The Yankees have had a productive off-season in addressing major problems in the starting rotation and at first base, but they are playing with matches when it comes to their catching. Jorge Posada won’t be ready to catch by the start of the exhibition season, calling into question his timetable in recovering from major shoulder surgery. If Posada is unable to catch more than 80 to 90 games, the Yankees will be forced to play Jose Molina more than they should–which was a major problem in 2008. The light-hitting Molina is a one-man drag on an offense and shouldn’t start more than two to three times a week. A catcher with some decent hitting skills–someone like Chris Coste, Kelly Shoppach, or free agent Javier Valentin–would come in handy for the Bombers…

The Mets made a wise pickup in signing Freddy Garcia to an incentive-laced minor league contract. Garcia hasn’t been healthy the past two seasons, but has the talent of a legitimate No. 2 starter when he’s sound. If the Mets are unable to re-sign Oliver Perez or add someone the caliber of Ben Sheets, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Garcia pitching as the fourth starter behind Johan Santana, John Maine, and Mike Pelfrey. The addition of Garcia could push Tim Redding to the No. 5 slot–or even to the bullpen…

 I have no idea what the Dodgers are thinking in giving Brad Ausmus a contract that will pay him nearly $1 million this yearn to back up Russell Martin. Ausmus has always been an offensive nonentity, but now even his vaunted defense has been rendered to a state beyond diminishing returns. At 40 years of age, Ausmus no longer controls the opposition’s running game; in 2008, he threw out fewer than 20 per cent of basestealers. Even with his intangibles, he’s strictly window dressing at this stage of his career, a should-be coach in player’s clothing…

 I normally avoid non-baseball topics like the plague, but sometimes the world of popular culture leaves me with no other choice. What was the Motion Picture Academy thinking in not giving a “Best Picture” nomination to The Dark Knight, which was universally heralded as one of the finest films of the past year? The organizers of the Academy Awards have long consisted of superior snobs who think that any movie doing well at the box office must be contemptible because it appeals to the “commoners.” The snubbing of The Dark Knight just places an exclamation point next to their nagging elitism. And don’t even get me started on their exclusion of Clint Eastwood from this year’s awards.