When will Francisco Cervelli catch?
April 7, 2010, 11:00 am by iYankees · 21 Comments
Just a quick thought here—when will Francisco Cervelli, the Yankees’ backup catcher, receive playing time this season? It seems reasonable to assume that, with Jorge Posada closing in on 40 and with questions surrounding his defense (some questions are more legitimate than others), Cervelli, like Jose Molina a season ago, will see significant time behind the plate in 2010. Obviously, day games following night games will serve as a venue for Cervelli, however, Cervelli will catch additional games beyond that. I just wonder when that will be, though.
In 2009, Jose Molina became A.J. Burnett’s regular catcher, and that seemed to work in terms of providing ample playing time to the backup and resting Posada (even if you disagreed with the reasoning behind the pairing, it had it’s share of benefits). Will we see Cervelli become a pitcher’s regular catcher this season, as well? After the Burnett–Posada drama we witnessed through yesterday, it is doubtful that Cervelli would end up being Burnett’s catcher, but could he be used with CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Javier Vazquez, or Phil Hughes? It is definitely possible.
Who would you pair together if you had to choose?
Photo by the AP
