PACK THE BAGS!

Back up the moving vans to 161st. and River Avenue.

The New York Yankees again came up small in the postseason, losing the AL division series in four games to Detroit. So, all you fans, hold off again on changing all those signs to reflect 27 World Championships.

Remember, the Yankees were the team built from the top to the bottom of the order to win now. Problem is one through five -- the pitching staff -- is largely being ignored.

With a 19-win season, Chien-Ming Wang established himself as the ace of the staff. After that, the staff would be one of the best in baseball ... if it were 1997. Randy Johnson cannot do it anymore at age 43. All you needed to see was him laboring in Game 3.

Future Hall of Famers need to recognize when it's time to call it a career.

Mike Mussina? Cory Lidle? Jaret Wright? Do any of these players truly strike fear in batters today? Apparently not.

It would be easy to pile on A-Rod, but that is a subject that has been beaten around far more than it deserves to be -- .071 batting average, failed to drive in a run for the second straight postseason.

He needs to get out of New York -- whether it's his choice or the Yankees', it's time to cut the cord. A-Rod will challenge for Hank Aaron's home run record. When he shows up at spring training, he'll still be just 31 and need only 291 homers to move atop the list, but it's clear he can't do it in a Yanks uniform.

The worst thing A-Rod did was leave Seattle. He was the big fish in the small pond there. Had his contract not been worth $252 million when he signed with Texas, he would have been in the same situation.

Instead, the spotlight was turned on him because of his landmark deal. Going to New York only turned up the heat. Forget what you read about him, he's clearly a very sensitive man -- when he reads the comments in the papers and hears what people say about him on sportstalk radio, you just know they stay deep in his psyche.

Maybe A-Rod likes barbecue or day trips to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or Mall of America. Fisherman's Wharf also is a nice place to visit.

It's time.