Much Ado About Jeter

Is anyone really surprised that Derek Jeter won't discuss signing with the Yankees until next fall when his current contract is up? I mean this is the cool, level-headed captain whose approach never changes when he comes up to the plate in a big spot. As on the baseball field, this philosophy is also used off the field in the Yankee captain's contract negotiations. He has used this approach to to his professional life for years.

So the question must be asked, why is the local media making a story out of nothing. There are a few factors that contribute to the answer to this question. It's the offseason and there's nothing else to talkabout in the sports world. The local basketball and hockey teams stink and even though the Winter Olympics are going on, they only get put on the back page on the days there's no news about the Yankees or Mets. Local papers know the Yankees are a big draw especially on these cold winter days when allNew Yorkers want to see is the slightest sign that baseball season is upon us.

The local media feed on this. Every little word a Yankee or Met says is scrutinized and analyzed to death in hopes of garnering the same interest an actual game would in this town. The smallest of controversies get blown out of all proportion. The latest Derek Jeter contract negotiation non-issue was proof of this. He had to resort to holding a press conference in February to discuss his contract that doesn't expire until the end of this season in order to get the local media off his back.

The New York reporters I'm sure would follow Jeter everyday and ask him questions as if he was running for President. The difference with Jeter is it's a foregone conclusion he will re-sign with the Yankees. There's no chance of him retiring with any other team than the Yankees. Just as Jeter isn't thinking about his contract renewal now, nor should the fans or the media. The only thing true blue Yankees fans should be focused on right now is this season and rooting for their team to repeat. All this other stuff on the back pages now is nonsense and should be treated as such. Too bad the media don't feel the same way.

Cano Without Cabrera: Can He Do It?

On May 3, 2005, Robinson Cano made his Major League Baseball debut. The Yankees faced the Tampa Bay Rays and lost in convincing fashion, 11-4. The young second baseman went 0-for-3 with no hits and a strikeout.

Every Yankee fan probably cringed at the notion of Cano being the everyday second baseman. Although an established hitter in the minor leagues, his first game in the big leagues was quite forgettable.

Overall in 2005, Cano hit 14 home runs, batted .297, and knocked in 62 runs in 132 games. On the defensive side of the field, Cano committed 17 errors and mustered a .974 fielding percentage.

Needless to say he had yet to really break out and show us what he was truly made of.

2006 was Cano’s “coming out party,” so-to-speak. Along with being selected to his first All-Star Game, he hit 15 homers, had 78 RBIs, and batted .342—an average good for third place in the American League Batting Title race. Cano finished behind his teammate Derek Jeter and Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins.

Many theorize that Cano performed so well from 2006 and on because of his friendship with center fielder Melky Cabrera, who in ‘06 was a part of the Yankees’ main roster. The two young players developed a bond and felt a connection because of their roots to the Dominican Republic.

The two even dubbed themselves the “C & C Crew.”

In 2008 however, Cabrera was sent packing to the minor leagues for falling into a terrible slump. For the year, he hit only eight home runs, drove in only 37 runs, batted .249, and struck out 58 times in 129 games. Obviously Cabrera did not live up to his expectations and the Yanks had no choice but to option him.

With Cabrera in the minors, Cano also struggled and was eventually benched for his lackluster performance at the plate and sloppy defense. Cabrera was called back up to the majors in September and both players eventually came out of their respective funks to finish the season.

In 2009 both Cano and Cabrera had their best seasons to date numerically, and the Yankees benefited from each player’s success. Cano and Cabrera combined had five game-winning hits in ’09, and they both set career-high marks in home runs. The two young men and the Yanks finished the year the best was possible: winning a World Series Championship.

Now fast forward to 2010. Cabrera was traded to the Atlanta Braves for Javier Vazquez.

The Yankees needed a fourth starting pitcher and because of that need, Cano lost his best friend to a trade. And with that loss and Cabrera in Atlanta, how will Cano respond on the field this upcoming year? Will his numbers dip in Cabrera’s absence the same way they did in 2008?

All of these questions might be answered in Spring Training and toward the beginning of the year. Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui are also gone, meaning Cano needs to perform at the top of his game and in 2009 form this season.

To fill the void of Cabrera and Damon in the outfield, the Yanks picked up Randy Winn, Marcus Thames, and Jamie Hoffman, three players who will probably be vying for a roster spot in Spring Training. Along with the acquisition of Curtis Granderson, the Yanks’ outfield looks to be filled up this year.

