Looking for reasons for a Posada comeback
Posted by: Chad Jennings - Posted in Misc on Nov 10, 2011 
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Jorge Posada clearly doesn’t like the idea of playing for another team, so why would he come back for another season? There might be a few reasons.
To chase down milestones
In theory, this might be in play. In reality, Posada doesn’t have much left to accomplish. He’s already one of the game’s great offensive catchers, and reaching significant milestones — especially 300 home runs — would take more than a single season.
“That’s a couple of years,” Posada said. “It’s not like I’m six or seven away… Individually, I don’t set out to accomplish. It’s more about the team. When you sit and you look at the numbers, there’s nothing out there. I would love to get 300. It’s not going to happen (because) 2008 really killed me. It hurt me because I was hurt. Four hundred doubles, I’m close, but it’s just a couple of years away.”
To be a winner again
Posada’s never played for a bad team. He’s a competitive man who’s always been in a competitive situation, and like his wife said last night, it might not be easy to wake up some random July morning without a game to play. The trick might be finding a winning team that has a spot for him.
“It would be a lot easier,” Posada said. “When you’re playing for winning (and) winning all the time, and go to a team (that’s not in contention), that would be tough. That would be really tough.”
To play again
This seems to be the big one. Posada’s a baseball player. Before he was a catcher and before he was a Yankee, he was a baseball player, and it would be hard to give that up. Posada said last night that he’d like to stay around the game, but he has to decide for certain whether he’s finished playing.
“First you’ve got to see which team you want to play for,” he said. “And then, if I have to backup, be a backup catcher, I can do that. I can play a little first. I can come off the bench. It’s just one of those things.”
Associated Press photo
He’s a competitive man who’s always been in a competitive situation, and like his wife said last night, it might not be easy to wake up some random July morning without a game to play.
It might not be easy to wake up on a random morning in July with a meaningless game to play either.
The multiple concussions changed some things for Jorge. He’s done well financially during his Yankee days. He needs to give thought at coaching in the Yankee system until a opportunity develops with the big team.
This has to be a record for consecutive Posada posts.
Trisha,
Yea I don’t know. I think the state needs to investigate the whole lot……I want to know how many board members knew and did nothing just the same as the president and Paterno.
If the latest report is true then the web grows even larger…..who were these sickos that Sandusky was pimping to.
Ultimately I think Posada will retire. I just have a feeling he’ll want to go out as a Yankee.
ID, you make a good point. It’s a grind. How will he reconcile going through that, possibly playing for a non-contender, not getting many at-bats over the course of 162 games at much less than $13M?
It might be better to focus on the next phase of his life.
Was just reading about Sandy Alomar Jr. who seems to be a front-runner on a short-list of 5 guys for the Sox job. He retired in ’07 and coached in the big leagues instead of managing in the minors.
Jorge will need to think about next year and the year after that.
pat,
lol. He was big-timin’ on the desk with Ann Curry. Those seats go up and down. No couch for the Li’l Guy.
Laura and the kids stayed in Miami the last couple of seasons.
Living in the familiarity of NY by himself might be more attractive than living elsewhere by himself.
I still think Marlins or retirement for Jorge.
The worst thing that could hapen would be for Jorge to come back in 2012 and not hit.
I would prefer to see him retire as a Yankee and on top of his game.
It might not be easy to wake up on a random morning in July with a meaningless game to play either.
——-
Posada does have experience sitting out games
blake, my fear is that the trustees are going to close ranks. For the sake of argument, let’s say there is a core who knew about it. I’d be surprised if they haven’t already conspired to cover each other’s back. If the trustees were apprised, it would have been by Spanier. Spanier isn’t going to give them up because there is some kind of code of “ethics” that takes place with these higher ed situations and types, and he will go away quietly – from Penn State anyway – especially if he hopes to ever land a job elsewhere.
