WHY JETER WILL CONQUER AGAIN

We all know Derek Jeter is harder on himself than we are on him and last year's .270 Average clearly bothered Derek, otherwise he wouldn't have taken the steps needed to change his swing and work with the hitting God, Kevin Long.

Work ethic and Jeter go hand and hand and while many of us were surprised by his .270 Average, we know it's not the norm and we know we don't need to panic... we're talking about Derek Jeter, not Steve Balboni.

So, yesterday against the Tigers, Jeter officially unveiled his "less moving parts" stance and eliminated his stride from his swing. Yes, t hat means he'll have an extra beat he'll need to wait before he swings. Tricky, especially if you're not used to doing it that way. Jeter will need to be more patient at the plate now. Even Derek admits he has to figure out when to swing because of the extra time. He said:"You have more time because there's no stride."

No one believes Derek Jeter's days are over in Yankeeland, No one, especially Derek and if that means reinventing himself, he will. Spring Training is the time to work out these kinks, but in the end, if he can keep the stride out of his swing, if he can stop the movement in his front foot and get a rhythm to swing the bat, there is no doubt Jeter will be in Jeter form by May.

Kevin Long said the Bergen Record: "It's going to take time." Correct. Jeter's been batting the same way since high school. Don't believe me? Check out this video I found on You Tube. You can't see his face super clearly but you know Jeter's mannerisms and you know his swing. Take a look. He's number 13, the number his father once wore:

Think about this for a second, because of Derek's age, and with age comes slowness. Long noticed those things in his swing, plus the moving parts. Long "tweaked" Jeet a bit, but Jeet's been swinging that way for over 20 years, so logically, Derek will need an adjustment period. He's basically reinventing himself. Less moving parts, quicker bat to the ball. That, is no easy task, but if anyone can do it, Derek can. He will conquer again.

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