No brotherly World Series for the catching Molinas

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The New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals were widely regarded as the favorites in each league, which would have set up a brotherly catching matchup in the World Series: Yadier Molina for St. Louis, Jose Molina for New York. (A third Molina brother, Bengie, caught for the Giants last season).

The Yankees advanced in the playoffs, but the Dodgers dismissed the Cardinals, so the brotherly dream is no more.

‘We always talk,’ Jose Molina said today at Yankee Stadium. ‘Right now, we can’t talk anymore. They’re out. We’re in. So we’ll talk about our team making it to the World Series.’

Molina was peppered by New York reporters about the Angels’ running game and how to stop it. He did not agree that the Angels posed some unprecedented threat.

The Angels did not lead the American League in stolen bases. The Tampa Bay Rays did.

‘Tampa runs the same way they do,’ Molina said. ‘What are we going to say about Tampa? We just have to play.’

Molina played for the Angels from 2001 to 2007, before they traded him to the Yankees for a minor league pitcher, clearing room for Jeff Mathis and Mike Napoli to share the Angels’ catching job. The New York press corps wanted to know whether Molina still rooted for the Angels, at least when they were not playing the Yankees.

‘No chance,’ he said.

Could he tell the Yankees about any tendencies he knew about in the Angels’ running game?

‘No,’ he said. ‘But if I knew, I wouldn’t tell you.’

-- Bill Shaikin