Ken Davidoff broke down the Yankees postseason roster at Newsday and he believes it could come down to Joe Girardi keeping either Jorge Posada or Eric Chavez.

Let’s take a look at Davidoff’s roster:

The Yankees have gone with 11 pitchers in each of the five postseason series that Joe Girardi has managed. There’s no point speculating on that portion of the roster until we get a better gauge on Phil Hughes . But that leaves 14 spots for position players, and let’s break that down:

Catchers (2): Russell Martin and Austin Romine. Francisco Cervelli‘s concussion means he probably won’t be back for the entire postseason.

Infielders (5) : Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Eduardo Nunez, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira. Nunez pinch hits, pinch runs, hangs around in case of an injury to Jeter or A-Rod and can even play the outfield in an emergency.

Outfielders (4) : Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Andruw Jones, Nick Swisher. Jones probably starts against lefties, with Gardner on the bench, and then Gardner can come in for defense and/or pinch-running.

That’s 11, leaving us with three more spots and four more obvious candidates: Eric Chavez, Chris Dickerson, Jesus Montero and Posada.

Girardi has taken a defensive replacement the last two postseasons. Greg Golson was on last year’s roster while Freddy Guzman was with the 2009 team. That would give Dickerson a great chance to make it. I am all for defense in the postseason and support that thought process. Despite the fact Eduardo Nunez can play third, I think Chavez glove makes it necessary to keep him on the roster. If Alex Rodriguez can’t play the field you trust E-Nunez to field groundballs in a big spot? I don’t and I suspect neither will Girardi.

That means it comes down to Jesus Montero or Jorge Posada. I wonder if there is a way to keep both, especially since Russell Martin is going to catch full time anyway.

Instead of putting Austin Romine on as the backup catcher, you keep both Montero and Posada as the DH/emergency catcher. If Martin gets hurt you simply make a roster move to replace him with Romine for the next series. I actually think Martin is important enough to the staff that an injury to him will make advancement a moot point.

I know Posada has only caught a few innings this year, but I think his veteran leadership and LH bat is valuable coming off the bench. Montero has proven to have the kind of live bat you want as an option as well. Romine, although decent defensively, doesn’t appear to be developed offensively enough to be a viable replacement anyway. Essentially you are keeping him on as the backup/emergency catcher. I think it’s a waste of a roster spot.

***

I am glad to see the Mets embracing changes to Citi Field. We have been discussing this topic on the site since the ballpark opened up in 2009. Everyone, including me, has been trying to use numbers to justify the park’s dimensions. It’s clear the hitters don’t particularly like it, which could become an issue when trying to acquire future players. There is more this than just high wall. Citi Field just isn’t a friendly ballpark. Quite frankly, it’s a cold park. I believed this even in 2010 when they had one of the better home records in baseball.

A lot of that has to do with the fact the team is on its third straight losing season. I do believe, however, the high walls and bland black color give a nice park a somewhat depressing feel. One of the ideas thrown around is to build an 8-foot high wall in front of the 16-foot concrete all that currently exists. You could add seats in that open area (revenue), but also bring fans closer to the action. You almost would be creating a scenario ala Yankee Stadium where the fans in the outfield are often “on-top” of the players.

Another good thing about some of the proposed changes is taking away the Mo Zone and expanding the picnic area out there. Again, that will bring the fans closer to the action and bring ambiance to the ballpark. That whole quirky area could be a berm of some sorts. At the very least they must bring in that 415 marker in right-centerfield.

Finally, would they consider changing the color of the walls to blue, like Shea Stadium? Any rendition that I have seen makes Citi Field look more inviting and bright. The current color scheme is cold and gives me the vibe of a prison.

Would all of this matter if the Mets were heading to the playoffs? Perhaps not. Regardless, I think there are critical issues with this park that Sandy Alderson has rightly decided to change.

***

Not much has been made of the news of the Mets firing their minor league pitching coordinator Rick Tomlin. It was his first year in that position, but Tomlin was with the organization prior to that as the pitching coach for Brooklyn. He replaced Rick Waits when Sandy Alderson took over last fall.

I have been talking about the need to make a change with the pitching philosophy going forward. Mainly, I have discussed replacing Dan Warthen at the big league level. As I have said many times, Warthen is a traditional pitching coach that doesn’t embrace new methods of keeping pitchers healthy and productive. Players haven’t gotten better under him, and some have gotten worse. There really isn’t one young pitcher that has thrived under his tutelage. Two pitchers that thrived under Peterson- John Maine and Oliver Perez- are now essentially out of baseball. Let’s not forget the career- threatening injures to Pedro Feliciano and Johan Santana.

