The Yankees are riding out a stretch without two key bats in the middle of the order. Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada are linchpins to the team's plans and without either one of them a return trip to the playoffs seems unlikely. But if you had to choose one or the other to be in the lineup, it would have to be A-Rod. Whatever his problems in the hospital, he's a more productive hitter than Posada and more able to make a singular impact on a pennant race. Since they're still playing baseball with nine a side, though, they'd be much better off with both of them. Phil Pepe, writing for the YES Network's web site, disagrees. He's under the impression that the team misses Posada more than Rodriguez.
With Posada, the Yankees have won five pennants and three World Series.
With A-Rod, they have won no pennants and no World Series.
The case can be made that the real reason behind the Yankees' unprecedented success has been the man behind the plate. Simply put, you don't win championships without a superior catcher.
Simply put, neither of those dogs is gonna hunt.
The Yankees have been blessed with some great catchers. As great as Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey were, they wouldn't have rings on both hands if not for players like Ruth, Mantle, DiMaggio, Gomez and Ford. None of them wore the tools of ignorance and none were less of a reason for a Yankee title than the men who did.
Pepe's assertion about superior catchers is probably best appreciated by guys like Pat Borders, Tim Laudner, Damian Miller and the Molina Brothers, all of whom were probably unaware of their own dominance until this very moment. All of them brought something to the team, of course, but none of them fits any standard definition of superior.
It's a team game, Phil, whether you like it or not.
(H/T BBTF)
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