Wednesday, February 21, 2007
BERGEN COUNTY RECORD
TAMPA, Fla. – The expression on Derek Jeter's face was an unmistakable combination of boredom and irritation, his way of saying real Yankees don't do therapy.
There sat the captain in the Yankees' dugout, feeling closed in by the jungle of cameras, microphones and tape recorders, yet a million miles away from talk of Alex Rodriguez. Jeter politely answered questions about his deteriorating friendship with A-Rod, but anyone hoping for a moment of insight from the Yankee captain quickly realized this was one, long stonewall.
Once again, Jeter insisted it was unnecessary for him to explain what happened to his once-unbreakable bond with Rodriguez, even though A-Rod finally admitted the two were no longer close. Any such discussion, Jeter said, was "not relevant" to the Yankees, and, more to the point, "annoying."
Jeter so clearly disdains the filibuster, he vowed to never again talk about A-Rod, at least not in those terms. So the world's amateur analysts are on their own now, although there's enough evidence to conclude that Jeter failed A-Rod and the Yankees themselves with his icy response.
Somehow, Jeter never made the connection between the fans' relentless booing of Rodriguez and his pathetic performances in the postseason. Jeter insists it's not his responsibility to tell the public how to behave, but in his heart, he knows he could've saved A-Rod from the abuse with his public support.
Jeter's done it before. He came to Jason Giambi's rescue in 2004 when the slugger was deluged with questions about his alleged steroid use. Jeter practically threw his arms around Giambi, choosing to ignore the testimony before the BALCO grand jury that incriminated his teammate.
A-Rod caught no such break from Jeter, and for that, the captain's legacy as a leader will forever be diminished. Of course, Jeter will be remembered as a great Yankee, a brilliantly gifted hitter under pressure, on his way to Cooperstown. But when it came time to choose between holding a grudge and forgiving A-Rod for the sake of the team, Jeter chose not to let the third baseman up for air.
He did this, even though it became obvious long ago that the Yankee empire is ruled by Jeter. With the game on the line, the tying run on third base, fans want Jeter, not Rodriguez, at the plate. It's Jeter, not A-Rod, whom people relate to: cooler, hipper, less rehearsed, less tortured.
So as the clear victor in the public relations war, how much political capital would it have cost Jeter to seize the opening Rodriguez created on Monday, when he finally admitted the friendship had collapsed? Jeter could've said, yes, it's true, the wound from the 2001 Esquire article never fully healed, but the Yankees need A-Rod to succeed. And anyone who cares about this team will give Rodriguez a break.
That's what Jeter should've said, especially if he and Rodriguez are "on the same page" as he kept insisting on Tuesday. But merely saying he and A-Rod are working toward the same goal isn't enough when it comes to helping a player this fragile.
Jeter loyalists are quick to point out that no professional athlete, especially one as gifted and well-paid as A-Rod, should be this needy. And that's true: in a perfect world of emotionally balanced souls, Rodriguez wouldn't care what anyone thought of him. He would rely on his enormous skills to carry him through moments of pressure. Rodriguez is bigger, stronger, and faster than Jeter, able to hit the ball farther and to all fields. But Monday's honest comments aside, A-Rod isn't nearly as strong and emotionally self-sufficient as Jeter. It's not even close.
In fact, Rodriguez is everything that Jeter is not -- overly-analytical, prone to self-doubt, having already resorted to therapy to find his equilibrium. Jeter is a modern-day Joe DiMaggio, an old-school man's man who communicates with a nod, a pat on the shoulder, a few understated phrases.
That's good enough for Jeter and Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. It was once good enough for Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neill and Tino Martinez. The late '90sYankees were a collection of tough, fearless players who relied on each other without ever having to actually say so.
But what Jeter doesn't accept is that A-Rod comes from a different psychological profile. He needs attention and approval from authority figures. He worries about failure. Even worse, he's come to anticipate it, which is the equivalent of poison to his bat speed and hand-eye coordination.
You can see the panic-reflex kick in every time Rodriguez comes to the plate in a close game: the exaggerated deep breaths, the squeezing of the bat-handle, the long, mechanical swing that's been stripped of its fluidity.
Jeter? He's so loose he kids with fans from the on-deck circle, furthering his legend as Mr. Cool. It's a wonderful life on Mount Olympus and Jeter shows no sign of ending his reign as a Yankee deity.
Too bad Jeter couldn't have been more gracious with his gifts. As of today, A-Rod is officially on his own, left to navigate through the season without Jeter's help. And with it, Rodriguez's legacy has been forged, too:
Exiled from Jeter's inner circle, now and forever.
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