Jorge pulls himself from lineup...wrong on so many levels

So before yesterday's Red Sox/Yankees game, Jorge Posada saw that he was batting ninth, and decided to remove himself from the lineup.  He apparently told Joe Girardi that he needed a mental day off.  During the game, his wife tweeted that he had a stiff back.  And of course, all the media outlets have reported that he is batting less than .200.  The only person who knows the truth, is Jorge Posada.

Now here is one of the reasons this is wrong.  Unless you are injured, you play.  You are Jorge Posada.  You have been with the Yankees since '95/'96.  The only way to get out of a slump and improve your batting average, is to play.  You can't get hits sitting on the bench.  Have some respect for your fans, your team, and yourself.  If you don't want to play because you don't think you can hit, then it's time to retire.  Especially when you are the designated hitter.  If you don't want to hit, there is no point to being on the team.  You can't help them.

Now the other reason why this is wrong.  Brian Cashman, why did you decide to make this known to the public.  You are the general manager of this team, do your job.  Protect your team.  There is no need to bring this to the media's attention.  You just created a firestorm or questions and scrutiny.  Maybe you did it because you wanted people talking about your team, and I get that.  But the Yankees already have so many haters, you don't need any more.  If you want people talking about your team, you need it to be in a positive light.

So here's my take on it.  If you are a baseball player, you play.  Simple as that.  And if you are front office staff, you keep clubhouse issues in the clubhouse.