#NerdsUnite: Should there be a respect clause in a contract?

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JeffW171

OK, I’m from Baltimore. I never liked the Yankees, but I always respected them because it seemed like they respected the game. Sure, they may have bought a championship or two recently, but they’re playing within the rules, so who cares?

However, recent events unfolded Saturday night that got me thinking some players respect the game, the other team and, on occasion, the fans that pay their salary. What I don’t understand is how a player can claim he’s disrespected.

Former catcher Jorge Posada, of the Yankees, was moved to ninth in the lineup. Dude’s hitting .165 with six home runs and 15 RBIs.  The Yankees are paying him $13.1 million this year. That amounts to $71,000+ per game, if he plays all 162. And, as a designated hitter he gets four, maybe five at-bats per game. That total amounts to, roughly, $18,000 an at-bat.

Isn’t $71,000 a game enough respect to go out and do your job? I’d LOVE that kind of money annually, much less for one game. If manager Joe Girardi wants him to hit ninth he should do it and take it in stride.

Posada claimed that it was disrespect and that he “had a bad day.” I know that if I refuse to do my job because I’m having a bad day I’d be gone in a second. Posada, though, continues to get paid and keep his job.

Is there a respect clause in his contract? I’m going out on a limb here and going to say no, but isn’t the $13.1 million deal the Yankees signed Posada to this offseason a show of respect to a lifetime Yankee? There’s absolutely no reason for Posada to act like he did, especially against the Yankees’ biggest rival, the Boston Red Sox, over the weekend. What do you think is the show of respect where the man bats in the lineup or the dollar amount the Yankees are paying to an obviously aging player?

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Jeff on Twitter!