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NEW YORK -- Jarrod Saltalamacchia isn't a happy camper at the moment, and the reasons are obvious. He's lost his starting job to a rookie catcher -- J.T. Realmuto -- and would prefer to be in the lineup, not on the bench.
But that's where he found himself Friday for a third straight game as manager Mike Redmond continued to stick with Realmuto, who went 0 for 4 on Thursday, but missed a grand slam by no more than 10 feet.
"Am I mad?" Saltalamacchia asked. "Yeah, I'm mad. I want to play."
But Saltalamacchia said he's not so angry that he'll allow it to become a distraction by pouting over it.
"I can't control this," he said. "I can't grab the lineup and put my name on it. Do I want to be in there? Yeah. There's not a day I don't want to be in there. I'm not going to sit here and complain. I want to play. But I'm not going to hurt this team. I'm not going to be the reason."
Saltalamacchia, who struggled last season and got off to a slow start by going 2 for 22 with 11 strikeouts, said he feels it's a little too soon to be making sudden lineup changes, such as the one that finds himself in a secondary role -- at least, for the moment.
Does he think six starts behind the plate is too quick to be pulling the trigger?
"In my opinion, yeah," he said. "But I don't get paid to make those decisions. I can only do what I can do, which is show up and play when I'm in there."
When he's not, Saltalamacchia said he'll do whatever he can to help Realmuto, either by helping him with pitch-calling, or in facing opposing pitchers at the plate.
"I can help the team," he said. "J.T.'s still new at this. He hasn't caught Phelps too much, so I can help him get through that. A few of these guys I've faced a lot, so I can help him with that. So I can help the team."
Saltalamacchia said Realmuto "looks good."
"I watched some of the pitches he called last night, and he was definitely on the same page I was on," he said. "He looks really relaxed and not pressing too hard, which is really big for young guys. I think he's doing a good job, and I hope he continues doing it."
But that's where he found himself Friday for a third straight game as manager Mike Redmond continued to stick with Realmuto, who went 0 for 4 on Thursday, but missed a grand slam by no more than 10 feet.
"Am I mad?" Saltalamacchia asked. "Yeah, I'm mad. I want to play."
But Saltalamacchia said he's not so angry that he'll allow it to become a distraction by pouting over it.
"I can't control this," he said. "I can't grab the lineup and put my name on it. Do I want to be in there? Yeah. There's not a day I don't want to be in there. I'm not going to sit here and complain. I want to play. But I'm not going to hurt this team. I'm not going to be the reason."
Saltalamacchia, who struggled last season and got off to a slow start by going 2 for 22 with 11 strikeouts, said he feels it's a little too soon to be making sudden lineup changes, such as the one that finds himself in a secondary role -- at least, for the moment.
Does he think six starts behind the plate is too quick to be pulling the trigger?
"In my opinion, yeah," he said. "But I don't get paid to make those decisions. I can only do what I can do, which is show up and play when I'm in there."
When he's not, Saltalamacchia said he'll do whatever he can to help Realmuto, either by helping him with pitch-calling, or in facing opposing pitchers at the plate.
"I can help the team," he said. "J.T.'s still new at this. He hasn't caught Phelps too much, so I can help him get through that. A few of these guys I've faced a lot, so I can help him with that. So I can help the team."
Saltalamacchia said Realmuto "looks good."
"I watched some of the pitches he called last night, and he was definitely on the same page I was on," he said. "He looks really relaxed and not pressing too hard, which is really big for young guys. I think he's doing a good job, and I hope he continues doing it."
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