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Giants defense the calling card in opening win
EAST RUTHERFORD – The ball was five yards from the goal line in the middle of the first quarter and the crowd was on its feet imploring the Giants to make a stop and hold them to a field goal at worst.
Panthers quarterback Matt Moore gave the ball to DeAngelo Williams, who cut to his right and looked to have clear lane to end zone.
Instead, safety Kenny Phillips charged in and with a shoestring tackle was able to trip Williams up three yards short, forcing a field goal attempt.
“(That was a) gigantic play,” Giants general manager Jerry Reese said.
While the Panthers got three points, the play symbolized something more. It was a huge victory for the Giants defense on a day where for the first time in a year, they rediscovered their defense that went all but AWOL in 2009 after the first five
games.
“I think last year we kind of got in a funk,” said Justin Tuck. “But this year, we started off right.”
“I told our group we started off last year 5-0. We just have to keep pressing, it doesn’t matter what we do.”
This was the Giants defense we missed. The group that makes key plays, comes up with big stops, pressures the quarterback and takes the ball away.
All of that was on display, especially in the second half of the Giants opening 31-18victory.
Due to two balls intercepted by the Panthers that went off the hands of receivers to go along with poor coverage on special teams. The defense early was put in very tenuous situations with the Panthers starting in great field position to score and jump out on top early as crashers to the New Meadowlands Stadium party.
If you go back one year, there is no doubt Williams gets in for a touchdown.Phillips was gone after Week 2 last season and there was no way either CC Brown or Michael Johnson was going to make that play.
The team knew it and the fans knew it.
This time, Phillips and the defense made the stop.
On the Panthers previous drive, newly acquired Deon Grant made a great athletic play, leaping into the air to intercept a Matt Moore pass as in the end zone to leave them scoreless.
“We don’t like a team to go down there and get any points,” said Grant. “Today we were able to shut them down with some huge turnovers.”
Outside of a 29-yard run from Williams early in the game, the run defense limited Carolina’s ground attack. More and more it became apparent that Moore was going to win the game with his right arm and by the end of the first half, he led them on a touchdown drive to give the Panthers a 16-14 lead.
There was little pressure on Moore in that half outside of a near sack by Osi Umenyiora on the Panthers first offensive possession. Conscious of the Giants pressure, Carolina would max-protect, keeping a running back into block along with a tight end to chip a defender whenever a blitz came.
However, as the Giants began to take control of the game in the third quarter, taking the lead and then extending the margin to eight points when Eli Manning threw his third touchdown pass of the afternoon to Hakeem Nicks, it was time for the defense to have its fun.
“The fact that we were able to hold them to field goals enabled us to turn our athletes loose,” said Barry Cofield. “With the pressure we got, it worked hand in hand. That is when we are at our best.”
The Panthers were running short on time and could no longer keep players in to block. Devoid of offensive weapons outside of Steve Smith, Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell began to dial up numerous pressure schemes, systematically break down and dismantle their offense.
Every quarterback has an internal clock they have in order to get rid of the ball. Now, the clock on Moore began to shrink. The defensive ends began to pressure him, sacking him four times.
In the fourth quarter, the Panthers tried to claw back to within one possession, but Terrell Thomas’ interception in the end zone once again ended another drive.
After another Giants turnover placed the ball their 12, Phillips came up with the third end zone interception of the afternoon.
"We created havoc on the quarterback which enabled us to get some picks,” said Corey Webster.
Last year, this defense does not make those plays. Those open lanes runners and receivers found at will were no longer available. The poor starting field position would have ended in some type of points.
Instead, the Giants held them to zero points. Three times this would happen amidst the rain in the teams’ new home.
“We’ve had some good goes in the green and the red zone during the preseason and it carried over,” said Coughlin. “Today we turned them away.”
“I think that the interceptions in the end zone when they were pressing so hard to get back in the game were huge.”
They would hold Carolina’s offense scoreless in the second half, limiting them to only 72 yards and holding Smith to just one catch, eliminating him from the game.
