tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

The Obsession With Derek Jeter

The NY Daily News, the NY Post, and ESPN have stories today about Derek Jeter being dropped in the lineup.  The NY Post equates the situation to when Don Mattingly was dropped in the lineup and replaced by Paul O'Neill.  But is the situation really the same???  And does this merit the type of media scrutiny that we are seeing and reading??

Mattingly batted 3rd and while hitting over .300 was not hitting for power and driving in runs.  O'Neill was leading the AL in hitting and was the obvious choice to replace Donnie Baseball in the 3 spot.  Who replaces Jeter as the leadoff hitter???  If you look at the current Yankee roster and specifically the current lineup, there is no one who is better than Jeter right now to be placed in leadoff spot.  Brett Gardner has already been there and has been moved.  Curtis Granderson is not an option either and it may be better for the Yanks to have him in a position to be able to drive in runs as evidenced by his 2 home runs last night which led the Yanks to victory.

Does this merit the media scrutiny??? Absolutely not!!  Derek Jeter's hitting woes are a concern but so are those of Jorge Posada, ARod, Nick Swisher, and Brett Gardner.  While today marks the first time there have been stories on Posada's hitting struggles, no one really is questioning anyone else.  So why the obsession with Jeter??

I'm going to throw out a theory here that has no basis in fact: maybe the Yankee heirarchy is behind all of this.  There is no question that there was bad blood between Jeter and the Yankees over his contract.  I think there is also no question that most fans sided with Jeter.  So the Yankees want to show who's boss here and stir these stories to get fans to clamor for a demotion forcing Jeter to come forward and accept it.  Ridiculous???  Who knows.  Don't forget the Yankees leaked stories and planted questions to get at Joe Torre in his later years.

The real story is the lack of development in the Yankees farm system as it relates to offensive players.  As I've mentioned before on this blog, Bernie Williams was  the last outfielder who was developed within the system who was a bona fide keeper.  Look at the current lineup: Jeter, Cano, Posada and Gardner are home grown with Jeter and Posada on the downside of their careers.  The real focus should be on Mr. Cashman & Company. But you don't see any stories about that!!!!