You would think, though, that the question would have to be out there. At some point, does some reporter finally ask it? Will the feds meet with them as part of their investigation? I would think so, but who knows.
************
I’m not even going there with the newest allegations. I am praying that turns out to be a paper balloon.
************
I have played out in my mind what I think reaction would be if this were happening at some nondescript higher education institution with a third-rate football program. Would all of the Paterno apologists be making excuses for coach John Jones and insisting that he was being railroaded under the same circumstances, that he knew about sexual molestation with one of his coaches and reported it to the next level, but was also aware that the coach was still on campus using facilities, bringing little boys with him? Would people be turning over cars because John Jones was fired and wouldn’t be coaching his next game?
Paterno should have been fired immediately. It’s too bad that it took the trustees as long as it did. To me he is as complicit as if he committed the acts himself. And that goes for the other morally decrepit slimebags who had any kind of knowledge whatsoever. I’d like to see all of them fry.
If I was him, the choice would be easy. You’ve beaten down your body all these years so that you could eventually retire as a young man with a stockpile of cash. Now is the time to enjoy family life again, if for no other reason than just to be able to motorboat that wife every morning.
trisha – I understand being upset that something like this happened… but the outrage over the fact that people would cover something up is really that big of a surprise to you?
Do you turn in your friends when they smoke a little pot?
Do you turn yourself in to the police when you speed on a highway or run stop signs?
In the eye of the law these acts are no different, as law is blind to morals and only knows itself.
Everyone, every day turns the other cheek to certain situations when it is personal to them. To expect this to have been handled differently is expecting something of others that you yourself would not do.
http://www.psu.edu/trustees/
Alumni trustees are elected, three each year for three-year terms
However, I didn’t find anything about re-appointment.
“In the eye of the law these acts are no different, as law is blind to morals and only knows itself.”
Uhm…yes there are which is why murder and child rape carry different sentences than smoking pot or speeding.
Anyone see yesterday’s Psych? It’s a minor league affiliate episode. Cameo by Wade Boggs.
blake – no, and way to miss the point completely.
Pete Abe is delusional. Posada and Varitek not comparable players.
Posada .273/.374/.474
Varitek .256/.341/.435
Posada also better from both sides of the plate in BA/OBP/SLUG:
RHB: .288/.371/.482
LHB: .267/.375/.471
Varitek:
RHB: .278/.358/.468
LHB: .248/.334/.423
Dream on, Donut Boy.
ID – sure I’m outraged that something like this would be covered up. We’re a nations of laws for sure, but there is a reason that different infractions call for different penalties.
And perhaps the reason I am feeling the outrage, if I want to take it where you did, is because I personally would have handled this differently. There is no way I would have played chain of command and forget it if I had knowledge of that same information. In fact, I am willing to bet that most people wouldn’t have been complicit. If you would have, that’s on you.
I’m battle tested so I know from whence I speak. I was once confronted by a student who told me that her professor had gone into her hotel room when they were at a conference together and lifted her sweater and put his hands on her breasts. She needed to talk about it but asked me never to say a word about it because the professor was premier in her field of study and she would have been blackballed in the profession and also because she said her marriage was on shaky ground and if her husband found out about it he would leave her.
The minute she left my office I went to meet with the vice president and president of the institution and we took immediate action. I did the best I could to protect the student but still knew the importance of dealing with the situation. There’s no time to coward up when dealing with sexual assault. And by the way, I didn’t just report it and walk away, thinking I had done my job by reporting it. I was in on everything that took place from that moment on.
ID,
What is your point?
trisha – I’m sure if you asked Joe Paterno what he “would do” in 1995, he would have said the same thing.
Also… I went to meet with the vice president and president of the institution and we took immediate action Isn’t that exactly what JoePa did?
blake – The point is that people overlook illegalities in all walks of life every day, then claim they would rat people out… but in practice they never actually do.
m-yes!! Great episode. My favorite line was “Gus, don’t be Pete Rose’s haircut”
“Also… I went to meet with the vice president and president of the institution and we took immediate action Isn’t that exactly what JoePa did?”
