Jorge Posada Benches Himself With Back Stiffness

 

Jorge Posada, hitting just .165 with 6 HR and  15 RBI’s this season and playing with stiffness in his back entered  manager Joe Girardi’s office on Friday and asked to be benched for Saturday’s game. At the time Posada didn’t say why he wanted to sit out from the DH ninth position he was currently pushed into.

Speaking after the Yankee’s 6-0 loss to the Red Sox Posada told reported:

“I told him I couldn’t play today and that I needed time to, first to clear my head,” he added, “That was it. My back stiffened up a little bit. I was taking a lot of ground balls at first base and worked out and I wasn’t 100 percent.”

During that game GM Cashman gave an update to press reporters that apparently irritated Posada, to which the catcher responded:

“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,” Posada said. “I think we should have waited for the game to be over to talk to whoever. … You don’t do that. You’re not supposed to do that.”

Cashman disagreed with Posada telling ESPNNewYork.com via telephone:

“The situation that was created by him, then he would have to explain himself after,”and  ”It was as simple as that. It is common baseball practice to explain after someone is a late scratch in the lineup, they give a reason why.”

For his part Joe Girardi thought Posada just needed a mental break, stating:

“The conversation was really short, he came into my office and said he needed a day, he couldn’t DH today. That was basically the extent of the conversation.”

The Yankees have talked to the commissioners office about possibly suspended Posada from play if he doesn’t return to the lineup on Sunday. If a player refuses to play two games in a row the team has the right to place that player on the restricted list.

The Yankees are also seeking the option to dock his pay which at $13.1 million this season would amount to $71,978 per game.

Despite rumors that Posada may be unhappy with the team his wife Laura took to Twitter to tweet:

“Jorge loves being a Yankee [more than] anything,” and “He’s trying his best to help his team win. Today, due to back stiffness he wasn’t able to do that.”

He may love the Yankees but as David Ortiz noted:

“They’re doing that guy wrong. They’re doing him wrong,” Ortiz told reporters. “You know why? That guy, he is legendary right there in that organization. And dude, DH-ing sucks. DH-ing is not easy.”