Jeter Epilogue . . . .

Hopefully anyone watching the Yankees' sorely needed 5-3 win over the Rangers last night recognized one crucial element that led directly to the victory, and that was the clutch hitting performance of one Derek Jeter. Seeing the Captain go 2-4 with 2 RBI—driving in the go-ahead run in the third, then an important insurance run in the fifth—made one thing abundantly clear to me: Jeter obviously read my blog yesterday and decided it was time to step up and carry this slumping team.

Is it a coincidence that mere hours after I call him out, Jeter responds with two big hits to put the Yankees over the edge? Hardly. His run-scoring double deep to the gap in right center was vintage Jeter, something I've been longing to see for most of this season.

So, now I understand the magnitude of my blogging powers, no matter how painful they may be to write (I still love you, Derek. You just needed to hear the truth, now you can get back on track. I promise I'll come down and work out at your new 24 Hour Fitness gym on 26th st. Hmmm, maybe I should edit that last sentence. . . .).

And now I will direct this power at the next weekly Yankee goat, this time it's none other than A-Rod. Maybe the 3-time MVP is taking this "trying to be like Derek" thing a little too far, because he's hitless in the Rangers series so far, including knocking into a "Jeter-esque" three double plays in the last two games.

Come on, A-Rod. This is the stadium where you spent three years putting up Playstation-like numbers. You can't manage one hit? Just one? The Yankees have enough problems right now (I'm still in denial about most of them. Joba on the DL? I can't take it!) to deal with your ice-cold bat. I don't care if you need to listen to Papa Don't Preach, or better yet, Into The Groove, on your iPod before every at-bat. Whatever it takes, just get it done!

Now, let's see how much power this little blog actually wields. . . .

Where have you gone, Captain Clutch?

I can't believe that I'm about to do this, but someone has to speak up and admit what has become painfully obvious: Yankee Captain Derek Jeter, at least up to this point in the season, has lost his edge (No pun intended, although if I see one more of Jeter's Ford Edge commercials I might throw my television out the window). This might sound like first class Yankee sacrilege, but just hear me out. I'm not accusing the guy of not going hard after ground balls, or dogging it down the first base line. Those kinds of things certainly more aptly fit the profile of an aging star who gets cranky and forces a trade with the Dodgers. That's not Jeter.

But let's not pretend not to see what's been happening all season long: Derek Jeter has been one of the biggest underachievers in a staggeringly pedestrian Yankee lineup (ninth in the MLB in total runs scored) that was supposed to threaten the single season team scoring record this year . . . . There, I've said it (taking a deep breath). I didn't know if I could get that out, but it's done. Let's move along.

Jeter is currently batting a career-low .279, well below his career average of .315, but his lack of production goes beyond the numbers. It's been the Captain's failure to deliver in big situations (something he's always had a knack for in his illustrious career) this season that should disturb Yankees fans across the country. Look no further than last night's 8-6 loss to the Texas Rangers, the latest of the team's crushing defeats, for examples of Jeter's newfound slippage from hero to rally-killer. 

In the top of the third inning the Yankees trailed 3-0, but were set up with runners on first and second with one out. Jeter strolls to the plate with a chance to get back his team back into the game. Here we go, right? Wrong. Routine grounder to third for a tailor-made, inning-ending double play (Jeter now ranks second in the league with 18 twin-killings. 18!). Threat over. The top of the seventh gave Jeter another chance: bases loaded, two outs, Yanks down 5-2. A few years ago Captain Clutch would have knocked a single to right center with his patented inside-out swing and drove in two runs. This year's Jeter? A weak liner right to the second baseman.

Maybe I'm being too hard on Jeter. Perhaps Yankees fans have grown so accustomed to watching him always fueling an important rally or making the big defensive play in a tight game, that we expect it from him every single at-bat of every single game. That's not fair to any player, even Derek Sanderson Jeter. But we get confused when he see him fail. It just doesn't seem right. Where's the World Series walk-off home run? Where's the impossible "flip play" to catch the runner at home? Where's the crashing into the front row of the box seats to catch a foul ball in a close game against the hated Red Sox?

At 34, Jeter is obviously on the down slope of his career, but here's hoping he still has enough left in the tank to give us something to cheer about. It's not easy to watch our heroes slide from the top of the world into mediocrity, or sometimes even lower. I still cry when I think about Chevy Chase's collapse from thriving in comedic gems like Caddyshack and Fletch to almost complete oblivion. Anyone seen him lately? Scary.

Thankfully Jeter is not Chevy Chase. He'll remain relevant in the world of sports, entertainment, and commercial marketing as long as he likes. But it would be a shame to think that the only highlights left in Jeter's career include operating the sunroof on his Ford Edge, hitting line drives into a supermarket display of Gillette Fusion razors, or chumming around with tools like Tiger Woods and Roger Federer in the locker room.