Is Derek Jeter Done?

[chancellor]

I don't think it's fair to expect Posada to retire and give up his rightful contractual rights. That said, I don't see Posada as Chavez's backup anymore. With A-Rod coming back, I think you'll see that Posada is still behind Chavez, Nunez and Jones on the depth chart at DH (or starting in the field to give a regular a breather at DH), and there's also serious talk about adding Montero to the roster in time for him to be post-season eligible.

Hmmm...I don't agree. Jones is useless against RHPs - he has a sub .550 OPS against them. Nunez brings speed and something around a .660 OPS against RHPs. Despite Posada's overall suckulation, he still has a .770+ OPS against RHPs. Once ARod is back and Eric Chavez gets injured, I believe the Yanks will go to a platoon at DH, with Posada against RHPs and Nunez against LHPs (and filling in at IF positions).

[BuckyBuckner]

This discussion is not talking about today, but about the next two years.

Fair enough. I believe that what I said after that first sentence still stands for future years. I also believe that the Yanks will give him more leeway than just about anyone else but if he does fall off the cliff they will address it (like they have done with Posada) and I believe Jeter will publicly take it well. Inside he may not like it but we'll never hear about it.

[revo]

But Jeter is hitting well right now. part of what makes a major league player so good (and what separates the great from the good) is confidence in themselves that they will get a hit every at bat. In spite of his declining numbers I'm positive that Jeter believes he can get a hit in every at bat. Once he stops thinking that he should just retire, not move to the bottom of the lineup. I'm not saying that if you look at numbers you are wrong but I also don't think you can expect a player to admit defeat like you are suggesting, nor would you want a player to admit defeat.

But to respond to this -- many successful ballplayers also don't admit the one thing that happens to every player: that they're getting old. They still think they can get it done like they used to.

Does Jeter think he's lost any bat speed? Does he think he's lost any power? Lost a step? Doubtfully. He'll likely claim he just needs to work harder on those areas.

Does Posada think he's lost anything? Not from his public comments.

Jeter is hitting well enough right now that he's not costing the Yanks anything, but if he does fall into another extended funk, he should finally admit to himself that he's 37+ and needs to do what's right for the team.

[Judge Jude]

I think it would have been easier for Jeter in his prime to move out of SS for the overwhelming A-Rod case, where all he's conceding is he's not the best all-around player in baseball. But that didn't happen.

I'm more sympathetic here, where it's whether you are becoming irrelevant. That has to be tougher.

But as I noted, when Mattingly got moved down, I think to the 6 hole, his first reaction was, "They should have done this weeks ago."

I do think Jeter will take it like a man when it comes, though it would be a major PR hit if he doesn't. It's an opportunity to show grace, and a good handling of it would pay off in a big way. But we'll see.

[DMT]

Posada 3-3 with 6 RBIs and a GS. Yea, he should retire, lol.

[revo]

Posada 3-3 with 6 RBIs and a GS. Yea, he should retire, lol.

This was the "please don't release me!" game.

[Hammer]

the Yankee captain is hitting 44-for-128 and is up to .290 on the season. EL CAPITAN!

[chancellor]

the Yankee captain is hitting 44-for-128 and is up to .290 on the season. EL CAPITAN!

The SLG is still low, but the OBP is up to a pretty respecatable .349, too.

[BuckyBuckner]

The SLG is still low, but the OBP is up to a pretty respecatable .349, too.

I know everyone likes to knock him for his slugging but does it matter? He's the lead off hitter (yeah, that's another story) and not expected to hit home runs so I don't really care about his slugging. The OBP is respectable as you say, the difference between his average and OBP is pretty much in line with his career numbers so that part of his game, drawing walks, has remained the same.

FYI, his slugging in July was .449 in 89 ABs and so far in August it's .517 in 60 ABs. Small sample size but shows that he's rebounded from an awful start.

[BuckyBuckner]

Good article about the turnaround for Jeter.

[Hammer]

Jeter has raised his average 32 points over the last 23 days and is now at .300.

[revo]

Jeter has raised his average 32 points over the last 23 days and is now at .300.

wow, Oakland pitchers have walked 13 today, including 11 in the last 2 innings!

[Hammer]

wow, Oakland pitchers have walked 13 today, including 11 in the last 2 innings!

That has what to do with El Capitan?

[Judge Jude]

C'mon, he's Captain Intangibles! The steely stares from the dugout are unnerving the pitchers!


All kidding aside, I am as impressed by this bounceback in a big way. He's historically old for a starting SS on a good team, he was really bad for a stretch of almost 150 games - and now he's found the Fountain of Youth. But great players do find ways to push back the clock a bit, don't they?

He's got his xBA up to .286 entering today; the rebound has been legit.

[Bob Kohm]

wow, Oakland pitchers have walked 13 today, including 11 in the last 2 innings!

I was at the Stadium. Never seen a ballgame like it-- THREE grand slams hit by the Yankees (a new record for MLB). Insanity-- Jorge Posada played 2B in the 9th and got the final put out.