Auman / Yankees

The Sheriff · July 1, 2011

Anyone who watches baseball realizes since Jeter left the lineup, the Yankees have been on fire. Two reasons Jeter sitting has been beneficial.

1. Girardi has no internal pressure and strife to bat "The Captain" in the top of the order when he's sitting on the bench (Yankee brass should have allowed Jeter to test the free agent market during the off season so he would have received a $3M tender, not a $15M tender). Steinbrenner gave in and paid him based on his legacy, not his future potential. Kind of like the Orioles and Cal Ripken back in the day. Nunez can bat in the seven, eight, or nine hole for 1/15th of the price of Jeter, hit with the same average, provide more speed on the basepaths, and provide less of a headache for the manager when putting the lineup together each night (whose feelings is Giradi going to hurt - Nunez? He's just happy to be playing in the pinstripes).

2. Nunez has the step in the field that Jeter lost. It's clear as night and day.

If I was Greg and I wanted to be truthful with the NY audience, I would suggest rotating Jeter with Nunez when Jeter is healthy after he gets his 3,000th hit. Let him have his personal accomplishment, but then place the team 1st. Unfortunately, when Jeter is healthy, he is a distraction (more now than ever with his declining abilities).

Either way... my Nationals are hanging around .500 this season and have made my summer of transition quite bearable. Go Nats (and talking about overpaying someone - look up overvalued in the dictionary - Jason Werth shows up as a synonym).