JETER PRESSED ON THE MARLINS

Source: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images North America

Hell, it was bound to come sooner of later. I'm thrilled some honest questioned was asked to Derek Jeter about him and the Marlins and "competitiveness" with the team he has, because this is the type of stuff that I was scratching my head about since the Captain took over the team in Miami.  How can you get rid of all these great players and still expect to win ball games? I added in the fan twist of course here at BYB, because to me, a fan base helps really make a franchise, and if there is no fan base, who is the team playing for?

I have not enjoyed watching Jeter dismantle the Marlins like his toy and yes, I know that he is part owner... but he's the face of the franchise now, and that's why he appeared on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

If you have never seen the show in general, it is literally one of the best sports shows on television.  With this interview with Derek Jeter, hell... it just got better. This is amazing stuff, and something that needed to happen. I applaud Bryant Gumbel on some real hard, honest questioning.  What makes things worse is that Jeter appears extremely uncomfortable and defensive, sometimes his cheeks get alittle rosey. That bothers me, because maybe there's some truth to what Gumbel is saying.  Anyway, here is the transcript.  The link to the show promo is here.  This show appears on April 24th. I cannot wait to watch:


You be the judge. This came from Awful Announcing...

BRYANT GUMBEL: “If you were tanking, would you tell me?”
DEREK JETER: “Tanking? What is– no– tanking?”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “Tanking is — not trying your hardest to win ball games in — every day.” DEREK JETER: “We’re trying to win ball games every day.”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “If you trade your best players in exchange for prospects it’s unlikely you’re going to win more games in the immediate future–”
DEREK JETER: “When you take the field, you have an opportunity to win each and every day. Each and every day. You never tell your team that they’re expected to lose. Never.”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “Not in so–”
DEREK JETER: “Now, you can think — now– now, I can’t tell you how you think. Like, I see your mind. I see that’s how you think. I don’t think like that. That’s your mind working like that.” BRYANT GUMBEL: “No, I get that. But I guess not in so many words–”
DEREK JETER: “But you don’t. But you don’t get it.”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “I do.”
DEREK JETER: “You don’t. We have two different mi– I can’t wait to get you on the golf course, man. We got– I mean, I can’t wait for this one.”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “No, I mean–”
DEREK JETER: “You’re mentally weak.”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “No, I just– I’m– I’m realistic. You really expect this team–”
DEREK JETER: “I expect this team to–”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “–as presently configured to contend–”
DEREK JETER: “–compete, to compete. To compete–”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “Compete is one thing–”
DEREK JETER: “Every sing–”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “Watch my lips. Not compete.”
DEREK JETER: “I see your–”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “Contend.”
DEREK JETER: “I see your lips. I see. I’ve been seeing ’em this whole interview. I see your lips moving constantly. You’d never tell your players that you are expected to lose. You don’t do that. You should take that as a slap in the face as a player. You should take that as a slap in the face.” BRYANT GUMBEL: “You expect them to contend?”
DEREK JETER: “I do. I do. If I don’t believe with the– in the players that we have on the field, who’s going to believe in them?”
BRYANT GUMBEL: “But as an executive, it looks like you’re delusional if you believe otherwise”
DEREK JETER: “Well, call me delusional.”

Now keep in mind, there's a respect between these 2 men. Were they angry at each other? No fully.  But "heated" it was. Jeter was not happy, I guarantee that. Jeter feels the pressure and he's been so untouchable all these years I love to see someone press Jeter on something that we have written about extensively on Bleeding Yankee Blue and I know the Marlins fans are feeling.

How to you compete when Yelich, Stanton, Gordon, Ozuna are gone, and more importantly to our point... why would you do that to the fans?

Happy Sunday.