Image courtesy of NoMaas.org
Any Yankee fan with a television or internet connection knows by now what happened last night with Jorge Posada. He arrived at the ballpark yesterday and saw that he was batting 9th, and initially seemed (at least publicly) to have no issue with it. Then he in the managers office and refused to play in last night’s game against the Red Sox. According to Joe Girardi in his press conference after the game, it wasn’t much of a conversation. Posada came in just before game time and told the manager “I need a day off” and that was pretty much it. He said no mention was made of any injury of any kind, so Joe said he took it as needing a day for his “mental health”.
Girardi did his best to downplay it, but there’s no hiding the fact that this was highly unusual. If a player is physically hurt, he’s expected to tell his manager and the manager decides if it’s serious enough to sit him down. If a player is simply slumping, he is expected to take the field and give his best efforts until his manager decides he needs a break. That’s not what happened here. Incidents like this are what forced the Red Sox to trade Manny Ramirez, and we may very well be heading for a similarly ugly ending to this story as well.
On Jorge’s part, it was the ultimate act of selfishness. His team has been struggling to score runs lately, and was facing a pitcher who dominated them just a few weeks ago. Andruw Jones, who arrived at the ballpark thinking he had the day off, was asked to play at the last minute. Never mind the fact that Andruw plays almost exclusively against Lefthanders, and Beckett is not just a Righty, but one of the toughest in baseball when he’s on. And Mr. Beckett was certainly ‘on’ last night. For what its worth, Jorge apparently did give Jones a heads up early that afternoon, so at least Jones got a chance to get his pregame ritual in.
But for all practical purposes, Jorge quit on his team last night, just like Manny did. Since he’s a DH who’s not hitting, his days were likely to be numbered anyway. If anything, Jorge’s actions might have made his eventual exit easier for the team from a PR standpoint. But that assumes he will continue not to hit, and that determination won’t be made for at least another month in my view. In the meantime, the Yankees as an organization have to respond to this in some way. You can’t have a player deciding when he will/won’t play based on his being unhappy with his position in the lineup. For whatever fallout there may be from suspending or benching Jorge, the ramifications are worse if you allow the clubhouse to become a zoo, with players making their own rules. There’s no way to smooth this over with both Brian Cashman and the manager being on the record about there being no injury involved here. You can’t just say “ah, that silly Jorge. He’s an emotional guy”. Sorry, refusing to play goes beyond personality traits, it’s insubordination. You can’t run a team like that.
As to remedy, I think a week long benching is in order. There’s a tough Lefty in Lester going tonight, so you could explain it away for a day or so since Jorge has yet (0-24) to get a hit off a Lefty this year. A suspension is too public, and could get even uglier if Posada returns fire, as we all expect he will. Further, the Yanks should make it known to Posada through his agent or friends of his on the team that they think an apology is in order. What he did last night is something that there is simply no excuse for. The Yanks aren’t going to cut him, releasing him means he could rediscover his swing playing Catcher and come back to haunt you if he lands with one of your rivals. They can’t trade him unless they eat his entire deal, and given his production he would still get you little in return. When they decide he can’t help the team as a DH, I suspect they’ll just DL him with one of his many old, lingering injuries and let him finish out his days with the team that way. I also think that before you cut ties with him, you have to consider fan reaction and Jorge’s long pedigree with the club. He’s one of ‘The Core Four’, a borderline HOF player and will certainly be welcomed as a fixture at Old Timer’s Day once his career is over. But as we saw with Joe Torre sometimes these things get ugly. This one already has.
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
It won’t happen, BUT…..I’d love to see Jeter step forward and volunteer to hit 9th. The captain should lead by example and show Jorge how things should go for a “team first” approach. Whenever Jorge returns to the lineup it is imperative that he bat 9th for at least one game. Other than that, this team is going nowhere this year and probably next year. I think it’s time for some significant call ups and let the prospects have a chance. This may sound like treason for a Yankee fan, but there is nothing wrong with this year and next being “rebuilding” years. The game is changing and NY can no longer rely on veterans and free agent signings in order to complete. Teams are tying up their good young players through their prime and if the Yanks are to complete long term, the prospects will be way to go.
[Reply]
Steve S. Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 9:32 am
A part of me wants to take this opportunity and drop Jeter in the lineup. On the heels of the Jorge fiasco, there’s no way he could take umbrage with it in any way. He’s too smart, unlike Jorge.
