Wednesday's baseball musings

I'm not worried about Derek Jeter's free agency status. The New York Yankees will sign him up again so he will retire in a few years' time for the only baseball team he's ever played for. It has oft been written that free agency changed the make up of teams and turned players into mercenaries. I think that's an unfair statement because it also protects the player from being railroaded by management. It works both ways you see. There's been a lot of talk about DJ's legacy and his performance on the field last year where he batted .270 (44 points below his average). Critics said that he was getting old several years ago and that he had limited range playing short stop for the Yankees. But Jeter responded with career numbers when they won the World Series two years ago. Even Jorge Posada has battled decline with some good numbers despite him not being an everyday catcher. To pin everything on his stats this year is wrong because he isn't the only Yankee who saw his numbers dip. Andy Pettitte who always saved the day in the post-season for New York lost a game where he needed to give New York a win. Marx Teixeira was shelved for the season after the Division Series. Others disappeared. It happens. The Rangers didn't do much against the SF Giants, right? And this after shelling New York. It's kind of simple: some teams are able to play well for long stretches while others fail to rise to the occasion. It's like saying that the US Women's football team is on the decline after they lost to Mexico. You cannot win every single game. Now if they lost four straight games... let me back track. I'll take that back. When Germany was losing all its pre-season games prior to the 2006 World Cup people said Die Mannschaft was losing it. But they had a great World Cup. Ditto for the South Africa World Cup for Germany. So I'm not worried about DJ. He'll come through as he always has. And he'll retire as a Yankee. Besides, how many players today have that marquee value like DJ? In almost two decades as a Yankee, he's never gotten into trouble and is the kind of player who achieves legendary status with the club. That not only translates into wins but also dollars. Thanks to Ben Solomon for the photo.

Now that's more than I can say for the tandem of Jon Miller and Joe Morgan who have done ESPN's baseball telecasts for 21 years before the network broke it up to go into a new direction. I can understand that but I'm gonna miss the duo. Some people just become a part of your viewing experience. And I thought that Joe also paved the way for many African Americans to get into the booth once their careers were done. It's like watching the Knicks or other NBA telecasts. You know you'll hear Marv Albert and others. I totally enjoyed listening to Bob Costas or even Doug Collins. In MLB, there are a lot of good announcers. I'm sure whoever replaces Jon and Joe for ESPN's baseball telecasts will carve their own niche and become broadcast legends too. But thanks Jon and Joe! It sure was fun listening.