Yankees lineup: Posada emerges
Posted by: Brian Heyman - Posted in Misc on Aug 13, 2011 
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If Posada was ever motivated to do well, and if he has anything left in the tank, this is a perfect opportunity to step up. I hope he has a great game and I bet his teammates would love it.
Hmmm?
BryanHoch Yankees have decided that A-Rod will DH again in today’s Class-A Tampa game. Girardi wasn’t sure why.
The Yankees will sign fifth round pick Greg Bird for a signing bonus in the seven figures, reports ESPN’s Keith Law (on Twitter). MLB’s slot recommendation for the 179th overall pick is just under $132K.
Bird, a high school first baseman/catcher from Colorado, is said to have “good bat speed and [he] gets plenty of loft and backspin on the ball” by Baseball America (subs. req’d). The left-handed swinger is expected to end up at first base long-term. Bird was committed to Arkansas.
The Yanks will win now that they’ve let Jorge out of the doghouse. His replacements haven’t exactly done much to help the team win.
My expectation for posada is so low that even if it is just a single throughout the game, I am satisfied. But the question is even if posada goes 5 for 5 with 5 HRs, will it even answer the question, Is he done?
Buster_ESPNBuster Olney About Jesus Montero:Doesn’t have to be called up before Sept. 1 to be postseason eligible. Injuries to Curtis,Corona create loophole for NYY
corona for sure is not postseason eligible. Curtis is the one that needs understanding of the rules about the counting of days.
Fantasy – he’s not finished, anymore than AJ or Hughes or Cervelli or Martin or Jones or anyone else on the team who has struggled this year.
pat
Perhaps substandard field conditions? At least that’s what I’m hoping.
BTW Is YES covering the Jeter ceremony? If so, what time?
Gotta scoot out to the supermarket and I want to make sure I’m back in time. Thanks.
why not posada today?
this is the spot for him.
chavez at 3rd vs a righty
but the problem with posada is that he is a dh only who is not worthy of dhing so far.
Boland’s tweet, “It’s not a fact that we’ve wanted to bounce him around.”
Does this even make sense to anyone else?
Anyway, I don’t care what happens this season. I only care that Hughes bounces back and is in the rotation next spring.
as long as chavez plays 3rd, po will dh
at least till arod is back
I see that many of the posters here have already made up their minds that Jesus Montero will never be a catcher. In the late 1940?s most experts thought the same thing about a funny looking young Yankee catcher who could hit but struggled at all aspects of the catching trade. The Yankees arranged for Hall of Famer Bill Dickey to work with the catcher who, under Dickey’s tutelage went on to be a Hall of Fame catcher too…but never stopped being funny looking. That catcher was Yogi Berra. It took him a while to become a proficient catcher but when he got the hang of it he also got the opportunity to win quite a few rings.
I can see the Yankees breaking Jesus Montero in as a combination catcher/designated hitter next year. The Yankees will probably carry 3 catchers (Montero, Martin and Cervelli). Montero will probably catch one day out of every five and DH 3 of the other 4 days. Martin will probably catch 3 days out of 5 and DH 1 day of the other 2. Cervelli will catch one day out of 5 and that DH position will be rotated on the 5th day (ARod, Teixeira, Jeters, Cano, Swisher and Granderson each getting a shot a half-day off).
As the season progresses, if Montero improves behind the plate he can catch 2 days out of 5 and DH 2 of the other days with the Yankees carrying Cervelli simply as an emergency catcher.
The reality is that no catcher can catch more than 130 games in a season so Montero will have the luxury of developing on the job with his workload increasing as he improves and the DH job a way to keep his bat in the lineup when he can’t catch.
And some are not worthy of posting.
if this move is made on Monday like girardi said, it won’t involve arod yet.
if hughes goes down does montero come up?
fantasygame101 August 13th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
My expectation for posada is so low that even if it is just a single throughout the game, I am satisfied. But the question is even if posada goes 5 for 5 with 5 HRs, will it even answer the question, Is he done?
