Hi! My Name Is: Jorge Posada (C)

Each day, "Piss and Wynegar" will present Yankees "player previews" for the coming 2008 season. In what can only be referred to as a "revelatory" strategy, we will use statistics, as well as opinion, to further our analysis.

Starting in about July of last season, we began to lament the torrid start to which Jorge Posada had gotten off. We believed, as had been demonstrated in the past, that Jorge was destined to “regress to the mean” and finish the year mired in a slump that would see his offensive production fall off the face of the Earth and land him at the usual .275 / .380 / .480. Much to our surprise, though, Jorge not only maintained his performance, he was still improving at the end of September.

If ever evidence is compiled to prove the existence of “contract year magic,” those compilers will look no further than to the 2007 version of Jorge Posada. His OBP (.426) was forty-five points above his career average, while his SLG (.543) and AVG (.338) were both sixty points above his career average. Add in a career-high in hits (171, which demolished his previous personal best by 26) and you can write your own check And, ostensibly, Jorge did just that, as he was able to finagle a fourth year out of an already lucrative deal that has made him the highest paid catcher in history.

As the crow flies, Posada is due for a statistical drop-off in ‘08. No 36-year-old player – a catcher, no less – can be expected to buck his well-established offensive trends for more than a year. And, most likely, by the time 2011 rolls around and Posada is 40, has had two knee replacement surgeries, and is one of four Yankees designated hitters, NY sports radio callers will be cursing the contract, as all long-term deals to aging players are eventually cursed. But, at least, Jorge is our aging superstar. We watched him grow and, by God, we will watch him wither and die.

To read earlier "Hi! My Name Is" entries, click here.