THE REAL STORY BEHIND JETER'S SCALE BACK

Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman play everything close to the vest.  Last night, I wrote about how Andrew Marchand reported HERE that there was a decrease in the amount of grounders that Derek Jeter has received in practice.  Marchand wrote: "Jeter fielded 45 grounders on Friday but decreased that workload to 21 on Monday..."

Oh, here we go. Concern? I'd say so... but not Girardi.  Girardi spun it... suggesting that too much practice isn't good.  I guess I'll tell me kid to take a rest at practice Saturday.  Girardi said: ""Sometimes you can take too many ground balls... They talked about lessening that load just because he was taking so many..."

Now, let's be clear.  If this is just them scaling back because they don't want to overwork the ankle, I get it. Or, how's this? Why not say that he won't make the May 1st deadline, because that's the date every Yankee fan is waiting for...am I right?  I mean, it almost seems like the Yankees are about to do their best PR by now slowly throwing stories and quote out there preparing us for the next setback for Derek Jeter.  I mean, we all know Derek Jeter doesn't want to talk about his ankle anymore. He told us all that... read  WE'RE STARTING TO TICK OFF DEREK JETER for context on that.

The New York Times title HERE is the real beginning of the PR blitz.  Girardi's quote says it all:  "...there was no setback.”  Yet, we all know that May 1st is not realistic.

But again, should we be concerned here? Well, for the Yankees sake, no, we're winning. But this is the Captain we're talking about, an icon, a leader, a true New York Yankee that literally spans the world where there are fans young and old who love the guy.  What happens if Jeter can't play?

I spoke to a very, very good source who writes for the Yankees who told me point blank. "I see Jeter going 100 games this year. He'll be DHing a lot." That crushed me, but this guy knows alot about the team.  Makes you think.  First, it was Bernie Williams fading into the sunset. I never liked the way they handled Bernie.

Then Jorge Posada looked as though he was getting squeezed out.  Now, Mariano Rivera is retiring after the season, and Derek Jeter's still hurt.  Ladies and Gentlemen... things are changing in Yankeeland, and the feeling is as strange as waking up as a kid and the tooth fairy forgot to take your tooth and leave you a buck... You feel empty. You feel like you were robbed... you feel like something's not right. It's an uneasiness right now when it comes to Jeter and who knows if we'll ever get the real story with Jeter and his ankle.  He can be a mystery.

CBS Sports today has their headline, "Derek Jeter probably won't be back May 1st." In it, one line stood out, and an important line: "he mans a position that requires a great deal in terms of footwork and lateral mobility. In that sense, it's not surprising that he's healing a bit more slowly than hoped."

That's all I need to know.  So... we'll wait for official word from the Yankees, but it seems as though we'll be waiting longer for our Captain to return.

Finally, let me say this. I wrote THE DEREK JETER COCK TEASE last night first reporting this story about Jeter and the setback.  The title was a joke, for those of you offended, I apologize.  It was supposed to be funny, not gross. I had the Rooster picture up... and, you know... funny, ha ha... Yes? NO? OK, sorry.  I apprecaite you all and never want to offend. Forgive me and let's move on.  Hey, at least I got your attention!

Stay positive and shoot for the stars today!

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