Mike Mussina took questions for about 45 minutes today. In essence, he decided last January to retire because pitching wasn’t as fun as it used to be for him.

That he had such a good season didn’t change his mind because he knew there were no guarantees he could repeat it. Knowing that this was it, he said, contributed to his success.

Mussina plans to coach his sons and enjoy his life. He didn’t rule out having some role in the game at some point but had no idea what it would be.

“I don’t have any plans,” he said. “I’ll just enjoy the free time.”

Get 10 writers in the room and you’ll get 10 different opinions. But most of the people on the call thanked Mussina for his graciousness over the years. For those who took the time to get to know him and weren’t insulted by his initial sarcasm, Mussina provided plenty of knowledge and perspective.

You also have to admire the guy for walking away from the game the way he is.

“I just wanted to go out on my own terms,” he said.

Here is the audio from Mussina’s call. It’s a long file, but for fans of the Moose I think you’ll find it well worth your time:

Nick Swisher seems like a good guy based on his just-concluded conference call.

A few of the highlights: He made it very clear that he wants to play first base, saying it’s his best position and that he would like to see what he can do if he finally gets a chance to play one position instead of hopping around. … He didn’t go into detail about last season beyond saying hitting leadoff wasn’t a good fit and that he learned a lot and was humbled by it. … He has not yet spoken to his pal Mr. Sabathia. … A-Rod called and welcomed him to the team, as did hitting coach Kevin Long.

In general, he seems thrilled to be with the Yankees. Here, have a listen for yourself:

Yankees manager Joe Girardi conducted a conference call with reporters today. There were some technical glitches at first but it got rolling after a bit.

Here is the audio. It starts with his responding to a question about Damaso Marte:

The key points of the call: Girardi is prepared to help recruit free agents and if the Yankees don’t get CC Sabathia, they’ll just have to move on. He is OK with letting Brett Gardner and Melky Cabrera compete for the job in center and doesn’t plan to use Johnny Damon there. He also talked about the danger of signing pitchers with injuries in their history like Ben Sheets and A.J. Burnett.
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Girardi also did the call to promote a charity event on Wednesday. He, Michael Kay and Jim Nantz of CBS will be at the Grand Central Oyster Bar to benefit several charities for research into Alzheimer’s disease.

Tickets are priced at $250 per person, while tables of 10 are priced at $5,000 and $2,500. There are 30 tickets remaining. Cocktail hour begins at 6:30 p.m. with the dinner and program starting an hour later. For information and ticket purchase, contact (212) 490-7108 or (800) 622-7775 or e-mail info@oysterbarny.com.

My grandmother had Alzheimer’s disease before she passed away in 2005 and was tragic to see such a bright and funny woman change the way she did. So if you have it in your means to help out this event, I urge you to do so.

Here’s Joe Girardi talking about CC Sabathia, Robbie Cano, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and assorted other topics:

Here’s Andy Pettitte talking about his contract situation with the Yankees:

Here’s Don Mattingly talking about his time with the Dodgers, his love of Manny Ramirez and his desire to manage himself someday. Donnie Baseball looks and sounds like somebody ready to run his own show. Have a listen:

Here is Derek Jeter, talking about mainly about CC Sabathia:

Here’s Mariano Rivera talking about his comeback from shoulder surgery:

And while I didn’t snap a photo of Jorge Posada, here he is talking about his surgery:

Here is some audio from the host of the event, Joe Torre. The Skip talks about his foundation, being around old friends, the Dodgers and managing Manny:

A few notes from the night: Joe Girardi revealed that Kevin Long will be headed down to Florida to work with Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez before going over to the Dominican to continue his work with Robinson Cano. … David Wells said he wants to be a coach and will see what openings there are this season. “You don’t get to where I did by being an idiot,” he said. David Cone literally laughed out loud when he heard what Wells said. “He wants to coach?” Cone said. “That’s hilarious.” … Torre was invited to the transfer of dirt ceremony at the Stadiums tomorrow but can’t make it. He’s hosting a brunch for all the players in town instead. Joe said he didn’t want any souvenirs from the old Stadium, saying memories and friendships are all he needs. … El Duque Hernandez walked by without talking to the media as did Willie Randolph. … James Lipton, the host of Inside The Actors Studio, seemed desperate to be interviewed. … Penny Marshall showed up in sneakers. She is one of Torre’s new Hollywood buddies. … Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) and Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) were on hand. … The great Lawrence Peter Berra was spotted walking in.

