WHY DEREK JETER IS THE GREATEST

Sure, when the reporters asked Derek Jeter about the comments Skip Bayless made in regards to Jeter and his HGH accusation, Derek could have told the media to tell Skip to go “F himself.” He could have looked into the camera and pulled a “Skip, why don’t you come over here and test me!” You know, a Gary Sheffield type attitude that is totally out of character for Derek Jeter.  He didn’t.  He merely suggested that he didn’t want to get involved in it.  He was disappointed and said:

"This is a first for me, man...I don't know what to tell you ... What do you want me to say?  I ain't getting involved with this, man. You can say whatever you want to say now, huh? There's no repercussions."

"Whenever you have people that anytime you bring something like this to light with guys that are doing things, it's like, now you have everybody questioning everything....That's the unfortunate thing. Maybe Skip should be tested." (Read more HERE .)

(In Photo: Derek Jeter on Wednesday night)
I love Jeter. Jeter joked about it...he knows the whole thing is BS.  Then, with as much class as you can expect from a Captain and Major League baseball icon, he went on the field on Wednesday night and cranked a home run.  He’d forgotten about it. That’s his job. We fans never forget. That’s our job. We protect our boys and we will damn sure protect Derek Jeter.

What has happened to ESPN? Sure bias is fine and we call out ESPN for their slant against the Yankees and we’ve heard plenty of it over the years.  They twist their coverage, not always in an obvious way, but intentionally yes...they slap the Yanks from time to time without a doubt. This is America, they have that right I guess.  They have Peter Gammons, a former Boston Red Sox writer for the Boston Globe from 1969 to 1986. Now, oddly enough a Baseball Analyst.  I never understood that one. Once you write for a team for that long, it's pretty obvious you're a fan. If you think I'm being silly, I counter that...why else do you become a writer for a certain team in the first place?  Let’s be fair, if he has an allegiance to the Sox, let him analyze the Sox. What do I, a Yankee fan, care what Peter Gammons says about the Yankees or any other team for that matter? 

They you have Skip Bayless who has built a career, good for him. I remember when he was a writer in Dallas.  He’s made a name for himself, not being too creative mind you, he just spews stuff to push everybody’s buttons, but that’s his job now.  Bottom line, It’s not about being responsible, it’s about him being provocative.  I guess if you know that going in, you accept it.  But what he did to Derek Jeter was horrendous.  For those of you who don’t know, Skip said this in reference to Derek Jeter: "I am shocked by what I'm seeing from Derek Jeter right now. They all said he was washed up. All of a sudden, this man has turned 38 years of age in June and already he has more hits than he had last year. ... I'm seeing a whole new guy this year from last year ... Are you kidding me? You would have to have your head in the sand or your head somewhere else not to at least wonder, 'How is he doing this?' " Read more of that stupid stuff HERE.

Now, if anyone in ESPN actually had a brain in their head, they’d bring Skip in and tell him, “Shut your mouth. Accusations like that don’t fly.” But, they won’t.  You want to know how I know? Because Rick Sutcliffe was in rare form too the other day and it had nothing to do with Derek Jeter and everything to do with ethnicity.  I was taken back by Rick Sutcliffe suggesting that Melky Cabrera should be “deported”  for his recent failed test that suspended him for 50 games. Read HERE.  

It’s a bit outrageous.  Again though, ESPN should sit Sutcliffe down and tell him to shut his mouth.  Melky should sue them.  That doesn't seem like an opinion from Sutcliffe as much as it's seems like a threat…it’s over the top and like I mentioned the other day in PINEDA'S DUI IS WORSE THAN MELKY'S LIE. DON'T GET IT TWISTED, Melky is hurting himself, not others with his PEDs use. Yes, what Melky did was stupid, but Melky should get deported Rick? I'm not seeing the connection.  ESPN used to be the gold standard in Sports news.  They are a bunch of hacks that grasp desperately at topics to get as many clicks and views as they can.  My goodness.

