We don't know yet how long the Yankees will be without Jorge Posada. It could be a relatively minor thing that a couple weeks of solid rest will cure, or it could be something requiring surgery, which would obviously keep him out significantly longer.
I think one could make a strong case that Posada is the most indispensable Yankee. Top catchers are hard to find, and Posada is one of the best. The trade for Jose Molina last summer and the re-signing of Molina helps, as he was likely the best backup catcher in the bigs, and is a fully adequate regular. But he's not Posada, particularly on offense. And the leadership Posada brings to the team is substantial. The Yankees are going to miss him -- a lot.
What are your thoughts? Which Yankee would be the toughest to lose for an extended period? I'm not just considering that player's contributions but also how big the dropoff would be to a replacement.
Comments (21)
Though many don't like him, you have to put ARod on that list since the likely replacement would be Morgan Ensberg (perhaps the Yanks would make some other moves if this happened, maybe giving Eric Duncan a shot, since he's batting fairly well at SWB or seeing how Gonzalez does there). No matter who is there, there's either a defensive drop off or at least not as substantial a defensive upgrade as Molina is over Posada. The offensive drop off from ARod to any of those options would be much worse than the dropoff from Posada to Molina. Granted this doesn't take into account any of the intangibles that Posada brings and the fact that he's a switch hitter. Anyway, I think Molina will play well for the team.
Thats an easy one biggest loss from a production standpoint would be Arod
The trade for Jose Molina last summer and the re-signing of Molina helps, as he was likely the best backup catcher in the bigs, and is a fully adequate regular.
Best backup in the bigs???
You could make a case for Posada, Arod, Jeter, Wang and Pettite but the biggest dropoff offensively would be Arod. Why? because he puts up MVP numbers every year. Where Posada had MVP numbers last year and I do not expect the same from him but more like his average. Ensberg is no Arod in the field or at the plate. He has to make spectualar plays to the Arod better than average plays and the arms are no comparison.
Jeter the guy with no range, no arm and a future Hof F shortstop has the abilities that even Arod falls to average and that is the the timely hits to score runs,start rallies or just keep it going. Wang and Pettite our only pitchers who have given us consistent opportunity to win this year.
I believe Molina could do a very credible job for the Yankees but his conditioning is a factor for the long haul.
So, positional players in order are Arod, Jeter and Posada. Pitchers Wang and Pettite.
There is probably someone I'm forgetting but I would have to say the Twins Mike Redmond is the best backup catcher in the bigs .
I would say the toughest Yankees to replace would be Andy and Wang. Given the young pitching (and Mussina) around them and the fact that the best pitcher in AAA right now is Rasner it would be a huge drop.
Ruse - Redmond is a good call.
I think if Posada is out long term I would make a run for either Gerald Laird (Texas has Saltalamaccia behind him) - short of that, I think Molina as a starter is the way to go with a veteran behind him.
Though I would still kick the tires on Mike Piazza. Lets face it, if the Yankees are going to make the playoffs this year it will be on the backs of their hitting. Piazza is the only available catcher who can provide any sort of punch.
Chip
get off it .Piazza can't throw baserunners would create an open season on him and he would be an embarassment.NY press would have him for breakfast, lunch and dinner .
+your assuming big time he would provide punch.
Chip is correct Piazza can still hit and he would be the righty bat needed we have to stop and relaize that the AL does not run as much as the NL
2007 numbers in 90 + games
83 309 33 85 17 1 8 44 18 61 0 0 .275 .313 .414 .727
Not bad
I think it's pretty obvious that the most indispensable Yankee has to be a pitcher. The Yankees have shown in recent years that losing one of their star hitters for an extended period of time does not significantly hurt their offense. Last year they lost Giambi for four months, and the year before they were without Matsui and Sheffield for most of the season (and Cano was out for six weeks as well). Posada's numbers this year would have most likely been much closer to his career stats (around .270, 80 RBIs) than his career year last year. And we all know that Molina is an excellent defensive catcher who is great at handling the pitching staff. That being said, losing Posada's intangibles and leadership is a big loss - possibly making him the most indispensable hitter.
