Bonnie Trafelet/Chicago Tribune/MCTNew Yankee Nick Swisher said he's intrigued by the possibility of playing first base full-time next season.

Swisher, whom the Yankees acquired last week, batted just .219 last season for the Chicago White Sox. He started the season as the leadoff hitter, which was new to him, and he played a good deal in center field, although he prefers first base.

"I did a lot of things last year that I was not used to doing," Swisher said Tuesday on a conference call. "I led off for the first time in my career, which was a little bit of a change. But I'm not a guy to make excuses.

Chris Gardner/EPADespite the offer, don't plan on the deal to go through any time soon, as CC Sabathia is expected to explore all his options.

The Yankees Friday made Sabathia, a free-agent lefty, an offer as large as Sabathia himself, but they don't expect him to sign on the dotted line anytime soon.

According to a person with knowledge of the Yankees' plans, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the competitive free-agent market, the offer exceeds the record (for a pitcher) six-year, $137.5 million deal the Mets made with Johan Santana after acquiring him before the 2008 season.

Paul Beaty/Associated PressNick Swisher would play first base if the season started today, but he could be an option in center field for the Yankees as well.

The Yankees don't have to get in play on the big-time free-agent first baseman because Thursday they acquired Nick Swisher from the Chicago White Sox in a five-player deal.

The Yankees sent infielder Wilson Betemit and right-handed pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez to the White Sox for Swisher and right-handed pitcher Kanekoa Texeira.

Although Swisher, a switch-hitter who turns 28 later this month and is signed through 2011, has played all three outfield positions -- and the Yankees are not settled on a center fielder -- general manager Brian Cashman is leaning toward Swisher at first.

Tim Farrell/The Star-LedgerLeft-hander Damaso Marte is the likely candidate to set up for closer Mariano Rivera in 2009.

Why stop now?

Damaso Marte, a lefty acquired in July from Pittsburgh, signed a three-year extension with the Yankees Wednesday after the team had declined a $6 million option for 2009.

Marte's new $12 million deal includes a $3.75 million salary in 2009, $4 million in 2010 and 2010 and a $4 million team option for 2012 ($250,000 buyout).

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty ImagesThe Yankees aren't trying to hide their interest in CC Sabathia, putting the lefty starter at the top of their free-agent wish list.

Teams can begin discussing financial terms with free agents on Friday, and the Yankees plan to spend plenty.

"We're going to be ready for Friday," co-chairperson Hal Steinbrenner said Tuesday. "Decisions haven't completely been made yet, but we're going to sit down as a group ... figure it out, have a good game plan. We're almost there."

Jerry Lodriguss/MCTCC Sabathia spoke to Derek Jeter about playing for the Yankees.

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CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte have reached out, and now they are waiting on contract offers from the Yankees.

Derek Jeter Friday revealed he had spoken to Sabathia -- the Yankees' top target in free agency -- in recent weeks about playing in pinstripes. And Pettitte said he has told the Yankees he wants to play and is willing to take a one-year deal but that he hasn't heard a response from the team.

Pettitte and Jeter were attending the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation's sixth annual gala, which this year honored the 1998 Yankees as it raised money to combat domestic violence.

Not knowing if the Yankees want him back in right field, Bobby Abreu filed for free agency Thursday.

"We just haven't heard anything," agent Peter Greenberg said. "All things being equal, I'm sure the Yankees would be his preference. But he's got to maximize his value. He'd like to get a long-term deal somewhere."

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman did not return a call.

Abreu, who turns 35 in March, is one of three players in the majors (along with Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols) with 100 RBI each of the past six seasons.

Noah K. Murray/The Star-LedgerThe Yankees brass are hoping that budding ace Joba Chamberlain doesn't make a habit of his recent brush with the law.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman made an appearance at Foley's NY Pub in Manhattan Tuesday to promote the release of the game and gave his first public comments on Joba Chamberlain's arrest earlier this month.

Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerView from the final game at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees have scrapped plans for a November farewell event at Yankee Stadium, meaning Derek Jeter's postgame speech on Sept. 21 will stand as the closing statement for the legendary ballpark.

