The Blame Game- Posada/Matsui

This will probably be my last post in this series.

Posada came into the year after a career year and getting a huge new contract. He wasn't terrible but he certainly wasn't what he was last year. His play was affected by his injury. Runners could steal at will. Finally they decided to shut him down when they got Pudge Rodriguez. The trade for Pudge helped make the catcher position not a total disaster but he was still a dissapointment.

Matsui's injury also took a huge bat out the lineup. The offense has struggled this year and Matsui is a big reason why. They`ve had to juggle with mediocore to just plain bad hitters at DH without him. Now he`s making his way back from injury and could play tomorrow. However, it may be to late.

Spoke to Soon

Just when things were looking up the Yankees got hit with some hard news. Posada could be out for the season. At this point I`m just hoping this something that can be fixed for next year. Posada wasn't hitting that well anyway and Molina is an upgrade defensively at least.

At least Damon is playing tonight.

Posada Hurt

Score:

Yankees- 1
Indians- 0

Posada could be out for the season and may have to move to first base when he gets back. Earlier I suggested this as a temporary move but if its permanent then this is bad.

Now for the game, Wang was really unbelievable. Its really a reflection of his year. Wang has continued his great sinker and HR prevention all year. he has also gotten more SO's. Look for more of these kind of starts if Wang keeps getting these SO's. Melky Cabrera has also had a great year so far. His HR was the difference. His power has jumped this year which is an excellent sign. The Yanks are now only 1.5 games back despite struggling.

Catchup

Just a few more notes from the past the few days to catch up on.

Joba`s back and his father has recovered. Thank god for that. I also liked Girardi's decision to use Posada at first. First base really doesn't rquire any defensive skills at all. Giambi's bat is also worthless, he still can't hit the ball the other way and can't even hit for power anymore. I`m not ready to completely cut him but they should definitely be minimizing his role. The other first base options really aren't anything to brag about anyway. Jose Molina`s playing great and has always been brilliant defensively. So why not fill the first base void and save Posada's arm at the same time. I hope it isn't a sign that Posada's injury is worse than we thought, though. Farnsworth got suspended but I`m not to upset. I don't think he deserved it, he has no control over his pitches anyway. However, Farnsworth is really no loss worth getting upset over.

Bounce back win for Pettitte

Score:

Yankees- 6
Royals- 1

Andy Pettitte's performance was the key to this game. He had a bad first inning but then settled down to make a good start. Joba and Rivera finished off the game. The offense also came alive. Melky, A-Rod, and Posada all had homers. The Posada homer was expecially important since it seems that he`ll be okay. The guys at RAB brought up the point that maybe the Yankees should ride Molina's hot bat and have him start at catcher while Posada plays first. Its an idea worth considering. I don't see how Posada could be a worse defender at first than Duncan, Molina's an improvement over Posada, and Molina got as good a shot of having a fluke year as Duncan.

Posada/Jeter Injurys

Posada is saying that his arm feels dead. This is a bad sign. He might be going on the DL. At least we don't have to rely on Jose Molina.

Secondly, Alberto Gonzalez is getting called up. Probably Duncan will be sent down. I`m excited to see Gonzalez to be honest but I hope Jeter gets back soon.

Posada and Jeter are key players for the Yankees and they need them healthy to win.

EDIT- Turns out Posada is only going to be out for a few days and Morgan Ensberg is going on the DL for a twisted ankle.