Will The Real Derek Jeter Please Stand Up

During the 2010 off season, with contract rumors swirling and 3000 hits looming, Derek Jeter more then ever was the talk of the town. The impossible needed to be done. How do you put a dollar value on an aging legendary veteran who has led your franchise to five World Series titles over his seventeen year career with the club? What is the value of twelve All Star appearances and a franchise leading 3,105 hits and 339 stolen bases? In the end, 36 year old Jeter signed a lucrative three year, $15 million contract with an option for a fourth year. At the time many said this was way too much money and it makes no sense to pay for past performance, especially when over the next three years the Yankees have $60+ million/year going to A-Rod, Sabathia, and Teixeira.

Jeter's slow start in 2011 did not help his case as talking heads, journalists, and even fans proclaimed he was done. April left Jeter with a .256 avg 0 HR and just 5 RBI. May was no different as he slowly approached 3000. Everyday the countdown flashed on the scoreboard and everyday the pressure and craziness surrounding the milestone built. It didn't help either that by mid-June, on the cusp of 3000 Jeter went down with a calf injury. This DL stint more then anything just added fuel to the "Jeter is washed up" fire. 

Would Derek ever get 3000? Would he ever be the same again? The diehards such as myself knew he would, but the overwhelming majority did not. Then on a scorching July afternoon the tables turned on Jeters 2011 season... and the rest of his career. In dramatic fashion, the only way the Yankee captain knew how, stroked a solo homer into the left field seats in the bottom of the third for his 3000th hit. At that moment he not only reached a milestone, but the weight of the most intense sports city in the world was instantaneously lifted off his shoulders .

From then on Jeter's production exploded and quietly led the Yankees into October.

August - .387 BA / .472 SLG / .906 OPS / 41 H
September - .303 BA / .416 SLG / .777 OPS / 27 H

And now it is 2012. Contract signed, money in the bank, milestone passed, girlfriend gone (RIP Minka); will the five time Gold Glove perennial All Star Derek Jeter be back to make a run at number 28? Ladies and gentlemen he is. Through 10 games Jeter has gotten off to a blistering start:

First 10 games - .378 BA / .667 SLG / 1.071 OPS with 3 HR and 9 RBI

Some may give the "its just early" excuse, others might bring up his stats were inflated coming out of the Baltimore series, but I firmly believe Jeter is back to 100%, not playing injured, and will continue his hot hitting through the rest of the season. Bookending the Orioles series, Jeter hit extremely well against two of the best pitching staffs in the American League in the Rays and Angels. So for those of you who said he was done, just know you could not have been more wrong. Derek Jeter is back!

...oh wait, he never left.

~ Shilz

Spring is Here: Opening Day

The lockout sucked, the other lockout sucked more, and after a long WARM winter, baseball is here. Opening Day is the true start of spring. As anyone who has ever been to Opening Day can tell you, the instant you buy that $12 Coors Light and F-16s fly overhead, hot dogs smell better, colors are brighter, and all is good in the world. Now whether you love those scandalous rag tag Mets or increasingly fiscally responsible "we regret giving A-Rod that massive extension" Yankees makes no difference to me. This is New York. The best baseball town in the world. In case you were in a NBA induced coma the past 6 months, here is what you missed.


The Yankees made huge moves.


1 - AJ Burnett and his 34-35, 4.79 ERA over three seasons with the Yankees is gone. Cashman drove down to Pittsburgh with an open check book and hustled like the best of them to get rid of AJ's ludicrous contract. Sure the Pirates with only pay $13 million of the remaining $31.1 million on the contract but Cash realized he needed to do whatever it took to get him out of town. From the get go Burnett was not a great fit for New York. To make matters worse, the longer he stayed, the more he struggled, and NYC ate him alive. Next thing you know he shows up with a black eye and our pitching coach is gone! Not good for the locker room... but better then chicken and beer though (complementary Red Sox jab). In the end the Yankees received two young minor leaguers, right handed reliever Diego Moreno and outfielder Exicardo Cayones.


