Jorge Posada Should Have Used a List

I’ll be the first to say — I’m not a sports fan.  But I’m married to a sports anchor so I need to be somewhat informed about what’s going on in the sports world.  So I know some serious stuff went down with Jorge Posada and the Yankees this past weekend.

Since starting this blog people who aren’t list makers have been giving it a try — including my husband!  Here’s his take on why Jorge Posada (or anyone facing a difficult situation really) would have benefited from doing the same thing.

Jorge Posada Should Have Used a List

by Jay Berman

New York Yankees aging star Jorge Posada might have been better served with a “cooler heads prevail”-type checklist this past Saturday night. Instead — the selfish jock made a mockery of the sport, his bosses, his teammates, and the fans by asking out of the line-up due to his disapproval of his scheduled spot in the batting order. Ironic how the man with the most experience on the sports most celebrated team shows his true colors by acting immature and childish.

Of course, a quandary of this magnitude, could have been easily avoided with the proper checklist!

1) Take a Deep Breath: This is the easiest one and clearly the one Jorge missed the most. A calming deep breath and “let me take 24 hours” approach would have made this entire spat far from back and front page material. Certainly his apology and admittance of his mistake less than 24 hours later prove this.

2) Digest the Facts: The 39-year-old had a batting average of .165 before the game. This average is well below what a player needs to sustain playing time in the major leagues. Think about it like this…That means Posada was making an out nearly 85 percent of the time he came to the plate. Far from acceptable.

3) Consult the Family: Despite Laura Posada, Jorge’s wife, tweeting during the game that his back was stiff — not his ego — Jorge would have certainly benefited from a conversation with his closest allies. Spouses tend to “talk you off the ledge” more often than not. In fact, the tweeting of the bad back suggests Laura would have given him the proper advice before the major meltdown. Her “back” story shows she would come to his aid regardless of the reason and we have to assume that a “sit down” before the cat got out would have done them both a world of good.

4) Rely on the Experienced: One thing the Yankees are not — is young. But their longevity would have helped Posada immensely in this case. Experience, for the most part, in professional sports is a good thing. The older and wiser you are — the more appropriate your decision making. Jorge could have confided in teammates such as Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Both have been close friends to him and both, we have to assume, would have given him the proper direction on this. The answers to the toughest questions are always closer then you might think!

5) Think About Your Legacy: Sure — Posada is part of what fans refer to as the “core four.” For non-sports fans like my wife — that’s Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. That four is now three with the retirement of Andy Pettitte but it might it might be hard for Yankee fans to forget about this debacle.

They should — considering Posada’s been great for nearly two decades but can you blame them for not being able to forget about this? Especially considering the “what have you done for me lately” mentality in pro sports and especially in the most controversial of cities. You have to believe that Jorge would be deeply saddened to learn that this stunt might be remembered for a long time. We all agree it could have and should have been avoided.

Next time Jorge…please use a checklist before making a big mistake!

Jay Berman is currently an anchor/host at MLB.com and a sports update anchor at 1010 WINS and Bloomberg Radio in New York City.  Follow Jay on Twitter and check out his site for more: www.jaybermansports.com

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