Jorge Posada On Verge Of Signing With Astros

Yankees Finally Pull The Plug On Posada's Regular Work

Three months ago, Jorge Posada declined to play in a game, because he'd been dropped to ninth in the lineup.

That didn't go over very well with anyone, but Posada's performance merited the demotion and eventually he became the Yankees' DH against right-handed pitchers, with Andruw Jones usually playing against lefties.

Well, no more. As Joel Sherman reports in the Post, the Yankees are going with Eric Chavez as their primary DH against righties. Which leaves Posada as a catcher who's not allowed to catch and a hitter who's rarely allowed to hit.

So why even keep him around at all? Mostly because the Yankees are good enough -- and far enough ahead of their closest competition for a postseason berth -- that they can play with a 24-man roster in the interest of not embarrassing one of their greatest-ever players. The rosters expand in three weeks, and then the roster's not an issue. Granted, there will still be that moment of embarrassment when Posada doesn't make the postseason roster.

Or maybe, as Joe Pawlikowski speculates, management is hoping for something else.

There have been reports that the Yankees soon plan to call up top prospect Jesus Montero, and this could merely be a transition period for them. It gives them a week or so to gauge Jorge’s reaction to being benched (perhaps they hope he’ll decide to retire or ask for his release), and to see how well Chavez can perform in a more significant role. But with Montero waiting in the wings, it seems probable that they’ll call him up soon to take reps at DH. If that doesn’t happen, it’s a near lock that he gets reps in September. It appears that the Yankees really are beginning the transition from former heavy hitting catcher to the projected future one.

The only problem with this plan is that Montero hasn't actually been all that great in the minors this season, and might not be much of a catcher anyway.

Of course, the Yankees have the best run differential in Major League Baseball. So all these "problems" really seem but a trifle compared to, for example, what the Astros are facing.

Derek Jeter, Yankees Patch Things Up After Jorge Posada Drama

It wasn't enough that the Yankees found themselves embroiled in drama after Jorge Posada refused to play against the Red Sox on Saturday night. No - after smoothing that situation over, the Yankees then found themselves embroiled in drama after captain Derek Jeter spoke in Posada's defense. The Yankees were reportedly upset that their shortstop involved himself in the situation and forgave Posada for his behavior.

But hey, great news now everybody! Via Mark Feinsand:

According to a team source, the Yankees have spoken with Derek Jeter and all is fine between them.

And more:

Jeter, Levine, Cashman and Hal held a conference call early this afternoon. Jeter: "We're all on the same page."

Well that's a relief. At last, perhaps everybody can move on, and maybe everybody can move on having learned a thing or two from this whole nightmare. Maybe next time a player does something objectionable in the clubhouse, it should stay within the clubhouse so the entire organization doesn't look silly in the aftermath.

For the record, Jorge Posada is not in Monday's starting lineup. But that's because the Yankees are facing David Price, and not because of any disciplinary actions.

Is Jorge Posada Still Suffering Concussive After-Effects?

Over at Baseball Prospectus, Jay Jaffe throws in a highly relevant fact:

It's worth wondering if his problems are of a piece with the concussion scare that sidelined Posada last September and led to his mothballing as a catcher. Since last September 8, he's hitting .160/.280/.314 in 182 plate appearances, about a third of a season's worth.

Here's another fact: Prior to last September 8, Posada's line in 2010 was .262/.367/.485 in roughly 400 plate appearances, or about two-thirds of a season's worth.

Posada's performance is at the heart of this thing. If he's hitting, he doesn't bat ninth. If he's hitting, he's not so terribly frustrated. If he's hitting, Brian Cashman doesn't throw him under the bus. And when a guy goes from Posada's pre-9/8 to his post 9/8 on a dime, you have to really wonder if it's more than about just getting a tiny bit older.

There's obviously some bad luck involved, too; Posada's batting just .164 on balls in play this season, which is just insanely low. Still, I wonder if there's something going on that nobody's managed to figure out yet. And don't be surprised if Posada winds up on the Disabled List before Memorial Day.

Yankees Upset With Derek Jeter's Comments Regarding Jorge Posada

As if this soap opera couldn’t have gotten any stranger, Monday morning it was reported by ESPN.com that the New York Yankees are "irked" by Derek Jeter injecting himself into the Jorge Posada situation over the weekend. Buster Olney reports:

And now there may be a Round 3 in the hours and days ahead, after Jeter essentially exonerated Posada from any wrongdoing, in his statements to reporters. According to sources, the club’s management was surprised and frustrated by what Jeter said — particularly in his standing as captain — even after Posada acknowledged that he was wrong in his actions Saturday and apologized to manager Joe Girardi.

