Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz gave his take on the Jorge Posada mess Saturday night to Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald:
“You want me to tell you what I think? They’re doing that guy wrong. They’re doing him wrong. Know why? Because that guy, he’s legendary right there in the organization. And, dude, DHing sucks. DHing, it’s not easy. From what I heard, they told him from the very beginning, he’s not even going to catch bullpens. That, straight up, starts messing with your head. You’re going tell me Posada can’t catch a game out there? Come on. I guarantee you, they throw him out there once in a while, mentally, it’s going to help him out. Because he’s just not thinking about hitting. He’s a DH. When you just think about hitting and you’re not hitting, it sucks. It sucks.”
Ortiz did not defend Posada’s decision to remove himself from the Yankees’ lineup, saying “No, you don’t do that.” But Ortiz, who’s had plenty of struggles of his own in his mid-30s, can understand the frustration.
And maybe Big Papi has a point. Posada clearly isn’t comfortable serving only as a designated hitter, so why not tweak the strategy? Why not help him try to right himself with a game or two behind the plate? Posada’s actions Saturday night were indefensible given the kind of money he makes, but something has to be done.
