Yankees – Page 197 – Keefe To The City

Feb 13, 2014

The Derek Jeter Five Stages of Grief

This isn’t goodbye to Derek Jeter. It’s the preparation for the goodbye.

I thought the day Cliff Lee chose the Phillies over the Yankees would be the worst day of my life, but I was wrong. It’s this. And the only reason I thought the day Lee chose the Phillies over the Yankees would be worse is because I thought this day would never happen. But like a kid watching the summer wind down with the inevitability of the school year approaching, this day was going to come.

And when I was a kid watching the summer wind down, Derek Jeter was the shortstop of the Yankees. On April 2, 1996, I was in Miss Ryan’s fourth-grade class when Jeter hit a home run on Opening Day on his first day as the Yankees’ starting shortstop. Fourth grade. I’m now 27. So Jeter’s career spanned elementary school, middle school, junior high, high school, college and now the first five-plus years after college of my life. And during these 18 years, Jeter has kept getting penciled in as the starting shortstop of the Yankees every day in April to October of every year.

In the last 25 months, the Core Four has become just Derek Jeter and in eight-plus months, there won’t be a connection to the ’90s dynasty on the team unless you count Joe Girardi. After the 2014 season, there will never be another Yankee to wear a single-digit number aside from during Old-Timers’ Day.

Derek Jeter is going to retire at the end of the season and leave behind baseball and a whole generation of fans that have come to expect him to be the starting shortstop every day of every summer. So to cope with this, I have turned to the Five Stages of Grief to help me analyze and get through this devastating news in hopes that come October, I will be prepared to move on and accept Mark Teixeira ushering in the next chapter of Yankees baseball. Hang on … Sorry I just threw up in my mouth.

DENIAL
Sometimes I forget that Derek Jeter is 39 and isn’t a 24-year-old shortstop anymore the same way I forget that Eddie Vedder is going to be 50 this December and won’t be climbing a three-story beam to stage dive off of during “Porch” (but I’m happy settling for him swinging on a light fixture to “Porch” like he did in October). And that’s because sometimes I forget that I’m 27 now.

Jorge Posada left and everything was fine. Andy Pettitte left and came back and left again and came back again and is now leaving again and everything will be fine. I got a taste of what life without Mariano Rivera would be like in 2012 after his knee injury, so I am prepared to accept “Sweet Home Alabama” over “Enter Sandman” in the ninth inning at the Stadium. But last year was the first time I was forced to watch the Yankees without Derek Jeter for a very extended period of time and it was weird. There was comfort knowing that he would be back and wasn’t gone forever, but now that there is an actual countdown clock on his career and not just an estimate, it changes everything.

ANGER
When you find out that your favorite player and the last sports icon from your childhood is leaving for business and philanthropy work it doesn’t seem fair. I think Jesse Katsopolis summed it up perfectly in the 1994 Full House episode when following Papouli’s death he said, “I’m so helpless. It’s like if I could have been there, I could have done something. I could have helped him.” I just need Lori Loughlin here to tell me, “There was nothing that you could do. There was nothing that any of us could do.” Since really, Derek Jeter was always going to leave the Yankees and baseball on his own terms.

It’s hard to be angry at Jeter considering at 39 and turning 40 in June, he plays a position that no one plays at his age. No one. When he won the World Series in 2009 as a 35-year-old shortstop, everyone thought that was bananas and I’m sure it led to computers like Carmine to crash, but Jeter has defied odds and logic his entire career and has risen to the occasion and created fairytale-esque stories for every big moment he has been a part of. Whether it was hitting a home run on Opening Day in 1996 or hitting the ball that Jeffrey Maier would pull in or the 2000 World Series or the Flip Play or becoming Mr. November or the catch and dive into the stands or the 3,000th hit day or something as simple as ending the Yankees’ right-handed home run drought last season, Jeter has always done everything in a way that Disney or ABC Family would find too over-the-top and fake life to build a movie storyline around.

