Suicide Squeezes

-The New York Mets Dillon Gee had a no-hitter broken up in the 6th inning by Nationals pitcher Livan Hernandez. Actually, Hernandez, despite being a pitcher, is a pretty good hitter, for a pitcher. Last year, at Nationals Park, I actually saw Hernandez pinch-hit. Gee, though, is emerging as arguably the Mets best starter. Today he threw 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and three walks while striking out three. His ERA now sits at 3.44 for the season.

-Francisco Rodriguez now sports a 0.79 ERA to accompany his 14 saves on the year. If the Mets do decide to deal him they should find some takers without a problem. In fact, he might even be the Mets best trade chip.

-Speaking of Mets relievers, how can you not feel good for Jason Isringhausen? The guy is doing well in Queens where his career began.

-I think it is now safe to call Jason Bay and John Lackey free agent busts. I would be willing to bet the Mets and Red Sox respectively would love to find takers for these duds. Bay, however, did collect three hits today, one of them a double. I doubt he is turning it around though but you never know. Lackey, meanwhile, sits on the DL in Boston.

-Last night the Yankees-Orioles game was a marathon that should not have gone 15 innings but both teams had an allergy to hitting with RISP. That is, however, until Robinson Cano took an Allegra and hit a 2-run double in the top of the 15th. Sooner or later, the Yankees are going to have to start hitting with RISP. Right?

-Great game last night by Bartolo Colon who threw 87 pitches in 8 innings of shutout baseball. Colon did everything he could possibly do to ensure the Yankees got the win, even striking out the side in the 8th. However, and I can't fault Joe Girardi for doing this, he was pulled for Mariano Rivera to close it out. Rivera, as we know, gave up the tying run and the Yankees had to go into the 15th before getting the go-ahead runs. I can't dream of pulling a pitcher, no matter who he is, when you are bringing in the greatest closer the game has ever seen. I would have done the same thing.

-Complete games are a rare thing these days. Seven teams do not even have 1 complete game from their pitching staffs. Those teams are Boston, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati, Houston, New York Mets, and San Diego. Philadelphia leads the majors in this category with six.

-Everyone made a big deal about the Phillies pitching staff this offseason. However, Atlanta actually has a better team ERA. Atlanta has a 2.92 team ERA while the Phillies are sporting a 3.06 team ERA. But the Braves have played three more games than the Phillies. Atlanta pitchers are also holding batters to a .220 AVG while Phillies pitchers are holding opponents to a .240 AVG.

-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently whined to The Sporting News about not having a statue outside the Staples Center. Umm, Kareem, the Lakers apparently told you you were going to get one. Guess you forgot. Either way, this is not something you whine about, it makes you look like a self-centered...oh wait.

-To all LeBron bashers out there, take a break. Michael Jordan had his Pippen, Shaq had his Kobe, Kobe had some good players around him. Who did the Cavs have when James took them to the Finals? They had James and nobody else. So what if James hasn't won a championship yet, you can't take away the fact that he has taken over games in the playoffs this year. He and Dwayne Wade are playing well together and it looks like its going to be a Heat-Mavs final. I can say this now after my hatred toward LeBron has gone away after he spurned my two basketball team, the Knicks and Nets, by signing with the Heat. I've moved on, perhaps other just need to do the same.

-I'm actually a little upset that Kobe is out of the playoffs. How awesome would a Lakers-Heat match-up have been? Kobe and Gasol vs. LeBron and Wade.

-Dirk Nowitzki's 48 points was impressive. I don't know if it answers all the questions about his game though. I still need a bit more defense and toughness from a 7-footer. Still, there is no question he is the best big-man shooter in the NBA. He is also one of the top ten players in the NBA without question.

-Jorge Posada to start at first base tonight for the Yankees. Wow. It is his 16th careerstart at first and first since 2008.

-The Rangers signed 2010 Second Round Pick Christian Thomas, son of ex-NHL'er Steve Thomas, to an entry level contract. Thomas scored 54 goals last season in Juniors. He is still Junior eligible so he might not make his debut next year. If he is anything like his dad was, the Rangers should have an added boost on the offense in the coming years.

-Is anybody else jonesing for some NFL offseason free agent movement? Man, I can't wait for this lockout to be over.

Is Jorge Posada Done?

Jorge Posada is one of the "Core Four" and has helped the Yankees to four World Series Championships. He has caught 1,573 regular season games. He is now 39 years-old, no longer catches, and is struggling mightily at the plate. Posada currently owns a .152 AVG, 15 hits in 99 at bats. Eight of those hits have been for extra bases, 2 doubles and 6 homers. He has struck out 28 times while walking 13 times which contributes to his .257 OBP. A stat line like that usually leads to a release or a demotion to AAA. A demotion to AAA won't happen, and, because of his prestige as a Yankee-great, neither will a release. But does that mean Manager Joe Girardi has to keep trotting Posada out there as the Yankees DH every game?

Much has been made about the Yankees failure to score without the home run and Posada is the embodiment of this. When six of fifteen hits go for home runs you can see there is not much diversity when it comes to Posada's hits this season. To make matters worse, he hasn't homered since April 23rd at Baltimore. He showed some signs of possibly breaking out of his slump from May 1-3 when he collected five hits, including two doubles, in twelve at-bats. However, he immediately fell into a 1 for 15 slump, one that he is currently mired in. Can he break out of it? Sure. But how reasonable is it to expect a thirty-nine year-old former catcher to be able to to suddenly erupt and bring his stat lines up to his career norms? The answer is, it isn't. One can make the case that he is trying to adjust to being a full-time DH but he has had 29 games in which to show something.

This brings us to the real question, can the Yankees afford to keep trotting Posada out there everyday with little expectation for something positive to happen? Right now, the Yankees might be able to get away with it because guys like Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and Russell Martin are all contributing something right now. However, if Posada doesn't snap out of it soon he might force Girardi to bench him. Especially if Eric Chavez comes back from his foot fracture and swings a hot bat. So, right now, Girardi can keep Posada at the DH spot but if he fails to hit over the next two weeks then Girardi should bench Posada in favor of someone who can actually contribute at the plate. Right now, all Posada is doing is holding up the development of Jesus Montero who is stuck at AAA, Austin Romine, who is stuck at AA because Montero is at Scranton, and Gary Sanchez who is behind those two.

At the very least, this should be Jorge's last year in professional baseball. The worst thing that can happen for the Yankees in the long-term is Posada catches fire and hits over 20 home runs and brings his average up to, say, .250, and the Yankees bring him back for next season. That would be Cashman's biggest mistake. Posada's best days are long gone. Sure, he will get a hold of a fastball down the middle of the plate and punish it every now and then but he won't improve much on those breaking balls which have been fooling him consistently all season. He has looked lost up there, as if his bat is stuck in cement and either strikes out or drills the ball into the ground. Personally, if I were in Girardi's chair right now I would have no problem with benching Posada in favor of Eric Chavez, or a Justin Maxwell or Jesus Montero. Hopefully, Yankee fans can enjoy a little bit of Posada before he retires. He is one of the all-time great Yankees and deserves to have a good send-off, hopefully his poor season doesn't sour the experience.