Yesterday’s boxscore: Posey went 1 for 2 as the designated hitter. And as Rainman pointed out in yesterday’s comments, Buster had two passed balls behind the plate in Tuesday’s game. That makes seven total.
Questions to ponder: Could all the passed balls be a case of the yips? If it’s psychological, is he showing other signs like the infamous “Mackey Sasser disease”? If someone wants to buy me a ticket to Hawaii, I’m happy to do a little scouting.
Or, if his problems are physical, could it simply be that he’s been playing ball all year, he’s worn out, and not moving well behind the plate? Or is Posey suddenly confronted with sliders and curves that break more than anything he ever saw in college? Often prospects don’t pan out because they never catch up to the “game speed” at higher levels.
As for a possible position change, we know he started his career at Florida State as a shortstop. Skills-wise, it’s unlikely he can jump back there as a professional and give the Giants the necessary defense. If he can, more power to him. But more likely is a move to second base, a la Craig Biggio, where Posey’s projected bat skills — high average, decent but not overwhelming power — would play quite nicely.
For all my speculative muck-stirring, let me state I don’t want him to change positions. Any sign of him doing so this fall or next spring would smack of panic on the Giants’ part. Let him finish the fall campaign, go home and rest a couple months, then see how he does in early spring, his body and mind refreshed.
P.M. UPDATE: Joe Sheehan of Baseball Prospectus writes an excellent column today. First, he points out that B.J. Upton’s lack of hustle on two ground-ball double plays might have cost the Rays dearly. Second, he writes this about last night’s sloppy play:
Maybe we're finally reaching the point where the time between innings is affecting focus—there was at least one inning where every player on the field was ready to go, and just waiting for permission from Fox to play, permission which came only after an awkward full minute.
Perhaps in the next TV contract, MLB should trade some short-term profit in exchange for getting back a measure of control over the presentation of its product. That's anathema to the current administration, but it's clear that we're about at the breaking point when it comes to TV's impact on the game, and especially the postseason. The elongated commercial breaks have been extended too far.
