(no subject)
Testy Captain stops
short of owning up
By: John Harper
TORONTO - If it seems that Derek Jeter hasn't been as clutch as expected this season, well, the numbers say it's true. If it seems like he's made the last out in close games too many times this season, well, your eyes aren't lying.
Jeter's reputation for delivering when it counts most is such that he's still the guy you'd take at the plate with the game on the line. But when he took a called strike three yesterday to end a 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays, with Robinson Cano on second, it was the eighth time this season he'd made the last out of a game with the tying run on base.
Ouch.
The strikeout also left him hitting just .246 with runners in scoring position this season - .234 when there are two outs. That's a long way from the .303 average with runners in scoring position he posted over his first nine seasons.
It doesn't mean Jeter is having a bad season. But at a time when any loss could wind up costing the Yankees a playoff berth, the Yankees need him to be Mr. September, never mind the second coming of Mr. October.
Besides the strikeout yesterday, Jeter's bad throw on a double-play grounder in the second inning was perhaps the most costly play of the game, allowing the Blue Jays to score three runs when the inning was extended.
It wasn't an easy play, as Jeter took a ground ball toward the middle, ran a couple of steps to step on second himself, then threw wide of first, pulling Jason Giambi off the bag. But it was a play Jeter should have made, and usually does make.
Okay, so it wasn't his day, even if he did hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to pull the Yankees to within a run. It happens to the best of them. The real surprise was that the captain didn't take responsibility after the game for either the strikeout or the double-play ball.
When Jeter was asked about the bad throw, he made it sound as if it was a near-impossible play, partly because of the speed of the hitter, Russ Adams.
"I don't know if I would have gotten him anyway," Jeter said.
Maybe that's how it felt to Jeter, but he had Adams easily with a good throw, and if weren't for baseball's dopey scoring rule that says you can't assume a double play, he surely would have received an error on the play.
At the very least, you expected Jeter to say he should have made a better throw, whether he rushed it or not. But he clearly wasn't going there yesterday.
Same for the strikeout. When he was asked for his view of the called third strike, Jeter raised his voice and said emphatically:
"It was inside."
Again, it was obvious he didn't want to debate the issue. He surely didn't want to hear that on the TV replay the pitch looked like it had the inside corner.
At worst the pitch was borderline, which means Jeter had no business taking it, not in such a crucial situation.
Chances are he got caught looking for something away, something he could slash toward right field, as he often does with two strikes.
Jeter just didn't want to admit any such thing. Again, at the very least he should have said that even if he thought the pitch was inside, it was too close to take there and, as a result, he felt like sticking needles in his eyes to punish himself.
Okay, so that's a bit much. After all these years we know that Jeter rarely, if ever, offers insights into his emotions, or even on baseball issues such as his thinking at shortstop or in the batter's box. He takes his responsibility as captain seriously, making himself available after wins or losses, but he's ever guarded, keeping the media at arm's length by trying to bore reporters to death.
That's his right, of course, and Yankee fans couldn't care less, as long as Jeter is doing his thing, which usually means finding ways to win big games for his team. Indeed, Jeter remains the quintessential team player, respected by his teammates as a guy who cares only about winning, not stats.
Put it this way: He'll never put himself in a position to get ejected in the second inning from an important pennant-race game, as a certain 6-10 pitcher did the other night.
But that doesn't get him off the hook for yesterday. Jeter hardly was the only culprit, as the Yankees played a sloppy game just one day after winning with all of that sparkling defense on Saturday.
It's just that as they continue to chase the Red Sox and Indians for a playoff spot, the Yankees probably aren't getting one if Jeter isn't making the big plays at shortstop and living up to his reputation for clutch hitting. Yesterday was a costly reminder.
Originally published on September 19, 2005
x- copied, redsox.
short of owning up
By: John Harper
TORONTO - If it seems that Derek Jeter hasn't been as clutch as expected this season, well, the numbers say it's true. If it seems like he's made the last out in close games too many times this season, well, your eyes aren't lying.
Jeter's reputation for delivering when it counts most is such that he's still the guy you'd take at the plate with the game on the line. But when he took a called strike three yesterday to end a 6-5 loss to the Blue Jays, with Robinson Cano on second, it was the eighth time this season he'd made the last out of a game with the tying run on base.
Ouch.
The strikeout also left him hitting just .246 with runners in scoring position this season - .234 when there are two outs. That's a long way from the .303 average with runners in scoring position he posted over his first nine seasons.
It doesn't mean Jeter is having a bad season. But at a time when any loss could wind up costing the Yankees a playoff berth, the Yankees need him to be Mr. September, never mind the second coming of Mr. October.
Besides the strikeout yesterday, Jeter's bad throw on a double-play grounder in the second inning was perhaps the most costly play of the game, allowing the Blue Jays to score three runs when the inning was extended.
It wasn't an easy play, as Jeter took a ground ball toward the middle, ran a couple of steps to step on second himself, then threw wide of first, pulling Jason Giambi off the bag. But it was a play Jeter should have made, and usually does make.
Okay, so it wasn't his day, even if he did hit a solo home run in the eighth inning to pull the Yankees to within a run. It happens to the best of them. The real surprise was that the captain didn't take responsibility after the game for either the strikeout or the double-play ball.
When Jeter was asked about the bad throw, he made it sound as if it was a near-impossible play, partly because of the speed of the hitter, Russ Adams.
"I don't know if I would have gotten him anyway," Jeter said.
Maybe that's how it felt to Jeter, but he had Adams easily with a good throw, and if weren't for baseball's dopey scoring rule that says you can't assume a double play, he surely would have received an error on the play.
At the very least, you expected Jeter to say he should have made a better throw, whether he rushed it or not. But he clearly wasn't going there yesterday.
Same for the strikeout. When he was asked for his view of the called third strike, Jeter raised his voice and said emphatically:
"It was inside."
Again, it was obvious he didn't want to debate the issue. He surely didn't want to hear that on the TV replay the pitch looked like it had the inside corner.
At worst the pitch was borderline, which means Jeter had no business taking it, not in such a crucial situation.
Chances are he got caught looking for something away, something he could slash toward right field, as he often does with two strikes.
Jeter just didn't want to admit any such thing. Again, at the very least he should have said that even if he thought the pitch was inside, it was too close to take there and, as a result, he felt like sticking needles in his eyes to punish himself.
Okay, so that's a bit much. After all these years we know that Jeter rarely, if ever, offers insights into his emotions, or even on baseball issues such as his thinking at shortstop or in the batter's box. He takes his responsibility as captain seriously, making himself available after wins or losses, but he's ever guarded, keeping the media at arm's length by trying to bore reporters to death.
That's his right, of course, and Yankee fans couldn't care less, as long as Jeter is doing his thing, which usually means finding ways to win big games for his team. Indeed, Jeter remains the quintessential team player, respected by his teammates as a guy who cares only about winning, not stats.
Put it this way: He'll never put himself in a position to get ejected in the second inning from an important pennant-race game, as a certain 6-10 pitcher did the other night.
But that doesn't get him off the hook for yesterday. Jeter hardly was the only culprit, as the Yankees played a sloppy game just one day after winning with all of that sparkling defense on Saturday.
It's just that as they continue to chase the Red Sox and Indians for a playoff spot, the Yankees probably aren't getting one if Jeter isn't making the big plays at shortstop and living up to his reputation for clutch hitting. Yesterday was a costly reminder.
Originally published on September 19, 2005
x- copied, redsox.