Enough Already About Jeter

Ok, I get it. Derek Jeter is 36 years old and is coming off the worst statisic year of his career. We know. God, we know.

But do we REALLY have to be reminded of it ever damn time his name is mentioned?

Listen, the Yankees made a VERY fair offer to Jeter. We know that. Everyone knows that. However the Yankees, who pretty much tried their best to make Jeter the bad guy in the negotiations the past few weeks, really are a bunch of hypocrites.

They don't blink when it comes to throwing gobs of money at anyone and everyone... the A-Rod contract is looking worse and worse every year... but they suddenly have a budget when it comes to the biggest name in pinstrips over the last thirty years?

I think a three year, $41 million contract would have been more than fair. Jeter's made so much money the last ten years he doesn't know what to do with it all. The Yankees have been as good to Jeter as he's been to them... of that ther is no doubt.

However, you have to grin at the fact that they seem to pay players so much more above market value every year that them suddenly becoming cost conscious is beyond laughable.

Also, it seems like the media is going out of their way to label Jeter a total albatross. Every day I see another story about how only one team in history has gone to the world series with a shortstop over 36 years old (that would be the Dodgers and Pee Wee Reese in 1955) and how Jeter is slower and has less power and could hit .259 and be a total weight on the offense and have to be dropped down and I start to wonder... at what point do we give the guy the benefit of the doubt? Has Jeter ever really given the Yankees or their fans a reason to doubt him? I think it's been a little ridculous how for years he never seemed to be able to do any wrong... but one thing you have to give the guy... his head and body give 110% in every play of every inning of every game.

I think the Yankees are idiots. They throw money at players like it's confetti but they treat their most recognized player (hell, just about the most recognized player in Major League Baseball) like he's Rey Ordenez. It's a little sickening.

I don't feel bad for Derek Jeter. He's rich and famous and will be fine without my sympathy. What REALLy gets me is the pointless nature of the team he plays for.

It was pretty much the same for another Yankee great when Bernie Williams was suddenly a man without a country at the end of his career. I can bet you that if Jorge Posoda was a free agent this year he might have gotten the same treatment. I can understand when it's time to part ways with a player... but the Yankees wanted... no the Yankees NEEDED Jeter back... if only because the fans would have revolted has they let him walk... but they needed him because it's plain to see the guy is a winner and other guys in the clubhouse have to be able to look his way and say "that's how I should be..."

So, enough with the stories about his age and his lost step and his slower body. Enough about the fact he wanted to be paid like A-Rod and C.C. and (likely) Lee.

I think the guy has earned it... and dammit... if they're going to throw that money at everyone... why not a guy who is everything you claim you want your players to be?

Be consistant. That's what Jeter has been.

How Many Years?

During last night’s blogcast radio show, I asked Phil Speranza (from the great Yankees blogsite BehindtheBombers.com) what he saw Derek Jeter getting from the Yankees after the season since his $189 million, ten-year contract will be up. I asked if five years seemed out of the question, as I was speculating that he might want as much as that. Phil thought that five years wasn’t out of the question. Frankie The Sports Guy agreed that five yars was a possible number. I thought about it a lot over night though, and I have to wonder.

I cannot imagine the Yankees allowing Jeter to walk or Jeter really willing to walk away from the Bronx. However, I would suspect that Jeter may expect to get at least a four year deal, if not five years. I would also expect him to be looking for anywhere from $19 – $21 million per year. That would mean that the Yankees would be dishing out anywhere from $76 million to $105 milllion for the Captain’s final contract.

Jeter is 36. He had a fantastic 2009 and the Yankees won the World Series. However his 2010 has not been as productive and he’s heading towards one of the worst (if not THE worst) season of his career. 2008 wasn’t the best of years for him either. While you cannot argue his worth to the franchise, the Yankees have to figure out if they are rewarding Jeter for his past successes (in which he’s already been paid in excess of $205 million, a pretty damn good compensation) or his future performances, which will very likely not be worth $76 million, much less a whopping $105 million if he got a five year deal with a $21 million a year average.

So, do the Yankees low ball Jeter? Say they offer a three year, $48 million offfer? If they did, would he get offended and be vindictive enough to walk? Would there be another team willing to pony up serious money to sign him? (Could you imagine a scenario where Joe Torre stays in LA and the Dodgers tempt Jeter with a five year, $90 million offer? What about the Braves looking to make some serious noise?)

Ok, I highly doubt such a bizarre situation could play out, however it’s something to consider. Phil mentioned last night he thought that Jeter has been the best centerfielder on the Yankees the last few years. Would s larger contract come with a decree from the Yankees for Jeter to move? Would his pride get in the way for such as move?

Listen, no one is going to cry for the Yankees if they wind up having to overpay Jeter in the tune of… say… $85 million for four years where the last few years are grossly overspent. The Yankees can afford it, right?

Maybe. Maybe not. The Yankees are in a tight position here. They have the face of the franchise… the figure that everyone thinks of first when you mention pinstripes. To the younger generation, Jeter is bigger than Ruth, Mantle and Jackson. To the older generation, he’s right in line with those names. No one would win from a divorce between Jeter and the Yanks, and like I said above, I cannot really imagine a scenario where it would happen… however that doesn’t mean the negotiations will be smooth or the end result will be one that is mutually benefitical for both parties.

I get the feeling that in the end, the Yankees will not have the stomach to offer Jeter what he’s worth going forward… which I feel is a two year deal at $14/14.5 million a year with a club option for a third year. The Yankees have paid Jeter well for his past services and don’t need to reward him in that way. Jeter will have a lifetime contact with the Yanks after he retires that will be a nice “reward” for all of his past services (as well as the gobs and gobs of dough he’s already made). My predicti0n? A four year deal worth roughly $14.75 a year or about $60 million. Is it the right move? I can’t answer that. Like I said above though… if anyone could absorb that sort of contact, it’s the Yankees.

