#i had to mark the end of the series with this enormous comp that i let get out of hand

[jeongtokkie]

the many faces of 돈'𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐞

[junker-town]

Derek Jeter’s excellence redefined the Yankees

The legendary Yankees shortstop is an easy pick for Cooperstown.

Derek Jeter was a constant presence in our postseason lives for two decades, as synonymous with October as Halloween. From start to finish watching Jeter was a treat, and he will culminate his career by sailing straight into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Heading into Tuesday the only question is whether Jeter will be inducted to Cooperstown by unanimous vote. Through Monday, Jeter was named on all 211 publicly-available Hall of Fame ballots, as tracked by Ryan Thibodaux and his cohorts. Jeter will clear the 75-percent threshold with almost as much ease as he displayed on the baseball field.

It’s hard to remember this now, but before Jeter came along the Yankees were in their worst championship drought in franchise history. After their 1981 World Series appearance, the Bronx bombers spent 13 years bombing until finally making the postseason again during Jeter’s debut year.

Don Mattingly was the Yankees’ superstar in those early Jeter seasons. Mattingly was around for Jeter’s first three spring trainings (1993-95), and was impressed right away.

“I saw him the first day he walked into spring training right out of high school. He was a skinny little kid, but was probably the toughest guy I think I’ve ever seen on the field,” Mattingly said in 2014. “He was competitive. He’s been winning since he’s got there.”

A fixture

The winning started in Jeter’s first full season, in which Jeter won Rookie of the Year and the Yankees won their first World Series in 19 years. Three straight championships soon followed, and Jeter made his home in our living rooms every night.

If it seems like the Yankees made the playoffs every year, it’s because they basically did. New York made the postseason in Jeter’s first 13 major league seasons, part of a run in which the Yankees played in October 17 out of 18 years.

Given that Jeter’s career started with the advent of the wild card era and a longer postseason, it’s understandable that several of those Yankees pepper baseball’s playoff leaderboard. Five of the top eight players in postseason games are Yankees, but it’s Jeter who stands head and shoulders about the rest. He played 158 postseason games in his career, the equivalent of a full season in the highest-pressure environment the sport can provide.

Jeter career playoff line of .308/.374/.465 is almost indistinguishable from his career mark of .310/.377/.440. That Jeter was so prolific in October (and sometimes November) gives him an enormous lead in several career postseason counting stats.

Jeter wasn’t really a home run hitter throughout his career, topping 20 just three times. But since he played so many postseason games, Jeter ranks third all-time with 20 playoff home runs. Jeter also has the most postseason strikeouts, too (135), 24 percent more than second-place.

There are plenty of statistical benchmarks that qualify Jeter for the Hall of Fame. He’s in the top 90 in Wins Above Replacement (72.4)*, including 10th all-time among shortstops. Jeter is sixth in hits, 11th in runs scored, and 12th in times on base.

*amazingly, Mike Trout already has more career WAR (72.5) in just eight full seasons, which is no knock on Jeter but rather another notch in Trout’s belt of magnificence.

In addition to the stats, Jeter passed the eye test, too. From an early age, Jeter seemed like a Hall of Famer. He was the symbol of a Yankees team that played in seven World Series and won five championships. For those of us who never got to watch Joe DiMaggio when he played, Jeter sure seemed like an excellent modern-day comp. An excellent Yankees lifer who was keenly aware of his legendary status, with an almost regal, and certainly mythical aura.

One man, one position

Jeter was also stubborn, too. He played a handful of games as designated hitter, but every time Jeter wore a glove on a major league field he played shortstop, finishing second all-time in games played at the position. Jeter won five Gold Glove awards, but by the numbers was well below average at the position. He was below average in Total Zone Rating in 16 of his 18 full seasons, totaling 186 runs below average in his career. Ultimate Zone Rating only goes back to 2002, but rates Jeter as below average in 11 of 12 years. Same for Defensive Runs Saved, which has Jeter below average in 10 of the 11 full seasons tracked.

He never moved to another position even after the Yankees acquired a better shortstop, Alex Rodriguez, in 2004. Jeter had refused to move off shortstop even after he made 56 errors in his first professional season; he wasn’t about to do so with A-Rod in the fold. During that season, infielder R.D. Long, a teammate on Class-A Greenboro, tried to help prepare Jeter mentally for what he thought would be a sure position switch in his future, per Ian O’Connor of ESPN:

“I’m never moving from shortstop,” Jeter told Long that day. “It’s never going to happen. Never.”

Jeter very much understood his legacy, and much like Cal Ripken Jr. with his herculean playing streak, that stubbornness paid off in a 20-year single-team career that ended with a first-ballot election to the Hall of Fame.

The defense certainly hurts Jeter, though does nothing to diminish his place in baseball’s pantheon. He’s an easy first-ballot Hall of Famer, but Jeter doesn’t not, in fact, walk on water. Jeter is in the rare spot of being both overrated and ridiculously great at the same time.