==================
It wouldn’t answer the question. In fact, he started the season in essentially the fashion than you suggest (as I recall, something like his first 8 hits of the season were homers). A big day likely would be considered a fluke. I think that the ship has sailed on Posada. Even a big day likely wouldn’t get him an extended look, unless there was some obvious sea change–some indication that Posada was somehow rejuvenated.
Ruth went 4 for 4 in his last game, homering three times (http://www.baseball-reference......5250.shtml). That would be a heck of a nice way for Posada to go out.
ghostwriter…. the yankees I think disagrees with you or me for that matter. Bec. if they believe that he is done then they will not be dhing him today just 6 days after girardi made the statement.
eboland11 Yankees not saying but not doing much to hide rotation plan. Girardi on Hughes: “It’s not a fact that we’ve wanted to bounce him around.”
right now it’s either chavez or posada as the extra lefty bat against rightys
why is that so hard to understand?
if chavez plays 3rd then of course its posada at dh.
fantasygame101 August 13th, 2011 at 1:54 pm
ghostwriter…. the yankees I think disagrees with you or me for that matter. Bec. if they believe that he is done then they will not be dhing him today just 6 days after girardi made the statement.
=============
Posada is on the roster; he is going to get some playing time. The fact that they are DH-ing him today doesn’t mean much.
Comparing Montero to Yogi might not be such a good idea right now. It’s possible Montero’s height works against him. Montero is6’3″. Mauer is just about done behind the plate at 6’5″. Taller catchers don’t generally do well. Berra is 5’7″ Pudge Rodriguez is 5’9″. Campanella was 5’9″. The average size of a catcher in MLB is 5’11″.
mick August 13th, 2011 at 1:56 pm
right now it’s either chavez or posada as the extra lefty bat against rightys
why is that so hard to understand?
if chavez plays 3rd then of course its posada at dh.
==
Exactly. And if they start Nunez at third against the righty, Chavez will be the DH.
jbp173 ? you should read Allen Barra?s biography of Yogi. You will see just how badly he was maligned as a ballplayer when he was just starting.
pat – thanks for that tidbit from Olney. I did not know that, and I feel a little bit better knowing it. Thanks.
Ghostwriter August 13th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
fantasygame101 August 13th, 2011 at 1:38 pm
My expectation for posada is so low that even if it is just a single throughout the game, I am satisfied. But the question is even if posada goes 5 for 5 with 5 HRs, will it even answer the question, Is he done?
==================
It wouldn’t answer the question. In fact, he started the season in essentially the fashion than you suggest (as I recall, something like his first 8 hits of the season were homers). A big day likely would be considered a fluke. I think that the ship has sailed on Posada. Even a big day likely wouldn’t get him an extended look, unless there was some obvious sea change–some indication that Posada was somehow rejuvenated.
Ruth went 4 for 4 in his last game, homering three times (http://www.baseball-reference&.....5250.shtml). That would be a heck of a nice way for Posada to go out.
————————————————————————————————————————-
That wasn’t Ruth’s last game. He played in five more games before retiring.
Comparing Montero to Yogi might not be such a good idea right now. It’s possible Montero’s height works against him. Montero is6’3?. Mauer is just about done behind the plate at 6’5?. Taller catchers don’t generally do well. Berra is 5’7? Pudge Rodriguez is 5’9?. Campanella was 5’9?. The average size of a catcher in MLB is 5’11?.
===============================================
How tall was Hall of Famer Pudge Fisk?
ghostwriter… dhing him today is giving a chance to prove to them that he can still contribute. If they think he is the 25th man on the roster, it is not that important to give him playing time bec. he will not be use but for emergency and pinch hitting duties.
“How tall was Hall of Famer Pudge Fisk?”
*************
I am sure you know the answer. Did I say it was a theory that applied to every single catcher?
they are more likely thinking he might not be the 25th man on the roster
there are many more important variables that could arise in sept….
When’s the last time Posada started a game? Not sure why people are reading too much into this. Simply a matter of giving Posada PT.
