I know, this sounds like an Aaron Stampler “I lost time” story – but, it’s the truth.

So, all I can talk about from this game is what I saw in the boxscore this morning.

Looks like Karstens held his own and Jeter put himself into a spot to win the batting title.

It would have been nice to see the Yankees win this game – just because it would have locked up the best-record-in-the-majors title. But, a win on Sunday, weather providing, can do that as well.

That’s all I can think about now. Gosh, I can only imagine how this is driving the Yankees players crazy too.

Nice to see Moose be sharp – given the Unit news, Mussina better be wicked sharp in the post-season for the Yankees to have a good chance at this point.

The LDS has always been a tricky beast – given that it’s the best of five. It’s OK to lose one game in the LDS – but, the minute that you lose two games, you’re one game away from going home. Therefore, just about every game in the LDS is must win. This all said, if Randy Johnson is going to be a question, it’s best to leave the Big Unit off the squad. If David Wells in 2003 and Kevin Brown in 2004 have taught the Yankees anything, it should be that you don’t show up at the marina unless you know for sure that your boat can float.

Joe, Cash, here’s some advice for you. Better to take your chances with a possible shaky five that Wright and/or Lidle can provide than to run Randy out there on an epidural high and all of a sudden it’s the second inning and you’re down by six.

Remember, in the LDS, once you lose one, you’re next door to losing two. And, once you lose two, you’re on life-support.

Right now, there’s a big part of me that wants to hear that Unit tried to play catch on Saturday (meaning tomorrow) and had to quit after three throws – and then the Yankees will have no option than to pass on him.

The Big Unit and I are close in age. (I am 9 1/2 months older.) I’ve never had a herniated disc; but, I’ve had my back go out on me, every once in a while, over the last few years. As any one with a back issue can tell you, when it goes, you’re toast. You probably shouldn’t even drive – much less start a playoff game.

Unless the Yankees can find some doctor who is willing to staple Johnson’s back together and dab some fake blood on his jersey…….oh, forget it. There’s no way getting Johnson out there like this is going to be good for New York.

The Yankees need to look at this Johnson news and say “Two tears in a bucket, mother [bleep] it.” Stuff happens, move on. I hope that they take this approach to it.

That was close.

Needless to say, this was a game where you tried to keep yourself busy – in an attempt to ignore what was happening on the field. (Actually, to what was “not happening” – truth be told.)

I went to this one with my friend, Willy G.

How was it going for us? Well, during the game, poor Willy was getting text messages on his phone from his friend and his girl-friend – most along the lines of “Some game you got there.” That about summed it up.

Game score be damned, Willy and I chatted through the innings, waiting for that first Yankees hit. And, we also struck up a conversation with two guys who were sitting behind us – one from Clifton (NJ) and his game-mate from Queens (NY).

We four talked about the Yankees, the Mets, the Astros-Cardinals chase, the soggy pretzels at the Stadium, owning and splitting season tickets (since I do it and they do as well), the Yankees policy towards season ticket holders reselling their tickets, whether Giambi or Sheffield should play first, and some other stuff – waiting for that first Yankees hit. The fellas that we met even complimented/teased me for “almost not having” a Staten Island accent (after I shared with them where I grew-up).

Did I mention that we were all waiting for that first Yankees hit?

But, we were somewhat alone. Around 9:30 pm EST, I looked around the Stadium and saw many people leaving the park. I didn’t get it – why not wait, with us, for that first Yankees hit?

By the 9th inning, the Stadium was down to about 10,000 fans – like me and Willy, waiting for that first Yankees hit. And, then, just before it was almost too late, Robinson Cano delivered. And, the wait was over.

When I got back to my car, I turned on the post-game and John Sterling was recapping how the fans gave the O’s Daniel Cabrera a standing ovation just after he lost the no-hitter in appreciation for his effort. Huh? I don’t know about the other 10,000-something fans, but, I was cheering my butt off for Cano – and his sparing me a night without sleep and a life-long memory that was going to be very unpleasant.

One last thing – in the 9th, after Cano singled, Torre had Jeter in the on-deck circle, ready to bat for Giambi – just before Abreu banged into the DP to end the game. Considering the score, the standings, and the fact that the no-hitter was over, why bother with that? That was sort of interesting but also strange – much like this game on the whole.

O.K., from a Yankees fan perspective, how cool is it, at this moment, watching guys like Matsui, Sheffield, and Giambi come back to start mashing – at the same time seeing Pedro The Mango Tree Sitter and the Mets falling apart – just before the start of the post-season?

Sure, it helps that the Yankees are playing a team that checked out a long time ago, but, they were rockin’ and rollin’ tonight. (I do think Cano hot-dogged it on his HR a bit though.)

Congrats to Worm Killer Wang on win #19. I look back now at April 26th and June 18th – and all I can think of is how this kid should have had 20 wins this year. So, close, eh?

A ring will make up for it.

According to Yankees.com -

Abreu’s blast gave the Yankees 200 home runs for the seventh consecutive season, tying them with the White Sox for the longest such streak in Major League Baseball history. Both are active streaks.

Hmmm…… 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, and 2000. Something happened in a lot of those years – yeah, that’s right – no rings.

I’d be more impressed to see the Yankees put together seven years in a row where the team AB/SO ratio for batters was 5.7 or higher.

