JEET DITCHES "JETER SPEAK" & GOOD FOR HIM

On Monday night, I posted a video clip of Derek Jeter chatting it up with Tim Kurkjian of ESPN after the Yankees victory over the Rangers 7-4. I’ll post it again below.  In that game, like almost every night this season, Jeet had multiple hits.  So Tim did what most interviewers would do, he asked DJ about his hot hitting but what caught my ear was nothing about that, but instead how Derek Jeter answered another question.  Tim told Jeet that Girardi said Jeter’s hot hitting had everything to do with him finally getting over the 3000^th hit milestone.  Jeter, for the first time that I can remember went off script and actually gave us something…he was annoyed… and good for our Captain.
Derek Jeter has been a model athlete, one of the greatest in modern memory that has ever worn the pinstripes.  He’s a positive role model, clean cut and follows the company line better than anyone. He won’t give you much in an interview because he never wants to show his hand. Monday night though, he had enough.  The fact of the matter is Joe Girardi has been bitching about the 3000 hit mark and Derek Jeter and the stress of it for a year now.  Guess what Joe, we all knew there was stress, but that’s a minor point.  We here at Bleeding Yankee Blue especially know about the stress because we were always the ones taking the stance that Jeter needed to do it "one day at a time" and we’d always back our Captain, because, while we write about the New York Yankees, we are fans first on BYB.  I guess that’s the luxury we have here, we don’t have to sell papers… you come to read us for raw emotion of Yankee baseball. So, thank God for that… but let me get back on track. Derek Jeter has heard it from the press, from the fans and the last thing he needs to do is hear it from his manager.  It’s my view that Monday night Derek Jeter was annoyed and tired when he heard what Kurkjian said Girardi stated…and I don’t mean he was  “game’s over” tired, I mean he was “Abe Vigoda” tired.

He was beat Monday night. He’s been busting ass every single day since the beginning of the season, he’s been getting his average up to above .410 and he’s leading this team like a captain should. Monday night he wasn’t himself… he was Abe Vigoda…maybe he needed a Snickers... tired, cranky and that Girardi statement just annoyed him too…maybe even triggering his response.
Put it this way, every game now at age 37 takes a toll, but now he’s hitting consistently, mainly because he knew he needed to analyze his mechanics and did so. Now after a lot of hard work, he’s seeing results and he’s hot as hell.  Joe Girardi didn’t help him with that, DJ did that with the help of Kevin Long and now that he’s back on track, it seems alittle “too simple” to hear a sports analyst make it seem like it was “just stress” that allowed Jeter NOT to hit.  Jeter worked hard, he wanted Yankeeland to know that Monday night. So he went off script instead of reading the Yankee playbook and sent Girardi a message… “This Captain works to get results, not waits for results.”

I loved what I saw from Derek Jeter Monday and when I heard what he said, I’m not going to lie, I was taken back just because it’s not “Jeter Speak.”  I’m glad he said it and guess what, now that he said it, trust me, it’s over.  There was never a rift between Jeter and Joe, but there was a moment, a moment to let his manager know that if he speaks out of turn, he’s getting called out…that’s it…now we move on.

We all love Derek Jeter. Monday night, when he defending his hard work and dedication, we will no doubt learn to love this guy more. That being said, it almost seemed like DJ thought Joe DID doubt him and DJ had enough.  Good for him…

Now, let’s get back to hitting, shall we?

ORDER A BYB SHIRT NOW, DROB WEARS ONE! Also, Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.