In the bottom of the eighth with two outs and the bases loaded, Edwar Ramirez remained in the game to face Mark Teixeira. Yankee fans all over raised a collective eyebrow as Mariano Rivera sat in the bullpen. Now, we learn that he’s simply going through his routine August injury period. Rivera is day-to-day with back spasms. The future Hall of Famer says he first felt the pain after losing Friday’s game and couldn’t get loose before the game today. He along with the rest of us hopes to get back on the field tomorrow.

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After originally expected to return to the rotation in early September, Chien-Ming Wang will now be out until at least October. Joe Girardi has been incredibly optimistic with regards to injuries so far (”Jorge will just need a couple of days”), but he broke the news yesterday. While we all dispise Wang’s replacement, Sid Ponson, don’t forget that CMW had been getting pounded for more than a month prior to the injury.

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The next time Jorge Posada plays in a game for the New York Yankees, he will be nearly eight months past his 37th birthday. The next time Jorge Posada plays in a game for the New York Yankees, he will expect to be the starting catcher with three years and $39.3 million left on his contract. The next time Jorge Posada plays in a game for the New York Yankees, the debate over his contract will have more than run its course.

But let’s begin. We start prior to last season when the Yankees were hesitant to sign either of their two veteran free agents-to-be to long-term contracts. Both Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada were due for a pay raise by the end of 2007, but the Yankees, rightly concerned about their ages, opted to negotiate after the season. While Rivera had a sub-par year (for him, at least), he was handsomely rewarded and has earned his keep this season.

Posada, on the other hand, starred in a whole different tale. Jorge had a career year in 2007, turning in an MVP-caliber .338/.426/.543 line and a 154 OPS+. Always valued for his bat, Posada really took his game to the next level, and the Yanks paid dearly for it. Jorge inked a four-year, $52.4 million deal and promptly injured his throwing arm during the first game of the season.

When the Yanks signed Posada to the deal, baseball analysts were surprised. Giving a 36-year-old catcher a four-year, $52.4-million contract is hardly a sound baseball move, but the Yankees, with their deep pockets, knew they were paying for one of the team’s key leaders and offensive movers. They knew that Posada, by the end of the deal, would hardly be a viable option behind the plate, but they also knew that Posada, due to an early-career platoon with now-manager Joe Girardi, didn’t have as much wear and tear on his legs as other 36-year-old catchers.

Today, Posada’s 2008 is a far cry from his 2007. He managed just 234.2 innings behind the dish and just 195 plate appearances. His throwing, sapped by a seriously damaged shoulder, was impacted, and his power was nearly gone by the time he opted for season-ending surgery. The .268/.364/.411 is well below Jorge’s normal production levels.

Already, critics of the Posada deal are howling about the Yanks’ wasted money. What team in its right mind would ink a 36-year-old catcher to such an exorbitant deal? This injury, they say, is just indicative of things to come.

Now, I admit that a four-year deal for a catcher may not have been the wisest, but I believe, for now, that line of thinking to be spurious. Posada injured himself in a way no one expected and in a way not usually associated with aging catchers. He threw out his shoulder. It happens to outfielders and pitchers. It could happen to Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez tomorrow.

The real question concerning Posada’s deal will come in his recovery. If the doctors can clean up his labrum and if he can rehab himself back to full strength, then the deal will have looked bad for one year. If he can come back and hit, all will be forgotten. His value, after all, lies in his bat. But if this injury impacts the rest of his career, then we can bemoan the contract.

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Phil Hughes‘ return to game action after missing three months with a fractured rib is going to have to wait one more day because today’s Gulf Coast League game was postponed due to rain. I’m guessing they’ll just push him back to tomorrow, and push Carl Pavano’s scheduled rehab appearance back to Wednesday, assuming he doesn’t give himself a concussion brushing his teeth first.

I apologize if I gave you a heart attack with the title.

Update (2:00): Nevermind, looks like he’s going to make the 35 minute trip with the High-A Tampa Yanks and pitch tonight in Lakeland instead. The rain is supposed to let up a little later tonight.

