Yankee fans are idiots. The way they booed Alex Rodriguez Tuesday night was just disgraceful. So what, he had a bad game, I guess being the best baseball player on the planet the other 364 days of the year isn’t enough for them anymore.
You’d think that he spurned the Yankees and signed with the Red Sox following the 2003 season judging from the way they treat him. I mean, all he’s done is gotten them into the playoffs every year since arriving. I also suppose that last year’s collapse in the ALDS against the Indians was his fault, and had absolutely nothing to do with Derek Jeter hitting .176/.176/.176. You know what Rodriguez hit? .267. Sure, that’s hardly an awe inspiring figure, but if he would have recorded one more hit he would have finished up at .333. He choked, though. Never mind that they never would’ve been in the playoffs if it weren’t for Rodriguez handing in one of the greatest seasons of the last 20 years, the fans would rather ignore all that and boo him like he’s Carl Yastrzemski’s illegitimate son.
You know why they treat him like this? Because the idiots on the New York airwaves. They’ve almost become insufferable with all the unsubstantiated hate they spew on a daily basis. I understand that Rodriguez is going to be held to a higher standard because he’s so highly compensated. You don’t spend $300 million for Melky Cabrera production, but Rodriguez’s career .303 average with runners in scoring position is a little contrary to all this choke talk.
Here’s a little secret: Rodriguez is only being paid about $1 million more a season than Jeter. So here’s the real question: why is Jeter above the law? What makes him immune to the boo’s? He’s a solid ball player, but he’s in the midst of the worst season of his career. If his .351 on-base percentage were closer to his career average of .386, Rodriguez would have more opportunities to get those ‘big’ hits, and thus a higher RBI total. So why aren’t they lambasting him on a daily basis?
Don’t get me wrong, I realize the guy is 34, so it’s only natural for him to slow down. I also realize that he’s a sure-fire first ballot hall-of-famer. He only needs 500 hits needed to reach 3,000, but if he comes up short it won’t matter much. So if you want to let his bat slide for the time being, that’s fine, but there’s no excuse for his glove. If Rodriguez is going to be inundated with boo’s for coming up short in the clutch now and then, then why isn’t Jeter serenaded each time he slips on his mitt?
The Golden Boy straight up sucks as a fielder, there’s no other way to put it. He’s a total hack, like Miguel Cabrera bad. The crazy thing, though, is that they keep giving this guy hardware for his defensive prowess year after year. How does this happen? Every statistic known to man proves that he isn’t fit to play the position anymore. He’s near the bottom of the league in zone rating and range factor, and if you aren’t familiar with those measures then his .980 fielding percentage should tell you all you need to know. Everyone knows that he can’t field a ball hit five feet to the left or right of him and his arm is weak. So why isn’t anyone talking about this? It’s not exactly something that requires much research, all you have to do is actually watch a game to realize this.
It wouldn’t bother me so much if he wasn’t so hyped up, and this disparity between the treatment of superstars didn’t exist, but this guy has built his defensive reputation off a few post-season highlights that really weren’t all that spectacular to being with. Wow, he tagged out Jason Giambi seven years ago, let’s move on. I’m just glad the Yankees’ won’t be in the playoffs this year so we don’t have to watch that loathsome replay on loop during the Fox broadcast. Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if they slip it in somehow. Besides, Alexei Ramirez makes plays of this caliber of difficulity on a nightly basis, and he’s in the process of learning a new position.
And to think, people used to respect this fan base and their media for being so knowledgeable, can you believe that?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Johnny 08.29.08 at 4:29 am
I wouldn’t expect you to understand, you aren’t from Ny. I have this discussion all the time with cousins and friends that aren’t Yankee fans. Jeter does things that can’t be measured by a stat sheet. He’s a leader, he’s gritty, he makes his teammates better by holding them a higher standard, he’s a gamer. His defense is beyond what people give him credit for. What I want to know is how he didn’t win a gold glove last year. that’s the disgrace.
Nick Underhill 08.29.08 at 4:36 am
Wow, that was quick….
That said, need I say more? You made the case for me.
The Gold Glove, Jeter, in 2007?!?! Are you serious? I’m not sure it should have went to Cabrera, but Jeter?!?! Really? The guy with the cheap Avon cologne?
Seriously, though, it probably comes off like I’m a Jeter hater, but I’m not. This is simply just to illustrate the ridiculousness of the way the fans treat their superstars.
