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NEW YORK -- With the assurance from Joe Girardi that he would like to return as the Yankees manager, GM Brian Cashman plans on offering the manager a raise when he has his first significant negotiations with Girardi's agent over lunch Wednesday.

Girardi, 48, could have other opportunities in managing and broadcasting. Cashman declined to say if he would grant Girardi permission to talk to the Chicago Cubs. With Girardi is under contract with the Yankees until Oct. 31st, a source told ESPN New York the Yankees are hesitant to give Girardi permission to speak with the Cubs.

Click here for the full news story.

NEW YORK -- To spend or not to spend. That is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to muddle through on a budget or to revel in the benefits of spending an outrageous fortune, that is the choice confronting Hal Steinbrenner this offseason.

And if you ask me, Prince Hal will choose to spend, spend, spend.

I wrote this back on February 20, just a couple of days after the Yankees opened their 2013 training camp: "That $189 million? Forget about it. Large checks are about to be cut, not payroll."

I am more convinced of that now than I was back then. That was written before the Yankees had publicly downgraded Hal's decree from "mandate" to "goal." Before the Yankees lost more players in one season than they ever had, and more games than they had in nearly 20 years. Before they failed to make the playoffs for only the second time in 19 seasons. Before their voracious monster of a ballpark had disgorged nearly 10 percent of its attendance, and before the YES Network saw its ratings shrivel.

And that was with a payroll of $228 million for 2013.

It would seem that the last thing the Yankees need to do now is to spend less.

The thing is, they might not have to spend all that much more, either. Right now, they have $93 million committed to seven players: Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Derek Jeter, Ichiro Suzuki, Alfonso Soriano and Vernon Wells.

If A-Rod and his $25 million paycheck get out down for the year, that number drops to about $68 million.

That leaves plenty left over to make Robinson Cano happy, re-stock the pitching staff and fill in the rest of the holes in the roster.

And let's not forget that the cost-cutting was supposed to begin in 2013. It was never supposed to be a case of the Yankees suddenly having to lose $39 million -- or 17 percent of their payroll -- in one fell swoop. They were supposed to attack the deficit in stages, so that it would not be a drastic cutback.

Well, that plan is out the window, and so, I am willing to bet, is the $189 million self-imposed salary cap.

As I wrote back in February, a couple of factors made the plan unfeasible in the first place. For one, the Yankees expected windfall in rebates from luxury tax and revenue-sharing was likely to add up to a lot less than the bean-counters had expected. For another, Hal Steinbrenner was genuinely "freaked out" -- a quote from one of the proverbial "sources with knowledge" -- over the media and fan reaction to what passes for an Era of Fiscal Austerity in Yankeeland.

That is why he eventually took the rubber-band off last winter to buy Hiroki Kuroda and Kevin Youkilis, although by the time he allowed to give Brian Cashman any real money to spend, the players the GM really wanted, guys like Russell Martin and Raul Ibanez, were already gone.

I doubt Hal will make the same mistake this winter.

This week, the Yankees will hold their annual organizational meeting in Tampa. The first order of business, I am told, is resolving Joe Girardi's contract situation, one way or another. The next will be what to do about Cano. The rest will probably involve a discussion of how much to spend on the rest of the team for 2014 and beyond.

That number should be considerable, since there are three starting pitchers and a set-up man to replace, high-quality backup third basemen and shortstops to be added, and more bench depth than they showed in 2013.

And there are season tickets and luxury boxes to be sold on the basis of the belief that the 2014 Yankees will once again be legitimate World Series contenders.

All of that will take money, and lots of it.

The odds are $189 million will not get it done.

The good news is, it probably wont have to.

QUESTION: Do you think Hal Steinbrenner will really trim the Yankees payroll to $189 million? Or will the reality of what it takes to keep the New York Yankees humming kick in and render the salary-cap obsolete?

The Chicago Cubs' managing job is up for grabs now that the Cubs have pulled the plug on the Dale Sveum Era after two disappointing seasons.

Will Joe Girardi grab it?

That is the question of the day since Girardi is at the end of his three-year deal with the New York Yankees, which paid him a reported $9 million. Girardi has been coy about his plans for next season, saying "I haven't really made up my mind," before Sunday's season finale in Houston.

Girardi also played down his interest in returning to the Cubs, for whom he played seven seasons, and to Chicago, where he has ties (he grew up in Peoria, about 165 miles southwest). "We haven't lived there since 2006," Girardi said. "My father's gone, my mother's gone, so there's not as much there as there used to be. Our home's [in New York]. My kids are enrolled in schools here."

