Last year Jorge Posada had a monster season.  He set career highs in the hits, doubles, and BA categories.  He was rewarded in the off-season with a rather large four-year contract.

The Yankees and their fans expected a lot out of him this season, but they knew that if anything should happen to him they had a more than capable backup in Jose Molina.  It would be the first time in a long time the Yankees had a good backup so everyone figured there would be no issues this year behind the plate.

When opening day rolled around Posada was catching as usual, but unlike a typical game he allowed three base runners to steal with seemingly minimal effort.  The next day he was out of the lineup and suddenly Molina was the starting catcher.  Posada was well enough to DH, but nobody knew when he would be able to catch again.

Posada is a very durable catcher who typically plays over 140 games a year, which is a lot for the position.  In past years losing Posada would be a big hit to the Yankees plans, but this year they had Molina.  While never quite a starter Molina was trust into the role and thrived.  In Posada’s absence he hit .364 with seven doubles and a .939 OPS.  Then with no end in sight to Jorge’s purgatory at DH Molina himself went down with a left hamstring injury.  Who would go behind the plate now?

Chad Moeller was the answer.  Who?  Exactly.  Moeller is a 33-year-old journeyman catcher who has played for the Twins, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Reds, and briefly with the Dodgers.  In eight seasons the most at bats he’s ever had was 317 in 2004 with the Brewers.  That year he hit .208 with a .568 OPS.  So it’s safe to say he’s not exactly Mike Piazza with the bat.

So far his career is anything but worthy of becoming a backstop for the Yankees, but all it took was a little bit of luck.  On March 8 Francisco Cervelli, next in line to be the triple-A catcher for the Bombers, broke his wrist in a home plate collision with Ray’s infielder Elliot Johnson.  The Yanks needed to fill the vacancy and were having a hard time.

“Nobody wanted to be our Triple-A catcher,” said GM Brian Cashman.  “They looked at Posada and Molina and figured they had no chance to move up this year.”

At the time Moeller was trying to hook on with the Washington Nationals as a backup catcher.  That job never developed and on March 10 they cut him.  He wasn’t out of work long though because that same day the Yankees signed him to a minor league contract.  Figuring he wasn’t going to be called up anytime soon Moeller settled in Scranton for the long haul.

Once it was clear Posada or Molina couldn’t go behind the plate Yankee fans braced themselves for the worst.  After all nobody had ever heard of Moeller.  Now in his short time he is making a name for himself.  In three games he has managed a .400 average and he had a three hit game against the Red Sox.  Nobody expects him to keep up this pace, but he was able to play an important role in a game against a big rival. 

Last night Moeller started a big forth inning with an RBI double which scored Hideki Matsui.  He then came around to score on a hit by Derek Jeter.  When the game ended Moeller had reached base four times.

In short time both Posada and Molina will be back behind the plate, but that doesn’t bother Moeller.  Until he returns to Scranton he is going to enjoy his time in New York.

“Who knows where this year’s going to end up for me? But right now I’m enjoying the heck out of it,” Moeller said. “Wearing the pinstripes, it was a cool feeling. I’ve been here before, but it definitely has a different feeling when they’re cheering for you. Definitely a lot’s been done in this stadium with this team, no question about it, and to be a part of it is really cool.”