But that threatens to wreck the clubhouse, and you can’t risk that. Deal with Jorge now, deal with him firmly and let the message be sent for all to hear.
[Reply]
Phil C Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 9:48 am
I said Jeter should volunteer to hit 9th. If he did that, what could Posada or anyone else say if asked to hit 9th? Such action by Jeter would forestall Girardi or Cashman having to do anything and thereby help maintain calm in the clubhouse.
[Reply]
EJ Fagan Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 11:24 am
Phil,
We’ve got plenty of good players. We’re 2 games out of first despite Posada playing horrible and Jeter barely limping along. There’s no reason we can’t win the division this year.
But its going to be a tough fight, and the Yankees need to make tough decisions. I wrote about Posada two weeks ago and Yankee fans revolted. They can probably still expect a similar revolt if Posada is released. But at some point, they have to consider their much better alternatives (Jesus Montero is clearly better, and there’s at least an argument to try Jorge Vazquez out there) over their permanent slump DH.
And while lineups aren’t that big of a deal in terms of overall run scoring, its just plain stupid to throw out your inefficient lineups. If they Gardner will be OK with the psychology of leading off (I’m not sure what it was in the beginning of the season, but pressure is definitely a potential explanation), then he is the better choice. The Yankees would score more runs.
[Reply]
Steve S. Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 3:53 pm
I think most of the revolt was because that piece was just written too soon. He has to get more than 3 weeks in April before coming to a conclusion like that. That being said, I had my doubts about Jorge as a DH and did a post on his numbers as a DH/PH last year. His coming unraveled in this role doesn’t surprise me, given his personality and track record.
[Reply]
From perusing the blogs, the fan sentiment is overwhelmingly against Jorge. This makes it easier for Cashman to deal with Jorge. I hope Jorge realizes that he is losing the PR battle.
[Reply]
Steve S. Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 3:54 pm
As well it should be, he quit on his team in a big series.
[Reply]
Like so many aging Super Star Athletes, Jorge is not dealing well with the end of a star studded career. Man up Jorge……play ball like the champion that you were or retire.
[Reply]
While I agree that what Posada did was inexcusable and warrants a fine as well as a benching (at least for the next two games which would be best anyway with Lester and Price being lefties), the Yankees, namely Brian Cashman, should not have made it public, because now it is a team distraction instead of something which should’ve or could’ve been resolved behind closed doors.
Cashman was not REQUIRED by MLB to publicly say why Posada was scratched from the lineup, thus he should’ve or could’ve handled this privately.
I say give Posada the rest of the month and if he isn’t batting say .230 BA (a little more than 1.5X his current BA) at month’s end, call up Montero, make Montero the DH, and make Posada a $13.1M pinch-hitter/backup 1B/spot DH/third-string catcher/co-mentor to Montero with Martin.
Cashman has really created alot of discord in Yankeeland lately. He went public with the Jeter contract talks, said he was against the Soriano signing after it was done, and told some Yankee-hating punk (Ken Rosenthal) on a Yankee-hating tv network full of them (FOX) why Posada was scratched during a nationally televised Yankees-Red Sox game.
Just shut the fuck up and get a starting pitcher and bat, ok???
What’s next? “If C.C. opts out of his contract, we will not re-sign him.” Yeah, say that and if he’s angered enough to sign elsewhere, enjoy last place in your final year on the job if you aren’t fired before it for running your mouth. Or better get Gavin Floyd this season and blow away Mark Buerhle for Buerhle/Burnett/Floyd/Hughes/Nova, Colon, Garcia, or Betances in 2012. Buerhle is solid but he’s no Sabathia.
If I’m C.C.’s agent I tell C.C. “Opt out, ask for $30M per year, and we’ll see how many years over four years they’ll have to give you.”
Btw Cashman was/is an idiot for offering that opt-out when Sabathia never asked for it. He basically put Sabathia in an unnecessary position to look like a bad guy to most fans (not reasonable ones who wouldn’t fault him for utilizing what he never asked for) if he opts out. You know legions of Yankee fans will brand him greedy, but what would you do if you finished with 17-20 wins, an ERA under 3.50, 32-34 GS, 200-230 IP, 170-220 SO, a < 1.3 WHIP, and NO ONE in the free agent market CLOSE to being as good as that or you? "Just gimme $4M more per year for the next four years and tack on two years at $27M per." No, you'd most likely ask for and get 7 years at $27-30M per if not $30M per even cuz you're the only available ace who'll probably still be one by the time King Felix is in his walk year.
