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Two more former New York Yankees are headed to Monument Park.    

On Sunday, it was revealed that Andy Pettitte would have his No. 46 retired this summer. Now the team has announced that Bernie Williams’ No. 51 and Jorge Posada‘s No. 20 will also be off limits for future players in pinstripes:

Williams spent his entire 16-year MLB career with the Yankees, hitting .297/.381/.477 with 287 home runs, 147 stolen bases and four Golden Glove awards in center field. A five-time All-Star, he led the league in hitting in 1998 and was a part of four World Series-winning squads. 

Posada, another Yankee for life (17 seasons), hit .273/.374/.474 with 275 home runs, serving as one of the best hitting catchers in the league for several years. 

Williams is 10th in team history in WAR (49.4), while Posada (42.7) isn’t far behind, per baseball-reference.com. 

Former Yankee Chuck Knoblauch, who blasted the team for its decision to retire Pettitte’s number, offered his congratulations for Williams and Posada, two of the long-standing cornerstones to one of the franchise’s best runs of success: 

With these newest honors, the Yankees will be up to 20 retired numbers. Once Derek Jeter’s No. 2 is retired, there will be only 78 numbers left.

New York may have to start using double zeros or fractions here pretty soon, but that’s something to worry about in the future. For now, these franchise legends, who have proven so crucial to some of the best teams over the past couple of decades, deserve the recognition. 

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The five-time Atlantic League Champion Somerset Patriots have hired Shane Spencer as their hitting and third base coach. For those who don’t remember, Shane Spencer was in large part responsible for one of the greatest playoff moments in the history of the game.

In Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division series, Terrance Long hit a lined shot down the right-field line. With Jeremy Giambi rounding third, right fielder Spencer overthrew the cut-off man, resulting in Derek Jeter—completely out of place—picking up the errant throw. With a backhand flip to catcher Jorge Posada, he tagged out Giambi at home, turning the tide of the series.

Shane Spencer spent parts of seven seasons in the Bigs, five of those with the New York Yankees.

Never the main attraction, Spencer was one of those irreplaceable pieces of the Yankee’s dynasty in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In nearly 1,700 career at-bats, Spencer collected 84 doubles, belted 59 home runs and knocked in 242. He batted .262 with an OPS of .754.

According to The Messenger-Gazette, Spencer will be replacing Travis Anderson, who has served as the hitting/third base coach since 2010. Anderson will continue to stay on with the team in other capacities.

According to Brett Jodie, manager of the Patriots who spoke with the Gazette, Spencer’s knowledge and experience will be of great value.

“Shane brings a wealth of knowledge to our staff. His experiences as a player and coach will be extremely valuable in helping us produce a championship caliber team. I very much look forward to working with him towards our common goal.”

The Patriots begin play at home on April 18. If you are looking for more information on Spencer and the Patriots, please visit their website.

Devon is a manager at a financial institution in Northern Ontario, Canada, and he can be reached at devon@thegmsperspective.com. You can follow the GM’s Perspective on Twitter and Facebook. His full bio can be seen here.

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The New York Yankees have had their share of outstanding catchers over the past century, so where does Jorge Posada rank on that list?

With the 40-year-old veteran reportedly set to announce his retirement in the next few weeks, let’s count down the top 10 backstops in the storied history of this franchise…

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The 2011 season appeared to have been the last for Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, as Sweeny Murti is reporting that Posada will officially retire within the next few weeks. 

While acting primarily as a designated hitter and bench player, Posada hit .235 with 14 home runs and 44 RBI in 387 at-bats during the 2011 season.

This is certainly not surprising news. Posada has battled injuries for each of the last four seasons, only reaching 120 games played once in that stretch. At this point, his value in the field is nothing more than that of an emergency first baseman or catcher. 

If he even wanted to play, he would only be a truly valuable player in the American League as a designated hitter. 