Still, Cubs ownership was known to have coveted Girardi before it hired Sveum in 2011, although sources have told ESPNNewYork.com that Cubs GM Theo Epstein prefers Brad Ausmus. Yankees GM Brian Cashman told ESPNNewYork.com over the weekend that resolving Girardi's status would be his first order of off-season business. "Hell, yeah," Cashman said when asked if he wanteds Girardi back. "I think he did a terrific job this year."

Obviously, Girardi deserves a pass for this year's Yankees season, in which his injury-decimated squad won just 85 games, its lowest total since 1995, and failed to make the playoffs for just the second time in 19 seasons, both of them during Girardi's six-year tenure.

Girardi has repeatedly said he has enjoyed managing the Yankees, but the lure of trying to end the longest futility streak in baseball history -- the Cubs have not been won a World Series since 1908 -- might appeal to him, especially if the Yankees are on the verge of experiencing a run of lean years. He also left open the possibility that he might do something other than manage in 2014; he worked as a broadcaster for the YES Network after his retirement from playing and between managerial stints with the Florida Marlins and the Yankees.

QUESTION: Where do you think Girardi will end up next year? In the manager's office at Yankee Stadium? At Wrigley Field? Back in the broadcast booth?

The Yankees were undermanned and injured in 2013. With no postseason to look forward to, the players are left with just one solace -- to do well on their final report card.

Here at ESPNNewYork.com, we have doled out the grades for each and every important Yankee.

This is the first day of a future filled with uncertainty. From Joe Girardi to Alex Rodriguez to Robinson Cano, it is going to be fascinating to see what type of Yankee team shows up for the first day of spring training in the middle of February.

There is a feeling that the Yankees may be doomed, but, while the goal is to constrain the payroll to $189M, the front office still thinks this team can be major contenders next year. That is the goal, of course.

So let's fill you with a little optimism as to why the Yankees could be playing this time next year as opposed to being at home. Now, I'm not saying this will happen, but here are a few glass half-full thoughts.

1) Mark Teixeira will come back and be a pretty good player. Teixeira is not an All-Star, but he still could be an above average player. If he is in the lineup for 145 games next year, the Yankees will be better with him than they were with Lyle Overbay and Mark Reynolds, etc.

2) Michael Pineda has now had nearly two years to recover from his shoulder injury. He will not be guaranteed a spot in the rotation, but he will be in the mix. If he can at least be a competent No. 3 or 4 starter, he could be a building block.

3) CC Sabathia could be better. Following his worst season of his career, there are people in the Yankee organization who believe Sabathia could benefit from not pitching in October for a season. The wear and tear of the extra month of the most intense pitching may have caught up to him.

UP NOW: Ian O'Connor on Derek Jeter's optimistic expectations.

ON DECK: I will have grades for all the Yankees. Wallace Matthews will have a preview of the offseason. Meanwhile, the Alex Rodriguez appeal will begin behind closed doors today. Plus, the Joe Girardi, "Will he stay or will he go?" drama will begin to unfold.

IN THE HOLE: This seems like an appropriate time to once again thank you for choosing ESPN New York for your Yankee coverage.

QUESTION: What grade would give the Yankees this season?

HOUSTON -- Following the ceremony for Mariano Rivera on Sunday, Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens embraced. It was really the first time they have had any social interaction since the Mitchell Report began their split in December 2007.

"It had been a long time," Pettitte said. "It was good to see him, for sure."

After the Mitchell Report, Clemens decided to fight the allegations, going to the Supreme Court in which he was found not guilty of perjury. Pettitte admitted his use and had to testify in various court cases, including in D.C. during the perjury trial.

"I didn't want to make a scene out there," Pettitte said. "I'm glad he said he yelled at me, 'Come over there and say hi to him.' I went over there and said hi to him. It was good."

WILL CANO GO: Robinson Cano said he is prepared to wait as long as it takes to decide on where he will play in the future. He very well might not decide until December.

"What else do I have to do?" Cano said.

NIX, NEXT YANKEES MANAGER: Joe Girardi toyed with the idea of having Rivera or Pettitte manage, but neither were very interested. Instead, Jayson Nix took command.

But only for the first nine innings.

"I was really mentally exhausted," Nix said.

Girardi thinks Nix could one day manage, while Nix said he hasn't thought that far ahead.

TORRE ON GIRARDI'S DECISION: "What he’s had to go through emotionally just trying to get a team on the field, I thought he did a remarkable job," said Joe Torre, who took part in the pregame ceremony for Rivrea. "It takes its toll, but his managing career is far from over in my opinion."

