Results tagged ‘ Derek Jeter ’
Mr. 3,000: Derek Jeter
Had someone told me back on May 29th, 1995 that a skinny, broomstick like prospect replacing the All-Star shortstop Tony Fernandez on the Yankee roster would one day be a member of the 3,000 hit club, replace Don Mattingly as Yankees Captain, and would lead the Yankees to five World Series Championships, I would have probably laughed at that person. Anyway, that broomstick prospect named Derek Jeter has not only led the Yankees to five World Series championships, and replaced Don Mattingly as captain, he did infact become a member of the 3,000 hit club.
Who would have thought it? Not me. I thought the Yankees were in deep trouble the first time I saw Jeter through my TV screen. I mean seriously, how were the Yankees supposed to compete against the Indians that season with that toothpick who couldn’t get a hit if his life depended on it? During the two weeks Jeter spent with the club, he wasn’t that impressive and some thought (me) he was the second coming of Kevin Maas the highly touted prospected that turned out to be a bust. Then again, life has its surprises. Coming into the 1996 season, Joe Torre the new Yankee manager at the time, made his declaration that Jeter would be the starting shortstop. After some controversy, Torre backtracked and decided to have Jeter and Fernandez compete for the starting job. Luckily for Torre and Yankee fans everywhere, Fernandez ends up with a season ending injury during the spring, which made it all the much easier to promote Jeter as a starter.
And since opening day 1996, Yankee fans have witness the evolution of Jeter from a rookie to a respected and admired veteran. Today, Jeter reminded some of us that have taken him for granted over all these years just how special a player he truly is. Even though Derek Jeter is not my favorite Yankee, his accomplishment today is just another reminder of the incredible ride he and the Yankee franchise has given its fanbase since 1996. So Congratulations to the Captain. And hopefully, Jeter will be the first Yankee to get 3,500 career hits.
A few thoughts on Cashman….
The past three weeks for Brian Cashman have been pretty interesting from a baseball fan’s point of view. The usually spendthrift general manager of the Yankees recently came out as a voice of reason after his bosses in the Yankees front office decided to ignore Cashman’s advice and signed free agent reliever Rafael Soriano to a three year $35 million contract. There is no doubt that Soriano in the past few years has been a dominant relief pitcher, but you still have to shake your head at the signing of a pitcher who works best as a closer rather than a set up man. Maybe the Yankee hierarchy see something in Soriano that the rest of us do not see, but I think most baseball fans have taken Cashman’s side and agree that maybe this contract is a bit too much. For all the bad contracts and trades that Cashman has made over the years, it was nice to see him as a voice of reason within the organization this time.
As far as his comments regarding Derek Jeter’s status as Yankee shortstop, in my opinion, there isn’t much news here. There is no way Jeter will move from short to the outfield before his contract is up at the end of 2014. He won’t allow it and as far as I’m concern Yankee fans would not stand for such a move. Jeter could possibly move to third base, given the fact that his range at short has been on the decline, but I doubt that will happen. What Cashman said was just a suggestion, one that no one on a busy day would take seriously.
I don’t want Cliff Lee.
As a Yankees fan, let me say this once and for all: I don’t want the Yankees to sign Cliff Lee. The reason why I feel this way is that the Yankees, with Lee, will continue to be a team that is old and falling behind their American League competition in youth and talent. Lee will no doubt contribute to the Yankees in the short term and give them another legitimate innings pitcher. However, whatever short term success there is with a guy like Lee in the rotation, the Yankees in my humble opinion will hurt their long term plans. In five years, Cliff Lee will be 37 or 38 years old. Whatever he has accomplished since 2007 thanks to his skills will probably be lost by 2015. More over, three of the Yankees “Core Four”, the foundation that built the late 1990′s dynasty, and the 2009 Championship team are diminishing in skill. Only Mariano Rivera continues to be productive. But Jeter, Pettitte and Posada are looking older and playing like it. As I wrote before, Jeter’s range at short is clearly diminishing. The fact that he was award a Gold Glove fails to account for the fact that MLB scouts last season saw his actual defensive skills short of what is expected by an average shortstop. Once again, the Texas Rangers believed they could hit and run and bunt their way on because Jeter, Posada and A-Rod have lost a step. Instead of wasting valueable resources on Lee, the Yankees should do more to get younger.
