Pre-ALDS Headlines
Posted by Steve L. on September 30th, 2011 · Comments (11)
Why is it that these three headlines from MLB.com concern me? Here they are:
- Yanks to use Posada as DH during ALDS
- Girardi will rely on Burnett out of bullpen
- A-Rod pushing through nagging pains
I love Posada. But, it’s a shame not to get Montero’s bat in the line-up, somehow. He could be an X-Factor. He’s just too hot right now to sit. And, Burnett out of the bullpen has Jeff Weaver ’03 written all over it. Lastly, A-Rod…what can I say? If he’s not good to go, then, as crazy as it sounds, I’d rather have Chavez playing third. This is the post-season, and, a five game series. It’s not time to see if someone can or cannot play because of injuries and/or rust.
Posada hits righties pretty decently. Montero will get some PH ABs too.
Montero not being used at DH because Tigers don’t have a lefty starter. Which is a separate concern, because both Swisher and Tex have hit lefties hard this year, but struggled vs. righties.
Burnett will be used out of the pen as a long man; by the time he gets in, the Yanks will be down multiple runs already.
No, actually, the post-season is the time when players with marginal aches and pains play through them. Always has been, always will be.
If you start Posada at DH, as Girardi said he will do for all 5 games, and then you use Montero as a PH for Posada or Gardner at some point, then you are screwed if Martin gets hurt. Unless Romine is on the roster.
Also, as much as I love Posada – and he is one of my fav’s – OVERALL, he is not known as being a great post-season performer with the bat.
@ Evan3457: Have you seen A-Rod’s September stats? He sucked. This is not asking a high performer to play with a black-and-blue on his foot. It is highly questionable if A-Rod is sound enough to perform as expected from a middle line-up guy.
Steve L. wrote:
The play-off roster rules allow a player to be replaced by a like player, so at most this would affect the Yankees for the remainder of the game in which the injury occurs.
I agree about Arod. I’m hopeful but not optimistic that he contributes much. Tex & Swish have to do better.
Scout wrote:
I think the caveat to that rule is that if a player is replaced on the roster he is ineligible for the following series as well.
Steve L. wrote:
He sure did. Lots of guys on the roster had bad Septembers. The decision making process doesn’t change. If he says he can play, he plays, until he shows you he can’t play.
It isn’t as if Chavez lit up the scoreboard in September, either. The Yanks, as a team, hit .239/.329/.399 in September. Lots of guys on the team hit lousy in September. Can’t bench all of them.
I’d probably rather have A-Rod DH and have Chavey play third. We really don’t lose anything in the field, might actually gain some, we get another lefty bat in the line-up, we keep A-Rod’s legs as fresh as possible, and I’d rather have Chavey hitting instead of Jorge.
@ Scout:
@ 77yankees:
I’m thinking that they could be screwed for THAT GAME if Martin goes down and Montero was used as a PH and Posada is the DH. Then the pitcher has to hit and Posada catches.
Steve L. wrote:
That’s why you’ll see Andruw Jones be used as a PH for Posada against Phil Coke before they use Montero. And other than that, who else do the Yanks ever PH for?
Montero, if he doesn’t get a DH start, will be a backup in the LDS otherwise.