While Derek Jeter’s UZR in 2007 was -18.4—worst in the AL—his UZR in 2008 was -0.4. Basically, from a defensive standpoint, although Jeter does not possess an above average or even average glove at his position, he was a much better SS this past season. In fact, ‘08 was his best defensive season since 2002, when he was actually above average (according to UZR), albeit barely. So, whereas Jeter was the worst in the AL in 2007, he was actually in the middle of the SS pack this year, as Johnny Peralta, Michael Young and Yuniesky Betancourt were all worse, defensively.
In order to prep for the 2008 season, I remember reading that Jeter went through a different workout regimen in order to strengthen his legs (A-Rod spoke of it in February). Maybe that helped him a bit after a ton of off-season criticism regarding his defensive play.
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Like I said in another post, I think Jeter is going to bounce back. His defense was better, and his offense was solid outside of that one month following his injury- when he got hit in the hand by D. Cabrera. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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In regards to Jeter and nostalgia in that other post…I was talking about what to do when his contract is up? Obvoiusly you have to resign him, but for how much? How many years? What position does he play? I agree that Jeter will bounce back in 2009, and may still be fine in 2010. But if we’re resigning him for 3-5 years (seem like a good guess), we can’t reasonably expect him to play SS until 2013-2015. With first base locked up, do we just hope that Jeet can play left? Justin(Quote)
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Moshe Mandel Reply:
February 1st, 2009 at 5:58 pm
I think that is the hope, that he can move to the corner outfield and retain some modicum of offensive production. In regard to a contract, maybe 4 years, 72 million gets it done? You know that he isnt going to take a huge paycut. Moshe Mandel(Quote)
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Of course he wouldn’t get a huge paycut…I woudln’t mind overpaying on the yearly amount if it means less years. I could live with 4 years, I just hope he continues to hit. It’ll be interesting to see what Cash does in the next few offseasons…if he goes out and signs a Matt Holliday type or resigns Damon for a multi-year deal, Jeter won’t have anywhere to go.
I think the best solution would be to bring back Damon short term and let Jeter eventually take over in left (and hope that his bat plays well enough to justify a corner OF spot). Justin(Quote)
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