Kuzul

Let me start off by saying this: I love Francisco Cervelli.

I love his game, love his heart.

He calls a better game than most guys who have been around much longer than him, and boy, is he swinging a hot bat right now.

But no matter how much I love Cervelli, he will have to wait his turn to be the New York Yankees’ full-time backstop.

Because for now, it’s Jorge Posada’s job.

Why?

Because he deserves it.

He’s hung in there. He’s part of the core four. He’s done so much for this team, and now, he is worthy of some respect.

Maybe it’s because of his five World Series rings, or because of his 15 years (and counting) wearing pinstripes.

It could be the fact that he’s one of the emotional and fiery leaders on the team, or just the fact that Yankee fans love,  and have loved Posada because of everything he’s done.

Yeah, he deserves it.

Because he can still do it.

He calls a great game, and is still one of the best hitting catchers in the majors.

In just 78 at-bats and limited time because of a calf injury this year, he’s already hit five homers and six doubles with 12 RBI to go along with a decent .282 batting average.

He deserves it.

When I heard talk about Cervelli going full-time, I was a bit frustrated that some Yankees fans were practically dissing Posada after what he’s done in the pinstripes.

Maybe I’m overreacting, but I was kind of wondering: Why?

Sure Cervelli’s off to a hot start, but Posada has shown that he can still do it (and do it well) in limited time.

But no matter how much I love Posada and want him to catch forever, he’s wearing down. Slowly, but gradually.

That’s why it’s only fair that he gets to extend his legacy now.

But when the sad day does come that he’s done, it’s very comforting to know that you have Cervelli to hopefully play the way he has been.

By the way, that Cervelli kid, he’s hitting .408 with 24 RBI.

Very comforting, indeed.

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After being held scoreless earlier in the day, New York responded with their own shutout in an 8-0 triumph over Detroit Wednesday evening at Comerica Park. The teams split the day-night doubleheader with the Tigers winning the afternoon affair, 2-0.

With the win, New York ended a season-high three-game losing streak. Detroit’s two runs in the bottom of the sixth in the first game were the only two Tiger runs scored in the doubleheader.

Phil Hughes (5-0) put together another impressive outing and lowered his ERA to 1.38. He limited Detroit to five hits over seven innings while striking out eight and walking one. Mariano Rivera, on the mound for the first time since April 30, pitched a perfect ninth to complete the Yankees third shutout of the season.

After failing to produce any runs earlier in the day, New York immediately scored in the top of the first inning. Brett Gardner, who finished with three hits, singled and stole second. He eventually scored on a two-out RBI single by Alex Rodriguez. Mark Teixeira added another two-out run-scoring single in the third to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. It was Teixeira’s first hit in 14 career at bats against Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman (1-2).

Hughes made the lead stand by thwarting a pair of Detroit scoring opportunities. Miguel Cabrera led off the bottom of the second with a double, but Hughes struck out the next three hitters to end the inning. In the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers loaded the bases with one out. However, Hughes struck out Alex Avila and induced Don Kelly to pop out to end the threat.

Bonderman pitched effectively over seven innings, but dropped to 4-8 in his career against the Yankees. He allowed two runs on five hits with one walk and a season-high seven strikeouts.

New York broke the game open with a six-run ninth inning. With one out, Francisco Cervelli delivered an RBI single off Phil Coke to extend the lead to 3-0. Alfredo Figaro relieved Coke and got the second out on a force out at home. However, Gardner followed with an RBI infield single and Teixeira added a two-run single. After Rodriguez’s RBI double, Teixeira scampered home on a wild pitch for the sixth run of the inning.

New York and Detroit will complete their four-game series Thursday afternoon. CC Sabathia (4-1, 3.04) will take the mound for the Yankees, and the Tigers will counter with Justin Verlander (3-2, 4.50). First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

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For much of the early 2010 season, long time Yankees catcher Jorge Posada has been banged up with a calf injury, and has had to miss some time for the team.

For the Yankees, though, this hasn’t been a major problem, due to the great play of backup catcher Francisco Cervelli.

When the season started Cervelli really wasn’t playing much, except for when Posada absolutely needed a day off to rest.

Then Posada went down with the day-to-day calf injury and, since Cervelli is the only other catcher on the 25 man roster, he has had to play everyday.

In his last 20 games, Cervelli is hitting .387 (12-31) with no home runs and seven RBI. His best offensive performance so far may have been Saturday at Fenway Park against the Red Sox, when Cervelli went 3-4 with five RBI.

As of right now, Cervelli has not only been picking up the slack on the offense, but he’s been playing great defense as well.

However, on Sunday, Posada returned to the lineup and played designated hitter for the Yankees, his first game since May 3 against the Orioles.

Now, if Posada is ready to come back, you can’t keep him out of the lineup. But, it makes it very hard to sit Cervelli, especially with his hot play as of late.

Easy solution here: Follow last night’s plan for the lineup.

Because Nick Johnson is out for quite a while, possibly, with ligament damage in his wrist, the Yankees need to fill his void. Posada’s bat is still a valuable one in 2010, hitting .274 with five home runs and 12 RBI so far. Let Posada take over for Johnson in the DH spot and let the younger Cervelli stay as the everyday catcher.

Think about it.

Posada is 38 going on 39 years old. While Posada can still catch, it takes a lot of wear and tear on his knees and body when he plays that grueling position at an older age. If you let Posada DH and reserve his knees for the long haul of the season, then—by September and October—Posada’s knees may not be in bad shape and he could be an even stronger force on both offense and defense, if he does return behind the plate.

