La Russa unlikely to have Posey catch Dickey

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As the starting catcher for the National League All-Star team, Buster Posey won't enjoy much of a mid-season respite. But manager Tony La Russa is likely to give the Giants' backstop a break by putting him on the bench when New York Mets knuckleball pitcher R.A. Dickey enters the game.

After announcing that Matt Cain would start for his National League squad for an all-Giants battery, La Russa explained his strategy for utilizing Dickey.

"Its very likely that when Dickey comes in, itll be just asBuster leaves and Carlos Ruiz gets to catch," La Russa said.

Posey has never caught a knuckleball pitcher before and was under the impression he might have his first experience with the floating pitch if Dickey got the call to start. St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina backed out of the Midsummer Classic last week, leaving the N.L. with just Posey and Ruiz to carry the load. If Dickey came into the game after Cain, Posey would still be left to catch Dickey, but La Russa said that he would save Dickey for the later innings, when Ruiz would come in to take over for Posey.

"I think that seems to make sense, thatthey would warm up together and get a little familiar," La Russa said.

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