New York ? The loss of Jorge Posada, for the next 15 days at least and possibly the rest of the year, is an unfortunate turn of events for a team that suddenly seems to be turning the corner.

It is a bitter disappointment for Posada, who was a member of the last four Yankees championship teams and an integral part of three of them. It is a financial kick in the gut to the organization, which owes him 3 1â2 more years of pay, and a disturbing glimpse into a future in which there is no Mo, no Jeter and no Posada.

But catastrophic to the chances of the 2008 Yankees? Hardly.

Losing Posada costs the Yankees a little of their heart, a little of their soul and a big chunk of their recent, but rapidly diminishing, history of success.

But it doesn’t necessarily cost them October. Losing Posada doesn’t have to mean they lose the postseason because frankly, the way he was playing and feeling, they weren’t going to win with him, anyway.

“I’m not OK,” Posada said in the clubhouse before Monday night’s game against the Twins, his eyes red and his voice faltering. “I’ve been torn up all year. The shoulder’s messed up. I have no power. Every time I throw a baseball, I have a lot of pain.”

And for the first time all season, Posada made the most painful admission of all, that he was probably done catching, at least for this season.

If anything, the loss of Posada saves Joe Girardi from having to make a call that was becoming painfully obvious: telling Posada he was no longer the Yankees starting catcher, that his job now belonged to Jose Molina.

It was a move Girardi would have hated to make and one Posada would have found difficult to swallow, because like all catchers, he feels a sense of pride and ownership over the most difficult and unrewarding position on a baseball field.

But the truth is, though Molina may never generate the number of runs a healthy Posada could at the plate, these days he saves a lot more runs than Posada could ever hope to behind it.

Molina has been a significant upgrade at the position, throwing out nearly half the runners bold enough, or dumb enough, to test him. Posada, by contrast, had thrown out only seven of 41.

In 2007, Posada batted .338, hit 20 homers and drove in 90 runs.

This year, Posada is mired at .268, with just three homers and 22 RBIs. Monday, he acknowledged that his shoulder injury has affected more than his throwing.

Posada needs to face reality, and the knife, as soon as possible.

“I will have to have surgery no matter what, either now or later,” he said.

Then, he will face up to six months of rehab. If he does it now, he comes back presumably healthy for spring training next year. If he waits until the winter, he suffers through 2008 and loses at least half of 2009.

It seems like a simple choice, although not necessarily for Posada.

“I don’t want to miss the year,” he said. “We got something going here.

“I just want to do whatever is best for the team.”

What’s best for the team and what’s best for Posada may no longer be the same thing. For the first time in Posada’s career, if the Yankees are going to do anything in October, they are probably better off doing it without him.