It was a great return to the field for a player who the defense desperately missed a year ago.
“I knew I could do it,” Phillips said about returning after missing most of last season. “The doctors and trainers were confident I could make a 100% recovery.
“I felt like myself out there. No pain or anything. I don’t feel limited in any way.”
What you could see is the defense growing stronger as the game went along. Justin Tuck was nearly unblockable on several plays. Osi Umenyiora looks rejuvenated, determined that last year was an aberration, and Mathias Kiwanuka played one of the best games of his career, getting constant pressure, picking up two sacks and forcing a fumble.
“Everybody came in with the same mentality, which was that this year is going to be a different story,” said Kiwanuka.
This was a group showing more energy and inspiration. They had the look of a defense that was having fun. There was a sense of confidence in what they were doing and went out and executed their plan.
It was a great opening act.
Giants use second-half surge to secure victory
EAST RUTHERFORD – For the first 30 minutes, the game was sloppy by every conceivable imagination.
From a lack of a running game, to passes going through receivers hands, poor pass rush, and several abysmal special teams lapses, none of it was good.
However, the game is not 30 minutes, its 60.
In the final 30 minutes, a new Giants team emerged. The upside that many observers felt about this team before the year began all showed up in the second half as they turned a halftime deficit into a convincing 31-18 victory to christen New Meadowlands Stadium.
“With a brand-new stadium, the crowd, you want to go out there and play well,” said quarterback Eli Manning. “It was very important for us to come out and get a win.”
The last time the Giants saw the Panthers, it was last December when Carolina embarrassed them 41-9 in the final game ever played for them in old Giants Stadium. It was an effort where many questioned their heart and whether they quit.
For the last nine months, that was game weighed on the players who were on that field that afternoon determined to right the wrong of last season.
Early on, it was difficult to tell that. On the second Giants possession, Eli Manning’s pass to Hakeem Nicks deflected off his hands and Charles Godfrey picked it off, returning it to the Giants 49.
After Carolina reached the Giants 18, Panthers quarterback Matt Moore lifted a pass into the end zone that safety Deon Grant intercepted, leaping into the air, somersaulting to the ground.
It was the type of play missing from the secondary last year.
A key play early was when safety Kenny Phillips tripped up DeAngelo Williams to save a touchdown on third-and-three, forcing a field goal from John Kasay. The Giants would quickly answer when Manning found Nicks for a 26-yard touchdown strike at the end of the quarter.
Carolina lived in Giants territory for much of the first half aided in part by poor kick and punt coverage. Add to it, Manning threw two interceptions, each of them ricocheting off intended receivers hands. This led to starting field position of the Giants 49, their own 45, 48, 36 and midfield.
Giving an opponent that level would have been a problem had the Giants an offense with a higher level of potency as they will see next week at Indianapolis. But on this day, the revamped defense would stiffen, limiting the Panthers to three field goals and 9-7 lead late in the half.
“Three field goals instead of three touchdowns, nine points instead of 21,” said defensive tackle Barry Cofield. “That’s the kind of progress we need to see.”
Manning would find Nicks again for the second time in the game to go back up 14-9. However, poor kick coverage allowed the Panthers to start at midfield and five plays later Moore found “The other Steve Smith” for a 19-yard touchdown to take a 16-14 lead into the half.
The first half combination of penalties (six for 55 yards) and inability to run the ball (13 attempts for 8 yards) forced the offense into disadvantageous situations, forcing them to rely heavily on the pass. Six times Manning and the offense faced a third down of ten or more yards.
Whether there was a pep talk at the half or not, a completely different Giants team showed up at the start of the third quarter. A field goal by Lawrence Tynes gave them a 17-16 lead. DJ Ware would recover a fumble by punter Jason Baker at the Panthers 38, where the offense would drive again and Manning found Nicks for the third time in the game to extend the lead to an eight-point margin.
