Jeter vs. Jeter

He is not going out in the style, I would want a great player (as he is) to end his days as a Yankees.

1) Jeter has never been in the top 2-3 SS in the AL...Gold Gloves are political statements not for their defence.

2) The good part is Jeters Hitting, he is not a bad SS at all, just not as good as some others at defence but, one of the three best of all time hitters!

3) The stats Jeter is putting up right now is a big aberration, there is little too no chance he will end-up over .310 or even .300.

4) Jeter still has much better baseball instincts then most players I have seen over the years

As a baseball nut, let me state....I would like to have Ozzie Smith as my everyday SS rather than Jeter! The big thing to remember is; the make-up of said team....Now just think, don't go cold to the touch here.!

From 1995 on, the Yankees have had exceptional players, a very well balanced team...don't count the unbalanced teams! For the last 15-17 years this team has needed a All-Star defensive SS more than an Ok defensive big hitting SS. Be Strong Defensively up the middle, is an old saying but, true none the less.

When Jeter came up, he showed a very good bat, better than OK defense but the thing I saw through all the newsprint and everything else was; 1)-Baseball Instincts and 2)- his ability to handle the press.

We have all heard talking heads say things like, "I don't know what it is but, it makes him a better ballplayer!" Well, as one that has dealt with this so call "thing", let me clue you in...it is called Instincts! Instincts can make an avg+ player into a very good player.

Thus, we have Jeter, if we take away his baseball instincts we have an ok SS...nothing more. But, he has that thing so he is bound for the HoF

Some will say I am stupid and a Jeter hater...the problem is, you guys are fans of baseball and read stats and think you see the same Jeter of years past. Look, and you shall see, let us not  forget the short days or weeks of Jeter being amazing...they will slowly get shorter, if he stays to long. 

Phil Hughes, Minor league Pitchers

        Any trade involving Phil is premature, his talent is very well documented. When he is healthy (and in shape) he can be a strong #2 or #3. It seems like many fans are way to demanding of our pitchers. If they have trouble and don't pitch as we think they should after much hype, we want to trade them.
There are guys that have so much talent they fly thru the minors with very little trouble and don't keep themselves in top shape.Ergo, Joba and Phil, Joba came up and pitched real well in the BP. Phil had one heck of a game going in Texas. The big thing is, both of them were out of shape, when one is out of playing shape, bad things happen like...injuries, which did happen to them both.We have some guys in the minors that I hear fans saying; "trade Dillin and so and so for this guy or that guy".I understand the idea behind a trade of some of our best pitchers but, one must understand, of the five or so top rated pitchers we have in the minors only one or two will be good enough to stick in the Yankees rotation. The others will be good enough for trade bait or BP service. Don't forget what Nova did last year, he was not expected to pitch as well as he did because, he was not one of the higher rated guys. He was one of the guys that was closer to the show, that was one of the main reasons he was pitching last year. So ones position on the 100 list is no free ticket to the show and success.Pitching is the name of the game fans, we have and will have hitting for long enough to wait for our bats in the minors.Maybe some of you will remember before IPK was traded, many fans were up in arms because he made a comment that fans thought were a bit on the egotistical side. Well, look at him now! I said at the time IPK could be one of the better pitchers of the three but, he was better suited for the NL. One thing fans must get through their heads is...without the self confidence (or ego) shown by IPK, one will never be the best one can be.There was shock the day Mickey was answering questions on TV....there shouldn't have because he always told the truth when asked but, they never published his quotes when he was playing...he was asked  about his work ethic, he said "what work ethic!" This from a guy that just played on his God given talents without putting in the hard work every other player has to put in to reach the top.So, bottom line, players like Jeter, A-Rod, Cano, Tex and CC don't get to be the best without the ego, determination and hard work to refine their God given talent. This is also why so many of the best players stay to long.
We will soon see if our young pitchers have these things that are needed to make the transition to the big show.

