Sorts of Sports

Oh Captain, My Captain

As the calendar struck May, the whispers grew into voices. Now, the voices are growing into articles and videos. The chance that Derek Jeter may never come out of this 13 month slump is growing by the day.

Anyone other than Derek Jeter and the chatter would be deafening. Hundreds of clutch at bats and five World Series rings will give a player considerable leeway. Plus, in an age of indiscretion and steroid accusations, Jeter represented class and integrity better than any player this generation.

But for even the most ardent supporters of the Captain, it's time to look at the cold hard facts. Last season was Jeter's worst statistically since his rookie year, but coming off a stellar 2009 campaign, a rebound from Jeter was not out of the question. His reputation and work ethic were outweighing the fact that he is turning 37 this year, an age shortstops rarely maintain above average skills at the plate.
Many of us are aware Jeter's average this season is hovering around the .270 he posted in 2010. In 2011, through roughly one sixth of the season, Jeter's numbers are in the same vein of a year ago, only much worse.

(Warning: If you judge your players on basic statistics invented in 1865, skip this next paragraph)
Of Jeter's 27 hits, just two have been for extra bases giving him a major league-low ISO power of .019. His two doubles were both hit on the ground, not the usual opposite field gappers that Yankee fans see when they rest their heads at night. Even his walk rate is the second lowest of his career. After leading the league in ground balls per at bat, Jeter has increased that percentage to 72 this year, driving more balls into the ground than any player in the bigs.

Fine, Jeter will figure it out. He's Derek Bleeping Jeter for crying out loud. The Captain of the New York Yankees. He's bedded more girls than anyone reading this can dream about. He'll pull out of this slump, hit .300 and be a formidable leadoff hitter come playoff time. If anyone can pull that off, I'll admit, it's Jeter.

What New York fans need to brace for is the chance that event doesn't occur. Maybe Jeter, unlike 17-year teammate Mariano Rivera, is human. Perhaps he will suffer through same demise as Cal Ripken Jr. Most don't recall the precipitous drop in Cal's production in his waning years. Ripken virtually had a four-year farewell tour in Baltimore and fans didn't seem to care. Those teams were chalking up 70-win seasons and waving to the Yankees from fourth-place every year. Cal was a ticket-draw unlike any other in Baltimore, so there was no reason to push him out the door.

The Yankees are a different beast. Derek Jeter or not, the Evil Empire will march on. They will find another shortstop to replace him, and continue to win 90 games a year. Give someone a blind look at Jeter's stats the past two seasons and his age attached to them, and 99 percent of fans will say that player is finished.

Again, if anyone can do this, it's the Captain. But Yankee fans need to be cautiously optimistic and stay level headed. I respect Jeter as much as anyone playing the game today and on a personal level hope he doesn't get fled out to pasture this soon. The reality is, he looks slow at the plate and his bat seems to have lost that spark.

Worst case scenario is that he finishes this year with 3,000+ hits, countless indelible memories, five rings and a place in the all-time shortstop pantheon. I think every Yankee fan would have taken that in 1995