Uh no, you missed the point. I walked in and said we needed to do something – meaning take immediate action. Paterno reported what he was told and then went back to his easel and drew X’s on white paper.
ID,
Witnessing jay walking and a child rape aren’t the same thing and that seems to be what you’re suggesting.
trisha – you also realize that if that girl had been lying and you forced the issue like you did, you could be sued for defamation?
blake – be more narrow minded. please.
ID – you don’t know me. I do. I’m sure there are people who may walk a straighter line, but I don’t know a lot of them. Maybe the ethics lessons that I have drilled into me at my parents’ knees somehow took hold. Maybe I believe in the canons of my profession. But I don’t play fast and loose with morals, ethics, or the law. Period.
ID,
Just trying to understand what you’re getting at……
Id like to think that the majority of society would have handled this differently than Penn State did…..maybe Im naive.
trisha – I understand that, but it’s not really what I was getting at. How many things DO you overlook on a daily basis that you don’t turn people in to the police for? In your life you don’t know a single person that does drugs? I find that hard to believe.
Things are either illegal or they aren’t. Sure, there are worse penalties for certain things (which blake can’t seem to get his head past), but they are all just as illegal as each other. Raping a child isn’t any “more illegal” than selling drugs, it’s just more harshly punished.
blake – I would think that the way Penn state handled this is probably way closer to the “norm” for our society full of greedy and selfish people. How often do things like this come out without a single person having known about it prior?
Not sure who else but- Colin Curtis has been tweeting from VZ so I wonder if the Yankees have some kind of security with their players there.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports......venezuela/
This is more of an ethical issue than a legal one imo.
Not reporting a single incident of abuse of a minor is a legal one.
But the institutional cover up spanning years is an ethical one.
First and foremost the trustees, administrators, and coaching staff at Penn State are educators. How they could turn a blind eye to what was a not so secret dirty secret is reprehensible.
“trisha – you also realize that if that girl had been lying and you forced the issue like you did, you could be sued for defamation?”
ID, apparently we walked a very fine line in the way we carried out the investigation. In attempting to protect the student I had to be extremely circumspect in what I gave up but at the same time I had to make sure that the professor knew that we had “some reports” that called his behaviors into question. The whole point is that we carried out an investigation. Penn State did NOTHING!
Here is the outcome of the situation. May God strike me dead if I’m making this up! The professor said that it was part of his culture (he was Egyptian) to be “affectionate” with women but that he would be careful in the future not to put his hands anywhere on female students. (I never gave up that someone said he put his hands on her breasts or I would have given up the student.) About two months later, a student walked into my office and asked me to call the police because her professor had sexually assaulted her. I called the police. It was the same professor. It hit the news once the police were involved and my office became a revolving door for complaints against the same professor. I heard from people who had graduated, people who were still students, and even from a faculty member! Apparently this guy had been at it for a while. All I can tell you for sure is that I personally had never heard about this guy until that first student came to me.
Several students decided to sue the institution alleging the institution knew or should have known – and guess who decided to jump in on the suit? The student who came to me and begged me not to say a word! Anyway, the day we went to court, he decided to plead guilty. But he was taken off the campus in handcuffs. That’s because I took it upon myself to call the police and not just pass it off to someone else and then proceed to play computer games!
“Things are either illegal or they aren’t. Sure, there are worse penalties for certain things (which blake can’t seem to get his head past), but they are all just as illegal as each other. Raping a child isn’t any “more illegal” than selling drugs, it’s just more harshly punished.”
So you believe that all types of crimes warrant the same level of action by the people that witness them?
“In your life you don’t know a single person that does drugs? I find that hard to believe.”
I do not know a single person that does drugs. Truth.
I have never had to test it but I have told my siblings that if ever any of them were to commit a crime that I knew about, I’d turn them in myself.