Once the team was unable to secure solid commitments from big-name entertainment acts, it was satisfied with the closure of the pregame and postgame ceremonies from the final game at Yankee Stadium.

Mariano Rivera should be on his normal timetable next spring training, given the result of his surgery Tuesday.

The Yankees closer had a calcification removed from the AC joint on the top of the shoulder. The team said Rivera can resume throwing in three months. Since, in recent years, Rivera didn't throw off a mound until reporting to spring training, he should not be behind as a result of the operation.

Kathy Willens/Associated PressBrian Cashman defiantly defended his history with the Yankees.

NEW YORK -- As Brian Cashman was mulling over whether to stay on as Yankees general manager, he remembered a favorite saying of Reggie Jackson's:

"When you have the bat in your hand, you can always change the story."

As Cashman pondered his future, he heard and read some opinions that he, in essence, inherited a World Series-winning team and turned it into a team that this year missed the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

"The story line that was going to be written if I left, I didn't agree with," Cashman said Wednesday at a news conference. "I'm staying to change the story. I'm not saying it's going to change overnight. But I'm telling you it's not going to be written inaccurately."

Associated PressNew York Yankees' GM Brian Cashman at Wednesday's press conference announcing his contract extension.

Brian Cashman is fired up. What, exactly, fired him up remains a mystery, but it was clear in his press conference that he is frustrated with the way he is perceived in the media and is staying with the Yankees because he was "not going to let an inaccurate story stick" about his time with the team.

John Munson/The Star-LedgerBrian Cashman is said to be intrigued by the GM opening in Seattle.

NEW YORK -- The Yankees' offseason began Monday, but before they go about rebuilding their starting rotation, they need a general manager.

Brian Cashman, the team's GM since 1998, has promised to resolve his status "sooner rather than later," which would presumably mean this week. Cashman, whose contract expires Oct. 31, did not return a call for comment Monday.

But as recently as last weekend, he was telling people it was still a toss-up whether he'd return. Cashman is intrigued by the GM opening in Seattle (he has never worked for a team other than the Yankees) and also frustrated by now reporting to multiple members of the Steinbrenner family rather than just patriarch George.

BOSTON -- While Joe Girardi thinks the Yankees successfully pulled off Joba Chamberlain's reliever-to-starter transition this year, the Yankees seem to prefer picking one role for Chamberlain in 2009.

"Mentally, to know what you're going to do would be good," Chamberlain said. "It's going to come down to what's best for the team."

The sticking point is the Yankees' inning limit for young pitchers. Chamberlain went into last night's second game with 100 1/3 innings this year, since he missed a month with a sore shoulder, which under the Yankees plans would limit him to fewer than 150 innings in 2009.

"Will the inning restrictions be there next year? Possibly," Girardi said.

APMike Mussina's surprising 20-win season might be his last, as the 39-year-old is considering retirement.

He has 240 of those baseballs now.

And he might just take them to Montoursville, Pa., and never return.

"If the situation isn't ideal for me, or it's better to be coaching Little League, then it would be fine," Mussina said yesterday after earning his first 20-win season in the Yankees' 6-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the first game of a season-ending doubleheader at Fenway Park.

BOSTON -- As the Yankees began a series in Minnesota in August, manager Joe Girardi decided he didn't want Johnny Damon to play three straight days on artificial turf.

His reasoning was sound. But the aftermath of that decision provided examples of Girardi's weaknesses during his first year as Yankees manager.

"Like all of us, he has areas he can work on," general manager Brian Cashman said Saturday. "He does a great job running a game. He's detailed, and he cares."

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BOSTON -- It has been 105 years since a pitcher won 19 or more games and voluntarily retired healthy.

Mike Mussina seems to be considering it.

Mussina on Sunday will attempt to become a 20-game winner for the first time in his career, starting for the Yankees in the first game of a season-ending, day-night doubleheader against the Boston Red Sox.

Noah K. Murray/The Star-LedgerBrian Cashman could explore the GM job in Seattle.

