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Pasby: Leyland’s decision to sit Posey in WBC bad for US, good for SF

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LOS ANGELES – Before Tuesday’s semi-final matchup between the USA and Japan, team USA manager reiterated his decision to sit Giants catcher Buster posey in a possible championship game versus Puerto Rico on Wednesday. Backup catcher Jonathan Lucroy of the Rangers is certainly no slouch, but Leyland’s decision to not start Posey in a do or die final has raised some eyebrows.

In Leyland’s defense, he has been consistent. He said prior to the tournament that he wanted to get as many players into games as possible so they wouldn’t be too far behind once they returned to spring training. In the case of his catchers, Lucroy and Posey have split the duties evenly as to not put too much stress on them early in the season.

“These guys are catching nine innings earlier than they normally would” Leyland told reporters pre-game, “I’ve gone every other day with them and I’m gonna continue to do that. I would really feel bad if somebody thought we weren’t trying to win because we were catching Jonathan Lucroy, this guys a really good player.” Last season Lucroy, a 2 time All-Star, hit 24 home runs with a .855 OPS with the Brewers and Rangers, numbers good enough to be the starting catcher on most WBC teams.

Even with that in mind, some USA baseball fans will still surely be disappointed that the 2012 MVP won’t be behind the dish for a possible championship game. Giants fans however might appreciate that Leyland is using Posey sparingly so he’s healthy and ready to go for Opening Day. See all of Jim Leyland’s comments about his decision and the pressures of trying to win while not overextending his players in the video at the top of the page.