Mike Celizic

I wouldn’t start icing the champagne in New York, and I definitely won’t start planning for the playoffs if I were in Detroit. Pudge Rodriguez for Kyle Farnsworth may read like a blockbuster deal in the New York Post and Detroit Free Press, but the impact of the deal on both teams could be a lot less than the headlines would have you believe.

For the Yankees, it does come off looking like larceny. They got a Hall of Fame catcher who’s still got most of his skills to replace Jorge Posada, who’s down for the year with a shoulder injury. And all they had to give up was a relief pitcher who’s been Mr. Erratic for them, a guy they never did fully count on to get a big out when they needed it most.

For the Tigers, it’s sheer desperation. They’re in a playoff race in the AL Central, and they don’t have a closer. They did have one until Todd Jones recently lost the job. Bullpen aces are hard to find at any time, and at the trade deadline they’re harder to find than strip joints in Tehran. Not finding one, they did what they could, trading a guy who’s in his option year for a reliever with a big right arm and a reputation for melting under pressure.

Rodriguez is the greatest defensive catcher of his era, but that’s not why the Yankees got him. The guy who’s stepped in for Posada, Jose Molina of the catching Molina brothers, is a terrific defensive catcher who’s throwing out runners at a .463 clip this year, more than 100 points better than Rodriguez’s .347 rate. But as good as Molina is defensively and working with the Yankee pitching staff, he can’t hit a lick. He drives in a run every 10 or 11 games, has yet to hit a home run in nearly 200 at-bats, and has an on-base percentage of .279.

Rodriguez is on the downslope of his offensive career. His average is still good — .295 — and his on-base percentage is nearly .340, but in 302 at-bats this year, he has just 32 RBIs and 5 home runs. Compared to Molina, that makes him Babe Ruth. But it’s not what Posada gave the Yankees when he was healthy.

And that’s why Yankee fans shouldn’t start thinking this trade changes the balance of power significantly in the AL East. Rodriguez is better defensively than Posada, but he’s not as good offensively. The Yankees didn’t make themselves better from what they were at the beginning of the season. They’re just trying not to be worse.

It’s a good trade for the Yankees, no question about it. It improves New York’s chances. But it’s not a division-winner, especially in what is probably the toughest division in baseball.

They’ve also weakened their bullpen. As erratic as Farnsworth had been for them, the team had found a role for him this year in which he wasn’t under a lot of pressure. Jose Veras had become the primary set-up man and Farnsworth was actually pitching well in a bridge role. Farnsworth is expendable because the Yankees traded for Damaso Marte, but he’s a specialist against lefties. He also got lit up the other night by the Orioles.