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BOSTON -- Brian Cashman has been asked to stay on as Yankees general manager, and Friday promised a resolution to his status "soon."

"You're not going to have to worry about it dragging out," Cashman said before Friday night's 19-8 victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. "I promise you it'll get resolved soon.

"It's an important next step for everybody. And it's not something that you want to drag out. ... I won't define 'sooner' or 'later,' but it'll be resolved sooner than later."

Cashman, the GM since 1998, has a contract that expires Oct. 31. He said Yankees ownership has not yet offered him a new contract and "there's no official meeting planned."

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TORONTO -- What could have been a lost season for Francisco Cervelli ended in the big leagues.

"I did something everybody said was impossible," Cervelli, 22, said Thursday night before going 0-for-3 in his first major-league start, catching Carl Pavano in the Yankees' 8-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

The Yankees' top defensive catching prospect, Cervelli played just 27 games in the minors this year because of injuries.

"A lot of things happen for a reason," he said. "I think I learned a little more patience and matured a little bit."

John Munson/The Star-LedgerAndy Pettitte tips his cap from the dugout after being removed in the sixth inning during the final game at Yankee Stadium Sunday night.

Whether it's for good remains to be seen.

The Yankees announced Wednesday that Pettitte, whose left shoulder has been bothering him for at least a month, will not pitch again this season.

"I've thrown enough innings," Pettitte said before Wednesday night's 6-2, 10-inning victory over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, a game won on a Bobby Abreu grand slam. "There's not any sense in going out and continue to kill myself now or push myself through anything."

TORONTO -- Wednesday night is Phil Hughes' last chance to make sure his baseball card, every year from now on, doesn't have a "0" in the win column for 2008.

"I don't think one win is going to make a huge difference for him this year," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Tuesday night. "Obviously, people are going to say, 'He had no wins this year.' Well, he didn't pitch very much either."

But when the subject of a win was broached with Hughes, he smiled before the question could be finished.

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TORONTO -- Hank Steinbrenner, in a guest column in this week's Sporting News, rips baseball's divisional format, saying no team from the National League West deserves to make the playoffs.

The Los Angeles Dodgers -- managed by Joe Torre in his first season after refusing a Yankees contract offer he deemed insulting -- went into last night leading the NL West by two games despite an 81-75 record.

Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerYankees fans use their keys to take chips out of the outside of the building home with them as souvenirs after the last baseball game at Yankee Stadium Sunday. Information about acquiring more conventional mementos of the stadium is expected to be released by New York City in a week or two.

NEW YORK -- The Yankees spent all Sunday glorifying their stadium. Now the team and the city of New York will spend the next year tearing it down and divvying it up.

Everyone wants a piece of the historic ballpark, and in the next week or two, the Yankees and the city will release information about how to go about purchasing memorabilia, said Yankees chief operating officer, Lonn A. Trost.

John Munson/The Star-LedgerIt was a great night for a stroll along the warning track at Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK -- Turns out, we had a parade here this season after all. There was no ticker tape falling from the sky or ballplayers waving from floats, just regular people marching through their second home.

The route took them into the gates on 161st Street, through the turnstiles and onto the Yankee Stadium concourse. It continued down a narrow staircase and into Monument Park, where the marchers studied the faces on those plaques as if they were from a long-lost high school yearbook.

Then, the thousands of fans walked right onto the warning track, the dirt dusting up their shoes. The Yankees threw a party for their old ballpark Sunday night, but before they did, they let the people who filled it all these years get one last look before saying goodbye.

"How lovely is this?" said one Bronx native, Mike Davison, as he stopped near the visiting dugout. "This is a perfect day for a walk in the park."

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NEW YORK -- The Yankees avoided the ultimate irony.

Had they closed Yankee Stadium -- the major-league ballpark most associated with championships -- with a loss Sunday night, the Yankees would have been mathematically eliminated from the postseason for the first time in 15 years.

Instead, the Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 7-3, staving off their fate for another day.

And the game ended as the Yankees wanted, with all-time great closer Mariano Rivera throwing the final pitch. Rivera got Brian Roberts to ground out to first baseman Cody Ransom at 11:41 p.m. to finish play at the ballpark forever.

