WHY POSADA'S MY FALLEN HERO

(Photo: Getty)
I have to get something off my chest and it's been bothering me since the first game of this Yankees/Rays series. Now, most people probably didn't notice the aggravation in Jorge's face... but I did, because I get the guy.

You could have punched me in the stomach during that game because when Joe called Jorge Posada back to the dugout with the game on the line late Monday night… Girardi chose Andruw Jones over a Yankee hero, Jorge Posada. I sat there and looked at Jorge starring into space with his wheels turning and you could see it in his face; Poe was pissed and defeated and all I can say is that alleged rift between Girardi and Posada was suddenly confirmed at that moment.

Look, I don’t blame him, Jorge Posada has performed in that position so many times before, he would have handled it great again that night, but it never happened. Instead, Girardi didn't go with the once reliable Posada, he went with what his binder said. Girardi played the percentages, not his heart on that one, and I'm sorry, you can't do that to Jorge, you just can't.

I don’t care about matchups, lefty to righty and Girardi’s binder. I care about pride for the pinstripes and the art of being clutch. To be honest, we really don’t know what Andruw Jones was going to do in that situation either, right? It turns out he walked to load the bases and the Yankees eventually pulled ahead 5-4, but no doubt Posada would have done the same thing against that young Alex Torres lefty. Torres was clearly frazzled being put in that situation against the mighty Yankees. Jones didn't make a difference in that spot and if Joe was looking for the long ball in that situation, I guess you can make an argument for it, but you can make one for Posada too.

Posada's clearly frustrated. He's been diminished to the DH role after catching for years and now every newspaper in town is talking about the Yankees looking to get more DH help. Posada sees the writing on the wall, Posada is getting squeezed out, and Posada needs to take a stand because it’s clear to me, no one is on his side in upper management…it’s the big squeeze. Luckily for him, Laura Posada is probably the toughest chick in town and she will stand by her man and keep him focused, but to me, I feel like Jorge needs to take a stand on his own again, maybe even similar to Posada-gate. At least when Posada-gate happened, his point was made. This time around, I saw anger in his eyes, but I saw him biting his lip too and I miss Jorge's passion, don't you? It’s unfortunate and I hate to see my heroes shut down like this, because it’s no way to go out.

(Photo: Getty)

Jorge Posada will always be the heart of the Yankees and like I’ve stated about the way the Yanks treated Bernie Williams at the end of 2006, it appears they will do it again with Jorge, the big shut out. You can see it happening, right? I hate it, I really hate it, but this is life in the big Bronx I guess, and it appears that a 17 year veteran of the New York Yankees has a career that is being forced to wind down. Memo to Derek Jeter, you’re next.

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