I know that patience with getting younger runs thin in New York. But remember, the Yankees built their championships, not on high priced free agents, but on the drafting of solid talent like Jeter, Posada, Bernie Williams, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and by the signing of solid role players like Paul O’Neill, Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, etc. I think the Yankees should return to that model instead of wasting $400 million in free agency every two years.
The Gold Standard: American League.
Even though I’m not a big fan of the Gold Gloves, I want to extend my congratulations to this year’s recipients of the award with a few comments. Of course, before I do that I have to explain why I don’t give much stock to this particular award. At least to me it seems that the Gold Glove Awards are based more on popularity than on actual on the field play. For instance, why is Derek Jeter a Gold Glove winner this year? No disrespect to Jeter, but it’s been clear that for the past few season, except for 2009, that he has lost considerable range at short. When Jeter came up in 1995, he showed some range (of course not the same range at short that A-Rod, Nomar Garciaparra or Ray Ordonez all had) but he never developed that part of his game to the fullest, falling behind other notable shortstops in both leagues. And as Jeter has gotten older, his range has so considerably diminished that one Texas Rangers’ scout recently, and gleefully, told Ed Randall that it was one of the reasons why they were successful against the Yankees in the ALCS. If MLB scouts can see that Jeter has lost range, why is he the recipient of another undeserved Gold Glove? I guess popularity does counts.
And the Gold Gloves goes too…..
C. Joe Mauer.. No surprise here. I think Joe Mauer is the most complete catcher in baseball right now. Not only can he gundown runners, but he has been able to do a good job handling the Twins pitching staff the past two seasons. Only Buster Posey is a close second.
1B. Mark Teixeira.. I have said this before, Mark Teixeira’s glove is as important as his bat. Considered the playoffs in 2009. Teixeira didn’t hit much in all three rounds, however, it was his defensive play that saved one game and extended another; ALDS game 2, Teixeira made an important defensive play with the base loaded and zero outs, and in ALCS game 3, he kept the go ahead run from scoring, before the Yankees fell in extra-innings.
2B. Robinson Cano.. He has come of age playing at second. It is remarkable to see how far he has come. In 2007, one of the problems many fans had with Cano was his shoddy defense, but since that year, Cano has worked hard to improve his defense and this year it paid dividends when he helped turn 114 double plays.
3B. Evan Longoria.. Longoria is the real deal at third base. He has considerable range, a very strong arm and ever since he came up in 2008, we have witness a superstar in the making..not to be confused with Eva Longoria..
SS. Derek Jeter.. Seriously?
OF. Ichiro Suzuki.. Not only does Ichiro swing a mean bat, but he complements his offensive with crisp defense. Ichiro is one of those special players because he focuses on the fundamentals of the game on both sides of the ball, which is why he will be considered as one of the greats of the game here and in Japan.
OF. Carl Crawford.. He is the best all around left-fielder in the game, so it isn’t a surprise he has won it. This year Crawford in UZR with an 18.5 rating. That means he saved the Rays an average of 18 runs against.
OF. Franklin Gutierrez.. Not surprising. Gutierrez is one of the best centerfielders in the game today, and this season he gave the Mariners steller outfield play. In 2009, Gutierrez had a UZR of 29.1.
P. Mark Buehrle.. Of course he was going to win it this year. On Opening Day he made the play of the year; a play which inspired ESPN’s Buehrlemeter, the standard on which all defensive plays were judged during the course of the season. Buehrle however has been one of the best fielding pitchers in the American League, and one play made on Opening Day is just a microcosm of his excellent defensive play.
Derek Jeter’s contract….
