The headline is pretty self-explanatory, I think. Francisco Cervelli should be catching much more frequently than Jorge Posada once Posada is ready to return from his strained right calf.Cervelli should, no MUST, remain in the Yankees' lineup. And there is only one reason for this: It gives the Yankees the best chance to win.
Though Posada, 38, is a legendary Yankee and hasn't slowed much, Cervelli is a better defensive catcher. Plus, after three more hits and five more RBIs on Saturday, Cervelli is hitting .429 with 12 RBIs. There isn't much more you realistically could ask him to do.
The last catcher to tally five RBIs in one game against the Red Sox was Yogi Berra, who drove in eight runs on July 3, 1957.
We've seen enough from Cervelli thus far to know that he won't embarrass himself at the plate; he has an astounding .500 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage for an admirable 1.000 OPS. Those numbers will surely drop, but he is proving himself more and more every day.
"This guy improves more and more every day," said Teixeira, who hit three homers.
"It would be hard to complain about anything right now from what he is doing," Girardi said. "He's hitting over .400. He is catching well. He is blocking the ball well. He is framing the ball well. And he is throwing people out. It is kind of hard to complain. I guess he could hit .500."
Behind the plate, meanwhile, no one would dispute that Cervelli ranks as an upgrade over Posada.
"He's really good. He has a lot of energy," said C.C. Sabathia, who fell a strike short of going the five innings needed to pick up the victory. "To have a guy behind the plate like that is huge.
The Yankees continued their pleasure stroll through 2010 last night, embarrassing the rival Red Sox at Fenway Park, 14-3. They are 21-8 to date, and that's with Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira just starting to look like themselves.
Nevertheless, they have to keep functioning with the same intelligence that got them to this point. And with their players continuing to go down at an alarming rate, they still have to make actual decisions. It's not quite time to put their feet up and gaze toward October.
So with 1) Jorge Posada just about ready to come back from his right calf injury; 2) Cervelli winning admiration for both his offense and defense; and 3) Nick Johnson out for "several weeks" -- which could easily turn into several months, given Johnson's history -- with a right wrist injury, it makes great baseball sense for the Yankees to use Posada at designated hitter and Cervelli at catcher the majority of the time.
Joe Girardi doesn't quite seem convinced. "The more you roll the dice" with both catchers in the lineup, he said, "the more likely that something could happen."
In other words, if Cervelli were to start at catcher on X night and had to leave the game with an injury, you'd have to switch Posada from DH to catcher and lose your DH that game.
That's the cost. The benefit is a lineup better equipped to win more games. If that scenario actually occurred, then you suffer for one night and make a roster move afterward to remedy the problem.
This will be a sensitive topic for Posada, who takes such great pride in his defensive work, although he shouldn't take such great pride in being terrible at the position he plays. But look: We're not talking about doing this all of the time.
Against righty pitchers, start Cervelli at catcher and Posada at DH. Against lefties, start Posada at catcher and Marcus Thames at DH. Tweak when necessary to get other players a half-day at the DH spot, such as the healing Robinson Cano yesterday.
While the Yankees will do what is best for the team, they do not want to publicly rile up Posada. Even before Saturday's game, Posada -- like his Core Four buddy, Andy Pettitte -- didn't like that his jersey was stamped "Handle with Care" as he sat out for the fourth game in a row.
Posada admitted to petitioning to play Saturday, but Girardi didn't want to hear it. Girardi plans on DH'ing Posada on Sunday night and catching him Monday, even though Posada has said from the beginning that his calf strain only impacts him running, not catching.
This isn't to suggest Posada shouldn't catch at all. He should probably be behind the plate at least two times during the week, while DH'ing all other days. This would allow Rodriguez and Jeter to rest as the DH once per week.
The one problem of having Cervelli and Posada regularly in the lineup together is that the Yankees would not have a third catcher. This can be solved by calling up Chad Moeller to sit on the bench for emergencies.
If Girardi stays the course and catches Posada five days a week, he will not be putting the Yankees in the best position to win going forward.
What combination makes the Yankees better? Posada and Thames or Posada and Cervelli? The Yankees are better both defensively and offensively with Cervelli behind the plate.
When Rodriguez or Jeter are DH'ing, Girardi is basically replacing Peña for Cervelli. Again, how are the Yankees better doing that on a consistent basis with Johnson out?
From the beginning of spring training, Girardi publicly stated that he thinks that Posada would catch 100 to 120 games, but the smaller number always seemed more realistic. Posada will be 39 in two months, which is when catchers are usually not productive, although he seems to be the exception with the bat, as he still hits very well.
The Johnson signing though, a $5.5- million gamble by Brian Cashman, looks like a failure at this point. Who knows when or if we'll see him again?
Yet Posada, signed through next year, can transition over to being the full-time DH. Cervelli can see if he can handle the everyday catching responsibilities while stud prospect Jesus Montero works on his catching at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
This isn't about pushing Posada out of his catcher's gear. It's about optimizing the current roster. It's about planning for tomorrow as well as working for today.
And no matter whether you're discussing the big picture or small picture, Cervelli deserves to be in the frame.
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