Kathy Willens/Associated PressKids like these will remember the final game at Yankee Stadium for a long time.

"SAY DAD ..."

Antonio Velardi went to the second-to-last game at Yankee Stadium on Saturday, and the 11-year-old from Nutley didn't want it to be over. So he asked his dad, Gary, if there was any chance they could get tickets to Sunday night's finale.

A quick StubHub.com search and $1,250 later, the Velardis had a pair of tickets to the last game at Yankee Stadium.

Six hours before first pitch, they relaxed in the fourth row, just behind first base, watching fans circle the warning track and mourning the end of the historic ballpark.

"There's so many memories and stuff," Antonio said, "and they're going to knock it down."

"He's 11 years old, that's all he keeps saying," Gary added. "'Daddy, I can't believe it's really happening.'"

John Munson/The Star-LedgerBernie Williams acknowledges fans during pre-game ceremonies at Yankee Stadium.

NEW YORK -- The names echoed around the old ballpark -- name after name, legend after legend, introduced in chronological order by position. They introduced the all-time Yankee greats, living and dead, and the whole hour built to a guy who played here just two years ago.

Center field was the last position they honored, his the last name they introduced. And as John Sterling read off the long list of his accomplishments, and a camera caught him sitting in the dugout ready to spring onto the field and jog out to center one more time, the crowd finally erupted.

On a night when Yankee Stadium honored the greatest players who ever played in it, the last, loudest and longest ovation went to Bernie Williams.

Ed Betz/Associated PressDerek Jeter said he would have played even if his hand had been broken.

NEW YORK -- Derek Jeter isn't one to focus on much other than winning baseball games, but on his drive to Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon, he started getting a bit nostalgic.

"It really starts to hit you, this is the last time you're driving in to Yankee Stadium for a game," he said before Sunday night's game.

"I'm well aware of all the tradition here. This is a special place. ... I still can't envision myself going over to the new stadium yet. It's pretty comfortable playing here. You just really get used to coming here. I know it's an old stadium. It's still in great condition. I just enjoy coming here every day, and I'm definitely going to miss it."

Jeter played shortstop, of course, despite a painful left hand, still sore from a pitch that hit him in Saturday's ninth inning. Wilson Betemit replaced Jeter at shortstop with two out in the ninth inning so Jeter could exit to an ovation. He also took a curtain call.

NEW YORK -- Throwing the first pitch of the final game at Yankee Stadium could prove even more wistful for Andy Pettitte than it might be for anyone else.

Since Pettitte isn't sure whether he will pitch again after this season.

Pettitte, who appropriately gets the starting assignment for the Yankees in Sunday's Stadium finale, said Saturday he expects to be sad as well as honored.

But he wants to relish the moment.

NEW YORK -- Even had his left hand required amputation Saturday, it's doubtful Derek Jeter would be out of the lineup for Sunday's Yankee Stadium finale.

"Regardless, I could probably just go out there and stand there and take some pitches," Jeter said after he was forced to leave Saturday's game after being hit on the hand by a pitch. "I'm going to play (Sunday night)."

X-rays were negative, manager Joe Girardi said, but Jeter had the hand wrapped after the game.

Moss Klein covered the Yankees for The Star-Ledger for 17 seasons, witnessing tons of momentous events and zany happenings -- as well as experiencing the bombastic rule of George Steinbrenner firsthand. Here is his look back at those tumultuous times:

There's something special about Yankee Stadium. Always has been.

Maybe it's the majestic look, with the unique facade. Maybe it's the mystique and magic created by knowing the history of what has happened there beginning in 1923, when Babe Ruth christened the ballpark he made possible with the first home run, fittingly against his former team, the Red Sox.

Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesYankee fans packed the Stadium on a nightly basis over the last decade, but the place wasn't always so full in the days of Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio and the Mick.

It was a wonderful image from a different time, but if you looked closely, something seemed wrong. The famous facade no longer wraps around the entire seating area as it once did, of course, and the poles that provide an obstructed view in each section are gone.