Update (2:25): Scratch that. Both Hughes & Pavano will pitch tomorrow for Low-A Charleston.

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The Yankees today sit at something of a crossroad in 2008. They are on the verge of an important three-game set against the Red Sox in Boston. They’ve gained a lot of ground in both the division and Wild Card and could see their play this weekend determine whether they are pretenders or contenders.

Meanwhile, one of their star players and biggest money-makers, number 20 himself, Jorge Posada has a decision to make as well. On the one hand, we have doctors — many of them — calling for Posada to get surgery. It is a foregone conclusion that, at some point, he will need surgery on his ailing shoulder, and recovery time for this surgery is at least six months. If he has the operation now, he’ll be ready for the start of Spring Training if all goes according to plan. His window for this decision is about two weeks.

But at the same time, Jorge Posada sees the Yankees winning and doesn’t want to give up. He also knows that the Yankees rewarded him with a high-risk, four-year contract. While this shoulder injury isn’t indicative of the problems likely to show up in the latter years of the contract, that Posada is missing so much time at age 36 is sending off alarm bells left and right.

To that end, Jorge is considing a position change that would keep him in the lineup. He might play first; he might DH; he won’t be catching. Some reports have pressure on Posada originated with Yanks’ Team President Randy Levine. Others have it coming from Jorge himself and his desire to play.

But the reality is that the Yankees need Jorge Posada to be healthy for next season. They don’t need him to delay surgery, and they know that his bat isn’t what it should be with his shoulder hurting. In fact, Jorge has said so himself, and the numbers bear him out. Since returning from the DL in June, Jorge has hit .248/.380/.371 over 129 plate appearances. Since July 1, those numbers — .214/.365/.262 — look even worse.

For the Yankees and for Jorge, it’s not worth the risk. Posada should get the surgery and come back next year. The Yankees — 6-0 in the last six games — can win without Jorge, but next year, they’ll need him healthy and ready to go.

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We interrupt our slam Jason Varitek All Star Game coverage to bring you some not-so-great news on a few injured Yankees. Via the AP:

Matsui did not hit Tuesday after experiencing additional discomfort in his sore left knee. The Yankees had hoped he might be ready to return when eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list on Friday.

“Perhaps you can say so, it’s a short-term setback,” Matsui said through a translator at the Yankees’ minor league complex. “I’m going to hit tomorrow, that’s the plan anyway.”

Damon, eligible to be activated from the DL on Sunday, continues to have soreness in his injured left shoulder, and won’t likely start hitting off a tee until at least late this week. He underwent treatment only on Tuesday.

“It feels a little better today,” Damon said. “It still feels horrible waking up. I’m still kind of down because I know (Yankees manager Joe) Girardi wants to put me in the lineup on Sunday and I’m not sure we can do that.”

Damon’s news is being reported as a “setback,” but I don’t think that’s entirely accurate. His injury hasn’t gotten worse; it just isn’t getting better as quickly as he and the Yanks had hoped it would. Matsui’s knee and his progress, however, should probably be regarded as a setback, and at this point, I’m skeptical that we’ll see Matsui back in the Bronx before 2009.

With this news, the Yankees are obviously going to have to face a tough decision. While I’m not sold on his long-term prospects, it does make sense to give Richie Sexson a look at DH/1B in a platoon situation. Otherwise, we’ll be stuck with Wilson Betemit in the lineup nearly everyday. Meanwhile, the Yanks will continue to mix and match with Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera and Justin Christian until Damon recovers. Tough times for the outfield.

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From the D-Backs’ official site: “[Catcher Chris] Snyder was hit by a foul ball off the bat of Milwaukee outfielder Corey Hart in the fourth inning. Snyder was diagnosed with a left testicular fracture and will have surgery on Wednesday.” And you thought what happened to Jose Molina the other day was bad.