I am far from perfect, but I constantly try to do the right thing. And I agree that we are part of a society of greedy and selfish people. But I know a lot of good and caring people. I said that I was heartened by the moral outrage across the country. It would have been easy for people to make excuses for Paterno – as some have contined to do – since these were underprivileged kids who don’t count for much in society (he picked his victims, didn’t he) – but that isn’t what happened. So it gives me hope.
blake – Yes, I would expect that from everyone outraged by Penn State’s inaction. Is that not the definition of a crime? Crime is crime, if you don’t report it you are either complicit or an accomplice.
trisha – Your situation is certainly a feel good story of how these things should go, your superiors did what they were supposed to to and contacted the authorities. Joe’s did not. I don’t see your action and his action being all that different. maybe it’s me… :p
trisha – here we are actually getting into it… Your ability to turn in anyone, even a sibling, makes you a very rare breed of person… and you know that. That makes your “shock” that PSU handled this the way they didn’t pretty unwarranted, because you know people just flat out don’t do things the way you do.
But… as you said, it’s not something you have had to do… and you can’t say you would turn in your brother until you are confronted with that situation. It’s nice to hope that you will, I’m sure most people hope they would do the right thing, but as Mike Tyson so beautifully stated… “everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face”.
ID – I think the difference is that I personally made sure that something got done – not saying it wouldn’t have if I didn’t insist upon it. I was really shaken after the student left my office and couldn’t get to the higher-ups fast enough. I remember saying “Something has to be done.” And from that point, we brainstormed on exactly how to carry it out. It appears that Paterno reported it and dropped the ball at that point. And since Sandusky was still on campus with little boys after that, it should have been apparent to Paterno that nothing had been done about the situation. And I would say that Joe Paterno probably carried a lot more weight on his campus and in the world than I did. So he was in a much stronger position to make sure some action was taken. But he didn’t. And they didn’t. And nobody did. And he was still able to sleep at night apparenty, and win football games. A total abdication of responsibility from the top on down.
ID – I don’t think I ever once said I was shocked. I did say I was outraged. I think it’s possible to have one emotion without the other.
I do not know a single person that does drugs. Truth.
—————————————————————-
We should meet.
ID, I would encourage my brother to turn himself in first.
By the way, that probably comes from the number of times we had to hear my dad say that if he ever heard that we did something wrong, he’d take us to the police station himself! You have to know we believed it. Trust me, I was brought up by a very straight-laced father!
(thank you dad)
yeesh – all I did was remind everyone how hot Laura Posada is, and the next thing I know this llloooonnnngggg debate gets vomited all over my computer screen.
The 27-year-old Kemp, coming off one of the best all-around seasons in club history, last week said he was optimistic a deal could be struck.
“I hope we can work something out,” he said. “I don’t know what the future holds. But I’ve told everybody this is where I want to be, in L.A. for years to come. But I can’t control anything. It’s up to the front office.”
Is it st yet???
Man,baseball can’t come soon enough.
3 months or so for st.
Shocked, outraged… it’s all “surprised” in my eyes.
it should have been apparent to Paterno that nothing had been done about the situation
My last question, then I’ll let you be
Is it possible that he thought action was taken… and either nothing came of it or they found the student was lying? From his perspective… why would PSU keep a guy around that had been accused of raping children if there was any substance to the claim? Sandusky had been accused once already and the sheriffs department dropped the charges.
My issue with the witch hunt here is that generally speaking the moral obligation you have when someone tells you some sensitive information is to tell someone who can press charges or investigate further. You are not morally obligated to become judge jury and executioner.
Yeah, he could have followed up with it, but maybe he truly thought his friend was innocent? He was obligated to report the claim, not to believe it’s validity.
