Very classy move on the part of the Angels to honor Derek Jeter becoming the first member of the New York Yankees to hit his way toward the magic 3,000 mark. The Angels gave Jeter what looks like a lovely painting and he seemed very pleased by the gift. I think Jeter has taken a lot of pride in this particular achievement, even if he doesn’t talk about it anymore.
There was talk of a pre-game ceremony honoring Jeter, but that apparently got scratched due to pushback (some of it quite nasty) from Angels fans. I understand their bewilderment at the thought of honoring an opposing player (and a Yankee no less), but I would have thought Jeter was well liked enough around baseball that such an honor wouldn’t be so controversial. Plus, they shouldn’t be that hostile toward the Yankees since the Angels beat them twice in the playoffs in 2002 or 2005. Perhaps they are still upset about the American League Championship Series in 2009.
• Nice of the New York Times to catch up to me in wondering why Mariano Rivera’s pursuit of the all-time saves record is not getting much play. But the Times made an interesting point in that the baseball world might not be paying much attention to the pursuit because Rivera is already widely considered the greatest closer in baseball history and surpassing Trevor Hoffman is a mere formality. I would say that perhaps Rivera can get a nice painting from an opposing team as a tribute after he notches the record, but the last road trip of the year goes through Tampa Bay so I won’t hold my breath.
• Francisco Cervelli is a tough guy, but there was no way he was coming out of that direct hit to the head on Thursday without another concussion. I felt physically ill just watching that collision at home plate. It was a brilliant, gritty play, even if it did come in a losing effort.
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