Andy Pettitte pitched 4 1\3 innings in his final start of the regular season allowing 3 earned runs 5 in total to pick up his 8th loss for the year.This picture belongs to ESPN.com
If you go on ESPN.com there was a typo on the headlines where it said Burnett slumps as Yanks lose.
I go on their site as a fan like anyone else which is where I look up all of the stats so I can give people more of an idea of what I am talking about.
I in no way have any connection to their site, but as a sports fan you have to know what ESPN is as it has covered many sporting events for years.
The headline has now been changed so if you read that earlier discard it because it was Andy Pettitte who indeed pitched in last night's game.
Andy had an excellent season for New York, and showed a lot to many critics. I was among those critics at the start of the season not knowing what to expect out of him anymore.
A. Pettitte has put an end to those talks, as he has placed himself into the role as the Yankees 2nd best pitcher.
Although A.J. Burnett will more than likely take that job it is still amazing that a pitcher of Andy's age can dominate like he has at curtain points of this season.
In the game former Yankee prospect Dioner Navarro homered for his 8th of the year to get the Rays cooking in last night's game.
At this point the Yankees look to be geared up for the playoffs, as they have not played to win the last two games using their minor league prospects mostly.
The great thing about clinching early is that it has given manager Joe Girardi the idea of switching things up as he has made the move that should have been made a long time ago.
For today's game Joba Chamberlain has been moved to the bullpen, and looks to stay there for the 2009 Division Series.
Joba is lights out of the pen, it has been such a waste of talent to leave him in a role where he doesn't know what to do yet.
J. Chamberlain tried to start like he relieves, and after a while guys will time your fastball.
In most of his starts players barely hit off of him until the 4th or 5th which is the same thing that happened when New York tried to make Mariano Rivera a starter many years ago.
Now you look at M. Rivera, and he is the best closer who has ever been in the game.
Joba was starting to get talked about as if he is not a good pitcher which would be ridiculous to even think.
The man is obviously a monster on the hill it has just been a difficult process to realize what to do with a pitcher of his caliber.
You have seen it he has made some big starts for New York because in the end J. Chamberlain is a winner on the ball field, and loves a challenge.
With the extra time to move players around Joe Girardi decided to start Jose Molina as the DH two games ago to get him some extra at bats so he can catch A.J. Burnett in the playoffs.
I heard Michael Kay making a big deal in last night's game about how they will lose Posada's bat.
If you have watched Jorge's career he has put up a decent career average in the ALDS with a .263 average.
During his years in the big leagues Jorge has been known to stop hitting as the playoffs get further, and further.
Jorge has a career .222 average in the ALCS while posting a .208 average in the World Series.
I mean were talking about a player who went 3 for 19 in his last World Series in 2003 with 1 RBI the entire series, so its insane to think his bat will bring that much of a presence in an already stacked lineup.
Overall for a player that is said to be so clutch he has 6 career RBI in the World Series, and has already played in 5 of them, not to mention Jorge also has struck out 24 times in 77 at bats.
There were so many times his spot would come in the lineup, and it felt like an automatic out years ago with the game on the line.
I just think Jorge's bat isn't that great where you can let one of the best pitchers in the game be effected by what he wants.
Like I have written before time for Jorge to think about the team, and realize he kills them by having to catch every game.
If you look back he was never the big bat that would put the team on his back so why would his bat be that much of a difference now?
I am not taking away the fact he is one of the best hitting catchers in the game, but that's only because catchers are supposed to be best defender out of your infield.
If you look at the Yankees that is never the case when Jorge is playing, as he is one of the worst defensive catchers I have seen.
I don't care how many HR's Jorge hit this year or how many RBI he had the fact remains that his glove will eventually burn the team in a big situation when there is no turning back, or letting Molina catch a game.
If they lose there out no other way to slice it so why take a chance?
If you know A.J. Burnett is going to give you an all star performance then take it because there is plenty of bats in this 2009 lineup to go around.
What is the point of signing A.J. Burnett to let him sacrifice because Jorge Posada doesn't know how to catch?
He may come close but there is better catchers than him.
If your going by the glove he probably ranks with the bottom, and with his bat there is at least 3 or 4 catchers off the top of my head that I know are better.
1st. Joe Mauer- Joe has contributed to his team with a potential MVP award at the end of the post season, and has played in one playoff series during his career.
J. Mauer has a .327 career average with 842 hits although he is only in his 6th season. This year his power has developed putting him in exclusive company with some of the best hitting catchers of all time.
2nd. A.J. Pierzynski- is a catcher of many talents, and if you go by players that come through in the clutch he is definitely that.
A.J. Pierzynksi has 1251 career hits in 4378 at bats compared to Jorge's 1488 in 5365 at bats. Pierzynski has also put up better playoff numbers especially in the ALDS.
In the ALDS Pierzkynski has only been in 4 of them compared to Jorge's 12, but has the same amount of RBI with 10.
3. Ivan Rodriguez- Forget what he did as a member of the New York Yankees all around even this man is a better catcher than J. Posada.
Ivan who like Pierzkynksi has also out performed Jorge with the bat during October. Although his World Series numbers are a joke he still out ranks J. Posada in the post season.
I. Rodriguez has the chance to reach 3,000 hits one day as he now stands at 2,711, and lets not forget his 13 gold gloves behind the plate.
4. Jason Varitek- Was a major part of two World Series wins for the Boston Red Sox in 2004, and 2007 to achieve his life long journey.
Jason Varitek of the Boston Red Sox is said to be one of the worst defensive catchers, well why wouldn't Jorge rank with him in that category when he has 134 career passed balls to J.Variteks 98.
Those numbers are not even legit because more times than not both catchers are given the benefit of the doubt, and the play is ruled a wild pitch.
If you wanted to compare the two offensively Varitek has more RBI in 2 World Series compared to Jorge who played in over five World Series. .
So when people say Jorge Posada is the best all around catcher in the major leagues no he is not.
In another light Hideki Matsui is one of the best DH's in the game right now, and has grown into his new role.
Hideki looked to be finished as an outfielder, and as rebounded with his bat to be a valuable player in the Yankees run for glory.
In today's game A.J. Burnett will make his final start of the year in the final regular season game.
After today the Yankees will look on to bigger, and better things as they won their Division during the opening year of the new Yankee Stadium.
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