Well, not really, but John Harper (Daily News) seems to think so:
Jorge Posada’s defense is an issue that’s not going away, especially as he turns 39 next year. Joe Girardi’s willingness to let Jose Molina catch A.J. Burnett in the playoffs was an indication of his feelings about the importance of defense behind the plate, and if Matsui is not re-signed, Girardi is likely to ease Posada into more of a DH role.
In that case, they need to re-sign Molina. He’s such a brilliant defensive catcher that the Yankees can carry his bat in the lineup for, say, 80 games.
Okay, so I have two issues with Harper’s text, as these issues appear to be central going into the 2010 season. The first issue is in relation to Harper’s opening sentence, in which he writes, “Jorge Posada’s defense is an issue that’s not going away, especially as he turns 39 next year.” Now, Harper cites no statistic or specific incident which demonstrates Posada’s defensive decline. This is likely because there are no sources from which he can draw upon in order to verify that Posada’s defense is, indeed, as poor as he says it is. Instead of solidifying his case with factual analysis, we are left to assume that Posada is a terrible catcher because Jose Molina got to catch A.J. Burnett in the postseason.
That’s all. There is nothing substantive of note here.
In reality, the main reason Joe Girardi paired A.J. Burnett and Molina together is simple. It’s not that Posada is awful, rather, it’s Molina is good and he and Burnett have had success together throughout the ’09 season. This doesn’t necessarily speak to Jorge Posada’s defensive talent, instead, it says something about the rapport established between Molina and Burnett (and Burnett’s comfort level with Molina). That’s not to say that Posada and Burnett haven’t had their ups and downs this season, however, those issues can be explained by the time frame in which Posada caught Burnett. There were mechanical problems affecting Burnett during his starts with Posada for much of the season, ultimately causing some statistical blow back in the form of Burnett’s .270/.353/.421 line with Posada (luck was also a factor, as Burnett’s .309 BABIP with Posada was higher than his career average of .294). Basically, to claim Posada is an altogether awful defender based on this Burnett situation is particularly bogus.
Digging deeper into Harper’s text of horrors, we find the rotating DH theme—the second issue which I mean to address. In the passage featured above, Harper writes that “Girardi is likely to ease Posada into more of a DH role,” because of his defensive ineffectiveness (which Harper has yet to affirm with any type of quantifiable data). Under Harper’s plan, it appears as though Posada would become a DH piece while he’s not catching and, while he is catching (poorly, I might add, according to Harper), A-Rod and others could rotate into the DH slot.
My biggest concern with the rotating DH plan is that it gives at-bats away to inferior offensive players such as Francisco Cervelli, or, in Harper’s case, Jose Molina. Essentially, a Ramiro Pena-type becomes an everyday player while A-Rod, Jeter or whoever else is marked as “old” is the team’s DH, an issue that no one seems to discuss or detail in any of the articles or opinion pieces that praise the rotating DH idea. Now, can the Yankees seriously afford to give regular at-bats to Jose Molina? Well, John Harper seems to think so, going so far as to say that Molina is such a “brilliant defensive catcher that the Yankees can carry his bat in the lineup for, say, 80 games” (and, here, 80 is a random number). Well, in 2008, Molina was the Yankees’ regular catcher for the better part of the season, hitting .216/.263/.313 over 100 games and the team ultimately failed to enter the postseason (that brilliant defense only goes so far). If you implement a rotating DH, it ultimately becomes a significant offensive liability.
Somehow, though, according to Harper, the Yankees’ offense can sustain that blow, despite losing Matsui’s bat.
How does this make sense again? In fact, how does the rotating DH idea make any sense at all? Everyone seems to love the idea, yet no one seems to be able to explain how it will work from a practical perspective. In his text, John Harpers introduces us to the nightmarish reality of the plan, albeit inadvertently. In 2010, in order to sustain their overpowering offense over of the American League, the Yankees need to have a regular DH, and that DH should not be named Jorge Posada (the regular catcher). It’s the only legitimate plan that exists at this point in time.
Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
9 Responses to Jorge is an awful catcher
Leave a Reply
TIQ IQ
On the whole, I agree with this post. As I understand it, the Yankees have talked about holding the DH spot to give regulars a rest. But it isn’t clear which regulars will need it in 2010. There is no one player who would need more than 40-odd games in that role; the only one likely to approach 40 is Posada. He is more likely to transition to DH duty the following year, when presumably Montero is ready to take over some of the catching duties without being a black hole at the plate. As for the others, I would be surprised to see any besides A-Rod get at least 10 games at DH.
The wild card in all this is Damon. The Yankees don’t care for his defense, so he could end up seeing the majority of his ABs in the DH role. But that presumes an adequate left-field solution. Unless the Yankees go after Holliday, there isn’t a good LF answer ont he FA market. We’ll have to see how this plays out in the weeks to come. I would not be surprised to see the Yankees make an offer to Damon with a firm deadline, then turn back to Matsui as DH if Damon declines.
