The Yankees had a tremendous day at the bat, scoring 15 runs off Johan Santana and the Met bullpen. But A.J. Burnett also had one of his best outings of the year. Is it possible that Francisco Cervelli, who caught his game instead of Jorge Posada, had something to do with that?
What’s interesting to me, aside from the fact that Cervelli seemed to work wonders on Burnett (and the fact that Cervelli got three hits, including two off his countryman Johan Santana), is why he was in the game in the first place. After all, Posada already got a day off on Thursday night, when Cervelli caught C.C. Sabathia.
It’s no surprise Cervelli is catching A.J., who just doesn’t pitch well with Posada behind the plate. (7.48 ERA in four starts with Posada. 3.81 in eight starts with Molina or Cash.)
“He’s energetic,” Burnett said. “He has a lot of fun. He has conviction in every pitch he puts down. To be on the same page like we were for the first time ever, that’s impressive on his part.”
Posada has had his rifts with pitchers in the past – Randy Johnson didn’t like to throw to him, and Orlando Hernandez fought with Jorge. But is Jorge Posada falling out of favor with currentYankee pitchers?
- Joba Chamberlain and Posada openly argued on the mound during Friday night’s game
- Relief pitcher Alfredo Aceves shook off Posada three times during Saturday’s game
- Posada has only caught C.C. Sabathia one of three times since the catcher came off the DL
- Burnett’s Red Sox start with Posada catching him was his worst of the year; his start with Cervelli was one of his best
- The Yankees’ two best-pitched games this week had Cervelli behind the plate
- Posada’s CERA (Catcher’s Earned Run Average) for 2009 is 6.31, while Cervelli’s is 4.11, Kevin Cash’s is 4.86, and Jose Molina’s is 3.98
- Cervelli managed to coach the best start (which isn’t saying much!) out of Chien-Ming Wang this year, where the pitcher “only” gave up 5 runs in 4.2 innings
It’s going to be very interesting to see what happens in the near future, if Cervelli – or the soon-to-return Jose Molina – ends up catching more, and Posada less. Especially if Cervelli continues to hit well.
Of course, the Yanks need to get both Posada and Matsui in the lineup. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see Posada spending more time at DH this year and the next.
What do you think? Leave us a comment!
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