"Jorge Posada won't be behind the plate the rest of the season.

It is entirely possible that Jorge Posada, like the rest of the Yankees, has merely gotten his first real whiff of October possibilities from this just-completed 6-0 home stand and wants to make sure he'll be a part of it all.

But is he prepared to be a spare part at the expense of resuming his career as the Yankees' everyday catcher for the start of next season?

This is the scenario Posada and the Yankee high command were attempting to sell Wednesday, but with all due respect to the gritty catcher, if they're really serious, it smacks of selfishness and short-sightedness on both sides. It's selfishness on the Yankees' part if they have told Posada to take two weeks of rehab and rest on his damaged shoulder only to help justify the four-year, $52 million contract they gave him last winter. On Posada's part, it's if he really believes he'd be an asset to the Yankees serving as a platoon DH on a roster that already has a glut of DH's.

Oh, I know, Joe Girardi said that Posada could also get some fill-in work at first base, and we're supposed to believe that would be an asset for the Yankees?

For one thing, he already admits the injury has also affected his hitting. Because his right shoulder is the lead arm when he bats lefty, Posada could be a less-effective lefthanded hitter. "I don't feel pain when I hit, but it's restricted," Posada said.

No, what would be an asset for the Yankees would be to have Posada behind the plate for the start of next season. The doctors have told Posada that the recovery process for the surgery takes six months, and, in any case, he is done catching this year.

"The MRI was worse," he admitted Wednesday. "There's a little more damage. It's not about me now. It's about the team. How can I help? If I'm not able to hit, I'll have the surgery. I cannot catch. That's out of the question."

I have to believe that Posada is simply finding it hard to come to grips with missing the rest of what has become a season of real possibilities. The irony for him has been this Yankee surge, in which they've gone 36-20 since May 21 to close to within 3-1/2games of first place, has been largely accomplished without his help. And, lately, without Hideki Matsui, whose inevitable knee surgery is also being put on hold in the hopes of one last rehab producing some miraculous reduction in pain.

"It is a risk and reward," Joe Girardi said in regard to Posada putting off the surgery, "and everyone has to feel good about the decision. If a player has a chance to win a World Series, what do you think that player would want to do? In any case, we have time to discuss it.""