coast to their third straight victory.

But!

It would not be a game without controversy courtesy of one Mr. Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez. In the ninth inning with the Yanks up 6-3 and Bobby Abreu on base for the third time, A-Rod blasted a home run clear over the left field foul pole. There was only one problem: Was it fair or foul?

So an A-Rod blast in the ninth inning of a three-run game became the very first home run call to be subjected to baseball’s new instant replay rule. After an interminable delay that slowed down the game so that it went on well past midnight a wait of just over two minutes, the umpires gathered to announce that the ruling on the field was stand. While the umpires said that the replay may have clouded the issue, nothing they saw convinced them that the ball was not a home run.

And thus A-Rod passed Mike Schmidt for sole possession of 12th place on the all-time home run list, and the Yankees held on for another day, seven games behind Boston for that last playoff spot, ten behind Tampa and with just 23 left to play.

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Based on the numbers, things are not looking too good for the Yankees right now. Earlier today, Clay Davenport’s Playoff Odds Report had the Yanks making the playoffs less than one percent of the time while after tonight’s win, CoolStandings projects them to reach October 1.4 percent of the time. Those are rather overwhelming odds.

But as the Yanks showed tonight, they ain’t goin’ down without a fight. In a nutshell, Moose pitched well, Xavier Nady hit a bomb, A-Rod hit a meaningless home run to tie Mike Schmidt on the all-time list, and some guy out for a month returned to the mound. That’s right; Dan Giese is back. Let’s break it down.

For the Yankees, as we read earlier, pitching is key, and tonight’s pitchers came up big. Mike Mussina, trying for the third time for win number 17, threw 6+ innings tonight, giving up too many hits (10) but striking out eight to minimize the damage. He allowed just one walk and is still on pace to issue fewer walks than the number of games he starts. He has thrown just 24 bases on balls in his 29 starts.

The Yanks’ bats, behind a monstrous Xavier Nady shot off the far reaches of the Tropicana Dome roof, and three runs scored by A-Rod, gave Moose plenty of support. While on Monday in Detroit, they singled the Tigers to death, four of their nine hits off of Tampa on Tuesday went for extra bases. Finally, the Yankees are showing us what they can do on all sides of the ball. They played small ball to score their first run of the game and long ball to put the game out of reach. Where was this all season?

With Mussina’s win tonight, the Yanks will give him a fair shot at 20 on the season. If they keep Mussina on a strict five-day rest schedule, he’s due to make five more starts this year. All he has to do — easier said than done, I know — is win three of those. He’ll face Seattle, Tampa, Chicago, Toronto and Boston, and if he’s going to get to 20 wins this year, he’ll really have to earn it.

Meanwhile, Yankee fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief as the Yankees eased Joba back into the bullpen trotted out Joba Chamberlain to pitch out of a seventh-inning jam. Chamberlain retired free-agent-to-be Rocco Baldelli on one pitch, and needed just 18 more — only half of them strikes — to make it through the eighth. He didn’t strike out anyone, and he gave up a walk and a hit in that 1.1 innings of work. But no matter; it’s good to see him back, and it’s good to see the Yanks win a crisp game after Monday’s near-nightmare.

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When the Yanks took a 4-0 lead after the first inning yesterday, I optimistically figured that Sidney Ponson would be safe. When Ponson gave one of those runs back in the first inning, I told my parents I wouldn’t feel good about the game until the Yanks scored 12 runs. Little did I know how prescient my worries would turn out to be.

In the second inning, the missing Yankee offense scored another four runs. An 8-1 lead, that has to be safe, right? Well, Ponson gave up another run in the second and had to pitch his way out of a bases loaded, one out situation. His luck would not hold up.

Enjoying an 11-2 lead by the time the fourth inning rolled around, Ponson gave up a single, home run, single, walk. An error by Robinson Cano allowed the Tigers to load the bases, and Joe Girardi opted to remove Ponson from the game. Edwar Ramirez would allow all three inherited runners to score, and while Edwar would give up another run in the fifth, the Yanks would hold on to win 13-9. It was ugly, but it was a win. I’ll take it.

What I won’t take is another start from Sidney Ponson this weekend. On Monday, Ponson threw three innings, giving up six earned runs on nine hits and a walk. Over his last three outings, Ponson has thrown 9.2 innings, and he’s been utterly terrible. He’s allowed 24 hits and six walks — a WHIP of 3.10 — while giving up 17 ER for a 15.83 ERA. All of this has earned Ponson a stay in the rotation, according to Girardi.

