Posada feels OK; Yankees will be cautious

ARLINGTON, Texas - Jorge Posada felt good on the flight here Thursday. He said the effects he's felt from past blows to the head haven't been apparent this time. But the Yankees are taking the cautious - and probably prudent - approach because of his concussion history.

Though Posada said he showed up at the ballpark Friday hoping he'd be in the lineup, and although he was considered available to pinch hit, he likely won't be back behind the plate until Sunday. "I could have played today," Posada said before the game. "Geno [trainer Gene Monahan] wanted me to take a couple more days."

After getting hit in the mask with a foul tip Tuesday, Posada was said to be having "concussion symptoms'' Wednesday, but he said he didn't feel the way he had when he suffered concussions in the past.

By his estimate, he's had three concussions that were diagnosed as such in his career, most recently in September 2007, when Boston's Eric Hinske ran him over at the plate during a game at Fenway Park.

"I've experienced them before," he said. "You get the headaches, you get a little foggy and stuff, but I haven't felt like that this time, so I'm not concerned."

The Yankees felt good enough about Posada to let him fly from New York to Texas, usually not prescribed for those have suffered recent blows to the head - as the Mets' Ryan Church (2008) and Jason Bay (2010) can attest. "I felt fine," Posada said.

Posada didn't seem as upset about sitting as he did when he was rested for various ailments in the past. "This is serious stuff," he said of concussions.

The Yankees sent Posada to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for neurological tests Wednesday afternoon after he showed up that morning saying he had not slept well Tuesday and that he felt "weird.'' The tests were negative.

"I didn't feel good after the game," he said. "I didn't sleep a whole lot on Tuesday night. Other than that, I didn't experience anything different than a normal headache and nothing that was a concern."

Manager Joe Girardi mentioned Church and Bay, as well as the Twins' Justin Morneau, while discussing why the Yankees are being cautious.

"Our fear is if he takes another foul ball [off the mask],'' Girardi said. "We've seen what has happened to some of these guys who have recently gotten concussions, how long it takes them to come back. Justin Morneau has been out since before the All-Star break. Jason Bay is done for the year. We saw what happened to Ryan Church a couple years ago. It's scary. And Jorgie's had three or four in the past, so that is our big concern . . . Our concern is if he gets hit again, do we lose him for an extended period of time?"

Of course, once Posada gets back, there's not much that can be done to prevent something like what happened Tuesday - or in 2007 in Boston, for that matter - from happening again.

"It's the nature of the position," said Girardi, a former catcher. "Where he plays, it's nothing you can guard against."

Posada shrugged, as he always does when he gets nicked up behind the plate.

"It's part of being back there," he said. "You are going to get hit."