The unease of dealing with aging stars

Things are getting ugly with two Yankee legends, Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter. Posada is hitting .183 (with a .672 OPS) as of today, and Jeter is hitting .257 (.636 OPS). These two are the last remaining parts of the Yankee dynasty - along with Mariano Rivera of course - but Mo is as good as ever so doesn’t belong in this discussion.

So, what to do about Posada and Jeter? In a way, the Yanks are in danger of becoming victims of their own success. You can’t just boot a legend out the door, can you? To what point do you let them dictate their final years? As South Park's Funnybot said..."Awkward."

Posada and Jeter gave the Yankees many great seasons that will never be forgotten. But no one owes anybody here - they were paid handsomely for those years, and no one is above the team. I forgot who I first heard say it, but I'll repeat it here: If a legend, rather than a team, was the one to choose when it's time to go, Reggie Jackson would still be playing left field for the Yankees.

I’ve almost accepted the fate that the Yankees are going to miss the playoffs this year, thanks largely in part to Jeter and Posada being so subpar that they’re going to cost the Yankees several wins this season that “league average” players would not have lost in their place. And if these two suddenly go on a tear and play like it’s 1998 again, I’ll be happy to be wrong. But if they don’t recapture their career averages or anything close to them by the end of the season, I hope they’ll do the right thing and retire.

Thanks for the memories guys. But it’s almost time to go.

Side note: Whenever I hear the term “Core Four” used in reference to Rivera, Jeter, Posada, and Andy Pettitte, even now that Pettitte is retired, I always feel like they’re overlooking Bernie Williams. Williams also came up through the Yankees minor league system, was present for all four championships between 1996 and 2000, and played as big a part in winning them as anybody. But unlike Pettitte, Williams didn’t run off to Houston for 3 years with his buddy Roger Clemens (who was totally NAWT a true Yankee).