Right now, I just don’t get it. What has Ponson done on the Yankees that warrants another start? He’s got a 6.36 ERA while on the Yankees, and he’s no longer giving the team innings. He also hasn’t won since August 6. In other words, he’s not doing anything that Ian Kennedy hasn’t done this year.

The Yankees aren’t out of it yet this year. To make the playoffs, they would have to overcome ridiculously long odds. To do that, they’ll have to put the best possible product on the field. Sidney Ponson just isn’t part of that product. Even when he was 3-1 on the Yankees, he was still allowing nearly two base runners per inning. Now, he’s not getting outs at all.

The Yanks could use Al Aceves. He had a great appearance on Sunday and would slot in nicely this weekend. They could use Chase Wright. They could attempt to throw Ian Kennedy again. Kennedy, admittedly a disappointment this year, could regain his 2007 form. At least Kennedy has the ability to surprise us. Nowadays, we know what we’re getting from Ponson, and it ain’t good.

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Ben might check in later with a longer and more elaborate game post, but I wanted to make note of this. The Yankees today rallied for 17 hits. That’s remarkable itself, considering the offensive dearth we’ve witnessed for the better part of the season. Yet there’s something else behind this onslaught.

Of the 17 hits, just one went for extra bases, and that was a solo homer for Johnny Damon in the 2nd. That is one of the Yankees 13 runs. The other 12 came the hard way. Walks, singles, sacrifices, errors. This is something we’re not quite used to seeing.

The Yankees were 8 for 16 with runners in scoring position today with two sac flies. Alex Rodriguez, Mr. Unclutch himself, was 2 for 3 with runners in scoring position, and recorded four RBI. This is the kind of performance that leads to wins, even with Sidney Ponson on the mound. Unfortunately, this is an aberration for the 2008 Yankees. They’re hitting .258 with runners in scoring position, 10th in the American League.

Now for a tangent. Many people believe that the Yankees woes are centered around the offense, in particular the lack of hitting with runners in scoring position. Will you venture a guess as to who has the worst team average in the AL in those situations? None other than the first place Tampa Bay Rays. They’re hitting .246 with RISP. Yet, they’re still atop the division. Sure, it doesn’t hurt that they’ve had their top five pitchers going every game from early May through now. But they’re finding ways to win even though their numbers with RISP are the worst in the AL. They Yankees, well, just aren’t.

(The Yanks have had 76 more at bats with RISP, but does that make a huge difference when we’re talking 1,100 or 1,200 at bats for the season? Oh, and Baltimore is second in the league with runners in scoring position.)

I wish there was a way we could pinpoint the one thing that has hampered the Yanks this season, but one doesn’t exist. It has been a concoction of circumstances, not the least of which being their numbers with RISP and the fact that they’re trotting out the likes of Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner on a regular basis. You could list more than a dozen factors. I’m sure we’ll get to all that in the off-season. For now, though, let’s enjoy a win.

I wonder if they’ll be up for a Lynch Sidney Ponson night out in Seattle on Saturday.

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The Yankees didn’t really have a chance today. Before they even had the opportunity to face Roy Halladay, they were staring up out of a 3-0 hole, and they would never recover.

It was more of the same at home for Andy Pettitte. As iYankees told us earlier today, Pettitte has struggled at home, and today was no different. To a weaker-hitting team, Pettitte allowed six earned runs on ten hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. When the Yanks needed him most, Pettitte again faltered.

With this loss and a Red Sox loss, the Yanks are still seven games out of a playoff spot with 26 games remaining. They’re not mathematically eliminated quite yet, and the Phillies overcame the same deficit in nine fewer games last year. But the Yanks aren’t playing with much urgency. As Yogi once said, it’s getting late early.

On the bright side, Al Aceves had a successful debut. He threw two hitless innings and struck out three. Why Sidney Ponson and Darrell Rasner are still in the rotation remains a mystery. Aceves at least deserves a start, and I have to believe that Ponson may have to pitch a gem tomorrow in Detroit to keep his rotation spot.

And, hey, we can’t blame this one on A-Rod. He managed a home run early off Roy Halladay. Sadly, the Yanks’ offense, other than Jason Giambi, couldn’t really get anything going at all.