I’m a little concerned that Jeter’s contract situation with the Yankees will be a personal distraction and could impact his play on the field. Although Jeter made it perfectly clear this morning that contract talks and negotiations, if they happen, will be behind close doors. If not, then the negotiations will take place at the end of the year. But in a way, how can Yankee fans be sure that the thought of a new contract won’t affect Jeter’s on field performance? I hope it doesn’t.
Now that the full Yankee squad is together again in Tampa, let the World Series Championship defense begin!
Countdown to begins…
Now that the Super Bowl and thus the pro-football season is over, let the countdown to spring training and the wonderful baseball summer marathon begin! As a fan of pro-football, I’m sad the season is now over (I was sadder when the Jets lost to the Colts two weeks ago, but that’s a different story), but my sadness will quickly give way to gleefulness as pitchers and catchers will start to report on February 18th. And with spring training, players and franchises alike begin the work to achieve their dream of winning a World Series championship. At the same time, fantasy baseball addicts begin to buy magazines and books with detailed statistics about every major leaguer in an attempt to put together the best fantasy team on paper. Football is over, no problem, baseball is coming soon!!
On fantasy baseball…
I’m really looking forward to the fantasy draft for my teams, but more importantly, I can’t wait until I create another winning team as I did last year. My first pick a year ago was Albert Pujols and he didn’t disappoint. The National League MVP deliver for all his fantasy owners as he lead the NL in homeruns (47), OBP (.443), SLG (.658), OPS (1.101), and runs scored (124). But Pujols wasn’t the only player on my fantasy team that helped out, other notables were Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. Jeter had an amazing season last year for the Yankees. He lead the team with .334 batting average that was also 3rd best in the American league. Jeter also posted an OBP of .408, which was also 3rd best in the American league. With 212 hits, Jeter was 2nd in the American League. But drafting establish stars doesn’t necessarily guarantee winners, that is why a smart baseball fan and fantasy player must look at sleepers. I believe that the best fantasy sleeper, at least in the way he helped out my team, was Pittsburgh Pirates/Washington Nationals centerfielder Nyjer Morgan. Morgan hit a solid .307 which was good enough for 10th place in the National League, but his biggest contribution to fantasy owners was his 42 stolen bases.
These were some of the players that helped me. Now, I wonder who the next sleepers will be and who will be the disappointments.
Caribbean Baseball
The Dominican Republic does it again as Los Leones Del Escogido have won the Caribbean World Series. Unfortunately I missed the entire series this week and I really regret that. However, for baseball fans who saw the series, I hope it was worth it. Caribbean baseball showcases the best talent from the caribbean that will hopefully contribute to the game internationally or in the Major Leagues. Caribbean baseball is also a great way for players hoping to win a job in the Spring to get ready for the grind that is spring training and the MLB season.
Thumbs up to…
The New Orleans Saints. Their victory tonight means that they are no longer the Aints and are now the top team in pro-football.
Thumbs up also to the Dominican Republic. Another championship in Winter Baseball keeps adding to the rich legacy that nation has produced in baseball.
A few thoughts on the LDS round.
After the first 11 games of this post season, 3 teams have already been eliminated, while two are tied (and currently playing in the top of the 4th inning, Rockies leading by 1). In the National League there was a surprise no one saw coming, except a minority of fans (including your humble writer), as the Dodgers swept the favored Cardinals in three games. When I picked the Dodgers to win, I thought this series would go the full five games. Instead, the Cards were three and out, even though Wainwright pitched well enough to win game 2. I guess the turning point of the series had to be the Matt Holliday drop with two outs in the bottom of the 9th with the Cards leading one. Had Holliday made the catch, there would have been a game four this afternoon. Alas it was not meant to be as Holliday comitted the error that not only turn the game around but turn the complexion of the series in the Dodgers favor. However, Cardinals fans shouldn’t be disappointed. If Wainwright and Carpenter comeback next season and continue to pitch as dominantly as they did during the season, the Cards would no doubt be the favorites in the NL.
