Derek Jeter does have an edge. In every possible way. Including the one he got in Blazing Copper.

The homegrown Yankee is inching closer and closer to a magical milestone.

Think about it for a second. Just 27 players in the history of the game have 3,000 hits. By the way, none of them are named Ruth, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Mantle or any Yankee in the history of the organization. So yes, this isn't only 3,000, this is the first Yankee that will complete the quest of Holy Grail-esque proportions. He is already a first-ballot Hall of Famer. This just improves the resume even more.

• 1996 Rookie of the Year
• 12 All-Star Appearances (including this year)
• 2000 All-Star MVP
• 2000 World Series MVP
• 5 Gold Gloves
• 5 World Championships
• Career Postseason .309 20 HR 57 RBI

So why all the negativity? Why as Jeter approaches his storied milestone is he treated like a juror from the Casey Anthony trial?

Because of his contract negotiations? Really? You want to go there? This is a guy who has done everything right his entire career. A guy that never found the front or back pages unless he was winning a game or a championship. A guy that your kids could actually look up to as a role model, as a hero.

All of you who think Jeter handled his contract situation poorly, put yourself in his shoes for a second. He looks to his right while he is on the field and sees Alex Rodriguez. A guy who opted out of his contract, and the Yankees brought him back and he is going to be taken care of handsomely until he is 42 years of age. None of you could tell me that you would have sit back and just taken what the team was prepared to give you to be a "team player."

Think about it. You've done everything you've done for the organization and instead of just being taken care of, you are told test the market. Put yourself in Jeter's shoes. What would YOU have done? If any one of you sit there and say you would have just been a "team player" you are lying through your collective teeth.

Another reason for the negativity is his decreasing production. I will say this. If after 3,000 he is still not producing, Jeter should ask to be moved down in the lineup. He is the captain of this team, he always says he wants to win, that would be the right thing to do.

Jeter doesn't deserve the treatment he is getting from fans and the media. There is no such thing as patience here in New York. I grew up here. I'm impatient. I get it. That's why kids come up from the Minors, get hit around, or go hitless for a couple games, and they want them shipped out.

You don't have patience for Derek Jeter? I know you don't. I saw all I needed to see on Twitter when I used to be a member. Six games into the season, people who supposedly know baseball were calling him Captain Double Play or Captain Ground Out. Awful. Two days ago I read this, "He did get six at-bats, just no more hits. But at least Jeter made his chase for 3,000 hits feel a little more like a parade than a funeral procession." Sickening. How could you even look at that after typing it and let that be printed? This is a record and a player that should be celebrated while he is still running out to shortstop. He is a Yankee legend. When he hustles out to short, or hustles a ground ball out, you should nudge your son or daughter and say, "That's how you play the game."

You always hear it on the radio, Yankees fans are the most knowledgeable, right? They are supposed to be the best fans on the planet, right? I have news for you. If Derek Jeter was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, he would walk to the plate on a red carpet every night, not a line of hot coals.