'Catchmen' Vital to Success

Here's the catch:

If Joe Mauer's back problems won't go away, the Twins are left without a No. 3 hitter.

If Jorge Posada, can't come back from shoulder surgery to catch regularly, then he and Hideki Matsui have to split time at DH while Jose Molina catches, making the Yankees' A-Rod-less lineup even weaker.

If Jason Varitek isn't better than a .220 hitter, all his leadership and game-calling skills can't keep him in the Red Sox lineup much longer.

If Victor Martinez doesn't bounce back from two homers in 266 at-bats for the Indians last year, he's just another banjo-hitting catcher -- and playing him part-time at first base becomes a waste.

Those are four of the few teams that in recent years have had a stalwart, offensive catcher, perhaps the rarest commodity in the game. And all four are watching their backstops closely this spring.

Every catcher worth his shin guards puts his defense and relationship with the pitchers first. But find one who can hit, and you're almost halfway home (so to speak).

"We've been able to run out a lopsided advantage for our organization for almost a decade it seems like," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "It's such a distinct advantage because the catching market is so weak."

Over the past six seasons, 23 teams have had a catcher with an OPS of .850 or better. Eleven of those 23 made the postseason.

So playoff hopefuls Minnesota, Cleveland, Boston and the Yankees need their guys.

No other player is involved with every pitch of nearly every game. Catchers, by definition, have to be leaders (think it's a coincidence nine current managers were catchers?).

These guys set the tone for their team. Mauer is the face of the Twins. Varitek is Boston's captain. Posada doesn't have the title, but he is the most outspoken of the Yankees' old guard.

Mauer's arthrogram Wednesday showed an inflamed sacroiliac joint. Because of residual back pain after a December operation to correct a kidney obstruction, Mauer has yet to play in a Spring Training game.

Posada, who remarkably stayed off the disabled list until he was nearly 37, underwent shoulder surgery last summer and is scheduled to make his debut behind the plate Sunday.

"Last year, I think that was probably our biggest (injury) loss of all," Cashman said of Posada. "It's vital, for us to get where we want to be to be, to have a healthy Jorge Posada."

Varitek is healthy, but his bat wasn't in 2008. After too much drama over re-signing Varitek -- he unwisely turned down an offer of arbitration, dragging out the process -- the question is whether he can hit enough to go with his widely hailed preparation and game-calling. So far this spring, he is 2-for-16 with a .355 OPS.

Martinez missed more than two months last year because of elbow surgery. He had an .807 OPS in 19 games after his return, which gives the Tribe hope Martinez can return to his previous form (395 RBI in 2004-07). And it was another good sign when he matched his 2008 regular season homer total in his first four spring innings.

A handful of teams enjoy the luxury of a young, offensively productive catcher -- Atlanta's Brian McCann, Colorado's Chris Iannetta, the Cubs' Geovany Soto, and the Dodgers' Russell Martin -- and there are some good ones on the way (Baltimore's Matt Wieters, San Francisco's Buster Posey, Cleveland's Carlos Santana).

But generally, good all-around catchers are sparse. Witness Boston's attempts to trade for a catcher while Varitek remained unsigned; the asking prices were too high for the Red Sox's tastes, because teams knew Boston had a need and there are never enough catchers to go around.

"The catching position has really gotten thin," Cashman said. "That seem to be the toughest position to solidify."

These armored, masked men are a commodity so rare, they're almost superheroes.

The "catchmen," perhaps?