Former Yankee bullpen catcher and A-Rod buddy Mike Borzello was there. He accompanied Torre to Los Angeles. … Mike and Mad Dog pretended to like each other and posted for photographs with Torre. … Jon Bon Jovi was the musical guest, which was a huge downgrade from who they had last year. … No, Minka Kelly was not there. Had she been, she could not have looked any better than Laura Posada. … Heard that the Yankees have been firing more staff members. Massage therapist Scott Yellin and batting practice pitcher Mitch Seone are out. … The only non-1998 Yankee in attendance was Hideki Matsui, which tells you something about the respect he has for Joe Torre.

The event was a benefit for the Safe at Home Foundation which Torre founded to help the victims of domestic violence. The foundation has opened centers in schools across the region. You can learn more here.

Here’s Brian Cashman’s media session today. He talked about Phil Hughes, Andy Pettitte and other subjects:

Cashman said he hopes to cut a deal with Pettitte. “Hopefully we’ll be able to do something,” he said. Meanwhile, the Yankees are a day or two away from announcing the addition of Mick Kelleher to the coaching staff. Cashman said Phil Coke’s 2009 role will depend on how the roster shakes out. If the Yankees need starters, he could be developed as a starter. If not, he will be a reliever. “He’s flexible,” Cashman said. “It would be nice to be in the position to have the flexibility to choose what he does.”

Cashman did have one funny quote on pursuing free agents.

“We’re going to show a lot of love,” he said. “We’re going to need to have somebody to love us back. If somebody loves is back, we’re going to have a deal.”

Teams usually open their clubhouses to the media for a day or two after the season is over. If a team has done well, there are smiles everywhere as players celebrate their success. Sometimes you can still smell the champagne in the air.

At Yankee Stadium today, it’s like a wake.

The Stadium is being dismantled, piece by piece. The nameplates have been stripped off the lockers, the historic photos that used to line the hallways have been taken away. Even the team logos that decorated assorted spaces have been pulled down, leaving ghostly outlines in their place.

Joe Girardi held a postmortem press conference at 2 p.m., sitting at a table in a room uncomfortably cold because nobody could figure out how to turn the air conditioning off.

The Yankees, he said, plan to upgrade their rotation with experienced pitchers. He thinks Robinson Cano will be fine. He believes Andy Pettitte will return but didn’t sound hopeful about Mike Mussina. He has faith that Jorge Posada will be able to catch 120 games in 2009. He starts his throwing program Dec. 1.

Girardi said he knows his players better and doesn’t think he needs to change his coaching staff. Unlike the Mets, the Yankees have known for a while that they weren’t making the playoffs, so there is only limited chagrin at this point.

Here, you can listen yourself:

In terms of actual news, Mariano Rivera has opted for surgery. Girardi said he didn’t have details, but the procedure is expected to be Oct. 6 and will be performed by Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Hideki Matsui is at the Stadium today and said his knee surgery went well. He expects he will be ready for spring training.

Phil Hughes is off to Arizona, Chien-Ming Wang will keep throwing in Tampa.

The only players here so far today are Jose Molina, Francisco Cervelli, Humberto Sanchez and Juan Miranda.

We’re here until 4 p.m. I’ll check in later with any other news.

It’s not official yet. But I think we just saw Mike Mussina pitch his last major league game.

After Mussina did a television interview after the game, he was the last player into the clubhouse and his teammates were waiting all together in the room to give him a standing ovation.

Mussina thanked everybody then grabbed a can of Coke and a large container of McDonald’s fries.

Mussina is 270-153, but he probably cares more about being around his wife and family than spending three more seasons in a chase for 300 wins. He has all the money he could ever spend and he has a life he treasures in Pennsylvania. Sure, it’s possible he comes back. But when you listened to him talk after the game, he sounded like a man who is ready to walk away.

Here’s the audio of Mussina’s postgame interview:

Oh, and the reason he came out after six innings was that his elbow was hurting him after he was hit by that line drive on Tuesday.

I’ll try to explain this as simply as I can.