What does this have to do with the firing of Tomlin? The Mets brought in Dave Hudgens last winter at the big league level to establish a hitting philosophy. The Mets have been a team that gets on base and works the count. It seems like the young hitters have improved under the tutelage of Hudgens. I think you have seen the organization mirror similar type of teachings throughout. This type of vertical instruction is the way to build an organizational philosophy so that players come to New York already bought into what they will be taught. It starts, however, with how the big league club plays.

Unfortunately, that is not happening on the pitching side. What is the philosophy? I guarantee no one in the organization can answer this because there isn’t one. The last time there was a pitching philosophy was when Peterson was here in 2008. One of the worst decisions made during Omar Minaya’s regime was to jettison Peterson when he fired Willie Randolph. One had nothing to with the other.

The dismissal of Tomlin tells me Alderson and company recognizes the need for an organization-wide pitching philosophy. The perfect guy for that kind of job is the one that was fired over three years ago.

Hiring Peterson wouldn’t just be about bringing him on as the pitching coach. It would be having him head up what each pitching coach at each level of the organization should be stressing. It would be incorporating an organization wide training program that will allow pitchers to stay healthy.

The Mets don’t just need another pitching coach. They need to bring back their “CEO of pitching” to do to the staff what Hudgens has done to the offense.

***

Seven years ago Terry Francona brought his Boston Red Sox team back from a 3-0 deficit and won Games 6 and 7 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium. The Sox have turned themselves into the Yankees North since that series. Not since the days of Babe Ruth has a manager presided over this type of prosperity in Boston.

That could all change if the Sox don’t make the playoffs this year. Right now they hold a two game lead, but the atmosphere around that team makes you think they are five games back. The Rays, although flawed, seem to have a certain karma and mojo each night. They remind me a bit of the 2007 Phillies, another flawed team that just kept charging until the Mets folded. The Rays are even more dangerous than that group since they have the best starting pitching in the American League.

If the Yankees put a hurt on Francona’s Red Sox this weekend it could signal the beginning of the end of his tenure. Peter Gammons of the MLB Network and NESN believe Francona is “managing for his job.” The Sox were touted to be one of the best teams in baseball but have gone through two odd stretches this year. They started 2-10 and have gone 5-16 this past September. Some are saying the calm and steady leadership of Francona isn’t working with this group. Funny how in the face of injuries last year Francona’s style worked and kept the Sox in the hunt. They had no business winning 89 games in the AL East after losing three major parts of their roster.

Boston, like New York, is a town that needs a scape goat. The manager is always the first target since he is closest to the failure on the field. What Red Sox Nation needs to come to grips with is their pitching is just not that good.  Some of that has to do with health, but the general lack of consistency from the rotation will ultimately be the difference between them and Tampa.

The fact they were thinking about dealing for the Mets Chris Capuano this week tells you how desperate they are for a quality start. No Buchholz, no Dice-K, and a healthy, but unproductive John Lackey is what I would blame for the pending collapse of the 2011 Red Sox. Not Terry Francona.

***

How will the Yankees play this weekend? I could understand how they punted last night’s game with the celebration crust still in their eyes. Even with a healthy lineup they weren’t going to hit Matt Moore who struck out 11 in 5 innings.

I believe Joe Girardi has an obligation to play the games against Boston and Tampa as if they were in the race. He doesn’t need to pitch Mariano Rivera for two-inning saves, but he shouldn’t be sitting out a third of his lineup every night. I don’t think it will be a problem this weekend as the natural rivalry with Boston will take precedence. But I do wonder how he plays the final three games in Tampa next week. He has to worry about the postseason, but he needs to manage these games in a way that doesn’t skew the pennant race.

Another reason I believe Boston is in trouble is because I think the Yankees will have more motivation the next three days than the final three games against Tampa before the ALDS.

I still think the best case scenario for the Yankees is for Tampa to be on the outside looking in. That starting pitching will not be easy to deal with in the postseason.

Of course, the Yanks have handled the Rays rather easily during the regular season so it might not matter. We all know, however, the postseason changes everything.

***

If Girardi’s group lays down for Boston and Tampa I expect the YES gulag to take them to task over it. Imagine if Boston or Tampa did that while the Yanks were fighting for a playoff berth? Michael Kay would call for a congressional investigation.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

Mike Silva

View all posts by Mike Silva
Mikes website

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Citi Field, Citi Field Dimensions and Changes, Dan Warthen, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Rick Peterson, Tampa Bay Rays, Terry Francona, Yankees Postseason Roster