So let’s get this straight. Posada did something wrong and said he had "a bad day". He apologized to his manager… but Jeter claims that Posada didn’t do anything wrong, and now the Yankees are upset with Jeter. Olney’s report says that at first, the Yankees were "so angry with what Posada did that they considered releasing the veteran immediately."

This isn’t the kind of angst the Yankees need right now, after being swept by the Red Sox in their home park and heading into a big series with the first-place Rays in Tampa. Stay tuned for the next episode of "As The Yankees Turn".

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Jorge Posada Apologizes To Joe Girardi For Refusing To Play

It's been a wild 24 hours for Jorge Posada and the New York Yankees. On Saturday, of course, Jorge Posada asked out of a game after finding out Joe Girardi slotted him ninth in the lineup. This caused a whole to-do, and everybody and their mothers seized the opportunity to weigh in on which side was to blame for the mess. It went so far that there was even some talk about whether or not the Yankees would try to void Posada's contract.

Well, on Sunday, Posada has taken steps to make the situation less messy. Writes Gabe Lacques:

A contrite Jorge Posada said that he apologized to New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi on Sunday and that in removing himself from the lineup an hour before Saturday's game, "I let some people down."

Further, in Posada's own words:

"I just talked to Girardi, I kind of apologized to him. I had a bad day yesterday. ... Everybody has a bad day. ... One of those days you wish you could take back. ... Everything happens for a reason. You live with your mistakes. You move on. ... What's done is done. You have to acknowledge that. You have to take care of your actions."

Posada also plans to apologize to general manager Brian Cashman - if he hasn't already - and Girardi says that the Yankees aren't planning on punishing their long-time star. Posada isn't in the Sunday lineup, but he should be back before long.

This story isn't going to go away, at least for as long as Posada continues struggling, but these sorts of things ordinarily stay in-house and never see the light of day, and Posada isn't the first player to do what he did. Now that he's apologized, the team should be able to move on, even if the people following the team cannot.

Jorge Posada Being Treated Wrong By New York Yankees, Says David Ortiz

It seems like everyone is chiming in with an opinion of the Jorge Posada situation, including Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz. On Saturday evening, Posada admitted he asked for the day off, though he was adamant it was because he needed time to clear his head and allow his sore back to heal, not because manager Joe Girardi moved him to ninth in the lineup.

After the Red Sox downed the Yankees, 6-0, Ortiz spoke to reporters about Posada and the difficulties of being a designated hitter. Ortiz felt the Yankees were doing Posada wrong and was blunt in his assessment about his own role as a DH in Boston.

“You want to know what I think? They’re doing that guy wrong. They’re doing him wrong,” said Ortiz. “You know why? That guy, he is legendary right there in that organization. And dude, DH-ing sucks. DH-ing is not easy.

He went on to criticize the Yankees for keeping Posada from playing catcher. Ortiz infers the position change is messing with Posada’s head, and seems to think the switch is contributing to his struggles.

“From what I heard, they told him from the very beginning that he’s not even going to catch bullpens. That straight up will start messing with your head. And you’re going to tell me that Posada can’t catch a game out there? Come on, man.”

It’s not unexpected to see another player, even from a rival organization, stand-up for Posada. Ortiz knows the struggles the Yankee legend is going through and is all too familiar with lengthy early-season slumps and wavering support from the fan-base. Whether he’s on the mark with his assessment of Posada’s difficulty, though, is still in question.

Jorge Posada: Sore Back And Needed Time To "Clear Head"

Jorge Posada excused himself from the Yankees’ lineup Saturday night. Whether because he didn’t appreciate being asked to bat ninth (for the first time since 1999) or because his back was hurting … Well, we still don’t know, exactly.

But here’s what Posada said after the game:

I told him I couldn’t play today. That I needed time to … first to clear my head, and that was it. My back stiffened up a little bit. I was taking a lot of ground balls at first base, and worked out and … wasn’t 100 percent.

When asked about batting ninth, Posada claimed that wasn’t an issue, and repeated his pre-game comment: “I put myself in this spot.”

Posada clearly wasn’t happy that Brian Cashman spoke to the media, saying, “I don’t know why he made a statement during the game. I don’t understand that. That’s the way he works now.”

Here’s a bit from Joe Girardi’s postgame press conference:

The conversation was really short. Jorgie came into my office and said that he needed a day — he couldn’t DH today. And that was basically the extent of the conversation … I was not made aware of his back in our conversation.

