Blame Jeter
Please permit one post of useless sports drivel, at least until Michigan loses.
Now, I know my baseball team has been at home for quite some time now, but any good Boston fan always has a team in the playoffs when the Yankees are still playing. I have never been as big of a Detroit Tiger fan, but this almost goes without saying. I loved watching the $200 million dollar team get mowed down by some guy named Zumaya who makes the league minimum. There are so many funny Yankee epithets floating about the media right now. (Head to Page 2 for the funniest).
But I have a more serious observation that every Yankee fan needs to at least consider. If being a Red Sox follower has taught me anything, it is how to assess one's failures. So listen up, and I will tell you who is really to blame for the Yankee debacle.
His name is Derek Jeter, and he is your "captain". Yankee fans love to speak of his intangible qualities of leadership on and off the field. His clout with the New York media is unparalled. When Jeter speaks, Yankee fans and followers listen and take his every word to heart. So why didn't he address the single biggest issue that has haunted this team for over a year now: A-Rod. All Jeter needed to do was tell the media to lay off, recite A-Rod's phenomenal stats since joining the team, put his arm around his teammate in front of the cameras, and be the captain. Then, when the press leaves, Jeter can kick A-Rod in the pants and tell him to produce in the playoffs or hit the road. Problem solved, one way or the other.
Instead, Jeter seems content to let the media fry A-Rod all season, distracting the team and ruining any chance of a solid team chemistry. Jeter has not done his job regarding the A-Rod issue, and this calls everything we say about Jeter's leadership and character into question. Any team deserves better from their captain. At best Jeter didn't thinkhe could do anything to help, in which case he is wrong. At worst Jeter didn't want to help a teammate out, in which case he is no captain at all.
Now, I know my baseball team has been at home for quite some time now, but any good Boston fan always has a team in the playoffs when the Yankees are still playing. I have never been as big of a Detroit Tiger fan, but this almost goes without saying. I loved watching the $200 million dollar team get mowed down by some guy named Zumaya who makes the league minimum. There are so many funny Yankee epithets floating about the media right now. (Head to Page 2 for the funniest).
But I have a more serious observation that every Yankee fan needs to at least consider. If being a Red Sox follower has taught me anything, it is how to assess one's failures. So listen up, and I will tell you who is really to blame for the Yankee debacle.
His name is Derek Jeter, and he is your "captain". Yankee fans love to speak of his intangible qualities of leadership on and off the field. His clout with the New York media is unparalled. When Jeter speaks, Yankee fans and followers listen and take his every word to heart. So why didn't he address the single biggest issue that has haunted this team for over a year now: A-Rod. All Jeter needed to do was tell the media to lay off, recite A-Rod's phenomenal stats since joining the team, put his arm around his teammate in front of the cameras, and be the captain. Then, when the press leaves, Jeter can kick A-Rod in the pants and tell him to produce in the playoffs or hit the road. Problem solved, one way or the other.
Instead, Jeter seems content to let the media fry A-Rod all season, distracting the team and ruining any chance of a solid team chemistry. Jeter has not done his job regarding the A-Rod issue, and this calls everything we say about Jeter's leadership and character into question. Any team deserves better from their captain. At best Jeter didn't thinkhe could do anything to help, in which case he is wrong. At worst Jeter didn't want to help a teammate out, in which case he is no captain at all.
posted by matt at 6:41 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home