Here are my belated thoughts on Sunday’s game (didn’t have time to write on Monday!):
Jorge Posada is no longer an everyday player, and it was long past time to do so. I’ve heard some grumbling from fans that the Yankees somehow disrepected him, but I completely disagree. (For one thing, I wish somebody would disrespect me by paying me $12 million a year!) And quite frankly, I don’t have a whole lot of sympathy for Posada after his sit-down strike. Posada has had a great career, and been a beloved Yankee, but that snit fit was ridiculous.
Some fans think that he shouldn’t have even been replaced as catcher, which I don’t understand at all. Did they watch how Posada couldn’t throw anybody out last year? Not to mention that the Yanks were worried he was going to have another concussion. Besides, he’s nearly 40 — how many catchers are successful at that age? Carlton Fisk, but that’s about it.
Posada has had all year to get adjusted to being a designated hitter. He couldn’t do it. That’s baseball. And that’s getting older. Putting a DH in the lineup every day who hits .230, and who hasn’t shown power recently, isn’t putting the best team on the field. So don’t be surprised if Jesus Montero gets called up soon.
At any rate, if Posada weren’t Posada, he would have been released from the team. The Yanks are showing him respect by keeping him on the team at all. Guess what? Players gets their chance to start in the majors because somebody thinks they will be better than their predecessor. If the Yankees had been sentimental about Joe Girardi’s triple to win the 1996 World Series, Posada would never have gotten to start.
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Hearing the ESPN broadcasters go on and on about how wonderful the Red Sox are was thoroughly nauseating. Please, don’t tell me that if I don’t like Dustin Pedroia, I don’t like baseball. It’s insulting. Not to mention that the Sox got to have Curt Schilling representing them, while there was no pro-Yankee equivalent in the booth.
The only thing I agreed with regarding the broadcasters was Bobby Valentine talking about how the pitchers needed to speed things up. Enough already — these Yankees-Red Sox games go on way too long.
Who didn’t think that after Mariano Rivera blew the save, and Phil Hughes was coming in, that the Yankees were going to lose the game? I felt like the game was over right them. Sorry, I don’t have much faith in Hughes this year. (And I still think Ivan Nova should have gotten to keep his spot in the rotation.)
What do you think? Tell us about it!
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