Jeter Needs to Shift
by Asher B. Chancey, BaseballEvolution.com
April 27, 2008

This article marks the first piece in out new Baseball Evolution series entitled, “The Elephant in the Clubhouse.”  The staff of Baseball Evolution is used to looking at things from an unusual angle, challenging conventional wisdom, and putting a new spin on old ideas.  In this feature, we point out things which seem blatantly obvious, and we simply aren’t sure why teams are aware of these things. Notions such as ending the Jayson Werth/Geoff Jenkins platoon in Philadelphia, moving Miguel Cabrera to a position that does not require defense in Detroit, not batting Carlos Gomez leadoff in Minnesota , and so forth.

We begin the series on a topic that has been beaten to death - but still, nothing has been done to remedy the situation.

For years, Derek Jeter has proven himself to be so adept at mastering all of the things that make playing in New York difficult. He has charisma, charm, and good looks, and he is pretty good player, too. He has come through in the clutch for this team time and time again, and he has even made a couple of iconic plays – the backhanded relay toss in the playoffs against the A’s and the diving into the stands to catch a foul ball and screw up his face play – that have become part of Yankees history. However, Jeter is now facing perhaps the greatest challenge that comes with playing in New York – knowing what to do when practicality and legend collide, and it is time to choose the former over the latter.

Though there hasn’t been much written on the topic, this has been an issue with which the Yankees have been uniquely plagued during their storied history. Babe Ruth’s storied career carried with it as an undercurrent the battle between reaping the benefits of Ruth’s bat and struggling to deal with Ruth’s ego and shenanigans. When something had clearly gone wrong with Lou Gehrig, the team deferred to the legend, who gracefully bowed out when it became clear that he could no longer contribute. The transition in centerfield from Joe DiMaggio to Mickey Mantle was not nearly so graceful, as many have blamed DiMaggio’s ego for a particular play which resulted in Mantle mangling his own knee so badly it would impact the rest of his career.

When Derek Jeter retires, he will go down in the annals of Yankee History with the other great Yankee names, so it is only appropriate that Jeter face his own baseball mortality on the national stage like his predecessors. What was once a relatively well-kept secret has now become clear to the baseball public as whole – Derek Jeter is not a competent major league shortstop. Assuming for the sake of argument that he was once a competent defender, which many would dispute; and assuming for the sake of argument that he was the better shortstop when Alex Rodriguez joined the Yankees, which even more would dispute; there are very few people, and potentially no one outside of New York, left who would argue that Jeter is still capable of fielding his position. From casual fans to pundits to sabermetricians to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania , this fact is becoming well-known and well-accepted.

If you’re like me, though, you have thought that Jeter was a poor defender for several years now, and so you must be asking – why is it uniquely important to Jeter to give up playing shortstop now? I’m glad you asked, because the answer is, several factors have combined to make this a uniquely important moment for Jeter to relinquish the shortstop position.

The first reason, and probably the least important, is that the Yankees are aging. In years past, when the team was younger and more athletic, the team could (arguably) afford to have a mediocre defender at shortstop because it could make up for that deficiency with defense at other positions and with its dynamic offense. This is no longer the case. The Yankees are not off to their best start on the offensive side of the ball, and with guys like Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi, Jorge Posada, and Hideki Matsui (albeit a DH for now) being called on to contribute in the field, now is not the time to be sacrificing defense at key positions. If there are places that the defense can be upgraded, it should be.

The second reason that Jeter should give up shortstop is that, the defense can be upgraded, and it should be. The Yankees currently have 25-year old shortstop Alberto Gonzalez, a mediocre plate presence who is reportedly an absolutely dynamic fielder. All reports indicate that Gonzalez is a very good defender, that he is minor league tested and major league ready, and shouldn’t do too much damage to the team on offense.

"There's people who would say that he could be one of the top five [defensive] shortstops in baseball," said Mark Haley, who managed Gonzalez when he was in the Diamondbacks' system.

The third reason that defense at the shortstop position is so crucial right now is the Yankees' pitching. I have been arguing for the better part of four years now – ever since Roger Clemens’ renaissance with the Astros – that the Yankees' defense has been undermining its pitching, and that the only reason the team wins divisions is its offense. In years past, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina, and Roger Clemens have struggled to succeed due to the Yankee defense, and the defense has arguably ruined guys like Jeff Weaver, Randy Johnson, Esteban Loiaza, etc. etc. etc. But now, we’re not talking about veterans and re-treads needing the support of the defense behind them. In 2008, the New York Yankees will be shepherding three reportedly blue chip pitching prospects (though I have already expressed my reservations regarding Ian Kennedy). As many people will tell you, a young pitcher’s mindset is crucial, and if a young pitcher loses his confidence, it can absolutely ruin him. I can’t think of anything that would undermine a young pitcher’s confidence faster and more completely than given up loads of hits and runs because the defenders behind him can’t get the job done.

Lastly, the 2008 New York Yankees are clearly a team in transition. They have a lot of young guys and a lot of old guys, but not a lot of in-between. Further, the Yankees are facing the strongest competition from within the division that they’ve seen in a decade. And while some of the aging veterans on this team are probably not part of the future - guys like Bobby Abreu, Johnny Damon, and Jason Giambi – Jeter definitely is part of that future, as he is going to be a Yankees lifer and will probably be around for 6-8 more years. The Yankees should probably get Jeter to where is going to be for those 6-8 years, and build around that, rather than having to make a transition down the road.

If it were up to me, I would put Alberto Gonzalez at shortstop and commit to an up-the-middle defense of Gonzalez, Robinson Cano, and Melky Cabrera for the next ten years. Then, I would move either Alex Rodriguez or Jeter to first base. As we have seen in Detroit , playing shortstop does not necessarily qualify you to play first base, so whichever of Jeter and A-Rod can play the position should, and the other goes to third base. Damon and Giambi can platoon (though the old lefty-lefty platoon is not ideal) in the lineup: when Damon is in the lineup, Matsui can play DH, and when Giambi is in the lineup, Matsui plays left field. Say what you will about the offensive production of Giambi or Damon, but I think this is a better team with Gonzalez playing short and only one of those guys in the lineup.

But the Yankees have opted to placate their captain rather than install their best possible team on the field for years now.  With that young pitching staff and a stud defensive shortstop ready to take over, there are no more excuses: you can leave Jeter as captain of the team, but it's long overdue for him to step down as captain of the infield.