NEW YORK -- Now that the playoff chase is over, let the celebration begin. The celebration of Jeter, of course.
The Yankees were eliminated, once and for all, with today's 9-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, a game in which they blew a 3-0 lead and then rallied late to make something of a game of it. But they couldn't pull it off, meaning for the second straight year, there will be no October baseball in the Bronx.
But there will be one more game at Yankee Stadium, Derek Jeter's final game in pinstripes -- remember, they wear solid gray on the road -- and now, fans can come and enjoy their last looks at the Captain without having to bother looking at the scoreboard.
The forecast is for heavy rain, but you can bet the Yankees, and Major League Baseball, will do everything possible to get this game in, no matter how long it takes. So bring your slicker and bring your dinner because it could be a long night.
The Captain's last swing?: The weather forecast is pretty dire for tomorrow, so there's an outside chance that Jeter's at-bat in the eighth inning, a bouncer to first, was his final Yankee Stadium at-bat. If nothign else, it kept many of the crowd of 46,056 in their seats long after the game was decided, on their feet and chanting his name and hoping for a curtain call. Jeter, who went hitless in four at-bats, did not oblige but rather sat quietly on the bench to watch the rest of the game.
Turning Greene: After retiring the first seven Orioles he faced and escaping a bases-loaded jam in the third, Shane Greene unraveled in the fourth, allowing six runs on six hits, including a bases-loaded double by Ryan Flaherty that just missed being a grand slam. Greene also allowed a two-run single to Nick Markakis, an RBI triple by David Lough and an infield single to Adam Jones that scored a run before Joe Girardi came out to collect him with two outs in the inning. It was Greene's second-worst outing of the year. On Sept. 2, he also allowed six runs, but in just 2-2/3 innings, to the Red Sox.
Leaving his mark: It had been two weeks between RBIs for Mark Teixeira, but he got off that schneid with a double into the right-field corner in the first inning that scored Chase Headley (two-out single) to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.
Stephen B Leavin': Stephen Drew hit an 0-2 pitch from Norris over the right-field fence leading off the second inning to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. It was Drew's seventh homer of the season and third as a Yankee.
Chase that! Norris struck out five straight Yankees after Drew's second-inning homer, but when he momentarily misplaced the strike zone, Headley made him pay by lining a 2-0 pitch into the right-field seats with two outs in the third to make it 3-0 Yankees. It was home run No. 6 as a Yankee and 13th overall.
Up next: Farewell to the Captain day, Jeter's final game at Yankee Stadium, matches Hiroki Kuroda (11-9, 3.77) and RHP Kevin Gausman (7-7. 3.57), first pitch at 7:05 p.m. The forecast is for heavy rain, so pack a slicker and dinner, because it could be a long night.