Logic might dictate that a shorter, squatter, more compact catcher could have less leg and back issues.
Mauer:
2004: Surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in left knee.
2007: Stress reaction in left fibula.
2009: Inflammation in the sacroiliac joint (back).
2010: Bruised left heel; right shoulder tendinitis; tissue inflammation in left knee; offseason arthroscopic surgery on left knee.
2011: Bilateral leg weakness; soreness in hips, elbow and shoulder.
Simply a matter of giving Posada PT.
=========================
what other left bat do they have?
lefty
All you Jorge haters should just shut your stupid traps. I can’t wait for you all to be put out to pasture, assuming, that is, that any of you ever makes a positive contribution to society.
I wonder why nobody told Mike Piazza, Ellie howard, Matt Weiters, Buster Posey, Gary Sanchez, etc can’t be catcers…all 6’2″ and above.
GreenBeret7 August 13th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
That wasn’t Ruth’s last game. He played in five more games before retiring.
=========
You’re right! I’ve had that one wrong all these years. Oh well…. I guess that Ruth should have quit while he was ahead that year.
“How tall was Hall of Famer Pudge Fisk?”
*************
I am sure you know the answer. Did I say it was a theory that applied to every single catcher?
===============================================
Carlton Fisk was 6’3″ tall and Bill Dickey was 6’2″ tall (some other accounts listed him as 6’1″ tall). In light of those two Hall of Famers I don’t think the Yankees should reject Montero as a catcher just because of his height. He will need the opportunity to develop as a catcher to see if he can become proficient there. Its possible that he won’t become proficient and making him a DH might be the best long-term spot for Jesus…but if he can become passable as a catcher then he will always be able to be an emergency catcher. That will help any team that he plays for.
“How tall was Hall of Famer Pudge Fisk?”
i’m 5′ 11 1/2″ and the one time i had a lengthy conversation with fisk he was a good 3-4 inches taller than me.
i probably shouldn’t have greeted him when he walked into my business in sarasota with” munson was better”….but then i thanked him for me picking up his catching workout program. i was catching at the time and we had a nice talk about catching and working out to keep playing longer. he was one of the first guys to work out after the games, and it clearly paid off for him.
No matter how good Martin has been behind the plate, I doubt they want him as their catcher of the future if he has stopped hitting.
Maybe he isn’t built for a fulltime catchers role.
Perhaps he is the future BUC, maybe next year.
Free Jesus Monday!
“You’re right! I’ve had that one wrong all these years.”
you really need to defer to gb7 on really old stuff.
he’s amazingly accurate.
i’m just surprised he can remember all that stuff like he was still there.
he must take ginkgo with his beer to have a memory like that.
The average height of a position player in MLB is about 6’0″. I can’t imagine that old saw about short catchers holds much water. An average height of 5’11 for MLB catchers suggests that a fair number of them are taller. There are a number of examples of tall men that had terrific MLB careers. Height is hardly a determinative factor.
Durability and athleticism are more important than height for position players in general, and for catchers.
Anyway, it’s too soon to write off Montero as a catcher. I mean, he is catching at Scranton, right?
randy l. August 13th, 2011 at 2:15 pm
“You’re right! I’ve had that one wrong all these years.”
you really need to defer to gb7 on really old stuff.
he’s amazingly accurate.
i’m just surprised he can remember all that stuff like he was still there.
he must take ginkgo with his beer to have a memory like that.
==============
I think that it was that old corny B&W Babe Ruth movie that screwed me up on that one.
Fisk, Piazza, and Parrish were 6’3″
Posada, Carter were 6’2″
Bench, Hartnett, and Santiago were all 6’1″
Porter was 6″0′.
Back in the 50s and before….tall meant 6 feet. Mantle was always described as big. He was 5’11″ and Mays was 5’10″. People are much bigger now, so it stands to reason that catchers will be bigger than “the good old days”. Christy Mathewson was called “Big Six” because he was skyscrapper tall at 6’1″. However, leave it to the West Coast Blowhard to have all of the answers.