Maybe all this stuff about Jeter is a window into the souls of Yankees fans.
Jeter will also have his own corner in Cooperstown, no doubt. I think he's fabulous, he's had an MVP year, and he's got a leg up on playoff MVP now too. Nobody has said anything negative about Jeter.
And yet, the anti-A-Rod folks keep dragging him into this discussion. Why?
Is it just that NYY fans love Jeter so much that they have to tear down A-Rod in order to affirm their love for Jeter?
It's like I'm listening to a couple of middle school girls argue over who's cuter or more popular. Grow up!
Here are a few things to consider:
*Imagine that a guy hit .400 in clutch situations. He still failed 60% of the time. So I don't care who you want to place on a pedestal, you can still find AB's where he didn't get the job done. Telling me that A-Rod missed some opportunities rates a great big, "Well, duh!" 121 RBI means he came through an awful lot, too. Only a handful did better and this was supposedly an "off year" for him.
*A-Rod was a better fielding SS than Jeter. You can look it up. Yet when A-Rod came to New York, it was Jeter who insisted on staying at SS and A-Rod who volunteered to move to 3B for the good of the team. That's why you get to have both of them in your lineup, guys.
So Torre is batting him 6th? That makes for one heckuva lineup. A-Rod did what he was asked without griping. Contrast that to other superstars like, say, Soriano. (You know, the guy the Yankees traded away to get A-Rod.)
deldad, something is seriously wrong with you if you don't appreciate this guy.
As for why A-Rod's teams lost before: He was on a playoff team in Seattle. In Texas, his high salary was beyond the team's reach and kept the Rangers from putting together a deep roster. Only with the Yankees can A-Rod find deep enough pockets both to pay him and to fill out the lineup with other studs as well.
No one player ever won a World Series. And lots of great individual players never did. I heard a rumor it's a team game. A-Rod is a great individual player AND a great team player. He's about to help his team probably win the World Series (which I hate to say because I am NOT a Yankees fan!). Try to enjoy it and appreciate it while you can, because in MLB it doesn't happen every year.