But the most jarring difference? The place is empty. The photo was taken with the Yankee dynasty flourishing in 1960, but the team would average 20,998 fans -- or less than 40 percent of stadium capacity.

The House that Ruth Built, on most days, was a house with plenty of elbow room.

Noah K. Murray/The Star-LedgerGeorge Steinbrenner appeared emotional at the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium in July.

NEW YORK -- George Steinbrenner is not expected to attend Sunday night's Yankee Stadium finale, but a number of Yankees Hall of Famers will be on hand, and fans who show up early will be able to walk onto the field.

The Yankees announced that the Yankee Stadium gates will open at 1 p.m. Sunday. Game time against the Baltimore Orioles is approximately 8:15 p.m.

Also, the Yankees announced there will be a final celebration of Yankee Stadium in November, at a date to be announced. Admission will be charged for that event, with proceeds going to charity.

"I can't even imagine what Sunday is going to be like," manager Joe Girardi said Friday. "You think of maybe like (the) seventh game of a World Series.

"You can just imagine the attention that's going to be brought to this historic building. And I'm really looking forward to it."

Ronald Martinez/Getty ImagesMike Mussina hopes his final appearance at Yankee Stadium Thursday wasn't his last hurrah in pinstripes.

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NEW YORK -- Mike Mussina on Thursday night gave the strongest indication yet that he wants to play in 2009.

"At some point in this offseason, I'll decide what's going on," said Mussina, who turns 40 on Dec. 8. "Obviously, to come back here and play, they're going to have to want me to come back here and play.

"I'm not exactly getting any younger. I don't know if I can throw out 18 wins again next year, but I'd sure like to take a shot at it somewhere. And hopefully these guys will give me a chance."

If the Yankees want him back, Mussina said, "That would be an easy answer."

Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesFans will likely see this familiar sight one last time at Yankee Stadium Sunday.

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NEW YORK -- Joe Girardi has already begun planning how he will manage Sunday's Yankee Stadium finale.

Not only will Andy Pettitte start, but Girardi would like to remove Pettitte mid-inning to get him an ovation from the fans.

And Girardi intends to have Mariano Rivera be the final Yankees pitcher at the stadium.

"My only fear is that it's a tie, because I want to see 'Mo' pitch that last inning," Girardi said.

"I've kind of played with different ideas about how to do certain things. .... There's a lot that goes into it because you want to feel that you did it the right way, and the way that honors the organization and stadium the most. I've put a lot of thought into the right way of doing it because of what this stadium has meant, to the Yankees, to the city, to baseball. You want to make sure that it goes out the best that it can go out."

Chris McGrath/Getty ImagesYankees pitcher Mike Mussina acknowledges fans' cheers as he leaves the Yankee Stadium mound for the final time.

NEW YORK -- Mike Mussina is playing for now. Brett Gardner is playing for next year.

As Mike Mussina Thursday night kept alive his shot at his first 20-win season in the Yankees' 9-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Yankee Stadium, Gardner was going 1-for-4 as the Yankees try to assess him.

The Yankees can be eliminated from the AL East race Friday, but they cannot be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs before Saturday.

"I get to say that I won my last game at Yankee Stadium," said Mussina, who is 18-9 with two starts remaining and tied Jim Palmer for 33rd all-time with his 268th career win. "It's just something nice that I'll be able to say -- forever."

Julie Jacobson/Associated PressYankees catchers Ivan Rodriguez and Jorge Posada flank Emilio Navarro, 102, believed to be the oldest living professional baseball player.

NEW YORK -- Emilio "Millito" Navarro was 17 years old when Yankee Stadium opened, but he never set foot inside the old ballpark.

Until Thursday night.

The oldest living professional baseball player and the first Puerto Rican to play in the Negro Leagues, Navarro was a pregame guest of the Yankees, who "drafted" him in June when major-league teams all ceremonially drafted Negro Leagues players in a tribute connected to the annual amateur draft.

