The Post, today, looks at the question. A snip:

“Every day we just look at it,” Girardi said. “There’s more to it than just throwing the baseball. But I’m very happy with the way Josie’s catching and you look at [Tampa Bay], this is a club that chooses to run a lot, and I just felt that this was our best lineup. Especially this way I can get both right-handers in the lineup and I just felt this was the best lineup tonight.”

I think General Joe might be thinking back to 1997 through 1999 – when he caught 254 games for the Yankees and Posada caught 268 games…where, bascially, the two players shared the position for a three-year period.

During that time, Girardi was the “defensive catcher” with no stick – like Jose Molina is now.

Granted, if Molina is going to throw out 40+% of base-stealers, that’s a great weapon when you’re playing teams like the Rays, Red Sox and Angels.

Still, if both Damon and Matsui are out…which means you’re going to have a weaker bat in left…and with Melky not hitting much…can you play Molina and then spot the other team nine “free” outs per game between Molina/Gardner/Melky? (And, this assumes that Posada is the D.H. and Betemit is not playing – because if Betemit is playing, then it’s worse.)

After all, part of the reason why the Yankees scoring is down this season is because guys like Molina, Betemit, and Ensberg (while he was here) are getting way too many At Bats. (Well, that along with guys like Abreu and Jeter having sub-par seasons – and guys like Melky and Cano having some really bad cold streaks.)