Sandusky ended up getting seriously investigated only because a mom reported it to a public school, and they are legally required to report every single accusation to the police, no matter if they consider it a valid complaint. HR departments all over the country receive and dismiss claims of improper conduct on a daily basis. They don’t all get reported to the police becuase you need the compliance of the accuser to really get anywhere legally. Not a single person Sandusky molested went straight to the police… so maybe Joe just thought it was BS?
I don’t know, I’m just spitballing here. I’m incredibly bored with this topic
“What would you do…
if your brother was the Unibomber?”
I think he’s the only person I’ve read that actually turned in a family member.
Dr. Drew had this young woman on, I guess she uploaded an old video of her father beating her to YouTube (it’s gone viral). The thing is her father is a family court judge in Texas. I don’t know why the girl did it (I’m sure it was done in the name of “advocacy”). Dr. Drew (who I like) was apoplectic on her behalf. She was all, “I know the marriage cannot be repaired, that we can’t be a family. But I hope one day the relationships can be repaired.”
I’m like, “what?!”
“blake – Yes, I would expect that from everyone outraged by Penn State’s inaction. Is that not the definition of a crime? Crime is crime, if you don’t report it you are either complicit or an accomplice”
Ok so we are in agreement……… everyone that knew about Sandusky was wrong……because it was a crime and nobody reported it.
Kemp will hit the market I think…..
And since Sandusky was still on campus with little boys after that, it should have been apparent to Paterno that nothing had been done about the situation. And
=====================I
It looks like a lot of other people knew about Sandusky, this is a major coverup, Watergate style with Joe playing Nixon. The Board knew , as well as the DA who prolly killed himself over it.
Why the protection of this pervert is beyond me. The Penn St rep? The brand?
Was it really worth it or is there more to this?
“I do not know a single person that does drugs.”
Addicts and pedophiles don’t take out ads. I bet you do but just don’t know it.
If that person ever gets arrested, strangers might wonder how you didn’t know or wouldn’t believe you didn’t.
Hindsight is 20/20.
“Addicts and pedophiles don’t take out ads. I bet you do but just don’t know it. ”
Certainly possible. I think ID was referring to active knowledge though.
Yeah, he could have followed up with it, but maybe he truly thought his friend was innocent? He was obligated to report the claim, not to believe it’s validity.
———-
If Paterno suspected McQueary was lying about such a horrific act why did he make him such a big part of his football program?
Blake,
I cannot see Kemp hitting the market. Their will be a new, well financed ownership group. Kemp is an important asset. The new owners will want fan goodwill. Letting Kemp go would be contrary to building their value in the franchise. Wish it were otherwise.
Mac,
Maybe…..I think it depends on who buys them and what Kemp wants to do. Also….they have Kershaw coming down the line as well and to me he’s the more important guy to lock up for their future. Kemp will get a fortune on the open market……does he like where he is enough to pass that up given the instability he’s played in there? We shall see.
Another thing……Kemp.has already said that he won’t discuss an extension after the season starts. So they have this winter to discuss it……will they be stable enough in time?
I would love it for once the Yankee organization could show a little heart. Jorge has much to offer …why not a little out of the box thinking…Jorge as a player coach and manager in waiting. Hip hip Jorge!
mick – College football is big business (bigger than they would EVER admit to), especially one like Penn State. In the wake of banks swindling people out of untold millions and betting against things they were selling to lower income clients, does this surprise you that much?
It’s a sick world we live in, one we lost control of 50-something years ago.
It’s a sick world we live in, one we lost control of 50-something years ago.
=============================================
With the assassination of JFK?
The 60′s were not the beginning of the end. Everything that came before it and has been exposed is where it started.
Anybody hear any baseball news?
The football mentality that swept this all under the rug needs to be exposed.
That entire Board needs to be replaced.
Mc Queerly on the sidelines for the game? I don’t think so.
ColinCurtis425 Thoughts and prayers to Wilson Ramos. Such a scary situation
JonLaneNYC #Yankees open Spring Training schedule with exhibition vs. South Florida March 2 at Steinbrenner Field.
