From Backstop to Back-Seat

Jorge Posada has been a staple behind the plate for the New York Yankees for over 15 years.

The Bronx Bombers kick off a 2-game series on Monday against a familiar foe, the Boston Red Sox, and Posada seems to be a bigger topic than the game itself. Nagging injuries recently have forced manager Joe Girardi to limit the play of Posada to start the season. Even though he has gotten off to a hot start batting .326 with six home runs and 14 RBI's, Girardi has used him sparingly.

The catcher position is strenuous enough on a player, and the injuries exasperate the duties 10 fold. Posada recently has played some DH when not behind the plate which he publicly stated he does not like to do. It gets him out of rhythm since he likes to be "in-the-know" on every play.

Posada has an even bigger threat on top of his injuries, Francisco Cervelli. The 24-year-old spark plug of a catcher has exceeded the expectations of the New York Yankees, the fans and maybe even himself. Cervelli was called up last year from the minors after injuries to Posada and then back-up catcher Jose Molina got nicked up. Cervelli performed decently filling in when needed, but when the Yanks did not resign Molina in the off-season, Cervelli was given the official catcher #2 duty.

This year Cervelli's play has been off the charts as he has posted a .393 batting average with a .460 on-base percentage, 14 RBIs and 2 triples in 19 games this season.

Better yet, the Yankees, the defending world champions, are simply better with him playing every day. New York is 15-4 with Cervelli in the lineup, as opposed to 9-9 without him.

There are some people who think Posada would demand a trade if the Yankees make an executive decision and go with Cervelli as the main catcher, to them I say RELAX.

Jorge Posada is the type of player like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera where at this point in their career they would rather retire rather then don another teams uniform. I am 100% confident in that assessment.

It looks like age is catching up with Posada and maybe a meeting needs to be had to discuss the future of the man that has made a living for the Yankees behind the plate.

There is no doubt that #20 will be in monument park one day in the future, but I feel like his time on the field is coming to an abrupt end.