Given his age (40) and the abuse to the body that catchers always take, it certainly makes sense that the market would be thin on him. Long gone are the days when Posada was reliable to hit 20 or more home runs and drive in 90 runs. 

In addition to being the smart, logical decision, this is also refreshing to see. We too often see athletes who no longer have the ability to be elite hang on for a year or two too long. A case can be made that Posada did that, but he was always in a Yankees uniform. We don’t often see players like this play their entire career with one team.

Along with Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Andy Pettitte, Posada was one of the “Core Four” Yankees that won five World Series titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. He finishes his career as a five-time World Series champion with a career average of .273, 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI.

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The Tampa Bay Rays are looking for more over-the-hill veterans to fill out their roster like they did last season. But as they saw last year, it’s not exactly the best way to go about it.

Now with news that Jorge Posada may be on the team’s radar, I am convinced that the club is satisfied with being as mediocre as you can get.

Posada had his worst statistical season of his career with the Yankees this year and the Rays want him. Why? I understand the veteran presence, but don’t they have enough of that?

NBC Hardball Talk is reporting on Posada’s possible suitors:

Javier Maymi of ESPNDeportes.com hears (link in Spanish) that the Rays are interested in the 40-year-old. Maymi confirmed the information with Posada’s father, who said he has also had some discussions with the Orioles and Phillies. However, he hasn’t decided whether he will play in 2012.

This is a terrible move for a team that doesn’t need any more veteran players, at least not Jorge Posada. With a lack of offensive production, Posada adds nothing more than a strong veteran presence and mediocre pinch hitting.

If Tampa Bay signs Posada, that means they will not try to re-sign veteran Johnny Damon. If I was given the choice of one over-the-hill veteran or the other, I would much rather have a more consistent Damon than a clunky Posada.

This is the point of his career when Posada needs to realize that it’s over and he has all the money he needs. Think about the reputation he has and how the end will be further tainted if he signs with a team and becomes and even further shell of the player he once was.

Check back for more on the Major League Baseball as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s MLB Page to get your fill of all things baseball.

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The New York Yankees have had more catching greats than any other team. From Bill Dickey to Jorge Posada, the catching position has provided excellent offense and in most instances, great defenses.

Selecting the five greatest Yankees catchers is easy, but who is No. 6? That selection can be controversial.

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Courtesy of Yankees ‘n More

As I watch Jorge Posada live on the 1nterstate while serving as the New York Yankees, um…, well…, “designated HITTER” (much for irony?), I am left asking myself one simple question:

Exactly what does Posada have to DO to finally lose his job???

Sucking every single day hasn’t been enough to cost Posada his job.

Throwing a tantrum in the manager’s office hasn’t been enough to cost Posada his job.

Even QUITTING ON THE TEAM and causing a MAJOR distraction hasn’t been enough to cost Posada his job.

Hell, after that tantrum/quitting/distraction thing, the Yankees not only refused to take a stand with Posada (who balked at being asked to bat 9th), they actually CAVED to him! The next time Jorge hits 9th this season will be the FIRST!

UN-FREAKIN’-BELIEVABLE! And a real nice message to send to the rest of the team, too.

By the way, in case you haven’t been paying attention, the Yankees currently have a big slugger at Triple-A who is pounding the ball FLAT on a nightly basis. No, I’m not talking about Jesus Montero.

I’m talking about Jorge Vazquez (29) who hit his 18th home run of the season for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Thursday night. To go along with those 18 bombs (in only 43 games), Vazquez has 45 RBI, a .303 avg. and an OPS of .984!

Yet NONE of those things… Hell, for that matter, ALL of those things, is still not enough to cost Jorge Posada his job.

So just exactly how do the planets have to align for Posada to be replaced???

More troubling still, if the Yankees refuse to stand up to Posada, despite EVERYTHING screaming that they should, what are the chances they will EVER stand up and do the right thing with Captain Crap?

