In Favor of a Catching Competition This Spring

In 2003, Bernie Williams looked to be about done manning centerfield. He was only one year removed from a tremendous 2002 campaign, but after only playing 119 games in 2003 and with bad knees in centerfield to boot, the Yankees weren't content just letting Williams flounder around in center (his UZR was -20.2 in 2003 after -16.2 in 2002) and in the off-season they brought in Kenny Lofton as a free agent and told Williams he could fight it out with Lofton for CF and Ruben Sierra for DH. That's tough love for one of the most important Yankees of the past few decades, but it was just what Williams needed. That tough love--that competition--lit a fire under Williams. Williams would never be that pre-2003 player again, but at least in 2004 he gave the Yankees what he had given them in 2004, beat out Lofton in CF*, and, more importantly, he worked hard to win the job--and stuck around for two more years after that.

Montero will righfully have to earn it this Spring (LoHud)

The Yankees are in a similar situation with Jorge Posada. They have a very important player to their organization, a player who has probably been one of the top catchers of all-time (at least on the offensive side), a border-line Hall of Famer. But Posada's defense has gotten so bad and his hitting isn't anymore to the point where you can excuse that defensive liability just because of the hitting he provides. Having gone through the entire slate of external back-up catchers and realizing that Posada was eventually was going to turn into a pumpkin like Williams did, Brian Cashman and the Yankees organization has done a good job of stockpiling catching prospects. Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, Francisco Cervelli, Gary Sanchez, JR Murphy and others fill the Yankees organization throughout and provide themselves with an opportunity to not go out there and pay for old, mediocre players (as they did with Lofton in 2004).

But they shouldn't just hand the reigns of the DH to Posada nor the hands of the catching game to Montero, Romine, or Cervelli. After the 2007 season, the Yankees decided to hand the pitching over to a youth movement without any competition. Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes managed to win zero games in 2008 as the Yankees back-of-the-rotation starters. Now this would be fine if the Yankees could afford a rebuilding year because look at what Hughes and Kennedy did this past season--they won a combined 27 games in each of their first full years as starters. But this is the Yankees and with most of their top players on the wrong side of the baseball age, they need to field a team next year that will make the playoffs.

So I'm glad to see that Brian Cashman said that anyone who catches for the Yankees will have to earn it. Heck, I would bring in every catcher who will accept a non-guaranteed deal. One look at what happened to John Buck shows that you never know where you'll find a decent catcher. And it will create even more compeition. Maybe Jorge Posada will come into came in incredible shape to prove everyone he deserves to catch. Maybe Jesus Montero will show up 25 pounds lighter and hit so well in the spring the Yankees won't have any choice. Maybe Austin Romine will have shown enough development for the Yankees to throw him into the fire. Maybe Francisco Cervelli will have figured out a way to be good enough behind the plate defensively and offensively that the Yankees can afford to have him squat behind there for half the season. But I like the idea of creating a competition. Light a fire under someone's ass; the person who succeeds under those types of circumstances is the person you want most on your team anyways.

*I had totally forgot that Kenny Lofton was healthy for the Yankees postseason/on the roster. I know that he got into an argument with Mariano Rivera in September and I know they sent him to the Phillies in the off-season (and I know he's hated the Yankees since), but I had totally forgot he was on that ALCS roster. I had totally forgotten how he had hit a home run in the first game. And then I definitely had blocked out that Joe Torre sat him as the Yankees collapse, even sitting him against the gimpy Curt Schilling who Lofton could have tested with his bunting. By the time Torre got Lofton back into the lineup was Game 7 (as the DH) and it was way too late then. I'm not saying they would have won had they started Lofton, but, jeez, wouldn't that have been an easy roster shakeup, Joe?