Man, it sure is hot out there.
Derek Jeter is two hits away from 3,000. Alex Rodriguez could be headed for surgery. He’d miss a month if he has it now or he could wait until the end of the season. Drag.
Yanks-Rays today:
Let’s Go Yankees.
[Photo Credit: Hygge and Sisu]
Man, I'd think maybe biting the bullet and having Alex do the surgery now makes some sense, no? Instead of him playing with diminished power. What do you think?
I'd say the offense shown by Nunez while he was playing short makes it a much easier decision. I would encourage him to do it now.
that is a drag.
i recently had knee surgery - it ain't any fun.
hopefully whenever he decides to have the surgery he comes back strong.
Have it now, get it over with. An ineffective A-Rod isn't going to help in the playoffs.
2999!!!
Energy at stadium is awesome!
3000 WITH A BANG!!!
DEREK JETER!
CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!!!
Driven deep!
Man, that was fucking awesome!
[8] Kay gets a pass on that one
=)
TESH!
line drive in the box score!
Dang, missed it, just got back from a scroll saw demo.
Way to go, Cap'n!
Truly Jeterian.
Jeter's played 3 1/2 games since coming back and he's got 3 doubles and 1 home run, all hit to LCF.
I'm wondering if he's made a conscious decision to start pulling the ball more, or whether he's just quicker to the ball inside with the rest ...
9 days younger than Pete Rose on three thousandth hit? I don't think Derek's going to get 4000.
Aw crap.
BJ >>> AJ
Fucking AJ.
Dammit, c'mon people make Price work.
3001!!!
YOU WATCH YOUR ASS, PETE ROSE!
Three thousand and one!
Alright, tied up!
Damn, I just got in. I missed the 3000th hit. I tried to watch it on MLB, but it has crashed.
Congrats, Derek!
Wow ... I'd forgotten Jeffrey Hammonds was picked before Jeter in that draft.
Hammonds was a hell of player, even back in HS, I think he hit the longest hit I ever gave up as a pitcher ...
FUCKING POSADA.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.
Hot Damn. Had to hear via tex. Atta boy Captain. Congrats!
3002!
I was able to watch the 3000th hit through the NY Times link to MLB. Wow, I was so happy for Derek. Jorge embracing him in that bear hug and then Mo. The whole team was there to celebrate with him, while the crowd went wild. I saw the guy who caught that ball. It must be worth a couple hundred thousand at least to a rabid wealthy Yankee/Jeter fan.
[26] Pretty cool that the guy didn't want anything for it, and gets rewarded with tickets for the rest of the season, including the post season, if I heard right.
Just saw the replay. Feel-good moment all around, Damon even led the Rays out of the dugout to clap. Now, just gotta win.
FUCK.
2 hard hit balls, 2 damn outs.
Ugh. I sure hope these stranded runners don't come back to haunt us ...
[30] Le sigh ...
FUCKING FUCK FUCKED.
Walk off hit for Derek.
We want a triple
But I'll take that.
2003!
Cap'n, oh my Cap'n!
Phew!
Phew.
Man, that ball must have found a jet stream, it just took off at the end.
Thanks be to Mo...
And to the Captain!
5-5, 3000+ hits, and the game winning hit.
5 for 5 is doing it in style. Better yet a W and a save for Mo.
"Happy to be here."
Perfect.
Awesome game.
Yup, couldn't have scripted that any better.
Thanks Derek, that was wonderful!
Today, I'm a proud fan. Derek has flash and yet goes about his business. Classy dude.
Wonderful day to be a Yankee fan. Thank you, Captain.
Darren Viola and I are having a debate on Facebook about Jeter. I think he's one of the top ten shortstops of all-time; Darren not so willing to include him. I've got Jeter as No. 9, behind Appling, Banks, Boudreau, Cronin, Ripken, Vaughn, Wagner, and Yount.
Jeter at ninth, followed by either Ozzie Smith or Alan Trammell. I didn't include any Negro Leagues or 19th century shortstops because of the difficulty of evaluating them.
[47] He's arguably top three. It's tough to situate Yount, given that he only played half his career at SS. I mean, if you include Yount, then you have to include A-Rod, no? Similarly, Banks played more games at 1B than SS.
[39] Yeah, but admit it...you're a little sad.
[47] What, no Rabbit Maranville? I kid.
[49] No! Those are tears of joy!
Okay, I admit it. A touch of nostalgia, an ounce of melancholy when he singled home the winning run (because it was, you know, a grounder).
[47] On my list I have Chicken Stanley #1.
[47] FWIW, Jeter is ahead of about half of those guys in Career WAR.
It's funny, Jeter has a ton of hatas out on the interwebs.
Some of those guys missed some prime years to WWII. Wagner, Vaughn, Cronin are clearly ahead. The other guys are all debatable.
The Yankees win and Derek had an outstanding game. Perfection.
[27] It is amazing that Lopez, the fan who caught the ball, didn't want anything for the ball. Very cool. He gets to meet Jeter, autographed stuff, and tickets for the rest of the season. His girlfriend gave him the tickets as a birthday present. Great story.
[56] Is Joe Crinin clearly ahead of Jeter? Why? Their OPS+ is very close, but Jeter has a huge advantage in steals and in counting stats. Jeter is way ahead in WAR. Cronin missed no time (that I can see) because of military service, and was basically a part time player from age 35 to 38.
Vaugn is a ahead, but not by much (though he did lose a bunch of years in the military. Wagner is, of course unassailable.
[57] That was a response to [55].
[57] Actually, did Vaugn miss time in the military, or was he just pissed off at Durocher and quit for a few seasons?
My peoples...I was there.
[60] Awesome.
[60] Wow.
You're right. Vaughn was just pissed off at Durocher.
I don't really accept WAR as a valid approach in this context. I judge older players on a different scale because of the advantages more recent players have that can benefit their longevity.
Granted, there are other factors in those older players' favor (lesser competition, for one).
I compare players to other players of their era and compare their offensive/defensive effectiveness.
I accept that you may feel differently. I take back my 'clearly.'
The other issue is that Jeter still has a few years to go -- years in which it's not be unreasonable to expect him to put up a negative total WAR.
Thinking over it some more, you probably also have to put Ripken ahead of him. Jeter is the better offensive player, but Ripken probably makes up the difference on D.
All of which is to say, I think he's probably a top 5 shortstop. I acknowledge that there's a case (and perhaps a strong case if he can post a few years of a 750 OPS or so) for him being ranked even higher.