Saturday, September 4, 2010

Yanks won't embarrass Jeter with lineup drop


Joel Sherman of the New York Post made the bold statement that Derek Jeter should be dropped in the New York Yankees lineup. It's a perfectly valid opinion, but it's not going to happen.

It's hard to argue against batting Jeter at the bottom of the lineup, especially taking into account all the rally-killing double plays he has grounded into this year. Jeter started today’s baseball game hitting at .266 with only 59 ribbies and has recently looked overmatched at the plate and frustrated in the dugout.

Jeter has consistently said he doesn't care where he hits in the lineup, but he does like batting in the first inning. However, Jeter is a very proud individual and would probably be terribly embarrassed if he was dropped to the bottom of the order. And that's the reason why Joe Girardi can't do it. He can't publicly embarrass the Yankee Captain by writing his name in the seventh, eighth or ninth spot in the lineup card.

Sherman made a legitimate, ballsy suggestion in his column that Girardi probably will be forced to ignore, but I do I hope Jeter saw the column. He claims not to read the papers anymore, but if he saw it or was asked about it, he could take it as a challenge and perhaps be motivated to show he still belongs at the top of the lineup. Jeter loves proving people wrong and if he can get on a hot streak heading into the playoffs, it would boost the Yankees chances in October.

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