Jorge Posada is not doing the Yankees any favors by avoiding surgery and trying to rehab his shoulder.  I’ve never heard of someone rehabbing a labrum tear back to perfect elasticity, but I’m no expert.  Lest anyone forget, this approach failed in June.

Posada has always appeared to be a very stubborn and proud player, which is fine.  It’s good in a catcher.  But that same stubbornness could cost the Yankees wins now, next year, and beyond that.  Posada’s shoulder is so screwed up he can’t throw anyone out at all anymore (3 for 37!!!), so why should we believe he could hit?

He claims that it doesn’t hurt to swing, but pain might not be the issue.  He may not feel pain, but he’s definitely not hitting the way he did last year—which was a fluke, to be fair—and I’d be shocked, frankly, if a torn fricking labrum didn’t affect a man’s ability to swing a baseball bat.

Let’s say Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Manager Joe Girardi (hell, why not bring Hank too) sit down with Posada tomorrow and, well, inform him that they are his bosses and he is to have surgery in 3 hours, or something to that affect.  How would that change things?

Posada would probably be ready to go by Opening Day 2009, and he’d presumably be healthier for the remainder of his contract.

Do you take a few iffy months (in terms of his ability to produce in a Yankee landscape littered with DHs)—and I’m not undermining the situation by calling it ‘iffy’—or the route that leads to Posada being healthy for 2009 and the remaining 33 or so million dollars you owe him?

Easy decision for Cashman.

Not so for Jorge Posada.

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Any big trades on the horizon?  I’m not sure.  The biggest fish—CC Sabathia—has already been caught, and no one else in the pond is as valuable as him.

Teixeira is a possibility, but he’s a rental—unless the Yankees or Mets get him.  Which won’t happen.

The Braves ought to keep Tex and get the two draft picks for compensation.

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The anti Billy Beane writers are attacking in full force over his firesale of Joe Blanton and Rich Harden.  *Deep Breath*

Beane, first off, is one of the more cunning GMs in the business, and he knows when to deal pitching.  Blanton’s overrated by the A’s defense and the cavernous home park he pitches in. Remember Eric Milton in Cincy?  That’s Blanton in Philly.  Beane saw a GM who was desperate and consistently gets it handed to him in trades.  Phillies GM Pat Gillick should never deal with Beane, because he’s simply not as intelligent.  Beane got the Phillies’ #1 prospect for a fourth starter.  Ca-Ching.

As for Harden, well, that’s obvious.  The dude has some crazy potential—crazy enough that his shoulder doesn’t handle the load so well.  It should be common knowledge that a guy with consistent injury problems will continue to have injury problems regardless of a few months here and there where he may be healthy.  Dealing Harden at his peak value was a move that more GMs should make.

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