Yanks Gamble on Chemistry Experiment

NEW YORK -- Huge breaking news from Yankee camp: Jorge Posada is furious he won't be catching A.J. Burnett in Game 2 of the playoffs. No, wait, scratch that, now Posada is acting like an unruffled veteran, calmly saying "it's all about the team," and so it's over to Joe Girardi, to ascertain why the manager picked such a fine time to cause so much hyperventilating around what had been the most stable team in baseball.

By choosing to start Jose Molina and not Posada behind the plate Friday when Burnett makes his first ALDS start for the Yankees against the remarkable Minnesota Twins, Girardi proved he's neither sentimental nor averse to taking an unpopular risk. Of course, the Posada-Burnett battery has sometimes looked as uncomfortable as Jon and Kate sitting on the couch together, and to pair the fiery catcher again with the streaky pitcher at this juncture would be a mighty large gamble. Still, no matter how sensible, stat-driven Girardi's decision might be, it landed with a considerable thump.

"When a pitcher and a catcher get in a rhythm, you hate to break it up,'' Girardi said. "And that's kind of the feeling we have going now. Jorge is our No. 1 catcher. But in this situation, we just are going to choose to catch Molina.''

Though the manager gave Posada the news Sunday, and though Burnett and Molina presumably had received advance notice, all the participants were grilled Tuesday as if they were part of some nefarious plot to change the pinstripes into polka dots. Before the Yankees workout at the Stadium, Posada was glum and subdued, telling reporters, "It's not like I didn't see it coming. You know what, I just hope we win that game. That's all I have to say." That sparked early afternoon media updates reporting Posada was spitting nails, and more dissection of Posada's curious and sometimes cantankerous relationship with Girardi, who once served as Posada's mentor.

A few deep breaths and sharp cuts in the batting cage later, Posada was mouthing all the right things, hoping to put to rest any talk about a rift in the clubhouse. He knows there are only two ways for this to play out: if the Yankees win Game 2, the Burnett-Molina battery was the correct, obvious way to go; if the Yankees lose, especially if they lose a low-scoring game, Girardi will be slammed for caring more about Burnett's psyche than Posada's bat. Joe Torre never would have made this move, which might be why it makes perfect sense.

Joe Torre never would have made this move, which might be why it makes perfect sense. A year removed from Torre's fatherly, veteran-friendly regime -- and a year removed from failing to stretch the schedule into October for the first time in 14 seasons -- the Yankees haven't had many kinks to smooth out. But beyond all those post-game pie-in-the-face celebrations throughout the season, the lack of chemistry between Posada and Burnett continued to be a messy inconvenience.

Posada had trouble handling Burnett's wild pitches, his curveballs in the dirt. Burnett had problems with Posada's volatile communicating skills, his in game-managing style. Posada is also a catcher with four rings who is hitting .285 with 22 home runs and 81 RBI. Burnett is a first-year Yankee who is clearly most comfortable making his biggest professional start with Molina, a backup catcher with whom he shares a symbiotic relationship. But Molina also brings a .217 average, one home run and 11 RBI to the equation, a liability the Yankees hope will be hidden amidst all their offensive power.

"It was the manager's decision," said Burnett, but would the manager have made it if Burnett hadn't pushed for it? Or is this more a case of Burnett being so mentally fragile, the manager decided to placate him rather than telling the pitcher to suck it up, stash the attitude and figure how to work with one of the team's most feared hitters? Designated hitter Hideki Matsui didn't make Girardi's verdict any easier; Matsui is hitting .274 with 28 dingers and 90 RBI, meaning Girardi's unlikely to pull him out of the lineup so Posada might DH.

The life of a Yankee manager is never simple. All those riches, all those egos. It's a dilemma other managers would love to experience, and it sure beats having to solve other, more worrisome problems, such as dealing with a player who spends the night before the season's most pivotal game getting legs-up drunk and engaging in a domestic spat with his wife.

Burnett, with the sleeve of tattoos snaking up his arm and his playful initiation of whipped and shaving cream pies to teammates engaged in post-game interviews, looks nothing like the Yankees who so thoroughly dominated the late 1990s. Those Yankees were built in George Steinbrenner's image, a mix of corporate rules and militaristic ideals. Posada was their anchor, along with Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Burnett has never fully explained why his chemistry with Posada is so awkward; perhaps it's a sign of how so much has changed in the Bronx that Burnett doesn't feel the need to adapt to Posada, or shrug away the veteran's defensive limits and throwing tics.

The stats prove what Burnett won't say: in the last six starts Molina has caught for Burnett, the pitcher has gone 3-1 with a 2.92 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting .270 off Burnett in his 16 starts that Posada caught, and just .221 in 11 starts with Molina. Burnett has struck out 77 of 288 batters while throwing to Molina, and whiffed 79 of 434 batters while pitching to Posada.

Burnett and Posada can be as harmonious as two feral cats screeching in the night. Burnett and Molina are melodious without having to work at it, a couple clearly in sync.

"It's his rhythm. The rhythm of wanting the ball and just throwing," Molina said. "He's not thinking, he's just pitching. I think he's in a real good place right now. It's been that way for a month, month and a half. He's the guy that's going to step up in the playoffs."

But which guy will Burnett be? The one who pitched beautiful one-hit shutout ball to beat Boston in early August, with Posada behind the plate? Or the one who two weeks later got shelled against those same Red Sox, giving up nine runs in a 14-1 loss in a game where his issues with Posada were clearly exposed?

For one news cycle Tuesday, it seemed such a pressing deal, a brewing controversy that threatened to take away some of the gloss off what had been such a low-key, trouble-free Yankee season. Posada went from miffed to reasonably disappointed, the expected arc of any veteran who can't abide sitting on a bench. Burnett is a pitcher not afraid to demand his comfort zone, hardly a crime.

Girardi? He's a manager who had to make a tough call, hurt feelings be damned. Nobody said the road to championship No. 27 wouldn't have its share of potholes.