The Emperor (The King) Has No Clothes

A note to our growing legion of readers… now at five and counting!

While we know our beloved Picasner has never let facts get in the way of often overblown opinion, risking the wrath of his always defensive, mean-spirited backlash to any challenge, I offer the following, including the source that so frequently eludes our pontificating defender of Steinbrenner, Corp. - Vod

Catchers May Have Hand in Yanks’ Pitching Problems

Tyler Kepner - NY Times June 15, 2009

“It’s great to have Alex back,” Derek Jeter said a week ago, “but I don’t care who you have in your lineup, if you don’t pitch, you don’t win.”

On the whole, the Yankees have lived dangerously. Their staff earned run average is 4.84. Only three teams have a higher E.R.A., and they all started Monday in last place in their divisions: the Cleveland Indians, the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals.

One unsettling fact for the Yankees is the difference when Jorge Posada catches. With Posada behind the plate, the Yankees’ pitchers have a 6.31 E.R.A. The combined E.R.A. with Francisco Cervelli, Jose Molina and Kevin Cash is 3.81. Posada has caught four starts by Chien-Ming Wang, whose job status is now evaluated on a game-by-game basis. Even removing those starts, the staff’s E.R.A. with Posada is still high, at 5.47.

Posada, 37, has handled many exceptional pitchers in his career. Although some, like Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina, have preferred other catchers, Posada does not have to apologize for his résumé. Posada takes his job seriously and is an emotional engine of the team. Yet Burnett, in particular, seems to struggle with him. In Burnett’s four starts pitching to Posada, opponents have batted .330. In nine starts with the other catchers, the average is .223. When he lost a six-run lead in Boston in April, Burnett questioned the pitch selection, though he blamed himself, not Posada. Asked Sunday about the difference in pitching to the rookie Cervelli, Burnett gave a careful but revealing answer.

“I think it’s just a matter of — I don’t know if it’s the catcher — but we threw curveballs in fastball counts, we had them looking for something and they had no idea what was coming,” Burnett said. “That’s huge.”

Girardi (God help us) is the one who must match the catchers to the pitchers and make the juggling work. The fate of the pitching staff and, by extension, the season, might depend on it.