As many of you have heard by now, after being dropped to the No. 9 spot in the lineup, the struggling Jorge Posada went into manager Joe Girardi’s office and asked out of Saturday’s lineup.
“The conversation was really short,” Girardi said. “He came into my office and said he needed a day, he couldn’t DH today. That was basically the extent of the conversation.”
After the game, Posada said that he was dealing with back stiffness and told Girardi that he needed a day to “clear his head.”
However, Girardi said Posada never mentioned the back injury to him.
Then in an unprecedented bewildering move, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman met with reporters during the third inning of the game against the Red Sox, sending the drama spiraling into bedlam throughout the internet and the Twittersphere.
Soon after, Posada’s wife was adding to the drama, as were his agents, other Yankee representatives as the rhetoric was flying back and forth and absolutely out of control, all while two teams were still trying to play a ballgame.
Cashman said that Posada was not injured, which infuriated Posada.
“I don’t know why he made a statement during the game. I don’t understand that. That’s the way he works now, I guess. You don’t do that. You’re not supposed to do that.”
Cashman then spoke to reporters again and said he told Jorge Posada exactly what he was going to do an hour before he made the announcement.
Now the Yankees are threatening to suspend the remainder of his contract and terminate his deal for asking out of the game without just cause. They are currently discussing the matter with the commissioners office and the Yankees want a quick resolution that will end the career of Jorge Posada with the Yankees. He is owed approximately $10 million dollars of his $13.5 million dollars this season.
“Jorgie knew exactly what was being said”, Cashman said. “This is not a surprise. I’m disappointed about what he said.”
When Posada learned of this today, he said he “feels disrespected by the team”.
We all know that a batting average of under .200 is unacceptable even to a child. And that is exactly how Jorge is behaving – it may be a good thing that his wife, Laura, is an attorney although I don’t know what kind of law she practices – however I’m sure she expects Jorge to continue receiving his daily $71,978 pay.
So again we have an athlete who really doesn’t understand his position either on or off the field. Mike Piazza was a similar case, not wanting to be told how he could help the team at first base when his catching ability was waning. His quiet defiance was so unlike him – finally he simply retired.
I wrote earlier about the many empty seats in stadiums across the country not just the Mets’ Citi Field. The American people seem to be returning to the TV and calling for pizza to watch their sports.
All athletes who play professional sports should realize that they are still kids who grew up and were able to keep playing because someone would give them a lot of money to do so.
However, playing by the rules and listening to your manager is absolutely necessary for the team dynamic to thrive and function properly.
Stay tuned for Day 2 of the Jorge Posada saga tonight when the Yankees and Red Sox complete their three-game series with the Sox going for a sweep. The nation will be watching on ESPN and I can’t wait to hear Bobby Valentine’s take on the matter as a former manager himself.