Right place at the right time

There are several obvious images that come to mind when thinking about Jeter: his famous inside-out swing, or perhaps his iconic jump throw, a bullet of a throw from mid-air from deep short or sometimes short left field.

But his most famous throw was much shorter than his trademark play. In the 2001 AL Division Series, the Yankees were one game but elimination but led Game 3 in the seventh inning, 1-0. Terrence Long doubled into the right field corner, and Shane Spencer’s throw overthrew the cutoff man. Then came “The Flip.”

Jeter rescued the Yankees by racing into foul territory to retrieve the throw, then pulled off an instinctive flip to catcher Jorge Posada, who tagged the lumbering Jeremy Giambi to keep Oakland off the board.

My favorite Derek Jeter moment was one the happened when he wasn’t even on the field. Before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium.

I don’t subscribe to the theory that throwing a baseball could heal a nation, but keep in mind this was New York just seven weeks after 9/11. The tension was the highest possible for a ceremonial first pitch, but Jeter helped alleviate that.

“I just asked him if he was going to be throwing out the first pitch from the mound or in front of the mound,” Jeter recalled. “I told him, you better throw it from the mound. Otherwise, you’ll get booed. This is Yankee Stadium.”

Bush added, “He’s walking out, and he looks over his shoulder and says, ‘Don’t bounce it, or they’ll boo you.’”

That’s cool under pressure. Classic Jeter.

[getseriouser]

20 THOUGHTS: Greene, Eye-Gouge Monster

AND then there were four. 

Two redemption stories, a minor premier seeking validation and an underdog looking for quality over quantity 

Richmond were fantastic in 2017 and arguably looked better the following year. A grand an opportunity to go back to back you’d never see yet in the penultimate weekend they stuffed it. Tipping they’re still dirty.

Collingwood, the winners that night a year ago, came from nowhere to lose agonisingly a week later. Tipping they’re dirty on that still too.

Geelong has a monkey on its back the size of Naomi Watts’ co-star in that 2005 film set in Skull Island. The minor premier yet not rated a legitimate flag chance. They’d be dirty on that.

And lastly the Giants. Third prelim in four seasons, no-one has put together a more consistent body of finals work without tasting ultimate success. They’d be dirty they haven’t converted a golden opportunity yet.

Lot of get-even stories going on, three will go unsatisfied, yet one will succeed and nothing will taste sweeter.

  1.       Start with Toby Greene – still don’t get it. Last week, Bont, that was either a free-kick at most or a couple weeks for doing something properly grubby and in need of a spell. A contrived outcome later and he plays last week, instrumental in their win. Given the margin you could say he misses through suspension it’s a Brisbane win. Now, he gets a week and its upheld, but on the vision available the Bont incident looks worse. Don’t get it.

2.       Theory – Michael Christian wanted to see Greene go to the Tribunal last week on a serious charge where the Tribunal could come to its own conclusion, away from the constraints of the matrix Christian uses, and the Giant gets a suspension through that channel. It didn’t work, an agreed guilty-verdict into fine-only eventuated and the Christian plan failed. So this week, to avoid that happening again, he gave the suspension up front so Greene would have to work down from a week instead of the Tribunal working it out from scratch.

3.       As of writing this his suspension has been upheld but surely the Giants appeal on Thursday. Costs them $5,000, it’s a free hit, and given the size of the task Saturday afternoon and how important he is to them, they’d be mad not too. I expect them too, and in reality, it’s a 50-50 to be a success such is the crazy case it is.

4.       It’s an impressive four-year block for the Giants after that win last Saturday. Lost that epic prelim by a kick to the Dogs three years ago, were really in that prelim against the Tigers the year after a long way in, remembering they didn’t have Dylan Shiel for three quarters, and once again into a prelim this year. Leon Cameron has his detractors but they say winning a flag doesn’t just take planning and talent but a little luck as well. Given he continually gets this far, maybe that last ingredient is all they’re missing?

5.       Last one on GWS, from a league perspective it was actually encouraging to see that the left of screen displayed decent Giants coverage in the crowd in Brisbane Saturday night. Not a massive contingent but hardly the token couple-dozen of the early years, there was something half-decent for what is still a club shy of ten years old representing what is otherwise rugby and soccer heartland. Encouraging.

6.       Right, Brisbane. Told you so. This is a team who had zero injuries until Mitch Robinson and a draw softer than the Russians paid for at least year’s World Cup, so straight sets doesn’t surprise one bit. This is not a top four team, it’s probably a sixth to eighth team at best. Straight sets dot com, doesn’t surprise this column one iota.

7.       Luke Hodge though, what a jet, enormous career, huge for the Lions the last two years too, and we just love the look of Jarryd Lyons motioning to the two-time Normie winner for a chair off and the Colac product in body language alone gave it the “nah mate, cheers”. Love that. Well done Hodgey, certainty for a Hall of Fame Legend status at some point you’d think, with that resume.

