It's true though, ARod is a much better shortstop then Jeter. The Yankees would be a better team with Arod at SS then Jeter.
I guess this is just one of those situations where the two of us will never see eye to eye. No biggie. The only thing that matters is that we are discussing baseball issues in earnest now, so that means the season is only weeks away!
Jeter at second would have Cano in another city right now. It's silly. No way you put a player like Jeter at second base. Yes, ARod at the top of his game is light years better than Jeter, but people sometimes act like Jeter is a slouch. (Especially Mets fans.) Any day of the week I take Jeter over ARod, if I have to make a choice between one or the other. Jeter may not be as physically gifted as Alex, but Jeter never fails. He's a top-tier major league shortstop, a consistent hitter, and never has a bad October.
also consider the fact that jeter has won the gold glove 3 years in a row how could arod do much better than that? i would rather have jeter at SS and arod at 3rd than arod at SS and jeter at 3rd/2nd
Jeter's major defensive flaw his entire career previously was his lack of range, having to make up for Brosius who, while he was very good with the glove, also had poor range, and the same with the revolving door at 2B (but much more so to Jeter's right). Enter A-Rod, a player with tremendous range and athletic ability. Jeter's won a Gold Glove the last three years... Jeter's played next to A-Rod the last three years. Jeter's been able to change his positioning on the field because of a player next to him with great range to his left, and it has reduced the appearence of Jeter's lack of range.
He was awful with the glove this year, but he still has tremendous range, and it's allowed Jeter to position himself to make up for his lack of range. Jeter and A-Rod are defensive opposites. Jeter is great with the glove but has poor range. A-Rod can get clumsy with the glove, but has outstanding range.
I'm not saying moving Jeter to 2nd was the best option but surely having the best SS of his generation playing SS would have been a smarter move for the Yankees.
At the risk of alienating the heart and soul of the team? Nope, bad move. As for the whole lack of range thing, I find it laughable. The only play I can remember every single moment of, in the whole history of my watching sports, is Derek Jeter diving into the stands to catch a foul ball. If that's a lack of range, I'll take that lacking any day. There is no question that ARod has more physical gifts than Jeter. He's a better fielder, and a better hitter. But there is no comparison between them when it comes to consistency. Jeter is far and beyond the player ARod has been, or ever will be, when it comes to doing it for 8 months straight. If you gave me the choice to start a team with one or the other, at any point in either of their careers, I'd take Jeter at any point in his career, over ARod at his best. Every time.
That didn't display any extraordinary range. It's not like he went from his position and caught it in the stands. The only reason he dove into the stands was because he was running so fast he probably couldn't have stopped without slamming his knees into the wall. Even Jeter's biggest defenders would admit if he has one flaw, it's a lack of range on defense. It's not even an issue. One play doesn't change that, especially one that doesn't really show any great range. It was also a flyball, his trouble is with grounders to the other side.
Why would it be alienating Jeter. I think the whole point here is that a true captain puts the team ahead of himself, in this case stepping aside to let the better SS play the position because it makes the team stronger. Craig Biggio has done it time and time again without complaining.
I'm not saying Jeter has incredible range, just that it isn't as bad as it's made out to be so often. (No, that play I talked about doesn't prove anything, you're right.) I just find it laughable that a bona-fide All-Star, and multiple Gold Glove winner, playing arguably the hardest position in the sport, for one of the most prestigious teams, gets a bum rap so often. Is ARod a better shortstop? Absolutely. Is Derek Jeter a bad second? Not at all.
In terms of leadership he's better then Jeter. Biggio is a future Hall of Famer and one of the classiest guys playing the game today, he ALWAYS puts the team ahead of himself. He?s done anything the Astros have asked him to do and never once complained or chose the selfish route.
I don't think he needs to vocally support him in the media, he needs to support him behind closed doors and apparently he's not doing that so that's a check against Derek BUT ARod should be mentally tougher than to allow something like that to affect his play. If ARod needs to be coddled then it reall is time for him to go. Really? A HOF SS and winner should move to make room for a choker who couldn't win on his own and just went for the money when he had a good situation in Seattle? Biggio was at the end of his career desperate to even get to a WS let alone win one, Jeter is the far superior player and has 4 titles. Why should Jeter have to move from his position(in which he'll be a HOFer) in the prime of his career? by the way, I LOVE the avatar:rofl:
I only know of one other captain in baseball and I think that he is one of the best. Jason Varitek of the Red Sox. He is almost Messier like in the way he leads that team. To me, a captain needs to do more than lead by example, he needs to protect his teammates regardless if they are a friend or a dick but yet they also need to be able to know when to call out a player if needed. I would have to say that right now, Mussina seems to be more of a captain then Jeter.
George Steinbrenner SNY: I was reading an interview that you had done regarding how you had researched your book Dynasty and how you had gone over to Yankee Stadium where you found a treasure-trove of documents. PG: What an amazing experience that was. SNY: And you also said that when George Steinbrenner took over ownership of the Yankees, he threw away all this great archival material. PG: The whole thing. SNY: What kind of things did he throw out? PG: Letters from scouts, letters from the Commissioner's Office, all this baseball correspondence. SNY: Why do you think he did that? PG: He didn't want to pay for the storage of it and he had no interest in history. He's not anybody who cares about history of the Yankees. SNY: Though he wears that like a badge of honor, doesn't he? PG: Well, I don't know. No, I don't think he does. I think he's another one. Whatever happened before 1973 doesn't mean a thing to him. SNY: That's really outrageous that he would ... http://www.sny.tv/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070218&content_id=1421716&vkey=1 -Peter Golenbock
