Time for one last volley in the Jorge Posada fiasco he found himself embroiled in with manager Joe Girardi.Derek Jeter inserted himself into the controversy by defending Posada and saying he thought the longtime backstop, in his first year as a full-time DH, did not need to apologize to the team and that Posada should be allowed to take a day to gather himself.
Except he didn't have the full story, so Jeter's comments only served to inflame Yankees brass, who held a conference call with Jeter recently to clear the air.
Jeter told his bosses, according to Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman, that Posada had only told Jeter that he asked for a break -- not that he had refused to play. There's a difference between asking for a break and refusing to play, and Posada crossed that line. After being apprised of the real situation, Jeter was then absolved of any wrongdoing by the brass.
Heyman added that the "underlying issue" is that Posada does not like nor trust Girardi, stemming from when they were teammates. Girardi played for the Yankees from 1996-99, and in that time period was constantly jockeying for playing time with Posada, who was an up-and-coming catcher that eventually received the majority of playing time before Girardi departed. It's easy to see how there could be friction between two former teammates competing for the same job, and there is likely many behind-the-scenes stories we will never hear.
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