2 - The Yankees season ended early last October because of lack of pitching. Lets be serious. After CC Sabathia, nothing about the rotation was concrete. Nova had a great regular season but it still young and inexperienced, Phil Hughes forgot where he put his baseball skills, AJ was AJ, and while Andy Pettitte is a vet and can still win a big game in a big spot there are still some questions about durability going forward. Brain Cashman stepped up big by making the second, if not the third biggest move of the offseason when he sent top catching prospect Jesus Montero and right handed pitcher Hector Noesi to the Mariners in return for rookie phenom pitcher Michael Pineda and righty Jose Campos. This was a great move for both sides as the Yankees get a legitimate #2 starter while Seattle picks up a huge offensive presence to help a team that struggles to score runs.


3 - You can never have enough pitching. Immediately after the Pineda deal, Cashman netted another solid arm signing former Dodger Hiroki Kuroda to a one year $10 million deal. While pitching for the struggling Dodger last season his 13-16 record does not reflect his actual performance. Kuroda posted a career best 3.07 ERA and 161 strikeouts in 202 innings. Although he is 36, Kuroda is a solid veteran that adds stability to a now deep Yankee rotation. 


The Mets cleaned house, rebuilt, and got healthy.


1 - Strapped for cash in the midst of a financial scandal, the Mets were unable to retain starting shortstop Jose Reyes. Reyes left the Mets in early December in Free Agency to the Miami Marlins where he signed a giant six-year, $106 million contract. Whatever you believe is going on with the Mets right now, its fair to say we saw this coming. The price tag was way to high for an aging player who relies so strongly on his legs for speed. Reyes has not been a stranger to injury in the past and to be honest, its probably best the Mets let him walk. Signing that contract would have been spending money the organization doesn't have for a high risk player that has come up short years past.


2 - The big move for the Mets this offseason was the departure of Angel Pagan to the Gaints in return for Andres Torres and hard throwing righty Ramon Santiago. This was a brilliant move by GM Sandy Alderson. Pagan, after two years of being a key offensive threat for the Mets, had high value at the time of the trade. Ultimately the club upgraded the centerfield position significantly on defense and added another arm to a much improved bullpen. Which leads to the next point, how about this Mets bullpen. While the signing of Frank Fransisco to the closer role was dampened this week with a slight injury to his left knee, he looks to be ready for opening day. Also getting inked was reliever Jon Rauch for $3.5 million, which will just add more depth in the pen. But the biggest story Met fans should be excited about is the play of Bobby Parnell. Coming into camp this season he wasn't guaranteed a spot on the roster, but now has emerged as the best arm the club may have. This spring Parnell has tossed 12 1/3 scoreless inning, only yielding 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 10.  He has developed an elusive knuckle curveball that has kept batters out of sync all spring. Hopefully this pen can stay healthy through the season to alleviate some of the pressure off the starting rotation. 


3 - Congratulations Met fans, you have your Ace back. Johan Santana is finally healthy. Coming into the spring full of question marks, Santana has done nothing but instill faith in the Met fan base. Johan finished the Grapefruit league season with a 3.44 ERA in five starts, with 13 strikeouts and 7 walks in 18 1/3 innings. His fastball as topped high 80s/low 90s in each of his outings, which leads you to believe he his close to, if not totally back to full strength. If that is not exciting enough, Ike Davis is back and healthy as well. Ike has stroked three homers and drove in 10 RBI this spring, that is including the walk off moonshot he hit against the Yankees today in Port St. Lucie. All things considered, this Mets club is back to good health to start the season.


Season Predictions:


AL East - Yankees
AL Central - Royals
AL West - Angels
AL Wild Card - Tampa and Rangers - Tampa wins playoff


NL East - Braves
NL Central - Brewers
NL West - Giants
NL Wild Card - Nationals and Reds - Reds win playoff


Play Ball!


~ Shilz