But back to Derek Jeter for a second.  I don’t think in all the years he’s been in baseball has anyone ever NOT called Jeet a competitor.  Sure, in 2010 they called him “slower” and “older” but one thing he never lost was the fire in his belly.  This is a guy that won 5 championships with the Yankees. This is a guy that has manned shortstop officially for the Yankees since 1996.  This is a guy that leads this team when the team can’t win.  He’s always there and if he’s not hitting, his reaction is the same as if he was.  He pushes the others to do better and knows that he’ll come around soon enough.  He our Golden Boy. He’s Major League Baseball’s Golden Boy, like it or not.  Derek Jeter is the ultimate athlete.

I recently wrote a piece about Jeter and his hit record and how Jeter is about 1000 hits away from  Pete Rose .  Read CAN JETER CATCH ROSE? NEVER SAY NEVER IN NEW YORK  I have a feeling and it’s just a feeling…Derek Jeter will break that record.  Here’s why…  If you think about it, Derek Jeter has never been a fan of individual records.  He feels uncomfortable and uneasy when he’s standing there as an individual holding up his helmet to a standing ovation.  

That’s why 2008 at the old Yankee stadium was so symbolic.  It was Jeter standing there with 25 guys holding their caps high, as a team! That’s what he represents. But there’s more to it.  If there is 1 record in baseball that you want, especially the type of hitter Derek Jeter is, it’s the hits record.  Sure 1000 is a long way off, but he’s broken so many records already that while he’s appreciative of all of them and the players he's passing, he’s not “thinking” about it.  Now, he sees Pete Rose in his sights and as he makes this historic run, I think he’ll think to himself “I’ve always been a team player, but 4256 is staring me in the face. How do I NOT go for it?”  Sure, he won’t over think it, that’s not his style, but it will be the only record in the back of Jeter’s mind right now. It should be at least, whether it’s Jeter’s personality or not...eye on the prize.

Jeter needs this for him first, then us. Sure, it's easy for him to say, "I'm already going to the Hall of Fame, why bother?" But why would he do that?  Yes, it won’t be easy, but this is Jeter we’re talking about. If he stays healthy and just plays the game the way he has always done it, there is nothing he can’t accomplish.  I believe that. Why? Because Derek Jeter is the greatest...that's why.

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BARTOLO COLON SUSPENDED 50 GAMES. WAKE UP MLB!

We mentioned last week that Melky Cabrera was suspended 5O games for a drug violation.  There were high levels of testosterone in his system, hence a failed test. Read HERE.  We here at Bleeding Yankee Blue offered Major League Baseball a genius idea. Why not have the violators record a PSA, 30 seconds of their life that MLB should make them do. They should stand in front of a camera saying to all the fans and the children who love them, "I cheated. I got caught, don't be like me."

The fans seems to like it, but some admitted the likelihood of it happening would be next to nil.  "Corporate greed would never allow these athletes to embarrass themselves" is the type of email I received. My reply was simple...they've already embarrassed themselves, and the should be embarrassed, they didn't follow the rules.  Yes,, I understand their point, but if you really want to clean up the sport, it's clear, the 50 game suspension doesn't matter to these guys.

My suggestion was simple and time I'll use Bartolo Colon as the example, after all, he's admitted guilt, read HERE.

(Below is the statement I would force failed testers to use as a new policy suggested by BYB)
“My name is Bartolo Colon, I pitch for the Oakland Athletics this season, but I tested positive for drugs and cheated.  I am now suspended for 50 games.  What I did was wrong.  Don’t be like me. I am not a role model. A role model works hard to achieve their goals.” 

Wake up Major League Baseball.  These players don't give a crap that they're suspended and they sure as hell don't care about it being 50 games.  Either change it to a zero policy or run with my Public Service Announcement idea. You will not only see failed tests drop, you'll also see clean, hard-nosed ball players...the way baseball was supposed to be. Damn, it's just a suggestion...think about it.

Finally, let me say this. I just read that Rick Sutcliffe said that Melky Cabrera should be deported for his behavior.  Seriously Rick? You're a baseball analyst, stay in that realm. HERE's what he said "You know, it makes you mad. First of all, this guy is over here in the United States on a working visa. He broke the law. What's he doing still here... I mean, forget the 50-game suspension from baseball and whether he can come back if they make the players [sic] or not. Why's he still here? That visa should be taken away, and he should not be allowed to play over here again, or work over here again, in my opinion."

Great people they have working over at ESPN.

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