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Last weekend, a visibly hurting Hideki Matsui limped down the stairs of the Yankee dugout after grounding into a double play against the Reds. Today, we hear that Matsui may land on the DL. The Yankees have to make a bunch of roster moves on Friday prior to Sidney Ponson’s activation, and one of them could include a shelving of Matsui, retroactive to Monday. Expect Shelley Duncan — a bat — to take the place of the DH. Brett Gardner, your day will come.

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When I first posted my instant analysis on Chien-Ming Wang’s injury on Sunday afternoon, I pointed my finger at the inanities of Interleague Play. The marketing gimmick, I argued before getting refuted by the commenters here, unnecessarily puts American League pitchers at risk. While these athletes are in fine shape, they aren’t used to the act of running the bases. It’s not one of the five tools for nothing.

While it’s hard to argue that Wang’s injury was directly a result of Interleague Play and his running the bases, it was only the second time in his professional career that Chien-Ming Wang found himself on base. That is not a comforting thought for anyone relying on the health of the Yankees ace. As luck would have it, the Yanks caught a very bad break, and Wang finds himself out until, by all indications, at least September.

While Yankee fans are being surprisingly stoic about this spin of the wheel of fortune, the Big Mouth of the Yankees, Hank Steinbrenner himself, had a few ridiculous choice words for the rules of the Senior Circuit. Said Hank:

“My only message is simple: The National League needs to join the 21st century. They need to grow up and join the 21st century. I’ve got my pitchers running the bases, and one of them gets hurt. He’s going to be out. I don’t like that, and it’s about time they address it. That was a rule from the 1800s…

“This is always a concern of American League teams when their pitchers have to run the bases and they’re not used to doing it. It’s not just us. It’s everybody. It probably should be a concern for National League owners, general managers and managers when their pitchers run the bases. Pitchers have enough to do without having to do that.”

Setting aside the fact that the DH is from 1973, and pitchers used to bat in both leagues for decades prior to that, Hank, through the bluster, does raise something of a point. When Major League teams invest so heavily in pitching and pay through the nose for guys at the top of the game, all General Managers must cringe in agony every time one of their hurlers takes a big hack or winds up on base. Whether or not that’s good for the game is another matter.

For Hank, this is just more of the same. He likes to sound off, and it doesn’t impact anything other than the number of papers sold in New York, the ratings of the FAN and the general perception of Steinbrenner in the eyes of everyone else.

From a practical matter, the Yankees are going to have to proceed carefully. As foot guru Dr. Philip Kwong told BP’s Will Carroll today, the Yankees have to make sure Wang’s injury is 100 percent healed before he does anything else because the risk of chronic injury is very high. Carroll speculates that the Yanks’ record will dictate how they rehab their young ace, and I would be surprised to see Wang pitch again this season. He’s just that important next year.

The injury was horrendously bad luck, and we can harbor resentment toward the NL. Maybe it’s time to revisit that age-old DH debate or maybe not. But one thing is for sure: Hank Steinbrenner makes for great copy.

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Take a deep breath, and then read this from the Yankees:

Imaging studies revealed a mid-foot sprain of the Lisfranc ligament of the right foot and a partial tear of the peroneal longus tendon of the right foot.

Wang will be on crutches and wear a protective boot for a minimum of six weeks.

With a rehab period of three to four weeks, Wang won’t be back in a Major League game until late August at the earliest. Considering that Wang hurt his foot while rounding third base yesterday — just the second time ever the Yanks’ ace has ran the bases — this is just terrible, terrible luck for the Yankees.

But they can win without him. Let’s not lose sight of that fact.

What they do in the meantime however with regards to pitching will be speak volumes of the philosophy the Yankees are opting to pursue. Brian Cashman knows as well as anyone else that one of the greatest benefits of a strong farm system is being in a position to acquire Major League talent via a trade, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Yanks make a move for some pitcher whether it’s C.C. Sabathia, Derek Lowe or someone completely off our radar.

Meanwhile, the timing of Joba’s move to the rotation could not have been better. Just know that the Yanks have the pieces to weather this storm. Have some faith.

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