Chris,
I’m not sure the argument is that the offense can or will sustain the same offense that it does with Matsui in the DH role, but rather the rotating DH is a necessary evil due to the aging players the Yankees will employ in the next few years.
In fact, I agree with the rotating DH position. Your argument is correct that an inferior offensive player would continue to receive at bats, however the Yankees do have the supporting offensive pieces (I believe) to make up for this weakened offensive lineup.
The point that has been made, but can’t be overstated is the fact that the defense would also be improved without Posada at catcher, Damon in LF, or Rodriguez/Jeter on the left side of the infield. This site always talks of run prevention being a much overlooked aspect of building a team, but in this specific example, you are overlooking it.
How the team goes forward this offseason will be interesting. If the Yankees decide to go with the rotating DH, Matsui will be gone. Now, this is where the Yankees can get creative. Bring in a solid fourth outfielder, one that can be an offensive contributor on days where a Damon (if he is in fact re-signed) DH’s. This way, you can retain some of the offense and actually gain a defensive upgrade (any option in LF is a better option than Damon defensively).
Obviously, catcher is a different story as you will certainly lose quite a bit in the downgrade in offense with a backup catcher in the lineup (there are no league average hitting backup catchers that I am aware of).
As Harper points out however, sitting/DHing Posada for 80+ games is just stupid and makes no sense as that is biggest offensive dropoff (Posada to backup catcher).
My point is that the Yankees can make a rotating DH situation work, while not losing too much in the offense category while improving the defense and keeping older players fresh for a whole season.
Because health is such a vital part of this Yankees team (we see what happens when players aren’t healthy – 2008), I see the DH as a vital component to keeping certain players healthy for a whole season.
I definitely see what you’re saying with regards to run prevention Matt. I only wonder if Ramiro Pena or, I guess, Francisco Cervelli will save enough runs to warrant a spot in the lineup (especially if their bats aren’t hitting anything). I’m not sure if the cost is worth it. A-Rod will improve at third next season, I would assume, after having his hip surgery which made him very immobile earlier in the year. In 2007 and 2008, according to UZR, he was an average third baseman, therefore, having him as the DH doesn’t mean that runs are being saved left and right. Derek Jeter was average in 2008 and above average in 2009. They’re not gaping holes at their positions, far from it actually, therefore, the person in for them would have to be able to be Brett Gardner-like in the IF (Ramiro Pena is good, but I don’t think he’s that good). If not, then the runs saved aren’t worth it when compared to the runs lost, if there was a regular DH.
Also, why can’t the Yankees continue to rotate players in and out of the DH spot with a regular DH signed on? For instance, Matsui needs days off for his knees, which would allow A-Rod, Jeter, Posada or even Damon, if he returns, to filter through the DH role. It’s not like they can’t rotate players with a semi-regular DH on the team. This would allow them to save runs while still retaining their powerful offense.
Molina should not be back under any circumstances. The only reason to cut down Posada’s catching is to keep him fresher as as he ages. Having his bat at Catcher is a huge advantage. In essence trading Matsui’s bat for Molina’s would erase much of the distance between the Yakees and Boston.
Jorge is an awful catcher.That being said, let Molina go and let Cervelli catch AJ and Joba with Jorge doing more DH-ing.He’s also a terrible base runner and though a great hitter for a catcher, not so great as a DH, though with healthy hands he could hit even better.
The young catchers will be ready in 2 years and there are probably 5 of them.
He is not an awful catcher. He’s an average catcher.
Posada has a hard time blocking pitches and is OK at throwing out runners. Calling games? That’s hard to say, because the quality of the pitcher is so important. I think it fair to say Posada is probably an average to below catcher, with an above average bat. But even with a defense heavy position like Catcher, the bat countsmore.
Still, I don’t see him starting more than 100 games behind the plate, and with injuries may only do about half. Having a rotating DH to give him, Damon (if resigned), ARod, Jeter a day off an help keep the team fresh.
As for a weak batter in the 9 hole, in 1998 (a pretty good team, no?) we had Chad Curtis, 243 .355 .360. Other weak hitters from the Dynasty era:
1997 – Girardi – 264 .311 .334
2000 – Brosius .230 .299 .374
2001 – Knoblauch .250 .339 .351.
Let’s be honest – we had the best offense by far this season. We can takea hit here as long as we shore up our pitching and defense.
He’s awful.Good on pop-ups, decent thrower, terrible at everything else.
Jorge was an awful defensive catcher in the playoffs. A number of times I felt like he cost the Yankees runs. He looked lost against the bunt. I don’t think he’s that terrible, I felt like he was just temporarily struggling, and that is probably where Harper is getting this from.
Despite all of that I would want Posada to be the regular starter for at least 120 games unless he is platooning with Jesus Montero. But I don’t think that will work because I’m not convinced that he’s ready. Maybe they could do that by the all-star break.