Yanks lose; Posada doesn’t play, causes stir

The Yanks got beaten up by the Red Sox again, 6-0, but that was secondary news today. What could possibly usurp the Yanks’ fourth straight loss (second in a row to the Sox) and eighth in 11 games, you ask. I’ll tell you: Jorge Posada was scheduled to hit ninth in the lineup — something he hadn’t done in 12 years to the day — but asked out of the game an hour before first pitch.

Around 4:00 p.m. Posada met with reporters and said he was fine after learning of the demotion because “I put myself in this spot.” He wasn’t kidding, he’s hitting .165 and doesn’t have a hit as a righty in 24 at-bats this season. He played it off cool though and nobody thought anything of it.

Then, around 6:00 p.m., he went into Girardi’s office and said he needed a day off, the manager said in a post-game interview. The conversation was “really short” and Posada never mentioned anything about an injury, he added. However, there were conflicting reports from “a person briefed on the exchange” that Posada told Girardi he felt “insulted” about hitting ninth and threw a “hissy fit.”

Early in the game, Cashman was interviewed and said Posada’s absence was not injury-related and the catcher-turned-DH will hold a press conference after the game to explain the situation. Someone in Posada’s camp must have seen this because his wife, Laura, started posting things on Facebook and Twitter about how Jorge’s back was ailing.

Needless to say, the press conference was intense. Among other things, Posada said he didn’t have a problem with hitting ninth and he asked out of the lineup because he needed a day off to clear his head of the frustrations from this season and to rest his stiff back. He denied using the word insulted regarding hitting ninth and said that Cashman made a “misstatement in the middle of the game. That’s the way he works now.”

Cash and Girardi both insisted Posada never mentioned anything about a stiff back prior to the game. In fact, Girardi said he first learned about the “injury” when he got tossed in the seventh inning and was watching the game on TV in his office. Girardi said “[Posada] made no reference to hitting ninth, he made no reference to his back. I took it that he needed a day off mentally.”

This whole thing seems very fishy. Someone is lying here, and I don’t think it’s the GM or the guy with braces. Although I think the latter might be helping to cover up for his one-time successor.

When asked about Cash’s interview, Jorge said:

"You’re not supposed to do that."

When asked if he feels disrespected, Jorge said:

"A little bit."

Posada on if there’s a problem with Cashman or Girardi:

"I don’t know. I hope not. I hope we can move on and go out and play the season."

Cashman on his in-game comments:

"He and his representatives were aware and he had nine innings to come up with how he was going to explain himself."

Cashman on Posada’s back:

"I know that our two trainers know nothing about it and our team doctor knows nothing about it."

Wow, Cash bringing it. There’s clearly a lot more to this story and it will be exposed in the next few days, methinks. Very interesting shit. This is like something out of The Bronx Zoo-era Yanks.

*     *     *     *     *

Now on to a more depressing topic, tonight’s game.

• The Yanks were shut out for the fourth time this season. Josh Beckett is responsible for two of them.
• Beckett in two starts against the Yanks this year: 14 innings, six hits (all singles), no runs, three walks, 19 strikeouts.
• The Yanks are 1-for-17 with RISP so far in this series with 18 men left on base.
• Tex came into the game 0 for his last 28 against the Red Sox with two walks and seven strikeouts. He was 1-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts on Saturday.
• That last time Posada hit ninth the Yanks lost to the White Sox 8-2, and he went 0-for-4 to see his average drop to .176.
• Posadagate comes on the 15th anniversary of Doc Gooden’s no-hitter.

The lone piece of good news to come out of today is that the Rays also lost, so the Yanks remain two games back of the division lead. The team will send Fabulous Freddy to the mound tomorrow against Lester at 8:05.

LET’S GO YANKS!!!