Hip, Hip, Jorge

Much has been said over the past week regarding the future of Jorge Posada, designated hitter, spot first baseman, and erstwhile catcher. Posada, one of the Three Musketeers or whatever they're calling the dwindling number of 90s Yankees still hanging on now, will turn 40 tomorrow, and his performance in his first year as a full-time DH has been, let's say, not overwhelmingly wonderful.

To be fair, all we heard last winter and spring was that Posada might have a difficult time transitioning to a full-time Designated Hitter (shouldn't they have come up with a better name for that by now?), and patience would be required. Posada, ironically, didn't help matters much by have a terrific first couple of weeks, hitting home runs and appearing to take to his new role splendidly. Then came a few months of not-at-all-splendid hitting, his sudden inability to hit right handed, the infamous "I'm not gonna play if I have to bat ninth) incident and last week, Posada's benching in favor of, well, anybody.

This has led to considerably talk suggesting Posada should retire, if not immediately, then certainly at the end of the season. Many pundits have predicted he will not be included on the postseason roster, assuming a catastrophe doesn't occur and the Yankees are in fact a postseason team.

Posada, for his part, has said he might want to play another year, and it doesn't have to be for the Yankees, the team on which he's been a fixture for 15 years.

After his 6-RBI performance on Sunday and his two runs scored last night, it appears there might be some life left in the old catcher after all. (By the way, Mariano Rivera allowed no hits, no walks, no runs, and had a strikeout, so shut up about how he's all washed up, okay?) Should he push it and play another year, perhaps for a team like Kansas City, where he could mentor the younger players?

That's not for me to say, but what the hell: No, probably not. The best thing Posada could do right now is have a great last month and a half, work his way onto the postseason roster, get some hits to help as the push toward a World Series goes on, and leave to a Paul O'Neill-like ovation at Yankee Stadium in October (or November, or December, depending on rainouts). As a Yankee fan, I don't want to see him in the uniform of another team, struggling to hang on with a .220 batting average. This proud man should leave on his own terms, become a bullpen coach for a while, maybe.

He can help younger players, but not because he was ever the greatest defensive catcher on the planet; he wasn't. He can help because he is the toughest guy in the clubhouse, the one who will get in your face when you're dogging it, the one who cares the most about winning. He can take a team that's never won before and show it what it means to succeed. He can help young players (like, say, Jesus Montero) understand that the game isn't all about them; it's about 25 guys pulling together toward a common goal. That Jorge Posada can do very, very well.

Let's hope he does.