Alex Rodriguez tells reporters he thought after hearing Joe Girardi speak about his desire to play A-Rod in Boston that he would be playing in more than just one game against the Red Sox. (0:21)

BOSTON -- Alex Rodriguez thought his final week as a member of the New York Yankees was going to be on the field, not the bench.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi decided otherwise, prioritizing winning over sentimentality.

Girardi said Rodriguez will not start Tuesday and Wednesday, but would be in the lineup Thursday against knuckleballer Steven Wright. A-Rod also will start Friday, his final game with the team.

"I'm disappointed," Rodriguez said Tuesday at Fenway Park. "When I heard him say I can actually play in all four games, I was really excited to get some at-bats. I don't know what happened."

On Sunday, after the Yankees announced the plan for A-Rod to be released Friday and then take a job as a special adviser, Girardi said he would let A-Rod dictate his playing time for his final week in pinstripes.

"If he wants to play in every game, I'll find a way," Girardi said.

Girardi said his comments Sunday were made when he got caught up in the moment, so he is choosing the Yankees' pursuit of the wild card over A-Rod's farewell.

"I'm an emotional guy," Girardi said. "My heart can get tugged at. I think I got caught up in the emotions. I'm human. There is a human element to me. There is a human element to Alex. I'm not saying he won't play these next two days and that he won't be in there. I'm managing to try to win the games. That's what I have to do. This is a very important series for us. This is one of the teams that we are chasing."

A-Rod never made it into Tuesday's game, a 5-3 Yankees loss. Fans at Fenway chanted "We Want A-Rod" late in the game, hoping he'd get in the game.

Rodriguez said he came to the park excited Tuesday, hoping to play in all three games at Fenway. The Yankees started Tuesday 4½ games back in the wild card with 51 games remaining.

Girardi started Brian McCann at designated hitter against right-hander Rick Porcello. Rodriguez is hitting .204 with nine homers and 29 RBIs in 62 games.

"We started to give the at-bats to other people because of what we saw," Girardi said. "That's hard for me to say, because I believed in Alex. He was a guy that was always so productive for us. I don't know. I don't know if there would be a right situation out there for him. He is going to be 42, and he doesn't really play a position."

Rodriguez, who just turned 41, would not totally close the door on Friday being his final game.

"I don't know that answer right now," Rodriguez said. "I'm content with how this week has gone down."

For now, A-Rod is still a Yankee and stuck on the bench.

Said Girardi: "My responsibility as the manager -- and we are still in this -- is to win games."