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January 01, 2007

January 2007 Survey Question

Derek Jeter signed a 10-year contract with the Yankees on February 9, 2001. The last year of that deal will be the 2010 season - which is four seasons from now (including 2007). Will Derek be the Yankees shortstop through the life of that contract? Should he? What about after this deal? Hence, the poll for this month.

Update, 1/5/07: This poll is now closed. About a third of Yankees fans think Jeter should never be moved off short. But, 1 out of every 5.3 fans think that it should happen now - or should have happened already. The remaining half thinks it should happen sometime between 2008 and 2011. A mixed bag, indeed. To see the results, click on the thumbnail below:

Posted by Steve Lombardi at January 1, 2007 03:48 PM

Comments

I voted for 2010, but it really depends on who is available via FA, and who the Yanks develop as a SS option. If Eduardo Nunez continues to improve, he could replace Jeter in 2009. But where does Jeets move to? 3b is Arod. 2b is Cano for the forseeable future. 1b maybe?

Posted by: Travis G. [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 04:11 PM

The time for Jetes to move was as shortly after we got ARod as possible. Now, and as Jetes ages, I don't think he can be a better at (plug in position here) then he is a shortstop. Since he ranges well to his right and has a good arm, and can chase pop-ups, I think 2nd base might be a position he could play.

But basically the time has passed. At this point, I can't see where changing his position will help the team, except maybe to 1st base, if/when he is old, can still hit but not field.

He will not age well as a SS.

Posted by: singledd [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 04:37 PM

He should have moved for Alex Rodriguez.

Posted by: DownFromNJ [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 04:37 PM

Jeter should move when he's no longer able to field his position competently. Maybe he'll be the same age as Ripken when he moved, maybe he'll be older, maybe he'll be younger.

I thought he should've moved to CF or 3B, but him remaining @ SS isn't that big a deal.

Posted by: Raf [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 05:55 PM

Keeping Jeter at short will be a big deal when he can no longer field at a competent level (and that time will come fairly soon). Aside from catcher, it is probably the most indispensible position in baseball defensively.

Now let me totally contradict myself by saying that he should be kept at short as long as possible, since his offensive output at a typically weak hitting position is a huge advantage.

Posted by: brockdc [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 06:50 PM

I can't vote that question unless I know who his replacement is. We cannot arbitrarily decide what year Jeter should move from SS (or if he should move at all) without knowing who his replacement is and where he'd be moved to. What position would Jeter move to anyway? 2nd base? Cano's already there and getting better by the day. 3rd base? ARod's there and DJ isn't moving to 3rd now if he didn't back in 2004 (plus, can ARod play SS anymore considering the fact that he doesn't seem to be a very good defensive player anymore?). That only leaves 1st base and the outfield. It's hard for me to believe that Jeter would be a better defensive outfielder, having never played there, than any of the starters the team has right now. His arm might be average or above average for LF or CF but it's impossible to judge without seeing. Which really only leaves 1st base. As I've said many times before, I really wish the Yanks would just get a natural 1st baseman and avoid the experiments that led to Sheffield or have some people talking about Matsui or Damon. There's a difference between thinking outside the box and throwing all sorts of shit at the wall and seeing what'll stick during a game.

Posted by: MJ [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 08:46 PM

First base is a notorious dumping ground for old players, slow sluggers, and the defensively inept (which usually includes the former two). Of all the positions on the field, first base is the easiest. It's the easiest to play at a capable level.

Anyway, I think we know the answer to this: never. Unless Jeter is totally hobbled, I cannot see him making a move anywhere. Shortstop is his position, and unless he's embarrassing himself, I seriously doubt he would do it.

Some people already feel he's the worst shortstop in baseball, which I find absurd. His defensive prowess will always be up for debate -- overrated by one side and undervalued on the other.

From his thickening body and slowing instincts, I think the guy heading to first base sooner rather than later is A-Rod.

People say Jeter should have moved for him (a dumb suggestion, in my opinion) but A-Rod already looks incapable of playing that position. His body seems to have outgrown it in just a few years.

Posted by: baileywalk [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 10:04 PM

It's not that imminent a concern to move him now. Sure, he's not that great defensively, lacks range on grounders, and was not deserving of his GGs. But, if he was going to move at all, he should've moved when Alex came to us, to both improve our defense up the middle, and to give Alex some peace of mind. Now, Alex would probably not get his SS instincts back too easily, and his peace of mind, well, that's as far gone as a Barry Bonds blast.

Posted by: DonnieDosTresBaseball [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 10:28 PM

People say Jeter should have moved for him (a dumb suggestion, in my opinion)
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How is that a dumb suggestion? Rodriguez was the better shortstop offensively and defensively.

Posted by: Raf [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 10:51 PM

I think only those who saw A-Rod play SS everyday can comment on who was better at SS, Alex or Jeter. FWIW, I heard, his last year in Texas, there were some who thought he finally out-grew the position.

Posted by: Steve Lombardi [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 11:04 PM

I've thought about this a bit now, and, here's my take:

I see Jeter getting moved off SS, only if one of the following happens:

1. He gets hurt and has to move to another position because of the impact of the injury. IIRC, this is what happened with Yount - 'tho I might be wrong.

2. A new manager comes in, someone with no ties whatsoever to Torre or Jeter - so, it can't be Girardi or Donnie - and he moves Jeter off short. FWIW, as long as Torre has pull, I never see Jeter leaving SS barring injury....unless

3. There's someone who the Yankees can acquire who is 7-10 years younger than Jeter and is the best SS in the game - and his coming to the team requires Jeter to "volunteer" to move to another position.

But, outside of that, I don't see him moving any time soon.

Posted by: Steve Lombardi [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 11:12 PM

~~~From his thickening body and slowing instincts, I think the guy heading to first base sooner rather than later is A-Rod.~~~

I agree 100% - and, FWIW, I would make the move now - and sell it to A-Rod that he gets to play 1B like his idol, Keith Hernandez.

Posted by: Steve Lombardi [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 11:15 PM

Steve, Yount injured his shoulder, which led to his move to CF.

All in all, I don't see Jeter moving off short until he's ready to, IOW not anytime soon.

It'll be the same as Ripken moving off short.

Posted by: Raf [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 1, 2007 11:22 PM

How is that a dumb suggestion? Rodriguez was the better shortstop offensively and defensively.
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It can go both ways. You're right, Raf. It would have made sense to have the best offensive player/defensive SS in the game to play SS for us.
On the other hand, once A-Rod came to New York, he was no longer the tightly wrapped, slim A-Rod. Instead, he became the A-Rod with about 25 pounds of extra junk in his trunk. I'm pretty his extra luggage would've hampered his game defensively (first step, acceleration, range & so forth).

Posted by: Chewbacca [TypeKey Profile Page] at January 2, 2007 12:41 AM