There is no denying that Posada's defense behind the plate leaves a lot to be desired, but come on, they won the World Series with this guy behind the plate last year, and after one bad inning in the first game this is already starting..... Amazing.Jorge Posada promised in spring training he’d make it impossible for the Yankees to move him out from behind the plate, which were precisely the fighting words the Yankees needed to hear. General manager Brian Cashman’s blueprint for success revolves around an axiom that looks more than ever like a gamble: Posada had better be able to catch.
Can he? The question isn’t about Posada’s durability, his health and certainly not about his hitting, not after a three-hit performance in the season opener Sunday night at Fenway. But Posada’s ability to handle the pitching staff – and, specifically, catch the ball – is enough to make the Yankee hierarchy nervous. For good reason, too.
Posada was unable to cope with Damaso Marte’s wild-but-not-uncatchable fastball in the seventh inning, which allowed the Red Sox to score the go-ahead run in a 9-7 loss. Afterward, Joe Girardi made a point of saying, “This is only one game.” But he was answering a question about CC Sabathia squandering a 5-1 lead and the bullpen’s failure when the Red Sox were closing in.
Klapisch does insist that this isn't just about one game, which would be a fair point if he didn't keep going back to it in the article.
Is he really suggesting that Girardi even considers moving him to DH? Really? After one game?Posada said there was no cross-up with Marte Sunday night. The fastball that glanced off his glove was just poorly located – up and in when it was supposed to cut the outside corner to David Ortiz.
The fact that Posada actually had a significant piece of the ball further complicated the issue. If he knew a fastball was coming, how could he have let it get away, especially in such a critical situation, with the go-ahead run on third base?
You won’t get a satisfactory answer from any of the parties involved, including Marte and Girardi. The manager realizes he doesn’t have many options now, not unless he wants to slide Posada to the DH spot against the AL’s tougher lefties. But that would mean sitting Johnson, who has a career .302 average against left-handed starters.
He also discussion a "work-around" that was available to the Yankees during the offseason to help avoid this issues with Posada:
The Yankees could’ve conceivably kept Johnny Damon around, letting him share the DH spot with Posada while turning the catching duties over to Jose Molina. But the difficulties with Damon and his agent Scott Boras nuked that scenario, and when Nick Johnson was signed to a one-year deal, the Yankees handed the keys to the everyday catching job back to Posada.Yea, I'm sure that was right at the top of Brian Cashman's idea list. Jose Molina hit .217/.273/.298 over the past two years, his OPS over that span is just 49 points higher than Posada's slugging percentage was in 2009, and Klapisch is actually suggesting that the Yankees turn the catching duties over to him? ....Wow.... At least suggest Francisco Cervelli, Molina was an automatic out the second half of last season, as shown by his .182 batting average after July 11th.
By not going in this direction he says "the Yankees will have to live with Posada’s deficits, including the rough edges of his bond with Burnett. Offensive production like Sunday night’s help ease the Yankees’ discomfort." The question regarding Posada and Burnett is reasonable, but it has little to do with his defense behind the plate. Plus, the runs Posada might cost the Yankees behind the plate will be nowhere near the runs he will produce offensively, so, I really don't think the Yankees are too uncomfortable with the situation.
I'm not defending Posada behind the plate, I'm just saying that it's ridiculous to react to one game this way. It's worth repeating; the Yankees won the World Series last year with this guy, and like last year, Posada's defense probably won't be a major issue for this team.
