However, Girardi said Posada never mentioned the back injury to him.

With speculation swirling, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman met with reporters in a workroom behind the press box during the third inning to give an update. The GM said Posada was not injured.

That irritated Posada.

"I don't know why he made a statement during the game. I don't understand that. That's the way he works now, I guess," Posada said. "I think we should have waited for the game to be over to talk to whoever. ... You don't do that. You're not supposed to do that."

When asked explicitly if he was mad at Cashman, Posada hedged, but said he wished the general manager had at least waited until after the game to discuss the matter.

"Well, we'll see. I think we should have waited for the game to be over to talk to whoever's doing the game. It's kind of like, you're not supposed to do that," Posada said.

Cashman, however, said Posada was aware he was going to address the media and even told the catcher and of one his agents, Seth Levinson, exactly what he was going to say.

"The situation that was created by him, then he would have to explain himself after," Cashman told ESPNNewYork.com via telephone. "It was as simple as that. It is common baseball practice to explain after someone is a late scratch in the lineup, they give a reason why."

Cashman also said he discussed the situation with Posada and Levinson for an hour and attempted to convince Posada to play.

"In one instance I was on the phone with Seth and I actually had to hand the phone to Jorgie. I said, 'Here,'" Cashman said. "Jorgie knew exactly what was being said. This is not a surprise. I'm disappointed about what he said."

The Yankees believe that they have grounds to suspend Posada right away but will wait for more conversations about the situation to occur, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

The Yankees have not ruled out docking Posada's pay, especially if he refuses to play Sunday. The team was in contact with the commissioner's office as it considered its options Saturday night. But there was hope that a cooling-off period could settle the situation.

Posada admitted he feels "a little bit" disrespected by the team, but said he hopes to move forward.

"I hope we can move on and go on and play the season," Posada said.

If the Yankees do fine Posada one day's pay, that would be $71,978 on his $13.1 million salary. If a player declines to play two days in a row, he could be put on the restricted list.

"If he feels good tomorrow, and Joe Girardi has him in the lineup and he's batting ninth, he's playing," said one of Posada's agents, Sam Levinson. "Where he hits in the lineup is irrelevant. This is about his back, not about where he's hitting."

Girardi wouldn't comment on whether Posada might play in the series finale Sunday night.

"His struggles have been tough on him," said Girardi, ejected by plate umpire Mike Winters for arguing balls and strikes following Adrian Gonzalez's three-run homer off CC Sabathia in the seventh inning. "I hope for his sake we get through this and we can move forward."

Posada's wife, Laura, took to Twitter to defend her husband.