With no Martin, Posada insurance behind plate

Russell Martin missed his third straight game with back stiffness Friday night, but Joe Girardi isn’t concerned about getting another catcher from Triple-A. Not with his old catcher, Jorge Posada, still on the roster.

Martin said he planned to hit and throw Saturday and could be ready to return Sunday.

“I still think we’re OK for a while, just because we do have Jorge in case of emergency,” Girardi said. “It’d be different if we didn’t have Jorge.”

Of course, Posada hasn’t crouched behind a plate anywhere since the season began — not even in the bullpen.

“If we’re using him, it’ll be like an emergency situation where he’d have to catch a couple innings,” Girardi said. “My hope is he hasn’t forgotten.”

But it doesn’t seem that will be necessary with Francisco Cervelli doing the catching and Martin’s return getting closer.

“Still a little bit of discomfort, but compared to the first couple of days, it's night and day,” Martin said.