BARGAINING
There isn’t really anything for me to bargain with about this unless the Baseball Gods want to take Eduardo Nunez from me instead and force him into retirement. I mean the Baseball Gods have already done me enough favors by having Nick Swisher leave for Cleveland, having A.J. Burnett get traded to Pittsburgh, having Phil Hughes sign with Minnesota, having Boone Logan sign with Colorado and having A-Rod suspended for an entire season to free up $25 million. So I guess letting Robinson Cano leave for Seattle and Jeter retire after two decades makes it all equal.

While awful, the announcement was actually timed perfectly for everyone. For Jeter, it gives the media a firm date for when he will leave the game, so he doesn’t have to answer relentless questions about his contract or how many years he wants to play for and the status of his health. For the Yankees, it gives them time to plan for the future and how they will draft, acquire or sign their first new everyday shortstop in 20 years (and it also gives them time to cash in on all the farewell merchandise and apparel, which I’m sure has Randy Levine dancing around his home to “Shout” in Risky Business-like attire while spraying champagne all over his furniture). And for the fans, it gives them time to plan a trip to the Stadium this summer to see Jeter and not be taken by surprise with a postseason retirement announcement without one last in-person memory of Number 2.

DEPRESSION
Thanks for those who sent the sympathy texts, emails and tweets and also to those who sent the “Get Well Soon” cards.

You’re supposed to keep busy during this period so I have been watching The Wire every free second I have and thankfully there’s Team USA’s quest for the gold medal to watch and look forward to. And the Rangers will be back in a couple weeks and then there’s March and March Madness and nice weather not too far away. See, everything is going to be fine. I’m going to be fine. It’s going to be fine.

ACCEPTANCE
We are a long way from this. I’m talking years. Maybe one day when I have kids of my own and they have a favorite Yankee (sorry, Brittni, they won’t be Dodgers fans), maybe then I will learn to accept that Derek Jeter isn’t a Yankee. The more concerning thing is if this is how I feel after he announces his retirement, how will I feel once he actually retires? Hopefully I have more than eight months to find out.

The good thing about this announcement is that it isn’t goodbye, yet. I wanted to write something about this announcement because I felt it made sense to, but I didn’t want it to drag on in a 5,000-word sappy goodbye letter. But don’t worry, I will have those 5,000 words (at least) in October. I will save my best and most deserving goodbye for Jeter when he actually leaves. It will be way more over the top than the ones I gave to Jorge Posada in January 2012 and Andy Pettitte this past October and the one I plan on giving to Mariano Rivera prior to Opening Day and the first year without Number 42 in the bullpen.

For now, I will soak it all in. Every walk-up to the plate with Bob Sheppard’s voice pouring out of the Stadium and echoing onto River Ave. for everyone at The Dugout and Billy’s and Bald Vinny’s House of Tees to hear. Every immediate glove wave to Section 203 before the first “DER-EK JE-TER” of roll call can even be completed. Every boo (or now appreciate applause) he receives on the road. Every Boston fan wearing a “Jeter Drinks Wine Coolers” or “Jeter Sucks A-Rod” shirt. Every emphatic clap while standing on first or second after a big hit. Every over-the-top first pump in the field after the game-ending play. Everything. And then when that final game comes, I will be ready to say goodbye.

Podcasts • Yankees

Feb 12, 2014

Podcast: Mike Hurley

Mike Hurley of CBS Boston joins me to talk about Derek Jeter announcing his retirement and how he will an end an era of baseball for a generation of fans.

I knew this day would come, I just never really wanted to believe it would. Derek Jeter won’t be a Yankee in 2015 after announcing he will retire at the end of the 2014 season. Writing that doesn’t feel right and I’m not sure it will until a year from now when the Yankees get ready to head to spring training without Jeter as their starting shortstop for the first time in 20 seasons. Maybe then I will be ready to accept this news. Maybe.

With Jeter announcing his retirement and taking a piece of my childhood and the game of baseball with him, Mike Hurley of CBS Boston joined me to talk about ending an era of baseball for a generation of fans, how his retirement will change how fans in their 20s watch the game and why it’s hard for outsiders to understand how big of a deal this retirement is.