But losing Wang or Pettitte would mean replacing one of the only 2 rocks in the Yanks rotation for either Igawa or Rasner. And losing either Mariano or Joba would mean that some combination of Hawkins/Farnsworth would have a significant role in the eighth inning. Those losses would hurt the Yanks much more than losing Posada.
Names that quickly come ahead of Molina:
Kelly Shoppach
Vance Wilson
Ramon Castro
Carlos Ruiz
Jamie Burke
Rod Barajas
Im with Chip, the biggest loss would be Wang. No other player's production on the team comes close to matching him today. Posada is great, but Molina is an excellent backup. He's actually better than Jorge defensively and his bat is decent. I think I would rather have Molina than some starters in our own division. Zaun? Navaro? I don’t even know who the O’s are trotting out there. Tek has more power, but Molina is a better defender. As long as Jorge is out 1-2 months instead of the entire year, we should be just fine with Molina.
How big was that Cervelli injury now? Would have loved to see him up there.
BTW – Mathis is the best backup in the league.
Some catcher stats for you guys...
Molina
SB allowed = 11
Runners thrown out = 8
Posada
SB allowed = 14
Runners thrown out = 3
Jose Molina is #2 in the entire league for throwing out runners.
SB-CS
Kendall = 12-8
Molina = 11-8
Bako = 9-7
Ramon Hernandez = 17-7
Johjima = 14-7
Varitek = 10-2
Just sayin...
wow and none of those names are nudges pick
just sayin
Redmond and Molina are far better than all the above mentioned Backups.Both have considerable track records.Redmond is an excellent hitter and is great at throwing out basestealing threats
Ruse, I agree, Redmond is a solid C. If it wasnt for Mauer he'd be the Twins starter.
Nudge,
If you think any of those guys you named are better catchers than Molina, you have to be kidding yourself. He is a very good defensive catcher and he has been hitting well this season.
Seeing Vance Wilson's name on that list made me laugh out loud...
Nudge:
Vance Wilson? Really? I'm not entirely sure he's even in baseball at the point.
Ramon Castro - better bat, no question, but he can't stay healthy and is so bad defensively that he wouldn't even start ahead of Brian Schnieder.
Carlos Ruiz has yet to secure a starting job for the Phillies, despite his competition being a career journeyman minor leaguer.
Jamie Burke rides the Triple A shuttle for whichever team he's with.
I'll give you Shoppach as a nice young catcher, not sure where Barajas is anymore but he's always been all bat no glove.
Molina is what he is, a good defensive catcher who won't be a black hole in the lineup on the days he plays. Would he be overexposed playing every day - sure - probably along the lines that Miguel Cairo was. But that is why some players are bench players and some are starters.
Chip,
If we include a health category in a talent evaluation then the Yanks have like one good player. If you think Castro and Schneider are defensively challanged then you dont watch them much. Both are superior to either Molina or Posada.
Vance Wilson is on the Detroit roster on the DL at the moment.
All backups are pretty much journeymen catchers that can't secure a position precisely because what you said...they get exposed when playing everyday.
Molinas a nice catcher who has moved around a bit and failed to secure himself a position with a big league club. So pretty much lthe same failings you mentioned in the others except they hit better. Your not a backup catcher unless you can field. The hitting is the difference. The others are simply better hitters.
Nudge:
Molina has been with two teams (Yankees and Angels) so not sure I would call that, "moving around a bit" I think maybe you have your Molina's confused which is reasonable since there are something like 50 of them. He sat behind his brother and then was moved because the Angels wanted their two top catching prospects (Napoli and Jeff Mathis) to split time.
Castro is defensively challenged - Schnieder is not. My point was that Castro is SO defensively challenged that even his superior bat is not enough to get him on the field ahead of Schnieder.
The key to being a good back-up is someone who can come in cold and not hurt you. That's why some guys make good back ups (Cairo, Molina) and some guys look good getting regular AB in spring training and then show you nothing in a reserve role (Phelps, Andy Phillips)
jose molina played for 3 teams he played for the cubs in 1999 for like 10 games then was out of base ball until 2001 where he came to Anehiem his stats look wild due to the name change of LAA