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I can’t quite decide what exactly about this afternoon’s Yankee loss was so representative of the rest of the season.

Was it Robinson Cano’s terrible play on a double-play ball in the sixth that opened the Toronto flood gates? Was it the sheer inability of the bullpen to hold a lead late at home? Was it Joe Giradi’s repeated bad decisions today? Was it Alex Rodriguez’s ninth inning double play in a situation in which just about anything else would have been better?

While I know everyone wants to blame A-Rod, I’m less inclined to do so. Rather, Cano’s error and then pen’s failure to hold the lead were far more important to the game than anything else. If Cano fields that ball and makes a clean toss to Jeter, the Yanks turn two. But Cano tried to flip it and made a bad feed. The Blue Jays wouldn’t look back.

But Cano didn’t blow this on his own. He had plenty of pitching help. Brian Bruney allowed two of his three inherited runners to score, Damaso Marte couldn’t do the job again,and Edwar Ramirez allowed both of his inherited runners to score. All that added up to a five unanswered Blue Jay runs in the seventh and eighth and a 7-6 Blue Jay win at a time when the Yanks can’t afford to lose.

While we try to let this game fade into memory, we have to question Joe Giradi as well. He left Darrell Rasner, effective for seven innings, in for a seventh inning even after the first batter against him reach. He left Bruney in for a batter too long and removed Jason Giambi from a close game. The more things change…

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Unless the stars align and the Yankees and Red Sox both make the playoffs this year, this afternoon’s game between the two rival clubs marked the team’s last meeting in Yankee Stadium. As the Yankees did on Wednesday, April 18, 1923, when they opened the House that Ruth Built, New York emerged victorious over Boston for one final time in Yankee Stadium.

Today’s game, in a way, was a vital one not only for the Yankees but for Mike Mussina too. Moose won his 16th game of the year on August 27, and now he won’t win number 17 until at least September. He’s going to have to be nearly perfect to earn himself that elusive 20-win season.

Of course, it didn’t have to be like that today for Mussina, and for that, we again turn to everyone’s favorite punching bag. With two on and one out in the first, A-Rod struck out. With two on and one out in the sixth, A-Rod fouled out to Jason Varitek. Until the seventh, it just seemed, yet again, like one of those games.

But while Mussina would give up his two runs when he hit the Sox’s number eight batter, so too would the Yanks’ bottom of the order come back to haunt Boston. In the seventh, with two outs, Cody Ransom doubled. He’s now 3 for 4 in his short Yankee career. With Jose Molina due up and Hideki Okajima on the mound, Joe Girardi made the right move. While the lefty-lefty matchup didn’t favor the Yanks, Jason Giambi didn’t care, and he launched a ball into center field. Perhaps sitting Giambi against lefties all year hasn’t been the best strategy.

These runs offered the Yankee faithful a glimmer of hope, but in the 8th, when Girardi started to mix and match pitchers, Mussina lost his chance to walk away with a W. He’ll have to win four starts in September to get there.

In the 9th, the Red Sox seemed destined to tempt fate. With Jonathan Papelbon at the ready, they opted to stick with Justin Masterson instead. Masterson allowed a lead-off single to Xavier Nady, and while Robinson Cano failed to advance the runner, a Brett Gardner stolen base — he’s still alive! — pushed the winning run into scoring position. Hideki Matsui was intentionally walked; Pudge Rodriguez was unintentionally walked. And in came Papelbon.

Once again, the fate of the Yankees rested in Jason Giambi’s skilled hands, and he delivered a sharp single into center field. Jason Giambi 3, Boston Red Sox 2. Game over. Yankees win.

In the end, today’s win prevented the more pessimistic among us from driving another nail into the Yankee coffin. They’re six out of the Wild Card with 29 games to play, and they have to outplay both the Red Sox and whichever team doesn’t win the AL Central. They also need to avoid losing to the Blue Jays’ far superior pitchers this weekend.

But for a day, we can forget, to a point, about these travails. In the last meeting between two archrivals in Yankee Stadium, the home team — our home team — won a thrilling game with a walk-off single, and a first-ballot Hall of Fame pitcher — Mariano Rivera — earned the win. Playoffs or not, during a season in which the Yanks would almost rather have their fans forget about the impending demise of Yankee Stadium, during a season in which the team is sending their stadium off with a whimper instead of a roar, today’s storybook game was one for the ages.

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