By SeanMcAdam
CSNNE.com
NEW YORK -- Jorge Posada's unhappiness with the Yankees' decision to drop him to ninth in the batting order Saturday seemed to dissipate Sunday, with Posada apologizing for his decision to ask out of the lineup 30 minutes before the middle game of the series.
But down the hall, Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek, took a sympathetic view of Posada's dilemma, realizing that it's somewhat similar to his own.
Like Posada, Varitek was once his team's No. 1 catcher, but has seen his role diminished in the last two years.
"I haven't talked to him,'' stressed Varitek, "but positionally, it's different going from catcher to DH because you're so much in the flow of the game as a catcher.
"It's hard to compare apples to oranges, because he's produced. I had a situation in 2009 where a pretty special player Victor Martinez came in who could really hit. It didn't diminish what I did behind the plate, but he was such a valuable asset to our lineup.
"My choice at that point was: how can I embrace this? Well, Vic made it easy to embrace because we connected right away . . . I can't really speak for another human being, but I know Posada has been through the grind behind the plate for a lot of years. It's a big responsibility. I'm sure that alone is difficult for our position.''
Boston Red Sox
Varitek said though he doesn't know Posada personally, he retains a "huge respect,'' for the catcher. Walking into the batter's box and not having Posada behind the plate is "very different.''
Sean McAdam can be reached at smcadam@comcastsportsnet.com.Follow Sean on Twitter at http:twitter.comsean_mcadam