8.       How was the Sam Reid ‘George Gregan’ impersonation on the game-winning-goal? Three or so posessions before the jockey Brent Daniels cheeky checkside, pretty sure it was Reid who dished the ball out like he was given a freshly-baked jacket potato unawares, very quick hands but by the letter of the law incredibly illegal. Umpy was never going to see it but gee, if only he could, would have paid a forward pass for sure.

9.       Speaking of umpiring, that spirit of the game free kick nonsense with Adam Kennedy and Charlie Cameron. My Lord. I hope the umpire mistakenly meant the stuff about constant niggle where a free is awarded if its just too much. But otherwise, under the letter of the law, Cameron coming back on was not injured. Play on. Ridiculous.

10.   So umpiring, was a shocker this weekend. Match Review and Tribunal not good either. Who is responsible for that? Old Steve “having a shocker” Hocking. My mate is just enduring the nightmare to end all nightmares. Rules, done nothing, scoring, down, I can’t see any portfolio he looks after better than this time last year. Lift Steve.

11.   Oh, and whilst we need to whack some folks – how about all that fuss about Mark Blicavs out of defence against the Pies and it cost them the game. They brought Rhys Stanley back in and where did the Blitz play most of his footy in the first half, a first half where the Cats played well? On the wing! David King was the main culprit. So we know not to ask him about the Geelong backline like we don’t ask him to be designated driver. Low blow, but he doesn’t read this, too busy with the behind the goals vision looking for Blicavs on Kennedy or Darling. He’ll be a while.

12.   So this week, what we got. Richmond playing a better Geelong but without Hawkins. Anyone see that going any other way than a Tigs win? Didn’t think so. Surely last year’s cock up doesn’t repeat. So one inner-suburban army of hundreds of thousands will bombard all of us in Grand Final week.

13.   Then, the day after, weather-pending the greatest collection of Collingwood supporters in one place ever since Pentridge hit capacity once back in the late 80s, hosting a GWS who have been tough for two good weeks but can they go again? The Pies might like the wetter conditions, the mosquito fleet up forward and a classy onball brigade. So we might end up with another huge inner-suburban army up and about in Grand Final week. Giants are in decent nick but, very decent nick.

14.   Good to see the Gulls make the VFL Grandma this weekend. Not just coz we like Willy almost as much as Liz Taylor, but because if it had been Richmond reserves versus Essendon reserves it would have been mega scratchy. Let’s just call the VFL for what it is, what used to be the well-respected VFA is now just the AFL Reserves comp with appearances by Port Melbourne and Williamstown. It’s a magoos competition and this Sunday one club will be caring more about the GF the Saturday after, the other will be hellbent on winning so they can secure a local real estate agent as a sponsor the year after to pay for the club jumpers.

15.   Jordan De Goey, oh, not worth the risk, he has only played ten seconds of footy in seemingly eight months and is made of tissue paper and is missing a limb and has Rickett’s. One thing though, aside from the German witchcraft and the fact he will have 22 days between the first final and a potential Granny – he hurt his hammy against Geelong in the opening two minutes but ran out, to little impact granted, most of the first half before heading for the tracksuit. No gratuitous stride out where the back door comes off the hinge and there’s the full dramatic hobble off the ground like you’ve got a bad case of pins and needles. Sure, he has a bad history, but this was not your typical tear. If the Pies win, I think he is a certainty to play Grand Final day.

16.   Ashes, all done. But please, Timothy. If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a million times: if you win the toss, nine times out of ten you bat first. On the tenth time you think about bowling, but you bat first. We lost the fifth test at the toss.

17.   Davey Warner. Couldn’t middle shit. You know you’re going busted when Stuart Broad gets you LB and doesn’t even bother turning around to appeal, he goes immediately from delivery stride into celebrating to gully. Was his brand new baby daughter on the eve of the Ashes a distraction enough? Perhaps. Was it just one bowler having him by the pills and otherwise, if Broad wasn’t playing he could have averaged say, 40? Possibly. Or, he averages 59 in Australia but averages less than 34 overseas. That’s telling. Remember, Steve Waugh and Allan Border, proper batsmen who don’t mind if your TV is an OLED TV or something from ALDI, they actually averaged higher overseas than at home. Proper batsmen.

18.   We need to find a new opening pair asap. Not bothered by playing Warner again, because if we do he’ll score a mount of runs against Pakistan and New Zealand on home conditions, but all it does is delay finding his successor for when we need to win tours, I dunno, in India, or England, or anywhere not at the SCG basically.

19.   Cam Bancroft, only averaged 11 from his two tests, sure, but gee, they swiftly moved him on because he was so bad, he was bringing such bad cricket juju to the place they brought in Marcus Harris who went on to average 60. No. That’s not right. Harris averaged 9 from his three tests.  Brilliant. Harris is now averaging 24 from 9 tests. Bancroft has 10 tests @ 26. Semantics perhaps but I’d be picking the sander before the Victorian first come the summer. But we have four Shield matches before the Gabba, I want to see Matty Renshaw ton up, get into the test team again and stick.

20.   And I love this, Steve Smith, missed a test and an innings but still amassed 333 runs more than the next best for most runs in the series. That man is a freak.