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I have a comment about a questionable decision by Joe Girardi in yesterday's game. In the 7th inning the Yankees loaded the bases with nobody out and Girardi elected to stay with Granderson. This move made no sense. I knew Granderson didn't stand a prayer from putting the ball in play against a very tough lefty like Lester. I knew he was struck out even before he entered the batter's box. I understand the Yankees only had Berkman and Gardner on the bench and I understand Berkman is only asked to start against righty starters, but you have to play the higher percentages if your Joe Girardi. Even if Berkman hit lower than Granderson against left handers the percentages of Berkman putting the ball in play and getting a run home is a lot greater than Granderson who is overmatched by lefties. Granderson may not have struck out in his 2 previous at bats, but Girardi rolling the dice on Granderson not striking out is too much of a risk when you consider that Granderson is even more prone to striking out against a tough lefty as opposed to a tough righty. Yes maybe Berkman hits into a double play there, but at very minimum it gets a run home and you are in all likelihood going to end up with 2 outs and a runner in scoring position with still 2 innings left which to try to come up with 1 run.

When looking at the big picture all of these regulars are significantly below their career average--Jeter, Teixeira, Rodriguez, Posada, Granderson. It's hard to complain when you lead the league in scoring, but we know that stat can be distorted--score a bunch of runs in one game, not so many in the next--it averages out, but it's likely you don't win both of those games. I don't disagree with your comments on Jeter/The Babe. Babe was a one of a kind circus act. Jeter is the modern day face of baseball for all of the right reasons. Let people decide where their emotions stand on this one. We all agree he is a first ballot HOF.

I am concerned about the Yanks getting long in the tooth, as they say. But, if Jeter can steal second in a critical situation like Monday's ninth inning, and Bret Gardner can't seem to want to achieve the same goal, I think the Captain will be OK for another year or two. Just not sure what you do as far as a contract. Like Tiger, he may make more outside of the sport with endorsements than he does in. My biggest concern is catcher. We need a legitimate guy who can be behind the plate 125 games/year and hit .250+ with 20 HRs sooner rather than later.

Nevada Yank? What kind of name is that? That's like saying "Rural Manhattanite." Well, I guess she could have moved there...

Anyway, the Jeter situation reminds me a lot of what happened to Paul O'Neill in the 2000 season, when Joe Torre dropped him down to 7th in the batting order, where he stayed right through the 2001 World Series (which I still insist the Yankees won). O'Neill responded by turning out a fantastic performance in the World Series, including one of the greatest at bats I have ever seen, working a 237-pitch walk. It may be time to admit that, while Jeter is still a great asset as a leader and defensive shortstop, and there are no better free agent options at the position, it may be time to move him out of the leadoff spot. It won't happen this year, but if the trend continues next year, coupled with Brett Gardner's higher average and OBP, it may be time to move him elsewhere, perhaps to the 9-hole. There's no indignity in the 9th spot--batting 9th for the Yankees is more important than leading off for a lot of other teams, and if anyone can accept his decline graciously, Jeter can.

As for Alex Rodriguez, he's not having a career year either, but he is doing something people wouldn't stop complaining about when he had that disastrous season of .290/.392/35/121 and everyone was calling for his head. he's hitting better in the clutch and driving in a lot of runs, not trying to knock the ball out of the park every time (until #599, that is). Remember, the Yankees won four World Series and came within one strike of a fifth with a guy named Tino Martinez hitting 4th or 5th every year. Look over his statistics--they rarely got close to what we would call an average year for ARod. Nobody complained about that. Yankee fans have gotten spoiled over the years and seem to think the team needs an MVP candidate at every position. It's been tried, and it doesn't work.

Crap, I can't stand the "Jeter can do no wrong" crowd. Are they really this obtuse? Do they really believe that ANY criticism of Jeter is unfounded? That's just ludicrous. He's having a terrible year. Better than most shortstops, yes. But far below what we've grown accustomed to. The power is gone. The walks are gone. The double plays are up. The selectivity is gone. And now, just a year after he made defensive improvements, the defense is gone. This is just empirical data.
Derek Jeter is my favorite player. I've watched or listened to virtually every game in his career. This year has been incredibly frustrating. I hope he bounces back, because it is not in the Yanks' best interest to sign a .330 OBP player to a long-term deal, particularly one who will have to end up as a DH at some point.
None of these statements make me a Jeter-hater.

Moving Jeter is not an option and it's very likely he will heat up...it's really a non-issue since if he's moved, it will cause more trouble than the extra fraction of a fraction of a run that will may create.

The bigger weakness is the bullpen.