Before the game, Joe Girardi told us that Mariano Rivera went back to New York to get his standard end-of-the-season physical. He wasn’t going to pitch anyway, the manager said, because he had a “cranky body.”

Girardi was asked several times and in several ways whether Rivera had an injury to his elbow and shoulder. He denied it every time. The questions were very exact. “He said his whole body was cranky,” Girardi said.

Here, listen for yourself. This is Girardi’s pre-game:

This made no sense. Rivera lives in New York all year, he can get his physical any time. Why leave now? I’ve never once heard of a player leaving a road trip to get a “standard physical.” Beyond that, this is Mariano Rivera. It made sense to check this out.

Most of the writers called Brian Cashman. The GM said the Rivera complained about a sore shoulder after Tuesday’s game and was sent back to New York to get an MRI. The Yankees wanted to make sure their closer is OK. Cashman said he isn’t too concerned but was waiting to get the results of the MRI.

Cashman said it was not a standard physical. The New York Times, meanwhile, is reporting that Rivera could need surgery.

After the game today, Girardi stuck to the “cranky body” story and denied that Rivera ever said his shoulder hurt, which contradicts what his boss said. Let’s assume for a second that this is true. If you were the manager of the Yankees and Rivera came to you and said he had a “cranky body” wouldn’t you ask him what was wrong? It is Mariano Rivera, after all. So either Girardi is not telling the truth or he’s irresponsible.

Here is Girardi’s postgame press conference:

Girardi got contentious when asked about his misleading statements, slamming his fist down on his desk. It’s similar to what happened earlier this season when Phil Hughes, Brian Bruney, Chien-Ming Wang, Jorge Posada and Damaso Marte got hurt. Girardi’a first inclination is to be misleading.

It has gotten to the point where team officials now apologize to reporters for the manager’s actions. Nobody is sure why he does it because he gets caught every time.

I’m not going to complain about it. I’ll just ask other people questions when it comes to injuries.

I’m sure I’ll get ripped for writing this. That’s fine. Rip away. But this is Mariano Rivera we’re talking about. I’m going under the assumption that most Yankees fans are concerned about the status of their closer and would like accurate information.

If not, listen to the manager. He’s perfectly wiling to tell you just what you want to hear.

It’s easy to say these are meaningless games. But for Phil Hughes, throwing eight strong innings and showing that he can throw that big hammer curveball for strikes was an important step.

In his own words, Hughes was “pissed off” he hung a curve to Scott Rolen in the eighth inning that cost him a win. But Hughes can now head to Arizona knowing he has pitched very well the last month or so. He is going to be a factor for the Yankees next season, you watch.

Here is Phil talking about his night. The first few questions are from Kim Jones and I asked him a few:

YANKEES (86-71)
Gardner CF
Cano 2B
Abreu RF
Nady LF
Giambi DH
Betemit 3B
Ransom SS
Miranda 1B
Moeller C
Hughes RHP

BLUE JAYS (83-74)
Inglett 2B
Scutaro SS
Rios RF
Wells CF
Lind DH
Overbay 1B
Rolen 3B
Snider LF
Zaun C
Burnett RHP

Phil Hughes (0-4, 7.96) vs. the Toronto hitters.

A.J. Burnett (18-10, 4.18) vs. the New York hitters.

Notes: That’s a lineup you usually see in Dunedin around March 15. … The too-little, too-late Yankees have won six straight and nine of their last 10. They are now 8-8 against the Jays with two games left. … The Yankees have scored two or fewer runs 49 times and three or fewer runs 68 times. With five games to play, they have scored 753 runs. They scored 968 last season.

DOA AGAINST AJ: A.J.Burnett is 3-1, 1.78 against the Yankees this season (30.1 innings, 23 hits, 6 earned runs, 4 walks, 32 strikeouts).

But before you get all “they need to sign him!” consider that Burnett is 15-9, 4.57 against everybody else. In 183 innings against other teams teams, he has allowed 181 hits and walked 80. That’s still pretty good. But three years and $55 million or whatever? Not so much.

TIME FLIES: Phil Hughes last won a major league game on Sept. 27, 2007.

OBLIGATORY PHIL COKE NOTE: Lefties are 3 for 22 against Coke, fanning eight times. But he has been death on right-handed hitters, too. They are 1 for 16. Small sample sizes, obviously. But it suggests they should still develop him as a starter.

