New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Jorge Posada will catch AJ Burnett during spring training games in anticipation of regularly catching the wild righty during the regular season. It's a good plan.
It's high time that Burnett be weaned off this personal catcher routine. I know he had problems with Posada and pitched better when being caught by Jose Molina. I even advocated that Molina catch him during the baseball playoffs last year, given the high stakes. But it's a new year and Molina is no longer a Yankee so it's the perfect time for Jorge and AJ to get to know each other and get a rhythm going.
Posada seems genuinely excited about catching Burnett after feeling the sting of having to sit at the start of his turns in the postseason rotation. But the catcher, known for his fiery personality, is going to have to make a real attempt to understand his pitchers' needs. And that goes beyond Burnett, who wasn't the only pitcher to have a problem with Posada.
It's high time that Burnett be weaned off this personal catcher routine. I know he had problems with Posada and pitched better when being caught by Jose Molina. I even advocated that Molina catch him during the baseball playoffs last year, given the high stakes. But it's a new year and Molina is no longer a Yankee so it's the perfect time for Jorge and AJ to get to know each other and get a rhythm going.
Posada seems genuinely excited about catching Burnett after feeling the sting of having to sit at the start of his turns in the postseason rotation. But the catcher, known for his fiery personality, is going to have to make a real attempt to understand his pitchers' needs. And that goes beyond Burnett, who wasn't the only pitcher to have a problem with Posada.
But the focus will be on Jorge and AJ. Let's hope for the Yankees sake those two can finally start seeing eye to eye.
Thanks to ShortstopVM and Googie man via en.Wikipedia for the photos.
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