Jorge Posada said he asked out of the New York Yankees lineup Saturday night because his back stiffened up, not because he was insulted by being moved to ninth in the batting order. General Manager Brian Cashman disagreed, saying "there is no injury."
Whatever the deal, Posada found an ally Saturday night in an unexpected place -- The Boston Red Sox dugout. Boston designated hitter David Ortiz said the Yankees are "doing that guy wrong."
Ortiz said he thought almost every aspect of Posada's difficult season - from his struggle adapting to the DH role to Saturday night's confusing situation - could have been avoided if the Yankees had taken better care of the veteran catcher.
"They are doing that guy wrong. They're doing him wrong," Ortiz said after the Red Sox's 6-0 win. "You know why? He's legendary right there... and from what I heard they told him at the beginning he's not even going to catch in the bullpen. That's straight up. That mixes up your head.
"You're going to tell me Posada can't catch a game out there? Come on, man. And I guarantee you if they throw him out there once in a while, mentally it's going to help him out because then he's not just thinking about hitting."
Ortiz did add that he thought Posada was wrong for refusing to play, saying "you don't do that."
Maybe Ortiz has a point -- the Yankees could have handled Posada's transition away from catching with a little more grace. There is, however, no easy way to tell a proud veteran he really isn't getting the job done anymore.