What A Difference Jorge Posada Makes

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Courtesy Yankees 'N More">Yankees 'N More

For those who still don't understand why Jose Molina will be catching A.J. Burnett in game 2 of this best-of-five series, look no further than tonight for yet another.

The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 7-2, in the first game of this series, and it wouldn't have been that close had Jorge Posada not been behind the plate.

Now, before anybody thinks we're bashing Posada here, we're not. We're simply pointing out how unlikely it is in this sport of failure (especially for offensive players) that any one player will make a significant difference with his bat in any specific game.

Over a 20-game stretch??? Absolutely, we'll take Posada every time, especially if all we're concerned about is offense. But in ONE GAME, when the starting pitcher is so clearly better off with Molina??? Posada has to sit.

Tonight, Jorge Posada went 1-for-4 at the plate, hitting a meaningless single in the fourth inning. In other words, his bat had absolutely no impact on this game.

And his defense??? Well, his defense most definitely had an impact on this game. A negative one, and the Yankees were fortunate to overcome it as well as they did.

Posada had a passed ball in the first inning that allowed a runner to move to third base with only one out in the inning. Fortunately, CC Sabathia struck out Joe Mauer for the second out and then got a pop fly to center to end the inning.

Posada had another passed ball with two outs in the third inning, one that proved far more damaging. This one allowed Mauer to score the Twins' second run, giving them a 2-0 lead, and it also allowed Michael Cuddyer to move from first to second. Sabathia stranded him there with a strike out.

CC Sabathia was saddled with a "wild pitch" on a slider that was designed to be down in the dirt in the seventh inning. Posada actually blocked this one, sort of, but couldn't find it when it rolled into the one of the batter's boxes and, as a result, runners moved from first and second to second and third.

So for those of you without a calculator, here is Posada's impact on game 1:
On offense he was 1-for-4, hitting a meaningless single in the fourth inning.

On defense, he allowed three balls to get away from him, and those three balls allowed the Twins (are you ready for this?) to take FIVE extra bases, one of them home plate for their second run.

Only some great pitching from CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes kept the potential damage done by Posada's glove from being FAR worse than it was. Those three plays could have easily swung the game in Minnesota's favor.

Again, this is not meant to be a ripping of Jorge Posada, much as it may sound that way. This is meant to reinforce something all Yankees fans should have figured out by now--winning in the postseason is more about run PREVENTION (pitching and defense) than it is about offense.

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