What are the chances of the New York Yankees beating the Minnesota Twins with Jose Molina catching A.J. Burnett tomorrow night? I say good. In A.J. Burnett’s last four games of the regular season, he pitched very well. In fact, I would go as far as to say that he dominated. If you go back to September 1st, he’s been inconsistent but that’s because he’s had two different catchers. From September 1st to October 4rth, the most earned runs he gave up were two when he had Jose Molina catching. He pitched great against the Rays, Mariners, the Angels, the Royals and the Rays again. When he had Jorge catching him, he gave up six earned runs twice, to the Baltimore Orioles. Maybe he doesn’t like pitching against the Orioles? I’m not sure but he did pitch well against the Orioles with Jorge catching him back on July 22 when he gave up only two earned runs. Still, it’s what have you done for me lately and lately, Jorge hasn’t been catching Burnett very well. If you go back to August 22nd when the Yankees faced the Red Sox and Jorge caught Burnett, they got destroyed by the score of 14-1 and Burnett gave up nine earned runs. I’ve heard the argument, “What about losing Jorge’s bat in the lineup for the playoffs?” Well would you rather play a game where your back up catcher gives you nothing but your pitching excels or would you rather have a catcher that “might” give you a home run but have your starting pitching get rocked? I think the answer is pretty obvious. What you give up with Molina’s bat gives you a better chance at a great pitching performance than having to play catch up all game with your bats. A.J. Burnett faced the Minnesota Twins once this year and that was on May 17, a long time ago. He only gave up two earned runs but got a no decision. Kevin Cash and Francisco Cervelli caught Burnett that day. I don’t think Joe is using that game as a reason “not” to use Posada, I think he’s using recent success by Burnett with Molina. I think you can say that Joe Girardi is using common sense to use Jose Molina when Burnett pitches in the playoffs. The numbers don’t lie and if we used Jorge tomorrow night to satisfy his ego, the Yankees could lose the series. Joe is doing the right thing.