In any event, totally unrelated to this game, what’s going on with the Cardinals and Astros? More so, check out Andy Pettitte since the All-Star break. Wouldn’t Andy look good back in the Bronx next year? Pettitte’s been in the bigs now for a dozen seasons and has only one year on his bubble-gum card with a negative-RSAA total. I don’t think it’s a cowinky-dink that the last time the Yankees were in the World Series was when Pettitte was on the team.

If Houston can work a miracle and get back to the Fall Classic, and the Yankees do as well, it’s going to be painful to watch Pettitte face off on New York.

I know that both Randy Johnson and Jaret Wright have some lucky wins this year. But, with his 11th victory this evening, Wright has given the Yankees 4 starters with 11+ wins on the season.

The last time the Yankees had 4 starters with 11+ wins each was 2003 – also the last time they made it to the World Series.

There were a lot of good things to see in the game. But, for me, the highlight was watching Andy Cannizaro be interviewed by Kim Jones in the YES post-game.

Let’s not kid ourselves – Cannizaro is not a prospect. Andy is 27-years old. And, he’s been in the minor leagues for six seasons now – basically, he’s this decade’s Andy Stankiewicz (just an inch taller).

Nonetheless, anyone who saw that post-game interview with Cannizaro has to come away from it just loving the guy. What a great personality. I have no idea what his baseball future holds for him – but, I’m now an Andy Cannizaro fan and will be rooting for this guy.

We took the kids to see “Everyone’s Hero” this afternoon. Review to follow herein.

The Yankees are now 18-14 since that big series up at Fenway. Not exactly building some momentum here, huh? There are seven games left to the season. It would be nice for New York to start showing some more life soon.

Regarding the movie, I’ll let my kids be the guide.

My 2-year old son was into it for the first 30 minutes. After that, he was more interested in playing the “Hey, Dad, want to see what it’s like to wrestle a live alligator?” game. We did that for about 45 minutes. And, he was totally bored and wanted out of the theater by the time there was about 10-15 minutes left of the movie.

My 4-year old daughter was more into it. In fact, during some of the scenes where there was some tension she said (during the movie) that she was “scared.” After the flick, she said that she “liked the movie.” I asked her what was her favorite part and she said “The talking baseball.”

As Mom had the girl and Dad had the boy, I missed some parts of the movie. But, I will say that some of the scenes, up on the big scene, were beautiful – at least to me.

If your kids are 4-and-older, and like baseball, it’s probably not a bad movie to go check out. Put it this way, it’s probably a thousand-percent better time than watching a game like the Yankees played today.

Personally, this game reminded me of another old song.

Looks like it’s now an 8-game season to see who gets the best record in the American League.

O.K., on to the serious stuff from tonight:

1. Gary Sheffield is a ten times better 1B than Bernie Williams is a CF (at this point). That Perez single that Bernie played into a “double” in this game was obscene. And, then, just to show his range (in terms of badness), Williams allowed a catchable Young drive to go over his head for another “double.” It’s so sad to see Bernie in CF now. Shame on Torre for doing this at this stage of Williams career.

2. Speaking of Torre stupidity, you have the A.L. MVP on third, late in a meaningless game where you’re winning, and you send him home on a suicide squeeze? If Jeter had got hurt on that play, Torre should have been fired before he left the dugout at the end of this game.

3. Watching that shot that Posada took in the 9th was frightful. I think it’s time for Jorge to start using the Charlie O’Brien hockey-catcher’s mask. It just offers more protection.

4. Please tell me there’s a way that Aaron Guiel makes the post-season roster.

5. Yankees fans around the world should hit their pillows tonight and hope that they wake up tomorrow and hear that Mo Rivera feels great. He looked pretty good tonight. But, as Kay and Murcer said on YES, how he feels tomorrow is the bigger story. Cross your fingers, toes, and anything else that you can, for good news on Saturday.

Leiter nailed it in the YES post-game. This is not “backing in.” When your magic number is three, and you lose three in a row, and need someone else to beat the team under you, day after day, to clinch, that’s “backing in.” The Yankees have been winning games at a regular clip. Thus, this was not a situation where they needed someone to hand it to them.

Some post-game on YES, huh? Big Unit was on the hunt for Kim Jones. Speaking of Kim, she was a trooper tonight – working the clubhouse alone and getting abused pretty good.

Watching the celebration coverage, all I could think of was “How cool must it feel to be T.J. Beam, Nick Green, Andy Phillips, Aaron Guiel and those types of guys tonight?”

For some of them, this might be the only time they get to experience something like this event.

It was nice to see some of the vets in the clubhouse, during the interviews, give praise to the job that Melky Cabrera did this season. The players do always know where credit is due.

Jeter is the league MVP. Abreu was the player who pushed them over the top at the end. Damon helped in so many ways. Mo was Mo. Posada and Mussina had seasons that could not have been expected. Cano took it to a higher level. Giambi and A-Rod had their moments.

But, without Wang, Proctor and Cabrera, nothing else would have mattered. All those other things could have still happened – and without Wang, Proctor and Cabrera there would have been holes too big to overcome this year.

And, of those three, Cabrera was the one who came from nowhere to become someone. I’m glad he was having fun in the clubhouse tonight – he earned it, and then some.