39-year old lefty swinging DH Jorge Posada asked out of the lineup last night before the Yankees-Red Sox game which the Red Sox won 6-0. Depending on what you believe could be true, he either asked out because of a stiff back, to clear his head or because he was insulted to be batting 9th. The only acceptable answer would be a stiff back, but, if that were the case: Why did he wait so long to tell Joe Girardi? I think something else is going on here. I think he wants to quit but he doesn’t want to give up his $13 million dollar contract. Posada is only 4 for 25 (.160 avg) in his last 8 games and he has 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Posada has now played in 32 games this year and he is 18 for 109 (.165 avg, .621 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 6 homers, 15 RBIs and 30 whiffs. Posada has played in 1,746 games in his 17 years with the Yankees and he is 1,601 of 5,857 (.273 avg, .852 OPS) with 878 runs scored, 267 homers, 1,036 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Posada is #10 in games played (1,746) in Yankees’ history. He is also #7 in doubles (367), #8 in homers (267) and he is #8 in walks (912) in Yankees’ history. If the Yankees decide to ditch or bench Posada they likely have a couple of options. One, they could go with veteran Andruw Jones at DH. Jones has played in 14 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 8 for 35 (.229 avg, .613 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. He has also whiffed 11 times already this year. Jones would provide the Yankees with power but little else. The other option is to bring up 21-year old righty swinging Miguel Montero. He is the Yankees’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. Montero has played in 29 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 40 for 119 (.336 avg, .802 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 2 homers and 12 RBIs. He has now played in 409 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 489 for 1,551 (.315 avg, .876 OPS) with 222 runs scored, 60 homers, 263 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Despite Posada’s legacy with the Yankees, he needs to really step up now when given a chance or they are going to cut him loose.

39-year old switch-hitting Jorge Posada started this season out pretty hot, for about a week. Since then, he has been pathetic. Posada has played in 22 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 10 for 75 (.133 avg, .622 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 6 homers and 12 RBIs. Could Posada just be the latest of veteran players who hitter better when they play the field? That is a good question, but he’s blocked at catcher by Russell Martin and he’s not going to sit down any time soon. If he doesn’t start to hitter better soon, the Yankees might turn to one of their veterans bats off the bench. 33-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Eric Chavez has played in 16 games for the Yankees in which he is 9 for 31 (.290 avg, .760 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers and 5 RBIs. He is showing outstanding plate discipline so far this year as he has walked 6 times while only whiffing 3 times. 34-year old righty swinging outfielder Andruw Jones has played in 10 games for the Yankees this year and he is 6 for 22 (.273 avg, .759 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. I could see Jones & Chavez platooning at DH if Posada doesn’t get his bat going soon.

27-year old lefty swinging LF Brett Gardner earned himself a starting job last year for the Yankees as he played well. Gardner played in 150 games for the Yankees last year and he was 132 of 477 (.277 avg, .762 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 5 homers, 47 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. It looks like the pitchers have read a lot of scouting reports on Gardner over the winter as he has looked helpless at the plate so far this year. He has played in 15 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 6 for 47 (.128 avg, .388 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. If Gardner doesn’t get straightened out soon he’s going to either find his butt nailed to the bench or he’s going to get sent to AAA-ball. 34-year old righty swinging Andruw Jones is going to start cutting into Gardner’s P.T. soon if he continues to struggle. Jones has played in 6 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 4 for 16 (.250 avg, .750 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs.

Switch hitting Jorge Posada came out like a ball of fire for the Yankees as their new starting DH, but things have changed as of late. That’s because he is 0 for his last 17! Posada has played in 8 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 4 for 29 (.138 avg, .642 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 3 homers and 6 RBIs. Posada has whiffed 9 times already this year as all of a sudden he’s having a hard time DHing. Luckily for the Yankees, they have Andruw Jones and Eric Chavez on board if Posada continues to struggle.

Back in the day, the late George Steinbrenner called Dave Winfield Mr. May. The Yankees only made the playoffs one time in Dave Winfield’s 9 seasons with the Yankees. It wasn’t his fault though as he was productive for them. Winfield played in 1,172 games in his 9 years with the Yankees and he was 1,300 of 4,485 (.290 avg, .851 OPS) with 722 runs scored, 205 homers, 818 RBIs and 76 stolen bases. In the year the Yankees did make the playoffs (1981), Winfield played in 14 games in which he was 10 of 55 (.182 avg) with 4 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Nick Swisher appears to be following down the same road as Dave Winfield. Swisher has played in 300 games in his first two years with the Yankees and he is 287 of 1,064 (.270 avg, .870 OPS) with 175 runs scored, 58 homers and 171 RBIs. So Swisher has done his part in helping the Yankees make the playoffs. But when they get there, Swisher has stunk it up. Swisher has played in 23 games in the post season for the Yankees and he is 12 of 81 (.148 avg) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers, 4 RBIs and a stunning 23 whiffs. He often looks helpless against teams’ better pitchers when the games really count.