Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
Here's Will Caroll's take on Jorge Posada:
The worst-case scenario for the Yankees has always been injuries. The moves that the team needs to make around any DL move throw things off, certainly more than what we see in Boston. Posada seemed to come back from his "dead arm," but just a week later it's clear that the shoulder isn't going to hold up. What's not as clear is the path back. Remember that MRI that reportedly showed no structural damage? Now, not so much, because Posada has a torn rotator cuff, the same muscle (the subscapularis) that has Rich Harden on the shelf. Posada will head to Birmingham for an examination and consultation with Jim Andrews. After the announcement, Posada seemed very emotional, which could indicate that he knows this is a longer-term injury or could just be a reaction to being placed on the DL for the first time. A subscapular tear is a bad thing for a catcher, and it isn't something that one can come back from quickly, though surgery doesn't look like an option. I'm setting Posada's DXL at 30, but remember that he could come back as a DH more quickly than that. The problem is that's not what the Yankees need, and certainly not what they thought they were signing, though they had to understand the risks of signing an older catcher, even one as durable as Posada.
Get well soon, Jorge.
It is great that the team has Molina around, but the dropoff is still huge. Switch hitting catchers with power and patience do not grow on trees.
Well, now the contingent of Yankees fans who didn't like Jorge's defense and weren't appreciative of his offense (and trust me, this contingent exists and is, to me, inexplicably large) will get a chance to see how the team does with a defense-first catcher behind the plate.
At least Molina's defense is legitimately plus.
You need at least a month to rest and heal with that kind of injury, if you want it to heal without surgery. This was really poor decision-making by Jorge and the coaching staff.
It's a huge understatement, but we'll miss him.
6 For once, I agree with you. It seemed like a bad idea at the time to me, but I trusted them. This is Sheffield all over again, and someone (OYF?) pointed out that the Yankees just refuse to place players on the DL often to their detriment. Instead we get a 5 days rest, with a short bench, then try a few games, then rest some more, then finally go on the DL.
"And in a startling, dramatic move today, Yankee skipper Joe Girardi announced he's coming out of retirement to ..."
Sigh.
Well, ABP please. (Anyone But Piazza.)
I think this one caught the Yanks by surprise, and that HAS to be on the medical team, as the baseball braintrust let a backup catcher go while all this was unfolding.
I gather if Moeller's claimed by anyone we can't get him back up. Not that he's the 2nd coming of Elston Howard, but ...
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