MEDICAL WATCH: DH Hideki Matsui (sore left knee) was out Sept. 

As the Yankees prepare to return from the one-game retreat from reality their farewell tribute to Yankee Stadium provided, a published report emphasized just how challenging a future they face. 

For this game at least, the New York Yankees still harbor playoff hopes. 

They let the fans on the field, they trotted out the legends, they won the game. 

New York celebrated the final game at Yankee Stadium. 

--RHP Mariano Rivera looked around after the first out of the ninth inning and seemed to study the sights he knew he soon would no longer see. 

MEDICAL WATCH: DH Hideki Matsui (sore left knee) was out Sept. 

Derek Jeter took the microphone as though it were a baton handed down from all those Yankees ghosts he used to talk about, ghosts who came back to visit their beloved stadium one final time. 

Hideki Matsui's season is over. 

After all those championships in this celebrated place, all those unforgettable moments, the New York Yankees weren't about to be knocked out of the playoff race on a night like this. 

Mariano Rivera got the final out and the New York Yankees poured onto the field for a feel-good celebration. 

After all those championships in this celebrated place, all those unforgettable moments, the New York Yankees weren't about to be knocked out of the playoff race on a night like this. 

Even Yogi Berra knew this was the end. 

Next up, a nostalgic goodbye for Yankee Stadium. 

For a stadium richer than any other in baseball history - and perhaps American sports lore - it doesn't seem appropriate that the final game at Yankee Stadium will be played on a late summer night.