Moving on to the American League, the Angels finally get the monkey off their backs (no pun intended) and beat the Boston Red Sox in the post season. I will admit that I only saw a few bits and pieces of this series, but what I saw was how dominant the Angels pitching was. Jered Weaver and John Lackey were. Both pitchers combined for a total of 14.2 innings of 6 hit ball, allowing only one, that’s right, ONE earned run, 11 strike outs and 3 walks. The Angels won because Lackey and Weaver outpitched Jon Lester and a great post season pitcher in Josh Beckett. Now, they will meet the Yankees for the ALCS starting on Friday.
Which brings me now to the aforementioned New York Yankees. Their series against the Twins was for the most part even except when they took advantage of the Twins mental errors. In two games, the Twins ran themselves out of potential big innings, and to make things worse, everytime the Twins got the lead in this series, they gave it away in the following inning or innings. In game one, Twins get an early 2-0 lead only to see it go away after a Derek Jeter two run homer. In game two, Twins get a one nothing lead, only to see it disappear. After taking the lead again, Nathan, their all star closer (and one of my important relievers of my fantasy baseball campaign) failed to shut down the Yankees, allowing a 2 run game tying homer to A-Rod. And tonight, Pavano–who put on a pitching clinic–failed to hold the Yankees after he inherited a 1 run lead. The Yankees had to comeback and beat the Twins in the final two games. The bullpen came up big each time and more importantly, A-Rod and the rest of the team got it done in the clutch.
The Yankees victory over the Twins tonight sets up what should be an interesting ALCS. As a Yankee fan I will not make any predictions. However, if the two teams have a series the way they did in late September, I will literally run out of nails to bite!
Yankees take 2 out of 3.
If you were looking for a good pitching duel, Sunday night’s game between the Yankees and Red Sox didn’t disappoint–that is if you were looking for a batting practice pitching duel–if you were looking for a real pitching duel, the much anticipated match up between Sabathia and Beckett never materialized. Leading off the game Derek Jeter–who is having an MVP type year and has been on a tear recently–hit a homerun deep into the Boston bullpen giving the Yankees a quick 1-0 lead. In the top of the 2nd inning Matsui hit his first of two homers in what would start a 5 homer night for the Yankees, as Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano also hit a pair of homers. The key to beating a pitcher like Beckett is to hit his mistakes, and tonight Beckett made five and the Yankees made him pay. Besides the 5 homers, Beckett made a mistake to Teixeira which led to an RBI double for the Yankee first baseman.
Sabathia….
C.C Sabathia did what he needed to do after the Yankees were blown out on Saturday afternoon, and that was giving the Yankees a quality start. Although he gave up 4 runs, 3 of which were earned, Sabathia would have pitched a much better game had the Yankees not committed some boneheaded errors and bad plays. Robinson Cano booting a groundball in the bottom of the first and then dropping a pop fly later in the game, made Sabathia worked harder than he had to. Also, the miscommunication between Damon, Jeter and Cabrera on another pop fly would led to Youkilis taking 3rd base and later scoring on a sacrifice fly. These errors, or mental lapses, whatever you want to call them made Sabathia night tougher than it had to be. It is a credit to Sabathia’s ability to keep his head in the game that allowed him to scape the few jams he got into and hold a very powerful lineup in check..Just what the Yankees needed after yesterday’s terrible loss.
Ahead…
Day off, with a big series against the Texas Rangers starting on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Mark Buehrle….WTF?
What has happened to Mark Buehrle since he threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays? In his last 6 starts after his magnificent performance on July 28, Buehrle has posted a record of 0-3, allowing 54 hits, 31 earned runs in 37 2/3′s inning. His ERA over the six game span is a terrible 7.50 with a WHIP of 1.64. He did have one quality start during the six game span throwing 8 innings of 6 hit ball against the Mariners at Seattle, but that game is the exception to what has been 5 forgettable starts after throwing his perfect game. Buehrle’s last six starts proves that in the marathon of baseball, anything could happen to a team..or in this case an individual player.
David Veloz
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