Hip Hip

Whatever happened last night happened and i'm over that. I want to talk about Jorge Posada here. Now that the last game of the season has been played it is obvious now that Jorge Posada is done. He's a 40 year old ex-catcher DH who can't hit and he's out of a contract. No way the Yankees bring him back (I hope not!) but these things happen, people get old and they don't perform. I'm just grateful he didn't teeter of in his 30s, he just got old. 

I still remember when Jorge came up in the beginning of his career. It must have been around 1998 because I remember as a kid thinking "who is this weird guy with the funny ears taking playing time away from Joe Girardi!!" Little did I know that Joe Girardi should have taken a seat for the doofy guy who could barely speak English. He eventually just kept producing and became a fixture in the lineup and behind the plate.

It wasn't until a few years later that he really became Jorge-Freaking-Posada, the best catcher in the world. Or so I thought. He was definitely the best hitting catcher in the pre-Mauer days and may be one of the best power hitting catchers of all time. He came up big for us so many times that it made me take hitting catchers for granted, I had no idea that most catchers were dead weight with a bat. For a long time I thought he was a 'good' catcher, but i had no idea he was actually sub par behind the plate, he was on the Yankees and one of my heroes so he was automatically the best in the game. Despite his defensive weakness I wouldn't trade him for Jeff Mathis, Russell Martin, [fill in the blank] Molina or whoever.

I know this season has been tough, he sucked and you can't really say anything different. He said some stupid things and he acted like a stubborn child at times, but now that its over we should take the time to remember Jorge for who he was: a tough as nails, piss-on-his-hands, prideful, emotional player who helped to hold this team together for so many years. He will truly be missed in the years to come and I can only hope that we can find a way to replace his presence (and presents) in the lineup, and in the clubhouse. I look forward to the new blood coming in and seeing his ceremony and the amazing HIP HIP chant that will welcome him back. 275 HRs, 1600+ hits and a 44 WAR later, I am happy to say I grew up watching him and I can't wait to see him hit a home run off of Al Leiter in Old Timer's Day!