Jorgie Boy has long been one of my modern-day Yankees faves, impressing me with his dont-you-dare-steal-on-my-watch throwing skills and his ability to bat equally well from both sides of the plate (a highly underrated and all too rare talent, in my un-humble opinion), not to mention the sizeable corner he carved for himself in my sentimental heart thanks to his dedication to his once-ailing son and subsequent ongoing charity involvement; his obvious love for the game and unwavering support for his teammates (save for Farnsworthless, for whom Jorgie reserves all of his bitterness and disgust, a move which no sane person could disagree) make him an easy player to love. He also has the distinction of being one of the few veterans in the entire league to play for just one team throughout his career, but like all contracts must (well, except for Bobby Bonilla's with the Mets, but that deal defies logic on such a superhuman level I shan't even delve into it) Jorgie's is coming to an end after this season, leaving him available for the taking/signing. A catcher that is more than simply "servicable" both at the plate and behind it is as tough to come by as decent closer these days, and there is no doubt that Posada would have been a hot commodity on the free market if his 2007 season numbers had been on par with what he's been doing since joining the Yanks way back in '96.

I say that he "would have been" a hot commodity because the way he's played this year has skyrocked his market value from "hot commodity" to "sure to draw $15 mil" status. Jorgie, who in 10+ years of service with the Yanks never had a .300 season, busted loose this year in truly unprecedented fashion. He's hitting .339 on the season (.338 as a lefty and .339 righty) and getting on base at a .425 clip with 20 homers, 40 doubles and 85 RBI (not to mention the 2 stolen bases!!! Wooot!!!), and these numbers are not the result of one or two good months - he's been spot on consistently all year!

Jorgies great performance could not have come at a better time for the Yankees, who, without his consistency and incredible average and OBP most likely would not be in a position to make it to October. For Posada, his performance really couldn't have come at a better time - like so many others, Jorgie has used his contract year to boost his market value. I would imagine that the Yankees will be more than willing to pony up the big bucks for the man, because as I mentioned, good catchers are hard to come by... and good catchers with the dedication and ability to bust out a .339 year at 36 are surely worth a few extra bucks.