MLB

Posada apologizes; Yankees won’t discipline him

Jorge Posada spent yesterday making amends.

Remorseful over asking out of the lineup Saturday, Posada apologized yesterday to Yankees manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman, blaming a “bad day” and lingering frustration for his actions. The Yankees designated hitter also revealed that he used his back tightness as an excuse not to play.

“I let some people down,” Posada said.

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Posada’s apology set off a chain of goodwill, in contrast to the discord that followed his sitting out Saturday.

The Yankees announced the organization, including ownership, has accepted Posada’s apology and he won’t be disciplined. Both sides were trying to defuse a potentially polarizing issue that threatened the veteran’s reputation and myriad relationships within the team. A team media relations official said the Yankees “consider this matter closed.”

Posada drew a standing ovation from many fans when he pinch-hit for starting designated hitter Andruw Jones against Daniel Bard in the eighth inning of last night’s 7-5 loss to the Red Sox. He walked but was left stranded on first base. In the first inning, Posada earned a roll call acknowledgment from the Bleacher Creatures — and waved from the dugout in response.

Girardi insisted Posada was not starting last night because superb Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester was on the mound. Posada is 0-for-24 against southpaws this season.

“[What happened Saturday] did not factor into my lineup,” Girardi said, adding he had not yet determined if Posada would play tonight against Rays lefty David Price as the Yankees open a two-game series at Tampa Bay.

Posada said after speaking to his personal kitchen cabinet — including his wife, Laura, and Yankees captain Derek Jeter — he concluded he needed to apologize to Girardi and halt any belief that he does not want to continue to play. The manager called the apology “a nice conversation,” describing Posada as “a little emotional.”

“Just had a bad day. Had a bad day [Saturday],” Posada said. “And reflecting on it and stuff, it’s everything. All the frustration just came out.”

Posada reiterated he is fine with batting ninth in the lineup. When asked why he felt compelled to apologize if asking out of Saturday’s game wasn’t about his lineup spot, he said it was because of “the way everything transpired.”

“I think people need to understand how everything has happened and why sometimes frustration just comes out and it did,” he said.

To successfully navigate away from this mess, Posada will have to improve the .165 average he took into yesterday. If not, he will face more lineup cards in which he bats ninth — and possibly a trip to the bench or even a release.

“I have to do what’s best for the team,” Girardi said about where he would hit Posada. “Does Jorge have to like it? No, he doesn’t have to like it. But as I told him [Saturday], I still need him to be productive.”

Girardi declined to reveal how long Posada (who has struck out 30 times in 109 at-bats) would continue to play regularly if his slump persists. Girardi and Cashman, though, both continued to express public confidence that Posada, even at 39, has life in his bat, especially from the left side.

“Yeah, he’s gotten off to a real slow start, but I don’t think that’s how this chapter has to end this year for him,” Girardi said. “I believe that he’s going to turn it around.”

Posada said he did not think he needed to apologize to his teammates. Jeter said he told his close friend that it was unnecessary to apologize to the clubhouse if he simply needed a day to clear his head.

“If I thought he did something wrong,” Jeter said, “I’d be the first to tell him.”

Posada, speaking at his locker about three hours before the game, said that he wants to “move on.”

“I think you learn from your mistakes and I think I’m learning from this,” Posada said. “I think just one of those days that you hope you can take back.”

Additional reporting
by Brian Costello
and Joel Sherman

mark.hale@nypost.com