There are those who would liken Fav-ruh to Hamlet. He is, after all, tragically torn between two dueling voices in his head, each compelling him towards a different decision and driving him to his ruin.  Others, like me, have made the less conventional argument that Fav-ruh is the textbook definition of a sociopath.  (For a refresher, the defining characteristics are superficial charm, the ability to manipulate, grandiosity, a sense of entitlement, lack of remorse or guilt, unreliability, and a lack of empathy. Underline this one:  Sociopaths “seek out situations where their tyrannical behavior will be tolerated, condoned, or admired.”)

Having landed on what I thought was the most obvious of all psychological assessments, I have not bothered to refine my theory.  However, after Fav-ruh recent Joe Buck Show appearance another theory was born.  Joe looked Brett in the eye and asked him if he had plans to continue playing football next season, to which Brett responded to the only way he knew how, with an unequivocal, “Maybe.”  Like any good sports news outlet, ESPN Radio immediately reported the story, adding their own twist to the coverage — a suggestiion that Farvie’s failure to make a clean break from the game was possibly evidence of a “football addiction.”

On behalf of heroin addicts everywhere, you really can’t be serious.

At the end of last season, Fav-ruh concluded that he would not be able to play unless he had arm surgery that he was determined not to have, so he figured he would throw in the towel.  (It was about all he could throw at that point.)   The offseason wore on.  He waited, he golfed, he took poolside photo ops with goofy.  There was talk, rumors abounded about something with the Vikings.  Still, no surgery.  Then, suddenly, about a week ago, at the eleventh hour, Fav-ruh caved, getting the operation he would need in order to play.   According to Fav-ruh, the operation will remedy the problem that had him throwing the ball “there” (pointing one direction) when he wanted to throw it “there” (pointing in another).  Who knew such a surgery existed?

ESPN Radio cited the above along with, well, all the rest of it – the threats to retire, the retirement, crying, the unretirement, the job theft, the destruction of the Jets – as evidence of the football addiction.  There was some kind of comparison to cake eating involved.  It went something along the lines of the following: “If a person eats too much cake and gets sick, he’ll typically remember not to eat too much cake again.  Unless he has a problem with cake addiction.”  I wonder if the people covering this store are aware of the greater likelihood of an addiction to crack than to cake.  Just saying.

Here’s the thing.  I don’t thing Fav-ruh is “addicted” to football. I think that he’s an aging athlete who is struggling to let go and move on to the next phase of his life. It’s one of the biggest challenges that every player will ultimately have to face as his career winds down, and every player meets it with varying degrees of class and dignity.  This may be the one time you ever hear me say something generous about Fav-ruh, but ultimately the challenge to move into retirement is indicative of his love of the game.  Presumably, it reflects his anxiety that he doesn’t know what he would do without it.  That said, it’s immature, short-sighted and fundamentally selfish to make choices from this place of fear.  His decision impacts, not just other individual players, but whole teams and their dynamics.  (Currently, see Minnesota Vikings.)

It’s the eighteenth of June.  The Vikings need better than maybe.  They need Fav-ruh to show up for offseason workouts, which he has said he would not be doing no matter what he decides.  They need him to make a firm commitment before the end of July.  They need him to really be a part of this team. It’s no secret how I feel about Fav-ruh, whether or not he still has any business playing football, the spelling of his name. However, if he’s going to make that choice, he should make it and make it with resolve – enough of this, “Aw, gee, shucks. I just don’t know.”

According to Cowherd, the woman who saw the movie with Kay must have been really hot because a woman’s level of hotness is always directly proportionate to the crappiness of the movie a man is willing to see with her.  (Sounds scientific.)  According to me, the woman who saw the movie with Kay must have had really bad taste because the person with whom a woman chooses to spend her time is often a reflection of her taste level.

Kay reported that the movie was terrible but worth the $10.25 just to see Scarlett Johansson in her underwear.  It’s a wonder ESPN Radio doesn’t do better in the ratings-what with all this cutting edge sports coverage

Like I already said, I don’t know much about the qualifications for the People’s Hall of Fame, but something tells me that Michael Kay is totally never going to make the ballot. 

Which reminds me.  Make sure you vote.

But there’s another, quieter, though arguably more important, question to consider:  What’s to become of Jorge Posada?

I was listening to ESPN Radio today, and Colin Cowherd made the argument that of all of the factors contributing to the Yankees’ collapse last season, Posada’s absence was the most damaging.  Of course, he also made the argument that the economic situation isn’t nearly as bad as the state of affairs in the world of offensive catching.  So maybe we shouldn’t listen to everything Colin Cowherd has to say.

 But, still, the man has a point.

Here’s the thing about Jorge Posada.  He’s not A-Rod.  (Small miracles.) He’s not Jeter.  He doesn’t make Page Six off the field, and he doesn’t necessarily produce fireworks on the field.  But he produces.  He gets on base.  He gets the job done. We just don’t-for whatever reason-like to talk about him about quite as much as other people. 

Prior to last year, Posada has been nothing if not dependable. He caught 130+ games for eight consecutive years, delivering a minimum of 19 home runs per season-70 RBI’s in all but one of them.  And here’s the kicker-2007 was one of Posada’s best offensive seasons yet.  With a .338 batting average, 20 home runs, 90 RBIs and .426 OBP, he became the first Yankee catcher since Munson to make the list of top ten 10 AL batting leaders. As Cowherd pointed out, it’s no coincidence that the first time the Yanks failed to make the playoffs in over a decade happened to correspond with Posada’s protracted stint on the DL.

Jorge is determined to come back and be badder than ever, pshawing at the suggestion that he might only play a mere 110 games this season.  But I’d settle for that as long as he’s playing them healthy. The good news is that Girardi seems confident that Jorge’s recovery from shoulder surgery is going well.  He said he could tell by the “noise of the baseball in the air” during Posada’s throwing session. 

And that might totally instill confidence in me if I knew what it meant.