Posada forced to accept diminished role

Once again, Jorge Posada's name was not in the lineup that Joe Girardi had posted on the Yankees' clubhouse door. And once again, Posada made it clear Tuesday that he is having a hard time accepting the fact that he has been benched.

"I'm not happy with it," said Posada, who was originally told by Girardi before Sunday night's game against the Red Sox that he would no longer be the team's designated hitter against righthanders. "I don't need to tell you again I'm not happy with it. But I'm moving on, and I'll be ready to play whenever I happen to play."

Posada has been a mainstay in the lineup since 1997 when he split time at catcher with Girardi, who was then the Yankees' veteran catcher. This season, his first as a DH, Posada was hitting .230 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs when he was benched.

Girardi gave Posada the bad news in a pregame meeting Sunday night. When asked Tuesday if he had had a chance since then to plead his case, Posada said he didn't think there was anything he could say now to change Girardi's mind.

"I can't do anything about it," he said. "We talked about it on Sunday. He told me what he felt, and that was it. I just gotta go out there and play whenever they give me a chance. Like I said, I'll just be ready when they put me in there."

Posada, 39, is in the last year of his contract, and it appears doubtful that he will return to the team next season. Posada said Sunday that Girardi told him that he was putting his best lineup on the field and that he didn't know when Posada would be back in it again. Eric Chavez was the team's designated hitter for both Sunday and Tuesday night's game.

"I'm on the bench until whenever they need me," Posada said when asked if his new role had been defined.

When asked when Posada might see playing time again, Girardi avoided specifics.

"I can't tell you exactly where I'm going to use Jorge," he said "You know the important thing is that he's prepared to play every day, and I'll give him a head's up . . . I still think he's going to be a part of this. I just can't tell you exactly whether it's tomorrow, the next day or when it will be."

Girardi said that it is understandable that Posada would be upset by the decision, adding that it had been difficult for him years ago when he first started sharing time with Posada.

Said Girardi: "You wouldn't expect any player to be happy if he's taken from a role. When I was a full-time catcher and reduced to less catching, I didn't like it. I just kept working at it and trying to get better. And as a player that's really the only thing that you can do."