[Reply]
Steve S. Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
I agree it would have been best for the team for Brian to try to keep this quiet, but I can tell you I heard him say firsthand (at the WFAN Breakfast) that he thinks everything will get out anyway, so its best to just be upfront with the media. Don’t forget how much trouble Girardi got into in year 1 of his term trying to keep things quiet. It gets out, blows up in your face and is worse than just having a policy of being open at all times.
There’s a reason why Brian has lasted so long in this town, and having some credibility with the media is part of it.
[Reply]
And another thing:
Why isn’t Mr.So-So Since 2008 (A-Rod) who turns 36 on July 27 being scrutinized as much as Jeter and Posada? This guy is batting .252 with 6 HR and 22 RBI in the cleanup slot through 37 games in the fourth year of a ten-year deal. He hasn’t posted up anything close to his pre-2008 numbers the last three seasons, he looks like he may not even post 30 HR and 100 RBI or better this season, and 2008 was the last season like his pre-2008 career. I didn’t know the Yankees were paying A-Rod close to $300M to post numbers you could get for half or a little over that amount (see Mark Teixiera’s $160M.)
Him breaking the homerun record will have two asterisks as follows:
* #1 : He cheated 2001-2003.
* #2: He will most likely be a full-time DH in the final three years of his contract.
Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays never cheated. Bonds might’ve cheated (I still need a guilty verdict in court, not a kangaroo court known as “the writers”) but he played most of his career on the field, DHing only when he played interleague games and not always DHing in them.) Griffey Jr. smacked over 600 HR mostly as an outfielder with some DH starts, you could argue he would’ve hit at least 700 HR if not for his injuries and playing all those years on Seattle Kingdome astroturf which probably contributed to those injuries, and no one has ever accused him of taking anything.
It is unfair that Jeter and Posada are being scrutinzed while A-Rod is getting a pass. Will he ever win a World Series without Jeter and Posada? I know Jeter and Posada have four rings each without him (Posada three if he wasn’t given a ring for ’96 – was he?)
[Reply]
T.O. Chris Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 5:25 pm
How is being a DH at age 37 or so an asterisks? He was a Gold Glove SS, and is a decent 3rd baseman before he will ever even see full time DH. This isn’t David Ortiz breaking the all time HR record.
I understand you clearly have a problem with Alex’s contract, but I don’t understand the unabashed Arod player bashing you constantly do. Sure he has slumped over the course of this month, but we can’t forget how on fire he was for the first month of the season. Alex has always been a player with extremely hot streaks, and low numbered slumps, but does anyone really expect him not to have 30-35 HRs and 100+ RBI?
At the end of the day who cares how much money he makes? You said it yourself with the Sabathia opt out clause, how can you call him greedy for accepting something he didn’t ask for? When Texas set the bar on the contract he signed they damn near doubled the closest offer, can you really say you wouldn’t have accepted?
He’s one of the greatest players of all time with or without steroids, but that really has little barring at all on this season. He’s clearly turning it around, he’s been fouling balls straight back for almost a week. That’s A classic Alex Rodriguez sign of being close, and when he does get hot I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit enough HRs to be near the top of the Yankee list in that category.
Also Barry Bonds admitted to taking steroids… “The cream and the clear”… he just stated that he didn’t know that what he was taking were steroids. The trial wasn’t to decide if he took them, it was to decide if he lied when he said he didn’t know.
[Reply]
None of this would have been blown out of proportion if Torre were still the Manager. He knew how to ‘manage’ his players the media and management.
Cashman and the ‘kids’ just don’t get it – never will. Like all sports owners/management they are only interested in control and bottom line. They forget the power sports icons and fans.
Posada was wrong. It should never have gotten to the media. Hell, it should not have been a surprise to Posada. Giradi should have spoke with Jorge before it was posted. The outcome would have been very different.
This goes deeper than the Posada incident. There is something rotten in the organization and it is reflected by horrible baseball – poor pitching, hitting and fielding is a symptomatic.
The ‘Boss’ must be rolling over in his grave! The legacy of the Greatest Baseball Organization is going into the crapper because of poor management – at the top and on the field.
[Reply]