It was a big day in Yankeeland, with them overcoming a 7-1 lead to win, 22-9 thanks to a record-setting three grand slams in one game. Then I woke up this morning to hear the really big news, that Derek Jeter and Minka Kelly have broken up.
Remember Derek Jeter's stated reason for having HBO cameras film for a documentary, including all sorts of footage of him with Kelly? He said it was so when he had kids, they could see what he was like as a player? (Yes, because Jeter just languished in obscurity all those years -- until allowing HBO to film him, all they would have had were some old kinescope clips!) Now any future children will see him with the woman who is not their mother. Awkward!
Anyhow, ever since Jeter went on a hot streak since hitting DJ3K, I've heard some fans suggesting that anybody who fretted over his career decline over the past year owes an apology, needs to eat crow, blah, blah, blah. Um, no. We're not talking about, say, writing Mariano Rivera's career off when he blew three games in a row earlier this month. We're talking about over a year's worth of data.
The captain hit .270 in 2010. And for an entire year -- June 2010 to June 2011 -- he hit .255, with a .666 OPS. And his power has been way down. It was not unreasonable to talk about him slipping, no matter how well he has hit over the past month and a half. And if this issue involved any other player, nobody would feel such a need to do this "I told you so" thing. But this is Derek Jeter we're talking about, and he's never allowed to get any criticism, ever, without the "Shut Up, He's Got Five Rings" contingent having a hissy fit.
I'm glad Jeter's doing better right now, because it's helping the team win more games. Isn't that enough?
2 comments:
Apparently, it's not enough, because you're still saying he's in decline. Man, I wish I had declined to the point where, at the age of 37, I could only hit .299.
Alex Rodriguez is hitting .293. David Wright is hitting .259. Just keep that in mind.
Derek Jeter is to be compared to Derek Jeter only...not A-Rod, David Wright or anyone else. Yes, he is hitting better now. But for the previous year he had been in a serious decline that resulted in a .250+ batting average and only four homeruns and many aborted rallies and Yankee losses with those countless ground balls to short or third.
Let's hope that his resurgence is long lasting.
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