Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
July 11, 2008
Friction Behind the Plate

It seems Jorge Posada and Joe Girardi disagree on how much Jorge should be catching:

Posada said that Girardi knows how he feels about playing behind the plate, but it seems that when the Yankees play speedy teams such as Boston or Tampa Bay, the manager's preference is to keep Molina's arm on the field. Asked if he thought he would get the nod behind the plate based on the opponent, Posada barked: "I don't know. Ask him. I have no idea."

Presented with the same question, Girardi was non-committal about his plans.

"It's more how he's continuing to improve, then you look at matchups and that's how you make up your lineup," Girardi said. "When you want to get both righthanded bats in the lineup, you're not going to DH Molina or put Molina at first. You would probably go the other way. You look at everything involved and then you make your decision."

This same thing happened when Posada was young and Girardi was the defensive catcher. Torre often started Girardi's glove instead of Posada's bat. For example, Girardi started games 3 and 4 of the World Series in 1998, despite the Yankees losing the designated hitter in San Deigo. During the season, Posada caught the bulk of the games.


Posted by David Pinto at 07:49 AM | Players | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Posada's cs% is around 18%. With Matsui and Damon on the DL it gives him a chance to play everyday and improve the defense. When Damon comes back he can play LF. This is why NYY never should have signed him for 4 yrs.

Posted by: Bandit at July 11, 2008 09:46 AM

Uh, look at Molina's VORP and Posada's. Then you'll see why the Yankees were smart to sign Posada for four years.

Posted by: James at July 11, 2008 10:00 AM

He can't catch - Molina can - this is why anyone who has ever played baseball laughs in your face.

Posted by: Bandit at July 11, 2008 12:31 PM

Teams are running all over Posada.The Yanks are going to regret that 4 year deal.I am sure that Boston will not give Variteck 4 years.

Posted by: fred at July 11, 2008 01:02 PM

Whatever Posada's defensive pluses or minuses, it makes perfect sense to give plenty of rest to an aging catcher. It's tough, of course, for a player to admit that he's getting older and that he should take more time off. A strong and healthy Posada will be a tremendous asset to the Yankees down the stretch. Girardi is doing the right thing.

Posted by: jvwalt at July 11, 2008 01:02 PM
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