Monday, June 14, 2010

Posada can help Yanks with quiet move to DH


The controversy surrounding Jorge Posada's future as a catcher for the New York Yankees is really heating up. The feisty Posada can do something great to help his team by quietly accepting a transition to a designated hitter role. But I don't think that’s going to happen.

He still has one of the strongest bats by any catcher not named Joe Mauer in baseball, as shown by his two Grand Slams this weekend. But his body is fragile, as proven when he came out of yesterday's game due to soreness in his foot. It's not related to the injury that put him on the shelf for a few weeks, but it's a cause for concern in a 38-year-old player who has spent more than a decade behind the plate in the big leagues.

Posada showed a little testiness in answering the questions this weekend. He clearly does not relish the DH role. In fact, he hates it. Posada is a proud guy and he is proud of his accomplishments as a catcher, as he should be. But he can help the Yankees by not letting this become a distraction for a team that just regained partial control of first place with the Tampa Bay Rays. If he doesn't quietly accept the move, it will continue to generate story after story about his role on the team and his relationship with Joe Girardi.

“He can really help us,” Girardi said of Posada becoming a part-time DH.

Yes, he can. Part of being a good leader is doing what's best for your team, even if it goes against all your instincts. Posada is still hungry to catch, but objectively he has to come to the realization that his best catching days are behind him. If he can do that, if he can calmly agree to be a part-time DH, that would truly be in the best interest of his team.

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