Casey Close, Derek Jeter's agent, called the Yankees negotiation process with him and Jeter to be baffling. I could not agree more. The amount of disrespect the Yankees are showing their captain is just baffling. There is no other word to describe it. Derek Jeter has spend his entire career with the Yankees, as every should know, and he has been saint-like during every year with absolutely zero distractions and never says the wrong thing to the media. On the field, he has always been one of the best in the game. How do the Yankees repay him? By offering him a take it or leave contract without even trying to be negotiable.
The contract is reported to be 15 million a year for 3 years. Now this is not a bad contract at all for a 36 year old shortstop. But this 36 year old shortstop is different than every other one because his name is Derek Jeter. He is the heart and soul of the Yankees and their fan base. He deserves whatever he is asking for and no one can say otherwise. Why, because this year he had lots of career lows? So what? Last season he was only one year younger and he was a MVP candidate, and there is no way a player experiences that severe of a drop off from a year to year basis. So has anyone thought that this year he had just had off year? This happens with athletes you know, especially in the game of baseball where a majority of your stats are based slightly on chance, like hitting the ball hard constantly but always into someone's glove. Another reason he deserves what he wants is because the Yankees gave Alex Rodriguez a huge contract that will pay him until he's 42. A-Rod had been a Yankee for only three years before getting that contract. Derek Jeter has been with the Yankees 15 years, but apparently that doesn't give him a contract that's more suitable to him.
The latest shot against Jeter comes from the Yankee G.M. Brian Cashman. He recently came out and said that if Jeter does not like the offer made to him then go test the market. To me, this sounds like Cashman and the Yankees don't care if he stays or leaves. It's as if the Yankees are shocked and angered that Jeter didn't agree to their contract even though Co-Owner Hal Steinbrenner came out and said the negotiation could get messy a few weeks ago. The Yankees have tons of money as well, and so it's not like giving Jeter a contract more suitable to his wants will be a purse-breaker.
In the end I don't think Jeter will take an offer somewhere else. Reason being is that there are no teams that are going to want to fill a need at shortstop by signing a 36 year old shortstop, and if they do it will be nowhere's near what Jeter wants. I also think that the Yankees will budge on their offer because Derek Jeter personifies the New York Yankees. If the Yankees do not bring back Jeter the fan base will be crushed. I said this is my last Jeter article, but it is all true. The Yankees need Jeter and Jeter needs the Yankees. It is a two way street and the Yankees better realize that sooner rather than later.
References
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=5843151
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?playerId=3246
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3153171
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/stats?playerId=3115
No comments:
Post a Comment