But right now, Cervelli is only 24 years old, and looks like he has the fresher legs. He can play many games in a row, physically he is much quicker than Posada, and—for a catcher—Cervelli runs very well, so having his legs on the bases isn’t a bad asset. Plus, Cervelli is hitting the ball hard and getting important hits.

Before this season, when Posada was out with any type of injury, it was Jose Molina who would step in to play at catcher. The Yankees found out first hand that while Molina was a good defensive catcher, he was a major liability at the plate, because he was a bad hitter.

This isn’t the case with Cervelli, because he can hit and play defense extremely well, and it gives the Yankees more options for their lineup.

Now, I know that once—well, if—Nick Johnson comes back, the Yankees will want to put him back in the lineup because of his strong ability to walk and get on base, which means either Posada goes back to catcher or the bench, and my gut feeling is that Posada goes back to catcher.

But that’s not right now, and considering Johnson’s wrist problems, who knows if and when Johnson even returns in pinstripes.

Right now, Cervelli should be the everyday catcher and Posada should be the everyday DH.

With that combination in the lineup, it makes the Yankees even better on both offense and defense.

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With all due respect to Javier Vazquez, I’m tired of hearing about him and his lack of prosperous pitching.

Give him a break—he’ll eventually get to where he needs to be. Well, at least we hope.

The Yankees did have a three-pitcher rotation in the playoffs this past season, and what did we get? A world championship. They can certainly pull this off again if need be, so Vazquez is not of primary concern at the moment.

Lets talk about something, or rather, some people of more interest to the long-term success of the Yankees this season—catchers Francisco Cervelli and Jorge Posada.

What is going on here? Hip Hip Jorge has been in a slump when it comes to his catching game this season, though he still delivers when at bat. Let’s face it though, fans—he is 38 years old, and his knees are starting to give out. They will only get worse as time goes on.

Cervelli, on the other hand, is at the young age of 24 and can still at least call a good game. 

For this reason and more that are to be mentioned, I feel as though Cervelli should be the starting catcher and the veteran Posada should be rotating the DH position with Nick Johnson.

Let’s take a look at the current stats of these guys.

Cervelli has 31AB/3R/12H/0HR/6RBI, a .457 OBP, and a .387 BA. These are incredible stats for being a backup player. While he lacks in the home run department, the Cisco kid makes up for it with a high on-base percentage and a decent number of RBI, half the number of RBI by Jorge.

Posada has 69AB/12R/20H/5HR/12RBI, a .364 OBP, and a .290 BA. Posada has more than two times Cervelli’s at-bats but still has a lower on-base percentage. Now given that Jorge does have a few home runs in there, his batting average is still also lower than Cervelli’s.

You can at least say that Posada has a hell of a better batting average than Johnson, which is why I feel he should be put in the DH slot.

Last week, when Posada was hit by a ball at bat during the series in Baltimore, you could see it in his face that he was not good to go for the remainder of the game. Cervelli stepped in, and all was well from there on out.

A few days ago Posada experienced a mild strain in his calf, forcing him to sit out a few more games. It is possible that he will return later this week to face the Red Sox, but it looks as though Cervelli will be calling a few more games.

It’s funny that during the last two games that the Yankees lost, Posada was catching. In fact, a majority of the Yankee losses this season were games where Posada was the catcher.

Is this a sign?

Cervelli had a stellar game against Baltimore last night with three hits and two runs in only three at-bats, also hitting his first career triple. He was certainly at the center of the game’s defining moments.

Jorge, on the other hand, has not had a memorable game this season other than during the earlier days in April.

In general, Cervelli calls better games than Posada. The Yankee starting pitchers have better averages, which results in more wins, with Cervy behind the plate. During last night’s game, A.J. Burnett struck out eight batters with Cervelli catching.

Cervelli’s youth, ability to handle the ball, quickness, and bat give him the reputation of the better catcher in my eyes.

Cervy also provides versatility to the game, which Jorge does not do. When Alex Rodriguez needed a day off, Cervelli stepped in and played third base.

In case you did not know, Cervelli played third base during spring training in order to expand his versatility during this season. He has demonstrated to the coaching staff that he will be active when needed in more than one situation. He can catch, he can bat with consistency, and he can play third base. What more can a team ask for?

A final difference between the two—motivation.

Nothing negative can be said in this category about Jorge, but there is a difference between a veteran who has a family and has won five World Series championships and a young 24-year-old who has one ring and is just getting his life and career started.

Burnett said that Cervelli’s on-field emotion often reminds him of how much fun the game can be. “He came to the mound a couple of times, and I can’t help but smile at what he says.”

You can see the difference in the amount of energy exerted from Posada and Cervelli. Young players like Cervelli, Robinson Cano, Phil Hughes, and Ramiro Pena are the future of the franchise. Fans and management need to see that these guys are enjoying the game because they are there to win.

I adore veteran Yankee greats such as the Core Four (Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera) and others who have been in the game for a long time now such as A-Rod. These guys have all had outstanding careers, but the sun will set on their times when the younger players will be in their primes.

These players have all had their fun and have provided astounding competition to the Yankees organization over the many years that they’ve played together. I’m not saying that I want to see them go. I do feel that they still play a great game, but they are not as energetic as they used to be.

I do feel that the future of the Yankee organization is in good hands with players like Cervelli and the others mentioned before.

What do you think, fans? Should management keep the wins coming with Cervelli behind the plate or allow Posada to take over during his last years with the Yanks?

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