While the excitement surrounding the acquisition of a 14-time All-Star catcher with over a dozen Gold Gloves, an MVP Award and a World Series ring to boot hasn’t been there in Pinstripe Nation quite yet, this deal is yet another great move by Brian Cashman.

            Lost in the wake of Farnsworth’s recent nine-inning hitless streak is the fact that Kyle Farnsworth is, well, Kyle Farnsworth. He is a flame-throwing reliever who has been known throughout the course of his decade-long career for his inability control his pitches and his susceptibility to the gopher ball. During his time in Pinstripes, he served up a whopping, Lima-esque 28 homeruns in just over 170 innings of work. He also hasn’t been known for any particular fortitude on the mound in big situations. Until his recent streak, his ERA both this year and in his time in the Bronx was well in line with his 4.42 career mark.

            Say what you want about the bullpen overcoming its early season struggles as it established itself as one of the top relief corps in the big leagues and how messing with the chemistry could be a mistake. This is a necessary roll of the dice and the timing was perfect. Kudos to Cashman for dealing Farnsworth at a time like this for an everyday guy with a great track record like Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez the same day Jorge Posada underwent season-ending surgery. Looks as if the Yankees sold off Farnsworth like a stock at its peak value.

Although Jose Molina has proven to be a great insurance policy for Posada as he calls a great game and neutralizes the running game with his excellent defense, being an everyday player might have been a little much to ask for from the backup catcher. He was not blessed with the hitting ability his older brother Bengie has, (his older brother)nor can he swing it like Yadier (younger brother), as he is hitting just .226 without a homerun in 195 at-bats.

Molina also does not appear to be in marathon-runner type shape and has never played more than 78 games in a season. With 70 games already under his belt this year, who knows how he would fare for the rest of the season catching everyday. If the Yankees let the trade deadline pass and found themselves stuck in the predicament of Molina getting injured in the heat of the pennant race, could anyone imagine Chad Moeller being handed the reigns everyday?

Enter Rodriguez, the future first-ballot Hall of Fame catcher who has been named to the Midsummer Classic squad 14 times. The only Hall of Fame that will elect the man they traded for him would be the Youtube brawl Hall of Fame for his famous pummeling of Cincinnati Reds hurler Paul Wilson.

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