Sean 08.29.08 at 11:33 am
As a Yankee fan, I find the behavior of the fans at the stadium on a nightly basis to be quite absurd. Yes, it is true that we expect more from our players, whether they be sure fire Hall of Famers or role players who get sent down to the minors after being on the big club the whole season. I do find myself booing the players on my team because of the high expectations I hold, but in no way do I leave it all on A-Rod’s shoulders. Like you said, if not for him, we wouldn’t have even sniffed the playoffs these last 2 or 3 years. As for Jeter, I think its safe to say that the reason he doesn’t get bashed in NY as much as Rodriguez is because he has the hardware to back it up. Of course, he’s never had to do it by himself. But then, in baseball, it is impossible to win four World Series titles by yourself. I agree with the previous fan comment regarding the intangibles that Jeter brings to the field and to the clubhouse, and he does seem to make the clutch play when necessary. It is quite obvious that his glove is not even close to what it was at the beginning of his career, and even then it wasn’t that great. I do expect a much better offense showing from him next year, and maybe he’ll find himself at a less pressure filled defensive position. But don’t count us yet! The ghosts of the stadium may still prove to be stirring!
Nick - love the site! Keep up the great work!
Nick Underhill 08.29.08 at 3:51 pm
@Sean- Yea, there’s no doubt there, Jeter gets a lifetime pass because he won some World Series titles starting a decade ago. I get it, he’s their guy, but take Jeter off that team and put in A-Rod, and they probably fair even better. That isn’t the point, though, and that’s not how it played out, so my points are kind of moot… I’m just saying….
I agree, Jeter is a good leader… but making his teammates better, being a gamer? What are these things? I agree they exist, but to what degree does a baseball player make his teammates better? I can see this defensively, where a solid player a short makes a pitcher better, which obviously Jeter doesn’t do because his mitt has evaporated slowly over the years. So how does he make Johnny Damon a better hitter? A better center fielder? Tell me this, because I’ve been hearing these theories about Jeter’s presence for years, and I don’t understand them entirely.
Nick Underhill 08.29.08 at 3:53 pm
Sorry, edit that… left fielder. I’m so used to saying center field in reference to Damon
Marc 08.31.08 at 5:36 pm
I think the reason Jeter is so beloved is because he and Rivera are the last vestige of the late 90s Yankees. Honestly, without them, the remaining players are just Yankees…not THE Yankees.
So therefore, people are willing to look the other way when it comes to Jeter, and instead focus their attention on the Greg Norman of baseball (that may not be an entirely fair assessment of A-Rod, but I’ve been waiting to use that line).
I compare it to Jim Edmonds. I LOVED Edmonds (even now that he’s a Cub, which leaves me torn), especially during those season where he helped lead to Cardinals to back-to-back 100 win seasons. He defined the Cards back then. Even as it was obvious that his skills were fading and he’d lost a step, I still made excuses as to why he should be out there, like the whole “gamer” argument and all his “intangibles.” That being said, I didn’t go blaming Albert Pujols for when the Cards didn’t make the playoffs last year and laud Edmonds as he limped around.
So yes, I agree that Yankee fans are idiots and need to stop riding A-Rod, but you can’t blame them for having nostalgia.
bronxilla 09.05.08 at 3:46 pm
I, for one, definitely think that Jeter is on the decline, as I wrote in my blog recently. Most of his numbers are significantly below his career average, even when you exclude the year he was injured - batting average, on-base-percentage, slugging, OPS, total bases - they are all down. One more double play ground out and he sets a career high.
He can no longer pull the ball with any effectiveness, so the majority of his hits are Texas Leaguers to right, not the kind of hitting that’s going to accumulate a lot of bases or drive in a lot of runs. He no longer gets those inside calls from umpires and so his walks are also significantly down. I think most of the league has figured out his weakness, so their is no real fear any more that he will accomplish much, especially if you pitch him high and tight.
You’re also right about his fielding. His patented piroutte into the left field grass are balls that most other shortstops get to and throw runners out from a set position. I give him credit for adapting, but in some ways it masks his fielding weakness. His “inside-out” swing was also an adaptation, but it’s no longer paying the same dividends. There’s a reason why his peers voted him the Most Overrated Player in the majors.
Jeter has been on the Yankee fan pedestal since day 1, for both good and not so good reasons: he’s good looking; he’s decent; he’s professional; he never gets baited by the press. He has also shined at key moments, although I think a lot of that luster comes from him playing in the New York media limelight: I agree, enough of that lob to tag Jeremy Giambi (not Jason) - no one asks why Giambi didn’t slide, and, for me, I think the call could have gone either way. The out was more due to Giambi’s running error than to Jeter’s skill.
In another forum I wrote that the Yankees two biggest liabilities were, and this will sound odd, Jeter and Chamberlain. Jeter for the reasons mentioned above (not enough production and defense from a key spot), and Chamberlain because the Yankees pitching strategy has completely orbited around him. As a result, they started the season by placing the burden on two unproven talents, Hughes and Kennedy, and forsaked a better mix of middle-relievers and set-up man to nurse Chamberlain into the starting rotation. Where would the Yankees be today if they had traded Chamberlain for Santana and retained a rejuvenated Farnsworth?
As for Yankeed fan attitudes, that’s a whole ‘nother chapter.