HOUSTON -- After a 14-inning marathon, the Yankees finish the season with a 85-77 record, which was good enough for a tie for third with the Baltimore Orioles. Here are the standings.

WHAT IT MEANS: It is the final game of the careers of Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte. The Astros held a final ceremony for Rivera featuring none other than Pettitte's old buddy, Roger Clemens, and Joe Torre. As expected, Rivera didn't appear in the game.

WILL JOE GO? Joe Girardi said he is unsure whether he will be back in 2014 to manage the Yankees.

56: The Yankees finished the season using a franchise-record 56 players.

LAST CALL: Besides Rivera and Pettitte, other players who might have played their last game as a Yankee include: Curtis Granderson, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Boone Logan.

THE GAME: David Huff started and threw five innings of one-run ball. Huff will be in the mix for a relief job or maybe a fifth-starter spot. In the eighth inning, Eduardo Nunez doubled and was driven home by Granderson.

In top of the ninth, David Adams hit a two-out triple. That inspired a huge "Let's go Yankees!" chant from the fans here. They had come to see Rivera for a final time but were left just hoping for a victory. Brendan Ryan struck out.

In relief, Dellin Betances, who may be in next year's bullpen, threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out four.

In the 14th, Mark Reynolds hit the winning solo homer. Nunez would add a two-run double, and J.R. Murphy would add an RBI double.

ON DECK: We will have all the news from the postgame. Plus, Ian O'Connor's column that includes some interesting comments from Derek Jeter.

HOUSTON -- Joe Girardi is unsure he will return as the New York Yankees manager in 2014.

"I haven't really made up my mind," Girardi said during his nearly 30-minute state-of-the-season news conference before the Yankees' final game against the Astros.

Girardi, who turns 49 next month, said his decision will made after consulting with his wife and three children, who are 14, 11 and 7.

To read the entire story, click here.

HOUSTON -- As the New York Yankees were expressing sadness that Mariano Rivera was suiting up for them for the final time, one person sitting inside their clubhouse Sunday was happy the greatest closer of them all was ready to go.

"Now I get my father back," Mariano Rivera Jr. said.

An Iona College pitcher who turns 20 on Friday, Mariano Jr. made the trip to Houston with his family for the final series of his father's epic career. Mariano Sr. ultimately decided against pitching (in part because of a sore arm) or playing the outfield (in part because of a sore knee) against the Astros, leaving Thursday night's powerful scene in the Bronx as his fitting farewell to the game.

In a pregame ceremony Sunday that featured a short speech to the crowd from his former teammate, Roger Clemens, Rivera apologized to the Houston players and fans for sitting out these three games at Minute Maid Park.

"I'm going to be a little selfish," Rivera said of his exit from Yankee Stadium, where he cried on Andy Pettitte's shoulder and collected dirt from the mound. "I want to leave the game with that in mind."

Mariano Jr. told ESPNNewYork.com that the yearlong tributes to his father "left me speechless. It's the end of an era, and it's bittersweet. He's not competing anymore, and this has been my life for 19 years, too.

"It's amazing and sad at the same time. I don't know how you can top what happened Thursday, and I know in my father's mind he was done after that. He gave everything that he had."

Mariano Sr. spent some of his pregame time before the Yankees' final game here signing baseballs and jerseys from teammates who surrounded him at a clubhouse table. Charlie Wonsowicz, longtime Yankee staffer, remarked that Rivera looked like Santa Claus on a visit to a nursery.

The closer has left his mark like few Yankees ever have, and nobody knows that better than the son who was given his name.

"It's a weight that never goes away," said Mariano Jr., who wears No. 6 for Iona, not his father's iconic No. 42. "I won't call it a burden, but it shadows every day of my life on the field, the expectations that come with having that name. I'm my own person, and it can be a little frustrating."

A transfer from Quinnipiac, Mariano Jr. described himself as a fastball, changeup, slider pitcher. The cutter?

"I've been working on that," Mariano Jr. said, "and my father has helped. But I'll never be able to throw it like him. That's his pitch."

Now and forever.

HOUSTON -- During Joe Girardi's state of the Yankees address, he said during the season he spoke with Robinson Cano about hustling to first.

"I've talked to him about it," Girardi said. "He has played every day. He has been kind of nicked up. I've talked to him about it."

When asked to go into further details, Girardi declined comment. Girardi, if he remains the team's manager, said that he will talk to Cano about his free-agent choice.

"Would I give him any advice? He has to do what is best for him, that's bottom line," Girardi said. "You know that you are adored here. You know you have been a great player here. You have seen the way that Mo and Andy went out, but it is a decision that you have to make that is best for you."