He showed up in the afternoon with his son, grandson and great-grandsons. He put on a Yankees jersey and tucked it into his pants. He walked into a room full of reporters, wearing brilliantly shined black-and-white saddle shoes, and gave a press conference in which he made fun of other men his age who can't get out of bed and proceeded to touch his toes five times, just to show off.

Then he went out to the field, where the Yankees surprised him with a birthday cake. After all, he is turning 103 years old next week.

Adrian Wyld/Associated PressIf Brett Gardner can impress in center field, the Yankees could let Bobby Abreu walk in free agency.

NEW YORK -- About every other day in the five weeks since Brett Gardner came back up from Triple A, he has been on the field early with members of the coaching staff working on his bunting.

During batting practice, he works on his throwing in the outfield.

It's an unusual amount of 1-on-1 work during the season, but this is an unusual season for the Yankees.

"That's a good thing, that they take the time to spend with me and work on my game," Gardner said Thursday. "When I'm presented with opportunities, (I) try to make the most of it and play hard and try to show them not only that I want to be the center fielder here, but that I'm capable of doing it."

William Perlman/The Star-LedgerHe'll be the answer to a trivia question some day -- Andy Pettitte is scheduled to start the Yankees' final game at the Stadium.

NEW YORK -- Three games left, and it still hasn't sunk in for Derek Jeter that this is it -- that come Sunday, he will play at Yankee Stadium for the last time.

"We really try not to get caught up in all that," Jeter said this week. "But I think the closer we get to Sunday, the more it's going to set in."

As the season draws to a close and it becomes apparent that there will be no postseason epilogue to send off the old ballpark, the Yankees are turning their focus to the final game.

Long-time Yankee Andy Pettitte will start. Dozens of former stars and baseball luminaries will attend. It will be a celebration of the history and tradition of the stadium while at the same time a bittersweet goodbye to the place where several Yankees have spent years of their major-league careers.

It will probably, several Yankees said, be quite sad.

Mitsu Yasukawa/The Star-LedgerYankees pitcher Mike Mussina has three chances left this season to reach the elusive 20-win mark.

this is the eighth season in his career Mussina has won at least 17 games, and with a record of 17-9, he has at most three starts left to reach the elusive 20-win mark.

But because he's been here before, and because he's never been able to reach 20 wins, Mussina knows just how difficult it will be. Three starts left does not necessarily translate to three wins.

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NEW YORK -- The first game at the new Yankee Stadium will be April 16, 2009, against the Cleveland Indians, according to a preliminary schedule released by the team Wednesday.

The Yankees will begin the 2009 season with a 10-day, nine-game road trip to Baltimore, Kansas City and Tampa Bay before returning to the Bronx for the home opener. The team will close out the season with a three-game series at Tampa Bay Oct. 2-4.

Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerYankees shortstop Derek Jeter tips his helmet after hitting a single to move him past Lou Gehrig for career hits at Yankee Stadium with his 1,270th during the first inning Tuesday night against the Chicago White Sox.

NEW YORK -- Derek Jeter still talks to his parents quite often, and earlier this week they told him he needs to appreciate some of his achievements.

Like Tuesday night, when he set the record for most hits at Yankee Stadium with a first-inning single in the Yankees' 6-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox.

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NEW YORK -- On April 3, Phil Hughes started the Yankees' third game of the season. Wednesday he will go for his first big-league win of the year.

"That would accomplish something," he said Tuesday.

While the Yankees say they won't read too much into one start, they seem determined not to hand Hughes -- or any other pitcher yet to establish himself -- a rotation spot, as they did this spring.

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NEW YORK -- Robinson Cano and Joe Girardi met Tuesday afternoon, and Girardi then put Cano back in the lineup after two days of punishment for not hustling.

"We had a nice conversation," Girardi said. "We talked about Robby being the great player that he's capable of being, and understanding that, you know what? You may not hit .325 every year and drive in 100 (runs). You have those capabilities of doing that. Some years are going to be tougher.

"But how do you help your team win that day, whether you're playing offense, defense, baserunning? Whatever you're doing, sometimes things aren't going to go your way. And we talked about it. And I think Robby's ready to be great again."