Yet, if one of the off-season pickups does not live up to their expectations and Cano is struggling at the plate and on defense, don’t be surprised if the Yankees reach out to the Braves and negotiate a deal to get Cabrera back. He has already proved himself to be a major leaguer who can handle New York. If Winn, Thames, or Hoffman cannot handle it, we could see Cabrera back in the Bronx.

Cano can be a dominant player. But whether or not he can be a dominant player without Cabrera, remains to be seen.

Whatever's Best For the Team Has Been Replaced by Whatever's Best For Me

The development of Johnny Damon signing a one year contract with the Detroit Tigers is the most recent example of the overwhelming selfishness and insincerity of the professional athlete today. When the New York Yankees signed Damon to a four year, $52 million contract in 2005, he claimed he had always wanted to play for the Yankees. Fast forward to yesterday and Damon made the same claim of the Detroit Tigers.
It seems the 36-year-old outfielder has the desire to play for any major league club that pays him what he thinks he's worth, but not what the market says he's worth. When the Yankees signed him in 2005, Damon was a centerfielder in his early 30's. Damon, whose 36 and an average left fielder, wanted the Yankees to give him a pay increase. In 2005, $13 million a year for a starting centerfielder who came from a World Series winning team was reasonable. The Yankees in 2010 wanted to pay an aging left fielder with less than stellar stats $14 million for two years, and Damon found this unreasonable.
At a time when ten percent of the country is out of work, Damon doesn't think a guaranteed $14 million in his pocket for two years of less than stellar work is a sufficient salary. Maybe he and some other ballplayers need to be reminded that not too long ago players needed to work in the offseason just to make ends meet.
A right fielder for the New York Yankees by the name of Roger Maris had to share an apartment with a fellow teammate during the year he broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record of sixty home runs. Maris also was coming off of an MVP winning season. According to the Baseball Almanac Roger Maris made $42,000 in 1961.
Damon has never come close to this caliber and yet wants to make more than the $13 million a year the Yankees were paying him. On the other hand, not all of the blame lies with Damon. Baseball has become a multi-million dollar a year business where superstar agents are sold to the highest bidder. The question still remains, is it too much to ask these millionaires like Damon to take a pay cut for the team that has already given them too much.

The Core Four Are Back (Part 1)

Derek Jeter

Expecting the same numbers out of Jeter in 2010 would be wishful thinking, but the consistency that “Mr. November” has provided throughout his career is unheralded. We keep thinking a decline is right around the corner. He’s a step slower, his power is gone, the range is limited – This all appeared to be the case as Jeter’s stat-line read a mere 11 Home Runs, 69 Runs Batted In, a Slugging Percentage of .410, and 11 Stolen Bases in 2008. All four tallies were his lowest since 2003, a year in which Derek dislocated his shoulder on Opening Day (you all remember that slide into third base) and missed the first six weeks of the season. Before that, you would have to go all the way back to 1997, his second year in the league, to find similar numbers. It was time to accept that out fearless leader may have some limitations, but with a batting average still at .300 and that picturesque leaping throw to first base, there was no reason to panic.

The 2009 season began with a change in the lineup, bumping Jeter to the leadoff slot, but otherwise was ‘business as usual’ for Derek. A batting average hovering around .300, consistently scoring runs, a dinger and a stolen base sprinkled in here and there. As the year progressed and he got more comfortable with his new spot atop the order, Jeter went into cruise mode as we have seen so many times before. Interestingly, by the end of July, Derek had already matched his 11 homers from the year before, and had surpassed his 2008 stolen base number by 8. The power could somewhat be attributed to the friendly confines of the new Yankee Stadium, but it was clear that the burners weren’t gone.

When it was all said and done at the end of the regular season, Jeter had stolen the third most bases of his career (30 - at an 86% success rate), hit 18 longballs, was second in all of baseball with 212 hits, and ranked in the top ten for both Batting Average and On Base Percentage. He then went on to live up to his nickname in the playoffs with another 22 hits (1^st), a .344 average, and a .432 OBP.

Oh yeah, and the Yankees won the World Series.

Perhaps 2009 was the last year that our ageing Captain hits over 15 Home Runs. There’s a good possibility that he will never steal 30 bases again. Maybe a couple extra ground balls will find their way through the hole this year. The one thing I do know, is that when the game is on the line and Derek Jeter steps up to the plate, I am never worried. Until the fateful day that #2 hangs his pinstriped jersey up, all is right in the game of baseball.