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Fox Sports and other media outlets have reported that New York Yankee DH Jorge Posada took himself out of the lineup prior to Saturday evening’s (May 14) game against the Boston Red Sox.

Posada was scheduled to hit ninth in the lineup. He was replaced by Andruw Jones about 30 minutes before the first pitch.

Yankee GM Brian Cashman said Posada asked coach Joe Girardi to remove him from the lineup.

Cashman said Posada would address reporters after the game.

Posada is hitting .165 after going 1 for 4 in Friday’s loss to Boston.

He grounded out in his final at-bat with runners on second and third to end the eighth inning, and he has yet to get a hit in 24 at-bats against left-handed pitching.

Be sure to watch the postgame interviews and look for reports on this forum.

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Moving out from behind the plate and working exclusively as the Yankees DH, Jorge Posada was supposed to be fantasy gold.  Despite being 39 years old, a player with his upside, coupled with being eligible at catcher…people were drooling over the potential for him to produce massive power while playing every day.

The power has been there, but the rest of the numbers have certainly disappointed:

58 At Bats
.160 Batting Average (8 Hits)
5 Home Runs
9 RBI
6 Runs
0 Stolen Bases
.276 On Base Percentage
.460 Slugging Percentage

He has five home runs in eight hits…that really tells you what you need to know.  He’s showing the power that we all expected, though outside of that he just hasn’t been productive.  Of course, the power has come courtesy of numbers that are unlikely to continue.

To date he is sporting a fly-ball rate of 51.4 percent, significantly higher than in any year since 2002 (42.9 in 2009 was his previous high).  In fact, since 2002 his fly-ball rate is at 38.1 percent.  His HR/FB is also elevated, at 26.3 percent (only one other season above 18.9).  So expecting him to continue at his current rates would be slightly misguided. 

As for the average, we all know it’s going to improve.  His strikeout (26.0 percent) and walk (12.1 percent) rates are right along his career marks.  The problem is his BABIP, currently sitting at .094. 

No one is that unlucky, so look for the hits to start to fall.  With it should come improved run production as well.

Playing as the DH should hopefully help him stay healthy and in the lineup, allowing him to exceed the “expected” 20 HR and 50ish runs that many would have projected. 

Just stay patient for now and he should produce more than enough to make you happy.  If someone in your league has grown impatient with his low average and lack of any production (outside of power), now may be the best time to strike.

What are your thoughts on Posada?  What are you expecting from him?  Is he a player you would target?

Make sure to check out these other great articles from Rotoprofessor:

Around The Majors: April 22: Anibal Sanchez, Michael Pineda and More
Injury Report: April 23: Jose Reyes, Kevin Youkilis & More
The Trade Counsel: The Only Bad Offer Is No Offer At All
Prospect Report: Brett Lawrie One Step Closer To The Majors?

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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In all likelihood, Bud Selig won’t be hosting your fantasy baseball draft this year—but that doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal. You probably wouldn’t be reading this article if you weren’t in it to win it, and while it’s tough to win a league if your top picks don’t deliver, the best way to truly separate yourself from your fantasy league opponents is by nabbing some late-round value picks. 

The key to uncovering late-round draft day steals is to get a sense of what types of players tend to be undervalued in the fantasy marketplace. 

As I’ve detailed elsewhere, in reasonably shallow leagues sometimes it is the injury-prone player who can dramatically outproduce his draft slot while healthy.  Sometimes it is the former superstar many managers wrongly assume is now washed up.  Sometimes it is the famed “post-hype sleeper,” a relatively young player who did not initially live up to the hype but still possesses the talent that made them a touted prospect in the first place.  Sometimes it’s a player whose consistent production year after year is routinely under-appreciated, perhaps because the player isn’t “flashy” enough. 

For our purposes, “late-round” steals will only include players who are going in the 15th round or later (pick 169 onward) in 12-team standard leagues, according to either Mock Draft Central or Yahoo average draft position data.

On to the list we go.

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