In the 15 seasons prior to the current MLB campaign, no single team has had more success than the New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers, in that time span, have won 5 World Series championships, 7 American League championships, 11 American League East Division titles, and have made 14 playoff appearances. Two constants on the Yankees roster during that 15 year run have been shortstop Derek Jeter and catcher Jorge Posada.
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| 1996 was a long time ago. 1 |
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?
Contract negotiations between Derek Jeter and the Yankees were a major hot stove headline this past offseason. Jeter, age 36, wanted a four year, eight figure contract. The Yankees were willing to offer three. The sides eventually came to an agreement on a fourth player option year with incentives and a buyout clause. Still, the negotiation process became very public and, at moments, very tense.
Jorge Posada, age 39, is in the final year of his contract, earning $13 million in 2011. The baseball world was abuzz with reports that Posada had asked out of Saturday’s lineup against the Boston Red Sox. Many media outlets speculated that Posada was disgruntled because he had been moved to the bottom of the Yankees’ batting order in the ninth position. Posada’s batting average had fallen to .165 as of Saturday.
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| Father Time is undefeated and untied. 2 |
Yankees manager Joe Girardi voiced his displeasure to the media with the situation. Prior to Sunday night’s game, Posada apologized to the Yankees fans, coaches, and players for his actions on Saturday. Jeter later told the media that he saw no cause for Posada to apologize and, according to ESPN’s sources, management was not pleased with Jeter’s public remarks on the situation.
Jeter is in his 16th year with the Yankees. In 2010, Jeter finished the regular season with a .270 batting average, the first time in his career he completed a full season with a batting average below .290 and far below his .313 career batting average. His 10 home runs, .340 on base percentage, .370 slugging percentage, and 1 sacrifice bunt were all career lows for Jeter. This season, Jeter is hitting .260. While a shortstop hitting .260 or .270 is better than the average Major League shortstop, clearly it is far below Jeter’s standard. Still the Yankees signed Jeter to a lucrative contract this past offseason that will pay him through age 40.
Posada was at or near career lows in the same batting categories in 2010. His disastrous start to this season is a clear signal that he is at the end of his career. Being moved from the field to the designated hitter spot and being moved to the bottom of the batting order sends another such signal. Girardi has a delicate situation on his hands.
THERE IS NO "I" IN "TEAM"
The Yankees are a team that should be in a three way battle for the American League East division, with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox, in September. Players like Jeter and Posada are legendary, future Hall of Fame players (certainly for Jeter and probably for Posada). They are also fan favorites. Everyone on the team is entitled to respect and players of Jeter’s and Posada’s standing are deserving of a level of dignity and appreciation when personnel decisions, unflattering or unfavorable to them, are executed.
No team, expected to contend, needs the type of internal conflict that appears to be brewing in the Bronx. In addition, while Jeter is no longer dominant, he is still as productive as an average Major Leaguer on offense and won a Gold Glove last season, meaning he is far from washed up on defense, as important a contribution from the shortstop position as batting. Girardi must find a balance between the immediate needs of the team to win games now and the feelings of the legendary players responsible for the teams' past success and current affection of the fans.
At the same time, Jeter and Posada have responsibilities to which they should own up. Posada’s batting performance would cause most players to be benched, released, traded or sent down to the minors. Posada needs to own the fact that he is not pulling his weight on the team and Girardi needs to make the necessary changes to enable the Yankees to win. Jeter needs to recognize that the .260 hitting he is producing is less than what the Yankees have received from him at any time in the past. If the current course remains unchanged, it is only a mater of time before Jeter is removed from the Yankees' leadoff spot in the batting order.
Baseball is ultimately a team sport. Legendary veteran players have earned a degree of special favorable treatment. Most managers recognize this and the Yankees’ front office needs to grasp that reality, as cold and objective as it would like to be in personnel dealings. Still, Jeter and Posada need to come to grips with the fact that they are on the downsides of their careers and that, eventually, the team needs to move on in its own best interests.
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| Forget about the joker on the left. If Posada still made plays like this, I would not be writing this article today. 3 |
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1) Image from weblogs.wpix.com
2) Imagr from dero.net
3) Image from eboumsworld.com
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