“Hakeem, he just happened to be in the right spot at the right time.” Manning said. Ahmad Bradshaw took a shotgun draw for a four-yard touchdown run to give them a 31-16 lead.
From there, the Giants defense, unable to get to Moore in the 
first half, began to take control of the game. They first shut down Williams (16 carries-62 yards) and the Panthers ground game and putting it in the hands of Moore to win the game for them.
Unfortunately, he could not do it.
The secondary, criticized all season for their inability to take the ball away came up huge.
First, Terrell Thomas came down with an interception in the end zone with 8:40 left. Then, after Godfrey intercepted another Manning pass (the ball went off the hands of Ramses Barden) at the Giants 12, Phillips made his presence felt again, giving the defense its third end zone interception.
It was a great second half for the defense, holding the Panthers offense scoreless while amassing four sacks to go along with the three interceptions. They limited their offense to only 72 total yards and knocked Moore out of the game when Osi Umenyiora sacked him, having to leave with a concussion. In all, it was a great first game display under new defensive coordinator, Perry Fewell.
“What Perry has done with this defense can’t go unsaid, said defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who finished with two sacks and a forced fumble.
“Everybody has
sold in. Everybody wants to win.”
The running game got going as well. After poor run-blocking led to eight yards, ran for 110 yards and wore down the smaller Carolina defensive front.
Manning was 20-for-30 for 263 yards and three touchdowns. The numbers would have been better had it not been for five dropped passes, three of them that went off the hands of receivers resulting in interceptions.
“The really shows the confidence he has in himself,” Coughlin said. “He continued to stay focused and not let the last play determine the outcome of the next play, which is very important.”
Next Sunday bring an even greater challenge when they travel to Indianapolis to face the AFC Champion Colts in a nationally television game dubbed as Manning Bowl II. For today, the Giants will just take the win before looking ahead.
Late season slump cause for concern
ARLINGTON – When you watch the Yankees over the last week, you can see they are not whole.
The squad that you see is not the same squad you will see in Game 1 of the Division Series assuming the unthinkable does not happen and they collapse.
You want to go into the postseason playing well, but right now, the Yankees are doing anything but.
It has not been a complete breakdown, but after leaving Arlington on a plane for St. Petersburg after being swept by the Texas Rangers this past weekend and losing six of their last seven, things do not look good.Had it not been for a walk-off homerun on Wednesday by Nick Swisher to beat the Orioles, this team would be on a seven game losing streak going back to their loss on Sunday to Toronto.
To be fair, they have been in a position to win several of these games during the losing skid. Three of the losses came by one run, and one of them with Mariano Rivera blowing a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday night when he hit pinch hitter Jeff Francoeur with the bases loaded to end the game.
The problem has been the inability to come through with runners in scoring position that has kept these games closer than they should, allowing for these end of game defeats.
Pitching wise, they have not been bad. CC Sabathia lost for the first time at Yankee Stadium in 21 starts on Tuesday to the Orioles, a team that has improved greatly under manager Buck Showalter.
AJ Burnett pitched well on Monday despite giving up the go ahead run in the seventh inning. It was another positive step for him that was able to carry into his start Saturday in Texas, cut short after five innings due to a one-hour rain delay.
Javier Vazquez continued to sputter and Dustin Moseley pitched 
admirably against Cliff Lee on Sunday, taking the ball into the seventh inning tied 1-1 before giving up three runs with two out to blow the game open on an afternoon where nearly none of Joe Girardi’s trusted relievers were available due to back-to-back, five hour extra inning games.
Ivan Nova has been a great supplement to the rotation in the interim until Andy Pettitte returns, so for now the team is trying to tread water with him.
Offensively, they are dealing with injuries to Brett Gardner (wrist) and Nick Swisher (knee) and their presence in the lineup is far more important than anyone gave credit.
Alex Rodriguez returned from the disabled list last Sunday before the final game against the Blue Jays and his picked up right where he left off offensively. However, questions linger over how long he will be able to continue before another injury sidelines him.