According to Gordon Edes, Girardi also said, "He told me he needed a day. He made no reference to batting ninth. He made no reference to his back. He needed a day.’’

And finally, Girardi also reportedly said, ""I’m not going to talk about this much."

Which is exactly what he should do: not talk about it much. To whatever degree possible, this should stay within the clubhouse. Which would be true no matter who the player, but particularly with a player who’s been a member of the Yankee family for more than 20 years.

Posada might well have been a little sore, but you can’t help suspecting that his soreness wouldn’t have been enough to keep him out of the lineup if he’d been penciled into the seventh slot rather than the ninth.

After all these years of comporting himself with great grace, Posada probably deserves “a day” … and if there’s a question about his “legacy” it won’t be answered tonight, or tomorrow. It will be answered, with some help from the organization, over the next few weeks and months.

Brian Cashman on Jorge Posada: "There is no injury."

During the Red Sox-Yankees game Saturday night — in which Jorge Posada reportedly refused to play — GM Brian Cashman dismissed the suggestion that Posada was unable to play because of a back injury:

“There is no injury,” Cashman said. “Obviously I’ve talked to Jorgie. I’m not going to comment on my conversations with Jorgie on it. That’s the only thing I’ve got to tell you.”

Posada’s wife brought up the back injury in a tweet, but prior to the game he was working on his defense at first base, and Cashman’s statement doesn’t leave any room for interpretation.

We might never know exactly what happened, but at this writing — the top of the ninth inning, Yankees losing 6-0 — it’s expected that Posada will talk to the media after the game, at which point we’ll at least have his side of things.

Meanwhile the Yankees have other problems as their hitting attack, so productive in April, has sputtered in May, with the Red Sox now just one game away from a Yankee Stadium sweep.

Jorge Posada Asked Out Of Yankees Lineup Due To 'Back Stiffness,' Says Wife

And the Jorge Posada kerfuffle gets even murkier: FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports on-air during the Yankees' game against the Red Sox that "a source close to Posada" claims Posada asked to sit not because he was dropped to ninth in the Yankees' lineup, but because of "back stiffness."

Laura Posada, Jorge's wife, may well be Rosenthal's source: she tweeted that her husband was unable to play tonight "due to back stiffness."

Rosenthal noted that this reason would directly contradict what he was told by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman. And, indeed, it would seem that each side is telling its own story here: whichever unnamed member of the Yankees organization characterized Posada's reaction to being dropped as a "hissy fit" to YES Network's Jack Curry did the Yankees catcher no favors, and Posada citing an injury would theoretically exonerate him of any pride-based petulance.

Whatever the case, it seems unlikely that the Yankees will be able to terminate Posada's contract. Rosenthal noted that the only player in MLB history to have his contract voided was Shawn Chacon, and only after he punched Astros general manager Ed Wade in 2008.

Jorge Posada's Father Dispels Retirement Rumor: 'No, No, No'

In the wake of Jorge Posada's refusal to play for the Yankees tonight after being dropped to ninth in the lineup by Joe Girardi, one rumor that cropped up on Twitter was that Posada would retire. Posada's father is dispelling that, according to YES Network's Jack Curry:

I just spoke to Jorge Posada's father. He said his son isn't retiring after the game. "No, no, no," he said. "He will play all year."

Curry got a hold of Jorge Posada Sr. during the middle of the Yankees' game against the Red Sox, and got plenty of insight, including the note that Posada Sr. thinks his son should have played and the suggestion that Posada's pride might be the reason for tonight's incident.

The New York Times also does some connection of the dots, and suggests that Posada may be feeling the pressure of a season-long struggle at the plate, between cutting off reporters' questions about his issues and talking about "feeling better" while hitting just .235 since May 2.

Jorge Posada Refuses To Play For Yankees Vs. Red Sox Over Lineup Dispute

Jorge Posada has had a long and successful Yankees career. Tonight, he may have added an ugly black mark to it: Posada refused to play in the Yankees' game against the Red Sox after being slotted into the ninth spot in the order by manager Joe Girardi, with YES Network's Jack Curry reporting he was "insulted" and threw a "hissy fit."

One of the longest-serving Yankees of the modern era, Posada's seen his power sapped in recent years, and is hitting a miserable .165 in 2011. That might contribute to some of his frustrations with being dropped in the Yankees lineup, but his defiance of Girardi may mean that New York can dock his pay or terminate his contract.

ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Yankees are examining their courses of action with regards to Posada, and FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal suggests that the Yankees could seek to terminate Posada's contract if he refuses to play again on Sunday.