Jeter On Trial Now Like Never Before

[Crash Course]

See: http://www.netshrine.com/20040426.html

Discussion welcome and appreciated.

[KCBOOMER]

There is no doubt Yankee fans are a piece of work. I could almost hear Simon & Garfunkel singing "Where have gone Derek Jeter ....". I was stunned when I heard the fans were booing Jeter 15 games into the season. That is nothing but disrespect for a guy that has brought you so much.

The swagger thing is ridiculous. You have swagger because you are winning, not vice versa. You might want to get a grip and check the calender. Trailing the Red Sox in April is not exactly something that should strike terror in your heart.

If you think the team is really bad you might ask the front office how could $180M buy such a thing??

Jeter will be fine and the Yanks will be fine. Cream rises.

[Crash Course]

Boomer - This is a game played by human beings. You have to believe you can win before you will win. The mind is a huge part of it, no?

[TimmyB]

This member of RSN is not placing his champagne order in April. Pinstripe fans (not Crash, but the 50,000 booing Jeter) need to chill.

Joke: Why are the Red Sox like daylight's savings time?
Answer: The spring ahead and fall back.

Does Jeter need to step it up? Sure he does. Hang him for a mediocre April? No way.

[Crash Course]

It's been a brutal 19 games Timmy. And, there's really no excuse other than poor play. On the other hand, the Sox have all the reason not to excel - Nomar, Trot, etc. - and, they're not letting 'excuses' enter their mindset.

Yes, there's 88% of the season left. But, for the Yankees, they need to get something going soon. The Japan excuse is only good for a month. Time will tell.

I heard Dan Patrick say something similar on his radio show today - that the Yankee fans that booed Jeter are nothing but spoiled brats yada yada yada. As a Yankee fan I think that's a load of crap. I've been to the stadium plenty of times and I've booed the Yankees plenty of times.

As a fan how else do I express my displeasure with what I'm seeing? This team has been awful. Does it mean that I don't appreciate what Jeter (or whomever) has done in the past? Or that I think they don't care about winning? Of course not. However, as a fan, cheering and booing are the only way I can express my opinion to players about the performance I am seeing on the field. I'll never boo a player before he gets up to bat, but I sure will if he strikes out 4 times in a game, goes 0-23, or doesn't get a sac fly with 1 out and a runner on third.

[Crash Course]

DiMaggio was booed at Yankee Stadium. So was Mantle. I would bet that Ruth was booed at home, at times, as well. To think that Jeter should get a free pass when he's playing so poorly is silly. Being booed when you stink is part of the being a baseball player package, IMO.

[sweaver]

Red Sox beating the Yankees in April has happened before. We'll see what happens as the season gets a little older. I think the best thing that could happen to the Yankees at this point is they decide to shake things up, and move A-Rod to SS and Jeter to 2B or 3B, thereby putting their best formation on the field.

[hopbitters]

Originally Posted by sweaver

I think the best think that could happen to the Yankees at this point is they decide to shake things up, and move A-Rod to SS and Jeter to 2B or 3B, thereby putting their best formation on the field.

That would make a lot of sense, but I don't see it happening unless it comes down from Steinbrenner. Torre simply isn't willing to shake things up with certain players, either his own favorites or Steinbrenner's high-dollar pickups. With the current team, that doesn't leave a lot of playing room. I think that puts even more pressure on Jeter to step up. It's easy to be captain when you're winning day in and day out. It's when you're losing ugly day after day that you earn the title.

[Crash Course]

Would it be fair to A-Rod to move him to SS after all that time he has put into learning 3B?

[OaktownTribeFan]

I see a lot of fans at various stadiums who think that the price of a ticket gives them the right to diss a players' mother, and say the kind of things that would make a sailor blush. While they have the "right" to say things, it makes them look pretty immature.

Most major league players have long since learned to tune out crowd noise. If they don't, they won't last long. Booing has little effect.

I recall a night in Cleveland in '77 when we were sitting in the front row down the 3rd base line, and I yelled at the Angels' Bobby Bonds "hey batta batta, SWING batta," and he promptly drilled the next pitch over the left field fence. That has stood as a real lesson ever since. They don't care what fans do, or they wouldn't be major leaguers.

[hopbitters]

Jeter did get some huge ovations before his ABs last night. He still went hitless, but that didn't stop anybody from cheering for him. Fans are fickle, but at the end of the day, I think the majority of them know the difference between a valuable player who is struggling and a guy who is just tanking it.

As for moving A-Rod back to SS, I still think it's the right move. He's done pretty well at third, but he's easily the best SS on the team. That's where he should play. Just because you made a decision doesn't mean you have to perpetuate it if it was a bad one. I'm pretty confident they will, though.

[KCBOOMER]

In April of 1988 Cal Ripken went 0 for 29 before breaking out of his slump with a 4 for 5 day.

Jeter ranks 47th on the list of hits by age 30. Of the 46 players ahead of him 35 are in the HoF. Three others (Robbie, IRod, and Junior) will be. Five of the remaining eight (Ron Santo, Vada Pinson, Stuffy McInnis, Sherry Magee, and Cesar Cedeno) were very good players for whom enshrinement would not be unthinkable. Only three of entire 46 players ahead of him were/are just "guys" (Joe Vosmik, Dick Bartell, and Ruben Sierra). This latter trio, despite all their pre-30 hits, were never at any time considered special.

[KCBOOMER]

Jeter begins his "get well" tour tonight.

[Crash Course]

KC pitching good for the soul?