To his credit, Rodriguez says he feels strong and that nothing is wrong despite Girardi giving him Tuesday night off. The standings show the Yankees do not need to push him every night until the playoffs. Giving his older body a day off despite upcoming games against the Rays no matter how unpopular, is a smart move.
Jorge Posada suffered concussion symptoms and missed three games before returning to the lineup on Sunday. His loss for any significant time would be a huge blow to the team considering how far Francisco Cervelli has fallen offensively since early May.
The consistent part of this team has been its bullpen. Even though they gave up two of the leads during this past weekend’s series, they have become fully reliable and you just hope the starting pitcher that night can pitch long enough to get the ball to them.
This has been Girardi’s greatest strength in comparison to Joe Torre.
Torre managed to win every game at all costs. However, he would sacrifice everyone and anyone to do it. If a good reliever had his arm fall off in the process, so be it.
Of course, that can happen when you have few reliable options as Torre did (see: Scott Proctor). Girardi has four guys he can go to at any given point during the middle of the game to get big outs in David Robertson, Joba Chamberlain, Boone Logan and the pickup of the trade deadline, Kerry Wood.
This group is going to need to perform at their high level as the rotation attempts to find itself. However, a combination of all of the factors have led to the Yankees slide as of late heading into Tampa for a big three-game series to decide first place in the AL East.
The time may not be now for the Yankees to get everything right.
They just have to avoid their slide continuing.
After abysmal 2009, Big Blue D looking to rebound
EAST RUTHERFORD – Having a good defense is a vital element to any good team.
Have it, and you will always give yourself a chance to win.
If you have a great defense, that alone can carry you to victory.
However, if you have a bad defense, you have almost no chance.
Last season, to say the Giants defense was awful would actually be kind.
In one of the franchises most abysmal displays ever, the Giants final record of 8-8 was due in large part that the group unexpectedly played below their talent level.
It was a mighty fall considering they began the year 5-0. Yet, that hefty record was a creation of a tremendously weak schedule of opponents (Washington, Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland) that gave them a false sense of bravado, even leading Antonio Pierce to say after their 44-7 thrashing of the Raiders that it “felt like a practice game.”
Statistically, when they were 5-0, they had the best defense in football. Yet, problems arose in their Week 2 win at Dallas when the Cowboys gashed them for over 200 yards. After the game, the Giants had to place Kenny Phillips on injured reserve with an arthritic knee condition, thus ending his season.
Not having Phillips in the backend of the secondary did not show up for the next three games. However, when they went to New Orleans during a battle of undefeated teams, the Saints exposed their deficient secondary and lack of speed at linebacker to rack up 48 points.
Afterwards, the defense chalked it up to nothing more than one bad game. Instead, it was the just the beginning a problem that would last the remainder of the season.
A lack of consistent pass rush, mixed in with a lack of athleticism at the linebacker position, added with the loss of Phillips in the secondary and numerous coverage breakdowns and “miscommunications” all led to what took place that afternoon.
This would follow for the next four weeks and the Giants went from 5-0 to 5-4 in an instant with one of the final nails coming at home when San Diego rallied from six points down in the final two minutes to win 21-20 on a last second touchdown.
The defense would not admit to a rift with their new defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, but there was so much innuendo going around in the locker room that you could not avoid it.
It was obvious the defense was not the same aggressive, attacking defense as it was in previous years. However, with a lack of pass rush from their interior lineman, blitzing was very difficult to do because the secondary could not cover. How many times did we have to see C.C Brown chasing
defenders and only seeing the back of his jersey?
When they lost 45-38 to the Eagles at home in a battle for first place that was the ultimate sign that the defense could not solve any of its problems. No longer was it simply a mirage or a few bad games.
We had enough of a sample size to conclude that they were not any good despite the name players on the roster.
The fact they essentially gave up the final two weeks of the season was an enormous black mark on this team that it now must avenge this season.
That is the reason Perry Fewell is here.
