When you read every comments section of article any Jeter is mentioned in, I've seen a small small handful of people take the hardline approach. The majority want Jeter in pinstripes for life, and for whatever the fuck he wants to be paid. It would be a PR NIGHTMARE to lowball Jeter and/or lose him in NYY.
But where would he go? Even if the Yanks "lowball" him, it'll still be far more than he'd get anywhere else. What, is he going to be sooooo insulted that he'll take two less years and two thirds of the AAV to play in LA? Not likely.
You're absolutely right. Yankees fans were upset when the Yanks unceremoniously dumped Bernie Williams. They got lucky Mattingly offered to retire on his own. The general fanbase would never forgive a transgression against Jeter. He's viewed as the epitome of a "true Yankee" and the paying customers wouldn't accept trashing him. Not when they allowed Alex Rodriguez to drop the Texas money and still come back. This is one of those times where you have to spend some to make some. The Yankees are going to overpay, and they're going to give him more years than they should. They don't have a choice.
So, a female listener on Francesa's show just called up a few minutes ago and caught me off guard with her comment and question. Her comment: She is not a Derek Jeter fan. Her question: Why is it fair to talk about moving Jeter to 3rd in 2012, which is taking A-Rod away from his defensive position? Is it fair to A-Rod? Her comment caught me off guard completely, didn't even give a reason. Her question though, fair statement. Discuss.
Why is it fair? Who cares about fair? But it seems like it would work out better for both players. A-Rod is slipping defensively, and would be better off at DH as he ages because of his hip. Jeter is slipping defensively, too, but would probably be better than A-Rod at 3B, and doesn't have enough of a bat to move to DH or corner OF.
The only answer I have is that ARod is getting to the point where his body can't handle the rigors of playing a position and being a great hitter. Obviously you take the bat if you have the luxury of choice, which in this case, the Yankees would. Otherwise she has a perfectly valid point. Then again, Jeter should have changed positions for Alex when he first got here to begin with.
So they will offer Jeter 3 years and 45 mil. Still more than he's worth but it ought to create some excitement around here anyway. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/11/19/derek.jeter.yankees/index.html?eref=sihp
It's that time of year - trimming the fat off the 40-man. http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2010/11/...+(The+LoHud+Yankees+Blog)&utm_content=Twitter
Larry Rothschild is the new pitching coach. http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2010/11/19/yankees-name-larry-rothschild-pitching-coach/
Pitchers under Rothschild have increased their K rate and reduced their BB rate. http://www.anothercubsblog.net/2010-articles/june/larry-rothschild-and-walks.html Cubs also led the league in K's from 2002-08. He's the anti-Stottlemeyer, and that can't be a bad thing.
From Nick Cafardo: "Word is" that the Yankees are currently willing to offer Cliff Lee about $115MM over five years. Cafardo says the Rangers are aiming to match whatever the bidding gets up to, while the Nationals are also still in the hunt. Earlier in the week, Nolan Ryan said he didn't expect Texas to be able to outbid the Yanks for Lee.
The one thing I heard Rothchild say was he harps on repeating delivery precisely. Maybe he can fix Burnett and Joba then. This bidding war for Lee looks like it's going to get interesting, but maybe not as interesting as the Jeter negotiation. I understand Jeter has nowhere else to go if he wants the money he can get here, but for crying out loud, don't treat the guy like a second-class citizen. He's earned his cash. If you brought back ARod even after all of his bullshit, before he'd even won a title, I think it's a bit ridiculous to nickel-and-dime Jeter. Yeah, he's going to be overpaid. But so is ARod, so was Giambi, Abreu, Kevin Brown, Kenny Rogers, Carl Pavano. So were so many other guys who didn't bring this team titles. The Yankees are known for overpaying people and later eating the cost. Why the hell are they trying to avoid it at all costs with a guy who has already given them the means to do it for everyone else? Business is business, but I think the Yankees underestimate the people who pay for seats in that new stadium and buy merchandise. A large swath of those people are Jeter fans, not people who give two shits what WAR stands for.
The Yankees (typically) have overpaid for players in their prime, knowing they'll be able to absorb the bad money on the back end of the deal. Rarely do they absorb a ton of money that they know for a fact will be bad from the start. And how many times does it need to be pointed out that A-Rod is not a worthy comparison? They brought A-Rod back after an MVP season on the tail end of his prime years, not after the worst of his career at an age that is usually understood as being well into the decline phase. I don't see how it's "nickle and diming" Jeter to say no to a 6/$120M deal.... they're still offering well above market value. Not being willing to shell out an extra $75M is not trying to nickle and dime someone, even if you're the Yankees.
Honestly besides the Yanks, nobody is giving him that 7th year with that salary. Hes going to fuck himself over with that mentality.
The Yankees will offer arbitration to Javier Vazquez (B), reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. He says Vazquez has agreed to reject the offer, a common gentleman's agreement that can take place with Type B free agents. The Yankees will not offer arbitration to Derek Jeter (A), according to a Brian Cashman email passed along on Twitter by Marc Carig of the Newark Star-Ledger. It was thought to be about 50/50 that the Yanks would offer arbitration to their star shortstop, increasing their leverage by potentially saddling him with the draft pick cost. About 77% of you expected an arb offer in yesterday's poll.
Wait. The Yankees are offering arbitration to Vazquez and he's agreed to turn it down? Seriously? Idiot. As for Jeter, this is the messiest negotiation situation I've seen since they let Pettitte walk. Every day it's something.
They offered him arb so they could get the picks when he signs elsewhere, otherwise niether wanted to return next year. It was agreed upon by both parties.