JonLaneNYC #Yankees first Major League spring game vs. Phillies March 3 in Clearwater. First home game 3/4 vs. Phils.
mick – no i was thinking more along the lines of Edward Bernays and the establishment of “Public Relations”… but we can start back with the Egyptian Pharaohs instead if you like
Erin,
Thank you!
JonLaneNYC #Yankees end spring slate with first game in new Marlins park, followed by games vs. #Mets at St. Lucie and Tampa April 3 and 4.
tom- you’re welcome
why did those kids gather last night? another excuse to party?
imagine if joe coached this game….and broke alonzo staggs record for most games…wonder what’s in store, could be scary.
IanBegley #Yankees pitchers & catchers scheduled to report 2/ 20. 1st workout: 2/21. Position players are scheduled to report 2/25. 1st workout 2/26.
FakePeteGammons If Varitek never catches again for #Redsox, I’m nominating him for sainthood, a nobel peace prize & Gleek of the week. This is Peter Gammons
but we can start back with the Egyptian Pharaohs instead if you like
==============================
How about the New Testament?
ID,
Edward Bernays! Not too many people here will recognize that name, but he was truly a world-changer.
“@bustedcoverage: 1999 story: Sandusky would drive around State College w/ extra game tickets and pick up kids. Take ‘em home after games http://t.co/qocSJz1x“
tom – I just finished watching ‘Century of the Self” by Adam Curtis a few weeks ago… mind blowing.
lgy
that article might shed light on why he was so protected by papa joe
mick – That’s a little late to the ultra-zionist party but sure… We can start the downfall there if you want
Really hope Ramos is ok….
isn’t that when this fierce idolatry began?
Post at RAB that asks: can the Yanks trade AJ Burnett? I say yes …..if they try hard enough.
time for chad to try to unsuccessfully change the subject again.
ID,
You should backdate Bernays, a little, to the 20s and 30s when he really began to cook. He remained a major player in the field until his death around 1990, if I recall.
Will we have a 5th Posada post in a row?
Remember when Moses was accused of exposing himself to a mummy and the Ramses administration just totally swept it under the pyramid?
Bronx Jeers November 10th, 2011 at 2:47 pm
Remember when Moses was accused of exposing himself to a mummy and the Ramses administration just totally swept it under the pyramid?
************************
lol
NEXT====>>>>
Posada: “But Enough about Me Already, Chad.”
@JeffPassan: The Boston Red Sox had a sex-abuse scandal eerily similar to Penn State’s. Here is the harrowing, untold story: http://t.co/tjZH5UPO
Sweeny Murti
102 days until Yankee pitchers and catchers.
“Remember when Moses was accused of exposing himself to a mummy and the Ramses administration just totally swept it under the pyramid?”
Is this where “buried your head in the sand” comes from?
lgy\quite an article…how do these perverts get away with it when ppl know?
So I had to look up Bernays.
Thanks.
trisha -
I understand the outrage toward Sandusky, but not that’s being put on Joe Paterno.
As you and others are quick to condemn a man that has been the picture of what college coaches should be, without having the facts in hand, to me is despicable. You and blake are now going after the trustees, “Alumni trustees are elected, three each year for three-year terms” that were not there when these events took place, and make comments, as if they were based in fact, that the trustees were complicate as well. That makes no sense, since those fired would be quick to hold a press conference and tell the world, the trustees knew, why are they not being fired.
I simply do not understand this world we live in that is so quick to judge, and quicker to believe the worst of people.
What if someone made horrible comments about you, or anyone else, not based on facts, but said it over and over again, so many uninformed people thought it to be true. Based on what I’ve read here the last couple of days, we can do away with trials, just let the media deside who should be blamed and punished. As a lawyer, I thought you were above such thinking.
I’ll stay off the blog for awhile, this is not anything I wish to discuss futher.
New Post: Mid-day notes and links