Tom Coughlin brought him in to restore that Giants Pride that was lacking severely last year and needs to return with ferocity in order for this team to return to the top of the NFC East and put them back in contention for the Super Bowl.
The defensive line has the talent. Justin Tuck is 100 percent healthy and Osi Umenyiora has a clear mind and is ready to make amends for his poor performance and attitude last year.
Chris Canty, after contributing nearly nothing last year and back and healthy to go along with Mathias Kiwanuka. Added to that is rookie Jason Pierre-Paul and Linval Joseph to bring you and added athleticism. The hope is to rotate all of these players and come at opponents in waves as they did in 2007.
The linebacker spot is still a question mark. Keith Bulluck is ful
ly healthy after a broken leg last season. But can he give 16 games?
The same can also be said for Michael Boley, who did not give a full season last year, only showing flashes of his talent, just not on a consistent basis.
Antrel Rolle was signed to fill the safety problems and with the returning Phillips, gives the Giants two ball-hawks in the secondary to anchor along with Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster.
No one disputes that the talent is there to get this done.
The question is whether they can be healthy enough to produce and play at the high level they should.
My bet is that they will.
Despite success, inconsistency marred 2009
EAST RUTHERFORD – A wise football man once said, “Statistics are meaningless.”
Anyone can use all the numbers in the world to draw any conclusion one would like.
All one has to do is look at last year’s Giants offense to prove this point.
Those dreaded “statistics” say last season the Giants ranked a respectable 11th in the league in total offense and eighth in scoring points.
However, a closer examination of the numbers and the simple “eye test” one would do by watching these games would tell that the team was simply not as good as those numbers would indicate. Yes, the defense was undoubtedly atrocious, but the offense before everything went downhill had to take responsibility for some of their actions that led to the eventual disaster.
In 2008 when the Giants went 12-4, one of the major statistics that stood out was their inability to convert in the red zone (the scoring area inside the opponents’ 20-yard line). This theme carried over into 2009 when they failed to convert on their first seven chances of the year. Though they won both games, the problem would not go away.
Running the ball was a staple of their offensive success, but for a multitude of reasons, they never got on track from the outset. Brandon Jacobs injured his knee in the opener against the Redskins and never was the bruising back the team had come to count on.
The offensive line, after being the team’s rock for several seasons, showed signs of weariness and age, lacking an ability to impose their will and establish themselves at the point of attack, frequently pushed back by the defense. These problems, in addition to not having enough consistently healthy running backs is what helped Eli Manning achieve career numbers in both passing yards and touchdowns despite playing on an injured foot for the final 11 games of the year.
Uncharacteristically, the team was a magnet for turning the ball over. 31 giveaways last year at an average of nearly two per game was a problem all season. Part of that is the defense forcing the offense, to take chances. However, many of the turnovers came before these games got out of hand because of poor defense.
This season, more emphasis needs to be made on protecting the ball. The offense is not the early 2000’s version of the St. Louis Rams where they can overcome numerous mistakes by bludgeoning their opponent with their high scoring offense. Unfortunately, this team is not built that way and the Giants defense as of right now, has yet to establish that they are good enough to overcome such mistakes.
The big question is whether the offensive line can hold up for the entire 16-game slate the biggest question mark.
The firm of (David) Diehl, Rich (Seubert), (Shaun) O’Hara, (Chris) Snee and (Kareem) McKenzie have yet to reach their “past prime” moment in their career, but after as many consecutive games the group has played together over the last four years, they are close to their expiration date.
Can they open up running lanes for Ahmad Bradshaw, who is now the starting running back in the offense, and late in the game when they attempt to overpower the defense late?
How about giving Eli Manning time to find receivers?
It has come to the point where we assume Manning will be a given. He is the elder statesman on the roster and the leader of the group.
We have come to expect a high level of performance and the job that he did helping in the development of the wide receivers was extraordinary.
