My friend Mike says that whipped frosting is far superior to butter cream. What the hell does this have to do with the Derek Jeter contract situation you ask? Everything, because like Mike and I tell each other constantly, "You're entitled to your opinion...even though it's wrong."
Like my friend Mike and his stance on the finer culinary qualities of whipped frosting over butter cream, Derek Jeter's position on his intrinsic monetary value is wrong.
Moreover, it's inaccurate and borderline delusional.
Early reports (and even recent reports) suggest that Jeter and his Kool-Aid drinking agent Casey Close proposed a whopping six year $150 million dollar deal to the Yankees. For a 36 year old short stop with diminishing skills? That's like asking Stephanie Meyer to write good fiction. Both proposals are preposterous and have no basis in reality.
Funnier still? Close called the Yankees original offer of 3 years and $45 million dollars "baffling." No what's baffling is that the Yankees would deign to offer a 36 year old short stop that kind of contract when his batting average and on base percentage (.270 and .340 respectively) were career lows, whose walks, home runs, and hits all dropped while his strikeouts increased. The likelihood of Jeter getting that kind of contract anywhere else is about as likely as Glenn Beck going Christmas carolling with Barak Obama this year. Close and Jeter shouldn't be baffled by the Yankees offer, they should be THANKFUL.
Close's comment becomes even more ridiculous when you look at the fact that over his career the Yankees have paid Jeter close to $200 million dollars. Add to that the proposed contract and Jeter would be the highest paid player in the history of baseball! To misquote Dave Chappelle, "YOU'RE ALREADY RICH BEAATCH!" In light of this fact, each successive statement from the Jeter camp sounds greedier by the minute.
The persistent argument of course is that Jeter possesses intangibles and leadership abilities that are valuable. To some extent I think that is true. However, one of the main qualities in a leader is an ability to make sacrifices...even financial ones. (Bear in mind I use "sacrifice" in a very loose sense. $45 million is not a sacrifice.) The Yankees need money to sign Cliff Lee (hopefully) and solidify their bullpen. If the Captain is all about winning championships why is he balking over the Yankees' more than reasonable offer?
One reason? Contract envy, and by that I mean Alex Rodriguez's contract. The bulk of his almost $200 deal with the Yankees is yet to be paid. Jeter thinks "Hey if I'm the face of the Yankees shouldn't I get paid as much as this posturing, two-timing, ex-juicing, prima donna, ass-clown?" In a word: NO. The Yankees made a bad contract decision when they decided to sign A-Rod to his current contract. With the little Steinbrenners and Brian Cashman becoming fiscally conservative why in the world would they want to saddle themselves with another horrific contract?
I firmly believe that Jeter thinks he's bigger than the Yankees. He's not a very good student of history then. Just ask my favorite all-time Yankee Bernie Williams. After the 2006 season when it was obvious Williams's best years were behind him, Williams wanted a guaranteed roster spot. The Yankees offered him a chance to come to spring training as a non-roster invitee. In this league even if you were a cornerstone of a dynasty it's "what have ya done for me lately?"
Need further proof? Check these Yankee historical facts out:
1934--Babe Ruth's final year with the Yankees he hit .288 with 22 home runs and 84 RBI and 104 walks. Not bad considering his age. However, when he asked to be the Yankees manager they offered him Newark. It was a logical move considering he was a beer guzzling, cigar smoking, food furnace that liked to bang hookers six at a time. He asked for his release and got it. Why? Because the Yankees recognized that his skills were diminishing. The proof: 1935 with the Boston Braves he had six HR, 12 RBI and batted .181.
1978--The Yankees coming off a world series championship the year before also happened to have the reigning AL Cy Young award winner, reliever Sparky Lyle. What do they do? They go out and sign future hall of fame closer Goose Gossage. Also Billy Martin as the manager of the 1977 championship team is fired after constant bickering with his boss owner George Steinbrenner.
1981--Albeit in a strike shortened season Reggie Jackson, Mr. October himself, hit a pathetic .237 with an OBP of .330 and only 15 HR. The Yankees decided not to resign him and aside from a resurgent 1982 season where he hit 39 HRs, Jackson never hit the 100RBI mark again and his batting average never got higher than .275 in a season.
2007--Despite 12 straight post season appearances, four world series titles, 6 pennants, and coming off a 95 win season the Yankees weren't prepared to offer Joe Torre more than a 1 year deal. So sorry Joe you've got to go.
The point I'm making here Jetes is that you are expendable. The Yankees do not put anybody above the franchise. Yes the Yankees and the fans would miss you. But you know what? Odds are we would still make the playoffs, and Derek or no Derek, that's what the fans are ultimately going to respond to--winning.
So Derek please do us all a favor and put down the Gillette Fusion Razor, get in your old man Ford, use your Discover Card to buy a pen, and drive over to Yankee stadium and sign the deal.
Dead on Corrye! This is precisely what I've been saying all along. Baseball games are played in the present, not in the past. The Yankees negotiating tactics have little to do with Jeter's past accomplishments or his place in history. Jeter's a great player, but he's a declining asset. His 2010 season proved that he's closer to the player he was in 2007/2008 than in 2009.
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