by Marc Carig
TAMPA, Fla. -- Jorge Posada declared himself 100 percent on Sunday. The results made it difficult to argue with him.
The New York Yankees catcher offered solid evidence that his surgically repaired right shoulder will stand up to the rigors of 110 games this season - as the organization is hoping - throwing out three of four baserunners during a minor league exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates."Now you know you can trust your arm again," Posada said. "That's all I wanted to do, come out of spring training knowing that I could trust my arm."
Entering the game, Posada was 0-for-4 for the spring. That number climbed to 0-for-5 when Posada threw high and wide of second base, allowing Pittsburgh minor leaguer Gemmy Gonzales to steal the bag. But Posada made an adjustment, slowing down his thoughts, which allowed him to set his feet. With a solid foundation, Posada let loose with accurate throws across the diamond.
The results were immediate: Gonzalez, Shelby Ford (yes, kind of like the car) and Brian Friday all got great jumps off first base against Posada and his batterymate, CC Sabathia. Didn't matter. Posada nailed all three with strong, accurate, throws.
"You can't compare what I was feeling last year," said Posada, who played through his shoulder injury before shutting it down last season. "I couldn't do that, I couldn't make three throws like that."
Speaking of Sabathia, he got a bit of a workout, throwing 81 pitches in five innings. Working in front of an audience that included his wife and kids, Sabathia allowed a run on seven hits with three strikeouts and a walk. He seems to be progressing along as expected.
Though manager Joe Girardi refuses to just name Sabathia the Opening Day starter, the skipper noted this morning that Sabathia is on turn to be the guy.
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