Posada Quit On His Teammates

Take off your Pinstriped-colored glasses for a minute and hear me out.

What Yankees DH Jorge Posada did on Saturday night was inexcusable.

Asking the manager to take you out of the lineup against your arch-rival (the Boston Red Sox) because you "needed a day" doesn't really sit well with me.

My biggest pet peeve in sports (and life) is this: Never, ever quit on your teammates.

Posada needed a day off when Yankees are playing the Boston Red Sox in the middle of a 3-game losing streak where they desperately need hitting?  He can’t get motivated for that?

The veteran really has trouble getting fired up for the Yanks/Red Sox Saturday night nationally televised game?  He needed a day off?  You know what - it might be time to retire.

The Yankees needed him and he bailed.

Posada can say all the right things and apologize all he wants but the bottom line is that he bailed on them in a time of need.

I don’t like quitters.  Never quit.  And that's what happened here.

I don’t care how bad you are or how bad it is or how bad your manager is, never quit.

There are days I come into work where I don’t have a good day and I want to go home but you know what?  I don’t quit – I don’t leave.

The fact that fans gave him a standing ovation last night when he pinch-hit in the 8th was laughable.  The fans essentially said, "Congrats – you quit on your team.  You’re awesome".

Or has the fans’ hatred for Girardi gotten to the point of where they’re rooting for Posada – regardless of if he was right or wrong?

When Posada looked at the lineup card on Saturday night and saw he was batting 9th, it was like being on a diet and looking in the mirror and realizing the diet’s not working.

Reality sinks in.  Jorge's just not that good anymore.  And the days of batting 6th are over for him.

Jorge Posada knew his role at the beginning of the season but now can't handle not being the man anymore.

The Yankees told him his role at the beginning of Spring Training when they explained to him he wasn't going to catch this season.  He pulled the old company line and said he was fine with the role.

When push came to shove though, Posada couldn’t handle not being out there on a regular basis.

Posada's not the starting catcher anymore.  And that reality is hard to take.  So instead of accepting it, he took his ball and went home.

It's the classic case of a guy getting older and not wanting to admit that his skills are in the decline.

Posada isn't owed anything because he's a veteran.  He shouldn't play.  He's struggling right now.  His .165 average is the lowest in the Major League Baseball among regulars.  His on-base % is the 5th lowest in the Majors.

When you don’t hit, you hit 9th.  He’s lucky he’s in the lineup – he should be grateful.