BOSTON -- "We want A-Rod!" Clap-Clap ... Clap-Clap-Clap. "We want A-Rod!" Clap-Clap ... Clap-Clap-Clap. "We want A-Rod!" Clap-Clap ... Clap-Clap-Clap.

That was the chant that filled Fenway Park in the ninth inning of the Boston Red Sox's 5-3 win over the New York Yankees. It wasn't a mocking cheer. It sounded like a sincere request from fans of the rivalry to see No. 13, Alex Rodriguez, one more time in his gray road uniform.

The fans most definitely wanted A-Rod to get an at-bat. The man who decides, Yankees manager Joe Girardi, most definitely did not.

"I don't know, how am I supposed to react?" Girardi said when asked what he thought of the chants. "It is part of it. But I have to do what I think is best."

Girardi said he never considered pinch-hitting Rodriguez for Aaron Hicks in the ninth. With two out, a man on and the Yankees down three, Hicks walked against a wild Craig Kimbrel.

Girardi said at no point in the game did he think about using A-Rod, even for his No. 9 batter, the .192-hitting Hicks, against Kimbrel.

"You are facing a guy throwing 97-98 [mph]," Girardi said.

To translate: Girardi is subtly saying the reason the Yankees are releasing Rodriguez is because he can't catch up to a fastball anymore. In Girardi's mind, it is cut and dried, and he is trying to gain a wild card despite it being apparent that the 56-56 Yankees are going nowhere this season.

For the sake of the health of the team's fans, Girardi might want to put A-Rod in the lineup Wednesday because the club is boring them to death.

When answering questions, Girardi once again looked as if he would rather be anywhere else. He acted annoyed that reporters would ask why a guy that had 696 homers -- who is supposedly having his farewell tour and is one of the most intriguing players in baseball history -- would be the center of attention as the clock winds down on his Yankees career.

"I know he wants to play," Girardi said. "That is normal. I have to do what is right for the club and the organization."

During pregame, Girardi made it clear that he regretted saying that Rodriguez could decide his place in the lineup.

In a pregame meeting Tuesday, Girardi told A-Rod that he is playing to win, then put out a batting order without Rodriguez in it. A-Rod admitted to being "disappointed," saying he did not know what happened.

There is no way good way to release a player. Owner Hal Steinbrenner is trying to provide Rodriguez as soft a landing as possible. He gave Rodriguez a week to say goodbye and then -- if he doesn't try to hook up with another team -- he can help out as a special advisor.

But the more you listen to Rodriguez, the more you hear him sound like he thinks he still has something left. It has been obvious for weeks, since the Yankees started benching him, that this situation is killing him. A-Rod is not the kid at the end of the bench whom everyone cheers for to get in.

He most definitely does not look at himself that way, even at 41 with two hip surgeries and a .204 average.

But the Yankees are releasing him because Girardi and the coaching staff think he is done. They first took away A-Rod's at-bats against right-handed pitching in the first half of the season. Then they locked him out of at-bats against lefties. Now he is on the team -- sort of. Can you say awkward?

While it is nice that Rodriguez is hanging around for another week and will get his send-off night in the Bronx, it is very weird. He is scheduled to start Thursday and Friday.

What happens if he hits a couple of homers? It would be a nice way to go out, perhaps, but it would only make Rodriguez think he has something left.

With A-Rod struggling all season, there is really no reason to believe that Rodriguez might have a little more magic in his bat. But if you have paid attention to his whole career, you know he has a knack for the dramatic.

He also can create tension. Girardi looked as tense as ever after the game.

Maybe, on Wednesday, he might want to give A-Rod a chance to do something dramatic.