HOUSTON -- Here is the Yankees' final lineup of the season.

Eduardo Nunez, 3B
J.R. Murphy, C
Curtis Granderson, CF
Vernon Wells, LF
Mark Reynolds, 1B
Travis Hafner, DH
David Adams, 2B
Brendan Ryan, SS
Zoilo Almonte, RF

David Huff, P

HOUSTON -- Since the Mitchell report came down in 2007, the New York Yankees have distanced themselves from Roger Clemens. No Old Timers' Day invitations, no big splashes about all of his accomplishments. It is almost as if they never happened. As if his 83 regular-season wins and two rings as a Yankees never occurred.

But on Sunday, Clemens will be center stage as Mariano Rivera receives the final parting gifts of his career. On Saturday, Andy Pettitte's career ended in dramatic style, pitching a complete game, five-hitter. On Thursday, Rivera had his magic moment in the Bronx. Clemens had similar goodbyes during the '03 Series before making all his comebacks.

On Sunday, it will all end for Rivera and Pettitte, as Clemens, joined by former Yankees manager Joe Torre, will present a painting to Rivera, among possible other gifts.

Up now: My news stories on Pettitte's night, Rivera's decision and Alex Rodriguez's plans to "get it on." Plus, Ian O'Connor's column on Pettitte and his career.

On deck: Yankees manager Joe Girardi will have his state of the union going into the offseason. Plus, the Yankees will start David Huff in an anti-climatic finale.

Question: Would you want Clemens to return for an Old Timers' Day next season?

HOUSTON -- Making his final career start 20 minutes from his home in Deer Park, Texas, Andy Pettitte finished off a five-hitter by retiring J.D. Martinez with the crowd of 37,199 standing on its feet and many chanting his name at Minute Maid Field on Saturday night.

With camera flashes dotting the crowd and two outs in the ninth, Pettitte allowed a single to Chris Carter, bringing Yankees manager Joe Girardi out of the dugout. With the fans thinking he might lift Pettitte, they booed. Instead, Girardi left Pettitte in, and he retired Martinez on a ground ball to third to end the Yankees' 2-1 win.

Read the entire news story here

HOUSTON -- Andy Pettitte goes out in style, pitching a complete game, 20 minutes from his home in Deer Park, Texas.

WHAT IT MEANS: No. 46 will never pitch again in the majors.

PETTITTE'S LAST CALL: For a full report on Pettite's final outing, click on my news story.

NUNEZ BEING NUNEZ: In the sixth, the always entertaining Eduardo Nunez was nearly hit by a pitch and in his haste to get out of the way he nearly did a complete handstand. Nunez then almost rapped a home run around the left-field foul poll, but it hooked too much. Finally, Nunez hit a sharp single.

CANO COMES THROUGH: With runners on the corners, Robinson Cano nailed a hard single to right to tie the game at 1-1 in the sixth.

STOPPING THE CLOCK: Still in the sixth, with the bases loaded, Astros catcher Matt Pagnozzi started to try to pick off Cano at second. But he stopped midway and he threw the ball straight into the ground. He looked like a quarterback aggressively spiking the ball into the turf. The ball drifted away and off the wall. Pagnozzi tried to recover and flip to reliever Chia-Jen Lo. Nunez -- who, of course was involved, was ruled safe at home, just beating the flip to Lo. The run gave Pettitte the lead.

ON DECK: Pettitte reaction, plus a column from Ian O'Connor.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Here is our Mariano Rivera news story and our Alex Rodriguez newser.

HOUSTON -- With next season and possibly his career on the line, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is looking forward to the start of the appeal of his 211-game suspension for violating the joint drug agreement and the collective bargaining agreement on Monday.

"Let's get it on," Rodriguez said after manager Joe Girardi confirmed the third baseman would sit out the rest of the weekend's games. "It starts on Monday. We've got to face it head on."

Rodriguez and his team of lawyers will start the appeals process in front of the three-man panel at Major League Baseball's offices in Manhattan on Monday. The hearing is expected to take five days, and then the group is expected to decide within the next 25 days if it will either uphold, reduce or overturn the suspension.

A representative from the MLB Players Association and the commissioner's office join the independent arbitrator Fredric Horowitz on the three-man committee. Horowitz is expected to cast the deciding vote.

Rodriguez, 38, called the entire process a "big burden," so he is happy to finally be facing it.

"I'll be there every day," Rodriguez said. "I'm fighting for my whole life, my whole legacy. I hope everyone is there."

TO READ THE COMPLETE NEWS STORY CLICK HERE