Buster Posey took a step toward ending the debate over his
season-ending injury, issuing a statement through the Giants on
Saturday in which he said, among other things,
”
We all need to move on.
”
Posey’s three-paragraph statement dealt mostly with Scott
Cousins, the Florida Marlins outfielder who barreled over Posey in
a May 25 game at AT
&
amp;T Park and the threats Cousins has received since.
SAN FRANCISCO
Buster Posey took a step toward ending the debate over his season-ending injury, issuing a statement through the Giants on Saturday in which he said, among other things, “We all need to move on.”
Posey’s three-paragraph statement dealt mostly with Scott Cousins, the Florida Marlins outfielder who barreled over Posey in a May 25 game at AT&T Park and the threats Cousins has received since.
“In no way do I condone the threats of any kind against Scott Cousins or his family,” Posey said in the statement.
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Even though Cousins has been criticized for not taking a sliding lane, most recently in a controversial diatribe by Giants general manager Brian Sabean in a Thursday radio interview, Posey softened the tone.
“As I said last week, I am not out to vilify Scott,” he said. “I appreciate that he made the effort to reach out to me on the night of the play, but I was in no physical condition to talk to anyone. I have not been back with the team since that night, so I haven’t even been aware of any other messages he’s left for me. We all need to move on, so it isn’t necessary to have a conversation with him at this point.
“My only focus right now is looking forward, getting healthy, and returning to catching for the Giants,” Posey concluded.
Meanwhile, Hall of Famer Johnny Bench said Posey’s injury was the result of a mistake on Posey’s part.
“Buster put himself in such a bad position,” Bench told the Tulsa World this week.
“I teach my kids to stay away from the plate when you don’t have the ball so the runner actually sees home plate and his thought is, slide,” said Bench, a spring training instructor for the Cincinnati Reds. “But Buster is laying in front of home plate, and it’s like having a disabled car in the middle of a four-lane highway. You’re just going to get smacked.”
Posey suffered a broken leg and three torn ankle ligaments in the collision. He had surgery Sunday.
Bench called Posey “a great kid” and said he called Posey after the World Series last year.
Posey won the Johnny Bench Award in 2008 as the nation’s top collegiate catcher, for Florida State.
— Story by Carl Steward, The Oakland Tribune