Steve Smith became a Pro Bowl performer with a career-high 107 catches. Hakeem Nicks showed plenty of promise in his rookie season averaging nearly 17 yards a catch. Mario Manningham rebounded from a poor, injury-filled rookie campaign to gain over 800 yards and score five touchdowns.
With all of this, here are the questions facing the Giants offense coming into this season:
1. Can they reestablish their old dominant ground attack?
2. Can the offensive stay a cohesive and healthy unit all season?
3. Can Eli Manning continue to develop into an elite quarterback?
4. Can the wide receivers be an even great threat as evidenced by their strong season a year ago?
If the answer is yes, then with a hopefully revitalized defense, the team will continue to be in an advantageous position to win. However, they need to reduce their amount of turnovers and convert in the red zone when they get down there as often as they have over the last two seasons.
If not, they will be a mediocre football team.
After bad ’09, Giants seek to rebound
EAST RUTHERFORD – To say last season ended terrible was an understatement.
Going from where the Giants started last season to where they finished was the equivalent of dating Miss America and then ending up with Roseanne.
Such were the highs and lows of their season last year. One that began with plenty of promise when they were 5-0 dissolved in the middle of the year and eventually swept away at the end.
When it was all over last season in Minnesota, with the Vikings rubbing the Giants noses in it in much the same way other teams had done so during the season, the one hope that you had was that the team as a whole would take notice.
One person that took notice was the team’s principal co-owner, John Mara.
“I’m unhappy at everybody, Mara said after the Giants finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. “ It’s just not acceptable to perform like that. There are 8-8 seasons and there are 8-8 seasons, but this one felt a lot more like 2-14 to me.”
“I saw a lack of mental and physical toughness and quite frankly, a lack of effort over the last weeks (Carolina and Minnesota outscored the Giants a combined 83-16), Mara continued. That’s just something I never expected to see from this group of players.”
With that, Mara issued a challenge. 
Losing, especially in the manner that team did last year was not going to stand. You get to do this for one year. Let it happen again, and serious changes will come.
The Giants built up too much equity over the past few years with their play that perhaps they spoiled themselves. When things got rough during their four game losing streak that effectively ended their season, they were defiant in saying that everything would be fine and they would correct problems.
Problem is, the problems continued.
They continued to the tune of statistically, the second worst Giants defense in the history of the franchise, allowing 427 points, and giving up 40 points or more five times.
Before the year, they built themselves up as a team free of holes. However, most of them did not find themselves on the practice field. The ones that did quickly found themselves in the trainer’s room shortly thereafter.
A team known for its power running game could never get on track from the outset. It would have its occasional moments, but fought inconsistency from Week 1. The inability to establish their strength compromised them in other areas. This forced Eli Manning into many more passing situations, and though he had his best statistical season, the Giants are never a better team when the team has to resort to “throwing first”.
Bad decisions, turnovers, poor special teams and the collapse of the defense all played a role in the team having a bad season. It is the reason most of them were not purged after the year, but instead, brought back to show that last season was an anomaly and this nucleus of team still had the same fire that made them champions just three seasons ago.
Most of the offense remains intact despite some of their imperfections last year.
The question that looms is whether the offensive line still possesses the same ability and strength to be a reestablished force.
Defensively, a franchise that prides itself on that side of the ball still has the talent to be dominant assuming they all can get on the field and perform.
Last year, Bill Sheridan took the fall for the player’s performance or lack thereof, replace by Perry Fewell, a man who worked with Coughlin back when he was in Jacksonville and was the defensive coordinator with Buffalo.
His task is to make this defense breathe fire again and restore what Coughlin calls “Giants Pride”, something that went away in an avalanche of points, poor execution, mindless decisions and uninspired play that led many to believe the team quit as the playoffs slipped away.
For the Giants, it starts with running the ball and playing defense, an old football axiom for success, but something they could not accomplish with the same proficiency in 2009.
Many of the faces from successful season’s past are still here.
The talent is here on this team to regain their status among the NFC’s elite.