Business as usual in the Bronx

So the Yankees got their world series rings today just before their home opener began, and then just got back to business with solo home runs from Derek Jeter and Nick Johnson and some timely hitting bringing them to a current 5-0 lead over the Angels in the bottom of the 6th.

The Yankees have looked loose and fairly smooth so far over the first week of the season. C.C. Sabathia followed up his ugly opening day start by bringing a no-hitter into the 8th inning on a hot-shot Rays team, Robinson Cano, Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson have been swinging hot bats, and Nick Johnson has managed to not hurt himself licking a postage stamp or anything. Meanwhile Jeter and Rivera continue to be… well… Jeter and Rivera.

The Yankees first week has to be seen as a great beginning. They took two out of three both from their two huge division rivials (The Red Sox and Rays) after losing the first game of the series and on the road to boot. This is going to be a hell of a battle with these three teams as they are the cream of the crop of the entire Major Leagues. The only real concern for the Yankees (as previously stated) is age and injury and so far neither has looked to be an issue. Of course we are only a week into the 2010 season, but the rest of the AL East has to know they cannot let the Yankees get to a big lead early, or the rest of the season might be just the battle for the wild card.

I don’t think the bombers will just walk away with the Division… in fact I suspect the Rays might the best of the three teams (this is more of a gut feeling then a true decree) but the boys in pinstripes are the best suited to stand up to the three-way war that is coming. The Yankees right now are boring… boring in the fact there is no concern or controversy anywhere near the team right now. Will that last the entire season? It might.

So lean back Yankee fans, the ride will likely not get bumpy for a while. Things should start to get intense as the season goes on, but barring something unexpected, things should be hopping in the Bronx for a while.

Shocking news for Yankee Fans

Hold on to your seats Yankee fans… Derek Jeter called forth the media yesterday to address (for the one and only time) his contact situation and the possibility of him becoming a free agent at the end of the season.

As much of you should know, the Yankees do not hold new contract talks with its players, managers or even their GMs until their contracts run out. No exceptions. With Jeter at the end of his 10 year contract, the media swarmed around him to hear his views.

And SHOCKINGLY Jeter pretty much stated he had no desire to go or play anwhere else and pretty much refused to even state that he’d like to be the highest paid Yankee.

Crazy huh? A guy who has spent his entire career with one organization refusing to create negotiation leverage for himself. How quaint.

Listen, anyone who thinks that Jeter will start the 2011 season wearing anything but Yankee pinstripes (or Yankee grey) really needs to have his or her head checked. Jeter will turn 36 in June, and might be looking at a position change somewhere in the next two years but a location change? There’s more of a chance of Red Sox Nation and The Bleacher Creatures of Yankee Stadium joining together in mutual respect and admiration.

The Yankees might LOOK like they are playing hardball right now by refusing to talk contact with Jeter, but all they are doing is holding fast to their regular policy. It’s a company wide mandate that budges for no one.

However, the Yankees have no intention of letting Jeter go else hwere. It’s widely understood that he is not just one of the more storied Yankees… he is the FACE of the Yankees.

Jeter is a player who gives it his all. Sometimes he’s a little standoffish with the media, sometimes he’s a little aloof, and sometimes he comes across as a little too rigid, but the guy plays 110% for every play in every inning or every game. He’s been called over-rated and under-rated in the same breath. No matter what his numbers though, he’s on the short list of players that have nothing but respect from every single major league baseball player/manager/GM/scout there is.

Whether you agree with it or not, his name will be remembered as other Yankee greats like Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle, Berra and Jackson. Let the season end without a contract… because Jeter will never reach free agency.

He says he doesn’t care about the money… and you know what? I believe him. At this point, his legacy is more important. Finishing with the team that drafted him is more important. Oh, and the fact the guy is rich as hell and has a crapload of endorcement deals doesn’t hurt.

The Yankees will likely give Jeter a four year deal (in my estimation). After that? I don’t know the man’s aspirations, but I don't think an eventual role as Yankee manager would be out of the question.

So, breathe people… feel secure. Your Captain will be in his normal sport for quite some time to come.

Spring Ahead: Who’s hitting 2nd for the Yankees?

Among the (very) few debates for the Yankees in spring training will be who is going to hit 2nd in the batting order. So far there haven’t been any hints from skipper Joe Girardi (which considering that most of the every day players haven’t even reported yet is not surprising) but I also don’t know if there are a lot of good choices.

I would say that odds are you are going to see Derek Jeter batting leadoff… which then brings you to wonder who would hit 2nd, which is normally Jeter’s position in the order. Looking at the roster, I would say that the best idea would be to put Nick Johnson and his fantastic .400 on-base-percentage at the number 2 spot. Yes, Johnson is slow as molasses, but he’ll be on base a lot for the power bats of Alex Rodriguiez and Mark Teixeira which means more runs. I don’t think Brett Gardner has the stick to bat leadoff, but as a young and speedy player it’s not out of the question to see if he could handle that spot.

The issue here for the Yankees realy comes to this… Johnson could very well follow his normal MO and spend a large chunk of the season on the DL and Jeter could very well see his .334 batting average from last year come down to anywhere from .325 to .300 (which would still be pretty darn good) which means you really could see a serious reduction in production from the table setting spots in the Yankee line-up, meaning less opportunity for A-Rod and Teixeria to drive in runs. Just something to consider for the Yanks who don’t really have a hell of a lot to worry about in spring training this year.