Sunday, May 15, 2011

Is Jorge Wrong?



The latest storyline of the young, uneven Yankee season involves one of the last big 3 remaining from the dynasty years. Jorge Posada reportedly asked out of the lineup after being dropped to the bottom of the order (maybe deservedly so) for the big Saturday night game against the Red Sox. The silence of the other Yankee bats is forgotten as we all take turns wondering if Jorge is just being a spoiled baby stomping his feet at Joe Girardi's strict discipline, or is Girardi, as he does too often, engaging in some more Joe Torre like over reacting and over managing? The score of the game is less important here, it didn't make the Daily News' coverage until 6 pages in of Jorge talk. So is Georgie in the wrong here? I say yes he is, but his frustration is understandable, and may be a sign of bigger issues for the Yanks.

Posada is definitely wrong for asking out of the lineup if he is healthy enough to play, as all reports seem to indicate. Regardless if he's still a day to day player or DH, he's viewed as one of the veteran leaders of the team, and refusing to be lowered in the batting order sets a bad precedent, and can't be good for team morale. Posada has always been stubborn and head strong, as was evidenced by his lack of embracing the DH role. Russell Martin practically had to snatch the catcher's mask from Jorge as the season began. He's a millionaire who has been able to achieve things such as a disproportionately hot wife because of this attitude. But the fact that he is asking out is indicative of the possible lack of respect that Girardi commands from his players, a few of whom once played alongside him. It has to be tough to listen to your former teammate tell you you're just not good enough. Just imagine if one of your co-workers, who you came up in the ranks with, was promoted to your manager, and then decided to demote you. Regardless if your performance dictates this, it's still gotta sting. If Bottle became Editor in Chief of PTU and told me not to write something on here, I'd probably post angry things about him and his mother (don't think about it, Bottle). This has to be especially annoying to Posada, who came up under Girardi as a young catcher. It must be equally difficult to take orders from a 40 year old man with braces.

The Yankees over the past 3 seasons have seemed to win despite Girardi's meddling, rather than because of it. He has a nagging tendency to over manage (especially when it comes to pitching changes) and his critical choices have been second guessed around here for a reason. When the team is rolling, and winning championships, it's easy to ignore some of Joe's shortcomings, and the team was talented enough (and I believe still is) to still be a winning club. But when the bats stop working, and the pitching and defense is at times as sloppy as the drunk girls post-gameing at Billy's, it takes a real strong skipper with a hold of a locker room to get things back on track. You have to wonder if Posada is alone in shaking off Girardi's authority, or if this is just a symptom of a team wide distrust.

6 comments:

  1. Even though I've been critical of Girardi in the past, Posada is in the wrong here with his diva behavior. The organization needs to take a hard line stance on this now because before you know it, Jeter might try and pull the same shit. He needs to know that tenure doesn't get you preferential treatment. If you don't want to bat 9th, then stop hitting .165 it's as simple as that. And this whole thing about Jorge feeling disrespected rubs me the wrong way because the organization showed him more then enough respect when they gave him one last huge payday towards the twilight of his career.

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  2. Someone should just explain to Posada that batting order has only a minor effect on offensive production.

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  3. Even if Girardi is over managing, I think that Jorge is wrong. If he was removing himself from the line-up as reports suggested, he is setting the example that it's okay to put himself and his ego before the good of the team.

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  4. I agree, Jorge was being a big baby.

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  5. When was he ever right?

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