Blogs • Yankees

Jan 23, 2014

The Mystery of Masahiro Tanaka

I got my wish: Masahiro Tanaka is a Yankee.

The last time the Yankees missed the playoffs they signed CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, spent $423.5 million, won 103 regular-season games and won the 2009 World Series.

So when the Yankees missed the playoffs for the second time since 2008 in 2013, watched Lyle Overbay and Vernon Wells fill out the heart of their order for the majority of the season and then watched the Red Sox win the World Series, I didn’t think the goal of staying under a $189 million payroll would be met. Instead of worrying about the $189 million goal, the Yankees signed Brian McCann ($85 million) and Jacoby Ellsbury ($153 million) and after losing Robinson Cano to the Mariners, they signed Carlos Beltran ($45 million).

On Christmas Eve, I wrote My Christmas Wish List. In it, I asked for four things: Something That Resembles A Starting Rotation That Can Compete In the AL East, Masahiro Tanaka, 2013-14 Henrik Lundqvist To Be 2011-12 Henrik Lundqvist and A New Rangers Defense.

Since Christmas Eve, Henrik Lundqvist is 7-2-1 with a 1.97 goals against average and .937 save percentage. In 2011-12, Lundqvist finished the year with a 1.97 goals against average and .929 save percentage. 2013-14 Henrik Lundqvist To Be 2011-12 Henrik Lundqvist? Check.

On Wednesday, the Rangers traded Michael Del Zotto to the Predators for defensive defenseman Kevin Klein. And there are still reports and rumors that Dan Girardi could be traded by the deadline. A New Rangers Defense? Check.

The only things missing from My Christmas Wish List were Something That Resembles A Starting Rotation That Can Compete In the AL East and Masahiro Tanaka and those things would go hand in hand. On Wednesday, prior to the Rangers trading Del Zotto, my list was completed.

The last time the Yankees signed a free-agent Japanese pitcher it was in response to the Red Sox signing Daisuke Matsuzaka, whose gyroball was going to be more effective in the majors than Roy Halladay’s palmball was in MVP Baseball. The decision cost the Yankees $26,000,194 (good thing they threw that extra $194 in there) just for the right to negotiate with Kei Igawa. It then cost them $20 million to sign the left-hander to a five-year deal. And for five years, we got to see Igawa appear in 16 games, make 13 starts and pitch to this magnificent line: 2-4, 71.2 IP, 89 H, 54 R, 53 ER, 15 HR, 37 BB, 53 K, 6.66 ERA, 1.758 WHIP. That’s $213,954.39 per out that Igawa made for the Yankees. But the pitcher my friend Scanlon would refer to as “The Key Master” did pitch 533 innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, so at least the Yankees were giving the employees at Dunder Mifflin a marquee name to call their own.

After the Igawa debacle and the fall of Matsuzaka, the Yankees stayed away from Yu Darvish. Sure, they were in on the bidding, but they only offered a reported posting bid of $15 million ($11,000,194 less than they bid for Igawa) and the Rangers went on to win the rights to Darvish with a bid of $51,703,411. The Yankees’ bid showed that they were doing their work, so they could cite that they made an effort once they inevitably lost out. It was a bid made with no intention of ever wanting to sign Darvish, but a security blanket to pretend like they were involved with Darvish to avoid being second-guessed if Darvish were to work out. He did.

Darvish is 29-18 with a 3.34 ERA in two season with the Rangers, was the AL strikeout king in 2013, allowed the fewest hits per nine innings (6.2) in the AL and finished second in the Cy Young voting. He has been everything that Matsuzaka and Igawa weren’t and everything the Yankees need and want and because of that, Masahiro Tanaka is a Yankee. Darvish’s success led to the much anticipated posting of Tanaka and the abundance of teams being interested in bidding on him that followed (even the Astros though they had a chance). If Darvish had failed with the Rangers, it’s more likely that the Yankees would have used the $22 million annual average salary for Tanaka on Ubaldo Jimenez or Matt Garza.