I DON’T WANNA FADE AWAY: The numbers for Alex Rodriguez over the last 16 games ain’t that pretty at all. He is 10 for 56 (.179) with 7 runs scored, 4 extra-base hits, 10 RBI and 15 strikeouts. His numbers have gone from ..315/.404/.602 to .300/.391/.575.

DON’T YOU KNOW: Robinson Cano is 9 for 20 with four RBI in the last six games. He actually had a hustle double last night. Next time he needs that kick in the pants in May.

HERE’S THE PITCH: The Yankees have allowed only nine runs in the last six games.

Since I’m out of notes …

LAST FIVE SONGS ON THE iPOD: A-Punk (Vampire Weekend), Highway Patrolman (Springsteen), Roadhouse Blues (Doors), New Year’s Day (U2), Hate and War (The Clash).

Wait, one more. It’s Long Black Veil by the great Johnny Cash. If you don’t have the Cash American sessions, you don’t know what you’re missing.

OK, back later with updates.

UPDATE, 4:14 p.m.: Mike Mussina said his right elbow felt better as he was on his way to get treatment. He’s going to try to play catch today and he intends to start on Sunday. … Andy Pettitte is likely to be scratched for Saturday with Sidney Ponson starting instead.

UPDATE, 5:47 p.m.: Andy Pettitte has been shut down for the rest of the season. So the rotation the rest of the way is Pavano, Aceves, Ponson and Mussina. … Girardi expects Jeter to play again this season but he did not take BP today.

Here is Girardi’s pre-game interview session:

UPDATE, 7:02 p.m.: Here is what Joe Torre told reporters about the demise of the Yankees:

Torre said he took no satisfaction in seeing his former team miss the playoffs.

“The satisfaction I have, going someplace after 12 years, and you leave wondering if managing can be fun again, because the last few years back there weren’t fun,” he said. “I don’t take satisfaction in the Yankees being eliminated. But it’s satisfying that we win three games here and we’re in, especially with all the ups and downs we’ve had.”

Don Mattingly’s take was very candid:

“I’m sure it’s tough for the Yankees—something different, for sure. Jeter, Pettitte, Mariano. They haven’t missed in a long time. It’s one of those years in a tough division to play catch-up. But this year is a transition year for them without Joe. I interviewed for the manager’s job and I knew going in that it was sort of a no-win situation. You listen to them talk, and I don’t think they realized what Joe did for them for so long, how special he is at what he does.

“I think they sort of took him for granted, didn’t realize all the things he brings to the table as a manager. You’ve seen it here with the Dodgers this year. How he keeps the ship going the right way, keeps things on track when it looks like things are getting ugly.”

UPDATE, 8:08 p.m.: That’s the first big-league hit for Juan Miranda. He would have had an RBI except Wilson Betemit stood like a statue watching the line drive sail over his head then ran to third like Orson Welles.

UPDATE, 8:26 p.m.: See, Phil Hughes can pitch. Do not give up on this guy. He has a chance to be a top-tier starter in the AL once he stays healthy all year. He has command and poise and he’s 22.

UPDATE, 9:07 p.m.: Hughes made a mistake there with the pitch to Rolen and it could cost him a victory. But you would take 7 5 2 2 0 5 all the time. He really had command of his secondary pitches.

UPDATE, 9:13 p.m.: No matter what happens, I’m all for Hughes staying in the game. He needs innings and innings in tight spots. This is good for him. He’s at 92 pitches.

UPDATE, 9:20 p.m.: Excellent work by Hughes. Meanwhile Burnett just left the game to an ovation and took a curtain call. He is hugging all his teammates. Think maybe he’s going to opt out of his contract? Yeah, just maybe.

UPDATE, 9:27 p.m.: Well, a heck of a job by The Franchise, as he went pitch for pitch with Burnett. He’ll take a tough no-decision.

Now we need somebody to score to avoid the horror of extra innings of meaningless baseball. Jose Veras on to pitch. This might be over soon.

UPDATE, 9:52 p.m.: God Bless the great Bobby Abreu, who now has 99 RBI and has saved us from the calamity of an 11th inning. This will be seven straight and 10 of 11 for the Yankees. Maybe Bud Selig will take Hank’s advice and just put them in the playoffs.