Now, it is about putting back together what was broken a year ago.
It is time for this team to get to work.
Struggles by The Captain present future issues 
NEW YORK – With each weak at-bat. With each softly hit ground ball or fly ball, you begin to wonder if you are watching the end.
You always expect Derek Jeter to come through in situations when the Yankees need a big hit, because, well, he has always done so throughout his career.
But as we have seen throughout the last two months going on three, more and more evidence continues to mount that perhaps we have seen the best of the man who has known as “The Captain”, the man who has been an anchor at the top of the Yankees lineup for the last 14 years.
He does not appear to be able to catch up to a plus-fastball, particularly from hard throwing, right-handed pitchers. His inability to get his hands through the zone quick enough leads to his vulnerability, and eventual groundouts to short and third.
We would like to think that he simply has an injury and he is compensating for it by changing different mechanics in his swing, causing his problem. However, when you add in his lack of production at the plate and his decline in range on defense, add it all up and it leads to a man on the downside of his great career.
This all begs the question of what the Yankees will do with him when this season is over.
Jeter is in the final year of his 10-year, $189 million contract that he signed during the 2001 season that came off the heels of Alex Rodriguez cashing in on a $252 million deal with the Texas Rangers.
There is no doubt that Jeter has been worth every penny to the franchise that drafted him back in 1992. From day one, he has nothing but a great Yankee, part of five world championships and the most popular player the franchise has had in the last 40 years.
The marriage between Jeter and the Yankees has been great, but in 2008, questions arose about his decline. Two years remained on his contract and many wondered if we had seen the best of him. Instead, Jeter struck back last year with arguably his finest season both offensively (.334, 212 hits, .871 OPS) and winning a Gold Glove on defense as he helped the Yankees to a World Series title.
As customary, the Yankees allow contracts to expire before negotiating new ones because they have the ability to pay more than any competitor. The idea in some circles was that everything would go smooth and not become an issue because Jeter is a Yankees icon and eventual future ambassador of the team well after his playing days are over.
Of course, the cost of how much to pay him would be dependent on his production this season. What many people did not think would be to how much of a degree his decline would be.
As of Labor Day, Jeter came in hitting .264, which was 50 points below his career average and 80 points below last season’s average. His OPS of .703 is over 130 points below his career norm and 170 points behind last year in addition to grounding in more double plays this year than at any point in his career.
Those numbers are difficult to ignore. Add to it that on a Yankees offense that is number one in the league in scoring runs, Jeter has unquestionably been the least productive member of the lineup leading New York Post columnist Joel Sherman to suggest he should be dropped down to eighth or ninth in the order.
He has taken the most plate appearances on the team (630). Thus, he has made the most outs, and done so at a precipitously high rate. To put it nicely, he has been a black hole in the lineup while occupying for most of the season the leadoff spot. Only recently, Manager Joe Girardi very quietly was able to sneak Brett Gardner (.392 OBP) into the leadoff spot without anyone noticing and dropped Jeter into the number two spot.
In a past baseball era, many players that reached past the age of 35 would experience decline in their performance.
It was only natural. You have a specified amount of prime years to produce at a high level before you could no longer do so.
Then came the infamous “Steroid Era”, where not only were players able to keep up their performance of youth, but in some cases, continue to exceed well past their original expiration date.
Those days slowly are becoming outdated as aging players quickly find themselves weeded out of the sport, or forced to take lesser pay.
Certainly the Yankees are not going to “low ball” Jeter with an insulting offer knowing how much he means to the franchise. However, paying him $80 million for the next four years would appear to be nothing more than a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for years of good service rather than a sound baseball decision.
As it is, the left side of the Yankees infield is only going to continue to decline defensively as both Jeter and Rodriguez get old together. They will also play less games due to health, so it is incumbent that they find suitable replacements for them in the interim that can play and not be what amounts to filler (see: Ramiro Pena) once every seven days.
