BOSTON — It’s not exactly Elin and Tiger Woods getting back together, but tomorrow night there will be a significant Yankees reunion at Fenway Park.
That’s when A.J. Burnett and Jorge Posada will be the Yankees’ battery for the first time in a regular season game since Sept. 1.
Burnett only can hope Posada will play better defensively than he did in the Yankees’ 9-7 opening-night loss to the Red Sox.
With the score tied 7-7 and Kevin Youkilis on second and David Ortiz at the plate, the Red Sox scored the go-ahead run without hitting the ball. First, Damaso Marte threw a wild pitch, moving Youkilis to third. Later in the at-bat, Posada failed to snag Marte’s high fastball, and was charged with a passed ball as Youkilis scored to give the Red Sox an 8-7 lead.
Much was made of Burnett and Posada not being able to work together last year, when Jose Molina, then the back-up, caught for the right-hander in his last six regular-season starts and throughout the postseason.
The rift started after Burnett flushed a 6-0 lead his mates got for him against Red Sox ace Josh Beckett last April 25 at Fenway Park. Burnett allowed eight runs in five innings, including a grand slam to Jason Varitek in a five-run fourth, and the Yankees ended up losing that game, 16-11.
“There were a couple of pitches I threw that I wouldn’t have thrown,” Burnett said. “I have to be better than that. I have to know Varitek is going to be aggressive. I have to be smarter than that to groove the first pitch. If I had to do it over again I wouldn’t have thrown a heater.”
Burnett, who gave up 10 hits, walked four and hit a batter, put the onus on himself.
“Jorge did an outstanding job, that’s not on him, that’s on me,” Burnett said.
According to each party, the relationship was never fractured. In fact, Posada said Burnett told him that he wanted Posada to catch him in the postseason.
“He wanted me back behind the plate, but we were winning ball games and I am happy with that,” Posada said.
Asked why it became an issue in October, Posada said, “[Manager Joe] Girardi would be the perfect guy to answer that.”
Girardi said because it was the Yankees, the issue was bigger than it would have been in other places.
“There have been a lot of guys who have had different catchers than the starting catcher,” Girardi said. “Greg Maddux did it all the time and it was not a huge story in Atlanta. Randy Johnson always had one wherever he was at. It wasn’t a huge story in Arizona. I think it took on a bigger picture because we are in New York. It was an emotional time, we were fighting for the division and nearing the playoffs. It became a big story, but as far as them having a problem I wasn’t concerned about that.”
Molina has been replaced by neophyte Francisco Cervelli and the Posada-Burnett relationship flourished in spring training.
“We talked to each other, ‘What can I do to help you?’ ” Burnett said. “There were little things we talked about to help us out. I noticed he is a lot more comfortable back there.”