The Pore Young 'uns, You never saw some of the best!?

Bob Gibson

Some of the young-uns think, cutting the pie is an after game treat! Just kidding!

I some times pity the younger generation, They missed out on seeing some of the greatest players of all time in their best years.

How many of them would be shocked to see Bob Gibson just throw bee-bees and not let anyone crowd the plate…Jeter, Posada and some of those guys that are diving over the plate would get a high hard one stuck in their ear. Or the tandem of Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax along with Osteen and Podres (4man rotation). Sal “The Barber” Maggly(SP). These guys would go 9 or more innings almost every game.

Remember the “Cleveland Jet” Herb Score, Bob Feller, Bob Turly or Ryne Duren…now those four guys could bring hot hot hot heat and I don’t care who you are, you would never dig in against Turly or the others…at least, not twice.

There were many other old timers pitchers and Pos. Players that some never saw, in real life.

This is why I always say, “Stats are a very good tool but, not a bible,” a very well trained eye lets the stats show him a problem but, it depends on the person putting them together to be good at his job also. Also, stats don't tell you if a problem can be corrected and how to do it.

Take the stats of Jeter compared to Rizzuto, the stats say Jeter was heads above Phil but, how can Ruzzuto (a very good SS in his time), from 60 years ago be compared to Jeter and his stats of today. If one had never seen Phil or Jeter play, one would say Phil couldn't carry Jeters Jock...and they would be right. Having seen both of them play, Jeter was the better of the two but not by as much as the stats show.

Can anyone of you see A-Rod, Tex or Cano swinging a club like they use to just 25 years ago...38 to 40+ ounce bats were used by most players back then, have any of you seen the gloves of 30+ years ago?

According to the stats, Hammering Hank was a better player then "The Babe" in HRs' but, do any of you really believe he was? No, not a bit but, the stats say other wise. So don't make a judgement on who is the better player on stats alone think about it a bit. Would Jeter have hit as well back in the 50s' or 60' as now... No f--king way. He would dive across the plate with that 38 oz., of wood and end up in the hospital. Remember, they didn't have helmets back then and most of the good pitchers would throw at your head in a heart beat. Also, I started with a 38 bottle bat, hands separated and choked way up, from both sides of the plate. 

(Jeter and Phil were used because everyone knows of them both.)

Jeter-The Face of the Yankees

Jeter-The Face of the Yankees

Jeter is a heck of a SS and IS the Face of the Yankees but, Captain Clutch he is not and never has been. The only two times he ever showed up was for Posada and Jason. But, when it came to Andy and A-Rod he was a no show.
Jeter is the model for every kid that wants to play baseball…he is the all-American guy!
These things are true but, the sad thing is…he will play until he can no longer do his job, then what? Kids will always see Jeter as he ended his tenure as a SS for the Yankees…not as the bright star and Face of the Yankees.
I had to sit through the endings of HOF players before, Joe "D", Yogi, Mickey Mantle, Willy Mays, and Hammering Hank...all of them waited to long to let go. Joe "D" by one year, Yogi by one year, Mickey by four or five years (He was all the Yanks had), Willy and Hank were a few years late also but they were after records.
Believe me when I say; "I had to watch a hurting Mickey get picked off 2nd base." I watched him swing and miss a pitch and almost fall down because of all his injuries with the legs etc.,!
Now we are presented with an over age Star playing SS and wants to go into the HOF but, I ask you all out there in Yankee land; What records has he broken or set other then Yankee records? None, he does have over 3,000 hits but, in a few years there will be another few guys joining him (to makes him one of 28) to make more then that even.
Don't misunderstand me, he will make it into the HOF but not for his playing baseball, it will be because everyone thinks he is such a super guy and the glue that holds the team together, granted he is the best PC guy I have ever seen in baseball. And when it all boils down to the bottom line; his being TOO PC and his quest for the HOF for doing nothing great is the only thing I have against him.