I’m all for the Tanaka signing and haven’t been this excited about a Yankees offseason in four years when they were coming off the 2009 championship and looking to repeat. But with question marks surrounding Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and the bullpen, I’m the most nervous about a Yankees offseason that I have been since 2008. The only question mark that isn’t being mentioned when it comes to analyzing the 2014 Yankees is Tanaka, who has $155 million coming to him despite having never thrown a pitch in the majors.

Everything I know about how Masahiro Tanaka pitches I learned from YouTube. I know as much about his “stuff” and “ability” as I do about The Scarlet Pimpernel (I read the Sparknotes for it freshman year of high school). I have read as much as I can about Tanaka and watched as many highlight videos as I could find of him, including one set to “What I Like About You” by The Romantics, but I have no idea how his 24-0, 1.27 season will translate to the majors. No one does. Everyone who has seen him pitch or has scouted Japanese baseball or has played in Japan or has been to Japan has an opinion on how he will do in the majors, but it doesn’t mean anything. Six years ago someone (someone I want to find and heckle) convinced the Yankees front office that it was a good idea to invest $46,000,194 in the first pitcher I have ever seen wear sunglasses on the mound. Tanaka won’t be Kei Igawa because no one can be that bad for that much money. (Please sit down, Carl Pavano.)

On Wednesday, on Mike Francesa’s show, Brian Cashman said, “Tanaka was arguably the best free agent available pitcher on the marketplace, so securing him creates a great deal of excitement as well as hope to land with Nova and Sabathia.”

Cashman is right. All we have right now is “excitement” and “hope” when it comes to the $155 million man who’s not being asked to slot into the Yankees rotation, but to keep it upright. I’m not ready to give Tanaka the potential “ace” status that so many other people are willing to even without knowing what will happen when he pitches in the majors.

For now, I’ll have to spend the next 10 weeks imagining how Tanaka will pitch for the Yankees because for now, it’s the best anyone can do.

Podcasts • Yankees

Jan 17, 2014

Podcast: Erik Boland

Erik Boland of Newsday joins me to talk about the Masahiro Tanaka sweepstakes and what the future holds for Alex Rodriguez following his 162-game suspension.

We are a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Tampa and right now the Yankees don’t really know who exactly will be reporting. The starting rotation still has some holes to fill and hopefully one of those holes will be filled by Masahiro Tanaka who has narrowed his field down to three teams, which includes the Yankees.

And when it comes to spring training, the other big question is whether or not Alex Rodriguez will show up. After being suspended for all of 2014, A-Rod gave an unusual speech saying basically that Major League Baseball is doing him a favor by giving him a year to rest mentally and physically.

Erik Boland, the Yankees beat writer for Newsday, joined me to talk about the Tanaka sweepstakes and what the Yankees will do if they don’t land him, what A-Rod’s next move is and if A-Rod will ever play for the Yankees or in Major League Baseball ever again.

Podcasts • Yankees

Dec 20, 2013

Podcast: Chad Jennings

Chad Jennings of The Journal News joins me to talk about the Yankees’ wild offseason and what to make of the roster they are building in a complicated and transitional offseason.

What happens when you miss the playoffs for the second time since 1993, your attendance drops and your rival and biggest competition on and off the field wins the World Series? Financial budgets, goals and mandates get thrown out the window. That’s what happens.

It’s been a wild few weeks for the Yankees and this important offseason with Robinson Cano leaving for the Seattle Mariners and a 10-year, $240 million deal, Jacoby Ellsbury signing for seven years and $153 million, Carlos Beltran getting a three-year deal and Brian McCann getting five years to give the Yankees a real catcher once again.

Chad Jennings, the Yankees beat writer for The Journal News and the lead man for the LoHud Yankees Blog, joined me to talk about Cano’s insane contract and how the Yankees handle their own players during free agency, what the Yankees are going to do with their abundance of outfielders and who the fourth and fifth starters in the rotation might be.