Derek Jeter is the greatest player in the history of the world. He's the best player in baseball. He should be the league MVP every year. He built the Eiffel Tower.
Not true - but that's what the talking heads would have you believe.
Yes, it's true that the New York Yankee shortstop added to his impressive postseason resume of clutch plays by scoring on Hideki Matsui's sharp flare to short right field in the bottom of the twelfth inning of Wednesday night's Game Two Yankees victory. And yes, it was good base awareness and daring running by Jeter. But let's not go around bronzing his cleats.
First of all, credit Matsui; he's the one who got the ball to the outfield to plate the winning run. You can call it a sacrifice fly (which it was), but if the outfield's not playing in, that's a solid hit. Matsui's been overlooked, just like he has been all year playing in a lineup with Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Gary Sheffield.
And speaking of the drawn-in outfield; let's put some blame on Minnesota Twins rightfielder Jacque Jones. Was he checking out a girl in the stands? Was he sending a text message to Tori Hunter?
Whatever he was doing, he wasn't ready to throw home, and in a scenario where your team loses if a run scores, that's unacceptable. Jones seemed to be caught back on his heels by Matsui's hit, and his throw would have made Johnny Damon embarrassed.
Jeter should have been out by five feet, and there should have at least been a play at the plate. Just like Jeter's flip play from foul territory never would have been relevant if Jeremy Giambi had slid in 2001.
And getting back to Jeter, have you ever heard of anyone else getting so much attention for scoring the winning run? No. The general rule is: you get the RBI, you get the press. Case in point: does anyone really remember who scored to give the Arizona Diamondbacks their World Series victory against the Yankees? Nope, but everyone remembers that it was Craig Counsell's bloop single that drove in whoever scored.
That wasn't the case last night, as the announcer repeatedly praised Jeter for his smart play. We even were treated to multiple replays of Jeter's presence of mind in not wandering too far down to the line to be able to tag up. Hey, this isn't basketball, where players don't know fundamental skills anymore. This is baseball; players are still supposed to know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. And most baseball players should be able to put themselves in position to at least have a shot at scoring in that scenario.
This isn't to knock Jeter. He's a great player, he's a great leader, and he made a great play. But let's give blame where blame is due: Jacque Jones. And let's give credit where it's really due: Matsui.
And in Boston: Short of winning a Superbowl, and NBA title, or (insert joke here) a World Series, this could be about as fun as sports weekends get in New England. The Boston Red Sox look primed to wipe out the Anaheim Angels at home this weekend. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots look to break the NFL's consecutive wins record against the Miami Dolphins, whose offense hasn't reminded anyone of the 1999 St. Louis Rams.
