Why Is Moeller Still Here?

After an early season shoulder injury Jorge Posada was cleared to come off the DL on June 5. He played that day against the Toronto Blue Jays and went 1-for-3 with a walk. He's supposedly been healthy since then, but backup catcher Jose Molina has been getting regular playing time behind the plate and emergency catcher Chad Moeller is still on the roster. After a months time people are starting to ask the obvious question, what is Moeller still doing here? The answer might be that Posada is still hurt even though yesterday he told a NY Post reporter that he's fine. He can still DH and even play first, but it is becoming obvious that the Yankees don't trust his shoulder to throw out base runners. Which might be the reason why Molina has started four games in a row behind the plate and Posada has served as the teams DH against in important games against division rivals. With Hideki Matsui out Yankee fans would probably be wise to consider Posada the teams official DH. Especially as long as they carry Moeller on the roster. If you think otherwise consider this, Posada has thrown out a measly seven base runners in 37 attempts this season and only three in 33 attempts since coming back from his DL stint. Good for .189 percent, his career low was in 1997, his rookie season, when he only threw out .200 percent of runners. In Molina you have nearly the exact opposite. There haven't been many better at throwing out runners this season, in fact he's been the best in baseball. He's putting up .490 percent or he has caught 24 of 50 runners going on him this year. The next best is Jason Kendall of Milwaukee who's caught 22 of 48 runners at .458 percent. To make matters even worse is Moeller is just taking up space on the roster. Since Posada's return Moeller has not started in any games and only appeared in eight games as a late inning defensive replacement. So in essence as long as Posada's shoulder is not game ready the Yankees will be playing with a 24-man roster. So when can we expect the teary eyed farewell to our friend Chad Moeller? Posada's answer to when he'll return to regular catching duty is probably the answer, "I have no idea." Until the Yankees do bid adieu to Moeller the bench will continue to be one of the worst in the league: Moeller, Wilson Betemit, and Justin Christian. Talk about a versatile bench filled with power, speed, and defensive ability.