Jeter has no other position to switch from. Mark Teixeira currently occupies first base for the next six years and he does not produce good enough numbers to clog up the DH spot. The only other position that would remain is left field, and that would be insulting to a player the caliber of Jeter.
There is no doubt the two will reach a new contract and he will be the Yankees shortstop for the future as he approaches 3,000 hits and an eventual trip Hall of Fame.
Time remains for Jeter to turn his season around. Once October begins, perhaps he can erase the bad memories of his regular season with a spectacular postseason.
Until then, one can only wonder if we have already seen the best of Derek Jeter.
Time for some Yankee Random Thoughts
If Javier Vazquez pitched all of his games out of the bullpen, he probably would win 20 games.
Problem is he doesn’t pitch most of his games out of the bullpen.
After two impressive long relief outings against Toronto and Oakland, Girardi decided to put him back in the rotation this past Saturday against Toronto and it was clear he had no confidence in him.
Needing one more out to qualify for his 11th win of the season, Girardi pulled him from the game with the Yankees leading 5-3 much to Vazquez’s dismay after the game.
I’m not sure what he would be complaining about considering that at no point this season he has inspired any confidence to give him the benefit of the doubt when runners were on second and third.
Dustin Moseley came in and on the first pitch gave up the tying runs, though the Yankees came back to win 7-5. However, the larger issue was the complete lack of trust he has in him despite the double talk he may give to the (drive by) media.
The sequence right there was all you needed to know that he would rather jump in the lake than give Vazquez the ball to start a postseason game.
No one knows what to make of the Marcus Thames homerun-hitting spree over the last week.
Prior to his three-strikeout game Tuesday in the Yankees 9-3 win over Oakland, Thames had hit six homeruns in the last six games he started.
This type of run you would expect to see from the likes of Alex Rodriguez, not Thames.
Back in 2005, Tino Martinez went on a very similar run and now we see the same thing here.
Brought in to be a part-time player to face left handed pitching, Thames continues to crush southpaws (.349), but is also hanging in there against righties (.277), providing numerous big hits.
As long as he is not wearing an outfielder’s glove, he can stay in the everyday lineup. There certainly is not any doubt that in October if there is a lefty starting, he will be part of the starting nine that night.
If you listened to the Yankees radio broadcast, then surely you have become familiar with a lot of
John Sterling’s homerun calls.
As I have tracked it, here’s been the list to date this year:
“Gardy goes yardy!”
“Gardner plants one!”
“El Capitan!”
“Mark sends a Tex message!”
“You’re on the Mark…Teixeira!”
“It’s an A-Bomb…for A-Rod!”
“Robbie Cano…don’t ya know!”
“Jorge juiced one!”
“Nick…is Swishalicious!”
“The Grandy Man Can!”
“Happy Thames are here again”
“Austin Powers”
My sister still says that it is time for Sterling to get some new lines, but the cheesy stuff that keeps me coming back for more every night.
Alex Rodriguez came back to the lineup on Sunday and the Yankees eight-game winning streak ended.
Certainly, it was not his fault as he drove in a run, but it was incredibly hard not to notice the Yankees won 21 of the 24 games without him in the lineup.
Robinson Cano has been in a slump as of late and his average has dipped under .320 for the first time since early in the season.
Perhaps he is tiring a little bit, as he has played in nearly every game this season and has had to remain in the lineup with the different players that have been out.
A day off here and there is not a bad thing for Robbie. Having him at full strength for the postseason is the most important thing.
Kerry Wood has been a great addition to the bullpen for the Yankees, but I have to wonder if his numbers are unsustainable in the long term. 
While his ERA is 0.56 over his first 16 innings, he has allowed 10 hits and walked 10 men. All it takes is one mistake after a walk to wreck everything.
Let’s hope he can curb the amount of base runners.
Phil Hughes continues to struggle and his ERA is now at 4.29 despite his 16 wins.
Michael Kay still says that wins is the most important thing and if he really feels Hughes has been as good as his win total, clearly him and I need to fight in a steel cage.
