| Andrew Perna. 24th August, 2009 - 2:27 pm
 Jorge Posada made some interesting comments following New York's 14-1 loss to Boston on Saturday.
Pitcher A.J. Burnett turned in his third straight horrid performance at Fenway Park, allowing nine runs on nine hits in just five innings of work.
The right-hander has allowed 20 earned runs in just 12 2/3 innings in Boston this season. As badly as those numbers look, the greater concern for the Yankees could be the battery of Posada and Burnett.
"It seemed like he was shaking me off" a lot, Posada told the Associated Press on Saturday night. "I asked for a certain pitch and he threw another one. It's frustrating."
The veteran catcher's comments may have just been a direct result of the frustrating loss, but numbers indicate that Burnett and Posada don't work very well together.
Burnett has made 25 starts for the Yankees this season, with 15 of those coming with Posada as his starting catcher.
The former Blue Jay is 5-5 with a 4.56 ERA in Posada's catching starts. He has a 1.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.47 WHIP. Eleven of the 19 home runs he's allowed this season have come with Posada behind the plate, and he averages 103.6 pitches per start.
All of those numbers are higher than his season totals.
He is 10-7 with a 4.08 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 1.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2009.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Burnett has been better in the ten starts he's made with a catcher other than Posada.
He's made four starts with Jose Molina, four with Kevin Cash and two with Francisco Cervelli behind the plate.
In those starts, Burnett is 5-2 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is an even two and he averages 109.5 pitches per appearance.
It's an interesting story, but one that isn't likely to change much in New York. Posada is a far better offensive catcher than Molina and still more than holds his own when calling a game.
The Yankees have Hideki Matsui holding down the designated hitter spot in the lineup, and manager Joe Girardi likes to rotate his everyday players in the spot at times for rest.
One option would be starting Molina very fifth day when Burnett takes the hill, but that certainly won't be the case when October comes and the pinstripes are searching for their 27th World Series title. |
