Who was the "Player of the Game" for the Yankees today?

5 for 5 including the game winning hit and his 3,000th hit?
OK, color me impressed.

My hat is tipped to you Mr. Jeter.
Now I hope your team goes on a terrible slump.

I hope whoever caught Jeter's homer sells it for top dollar

Seriously, the Hall of Fame can have Jeter's helmet, hat. uniform, bat and jockstrap.
No need for the ball.

Whoever caught the ball should sell it and send their kids to City College undergrad and Baruch College business school courtesy of Jeter's 3,000.

I had to watch the Rays broadcast for Jeter's 3,000

I don't think I could handle hearing the Yankees broadcasters for this.

I couldn't handle the term "Jeterian".

Congrats Derek.

You don't have much to do on your Bucket List.

t

Vizquel’s unlikely quest for 3,000 hits - My latest for The Hardball Times

In my latest for The Hardball Times, I take a look at Omar Vizquel and how he is closing in on the magic number of 3,000 hits.

He is lacking a 200 hit season, but you would be surprised to see which other members of the 3,000 hit club also never got 200.

Read the whole article BY CLICKING HERE.

Does Omar Vizquel have 201 hits left in him?

Omar Vizquel is going to be 44 next season… and he has a contract to play for the White Sox.

He will be a mentor to the talented young infielders with Chicago. Gordon Beckham at second, Alexei Ramirez at short and Dayan Viciedo at third could be as talented a collection of infielders as you will see in the bigs… and each can learn a little from the master.

Vizquel will always be considered one of the great defensive shortstops in history. And a few years ago I made the case that he belongs in the Hall of Fame regardless of his offensive short comings. He was a good hitter, but his defense and the number of hits and runs he took away I felt put him over the top.

If he can get 201 more hits, that won’t be an issue.
He sits at 2,799 career hits. 201 more gives him 3,000 and the issue is closed. No using his 11 Gold Gloves as his resume highlight.

Obviously he isn’t going to get 201 in 2011 unless he suddenly becomes Ichiro.
But if he gets around 95 hits like he did this past season in Chicago, then it will almost be a foregone conclusion that he will play in 2012 and make a run at it.

He’s played 22 seasons already and if he got 10 more hits each of those years, he’d be past 3,000 already. This reminds me of the Harold Baines dilemma and how close HE came to 3,000 and Cooperstown. But unlike Baines, who by the end of his career didn’t need to OWN a glove, Vizquel remained the gold standard (literally) BECAUSE of his glove, adding to his trophy case as recently as 2006.

The only thing with more range than his defense is the time that Omar stretched across in baseball.

He was a rookie in 1989 with the Seattle Mariners. That was the same year that another rookie named Ken Griffey Jr. made the squad and a minor leaguer named Randy Johnson came over from Montreal. Could that team have had three Hall of Famers on the roster?

Hall of Famers such as George Brett, Nolan Ryan, Carlton Fisk, Robin Yount, Paul Molitor and Jim Rice were all still active when he broke in… as were names from another era like Fred Lynn, Dwight Evans, Dave Parker, Keith Hernandez, Chet Lemon and Tommy John.



He was a teammate with Ken Griffey Sr on the Mariners… and with Tim Lineccum, Matt Cain, Brian Wilson and Pablo Sandoval on the Giants... and with Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz, Neftali Feliz and C. J. Wilson on the Giants... connecting both 2010 World Series teams with the Big Red Machine.

And was as vital a part of the great Cleveland revival in 1995 as any of the (probably juiced up) sluggers.

He already has more hits than Ozzie Smith, the other standard of shortstop wizardry.

Stick around Omar. Stay in shape. (Clearly Vizquel wasn’t on the juice!) And get 201 more hits… then rehearse that Cooperstown speech.

The Pirates should TRY to sign Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is going to be a free agent at the end of this year and it is a foregone conclusion that he will resign with the Yankees.

He's given the Yankees 16 seasons and is only 102 hits away from being the first Yankee to reach 3,000.

And of course he is the most beloved New York sports star in the last quarter century. (Seriously, who has come close?)

All of that being said... this should not be a free agency where he gets no other bids.

The Pirates need to throw in a bid.

Yup. I am dead serious.

So all of you Pirate fans who think I am picking on you guys... I am not. There is some logic to my insanity.

The Pirates have been bad for so long that there are Pirate fans who can legally buy a drink and have no memory of their team winning 82 games in a season... and not because they are drunk.

And guess what? That is now the identity of the team. In Buster Olney's great book The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty, he wrote about Luis Sojo's brief time in Pittsburgh. Sojo was stunned how there was complacency in the clubhouse that they are simply not going to contend.

That was 10 seasons ago. They haven't come close to relevance since and are currently the worst team in baseball.

But as I wrote before, there is some hope for the 2011 team. They are cobbling together some nice talent, including Pedro Alvarez at third and an outfield of Jose Tabata, Andrew McCutchen and the grizzled 25 year old veteran Lastings Milledge. Plus there are some decent arms that are going through some growing pains.

I was thinking about teams that made and unexpected turn arounds over the years.
I can think of teams like the 1986 Red Sox... 1988 Dodgers... the 1991 Twins and Braves... the 2006 Tigers... the 2008 Rays.

Each of those teams had a new comer who had post season experience and simply wouldn't tolerate losing. And it rubbed off.

Don Baylor came into the Red Sox clubhouse and helped turn a fractured team into almost a World Series winner.

Kirk Gibson stormed out of the Dodgers spring training when he felt there was too much joking. He led by example and even homered when he couldn't walk.

The 1991 World Series was between teams that were in last place the year before. Charlie Liebrandt helped anchor Atlanta's rotation and Terry Pendleton had an MVP season sparking the line up. Meanwhile the Twins imported Jack Morris to the rotation and 10 innings in Game 7 later, the Twins were champs.

Jim Leyland turned the 2006 Tigers around with some help from Pudge Rodriguez, who started the change in the culture a few years prior.

And importing some veterans like Cliff Floyd transformed Tampa from the laughing stock of baseball to a pennant winner.

Now of course each of these teams won because their talent clicked... but you can point to those veterans who helped turn the proverbial rag tag bunch of also rans into contenders.

Which brings us to the Pirates.
They desperately need someone to help change the culture and stop the "They haven't been above .500 since 1992" clock.

They need someone to tell Milledge and Alvarez how to play the game and not let the Pirates be content with losing.

And we're not even pining for a World Series winner. An 82-80 record will get the monkey off their back.

Who commands more respect than Jeter?
Who do you think would be LESS tolerant of a clubhouse that has all the peppiness of a Droopy cartoon?

The players would play UP to his level... or at least try to the same way any of us try to do a good job when someone we respect is watching us.

The Pirates NEED to go into this free agency period and put in an offer for him and do it publicly.

Now do the Pirates have a shot?
Of course not. Jeter is a Yankee for life. We all know it. And the Yankees will out bid the Pirates in a matter of nanoseconds.

And in the end the Pirates won't have to spend the money they bid.
But at least it would be a positive gesture.

And telling their fans "We see what part of the problem is" is a start.

(But man, wouldn't it be cool to see him in Gold and black?)

The Pirates should TRY to sign Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter is going to be a free agent at the end of this year and it is a foregone conclusion that he will resign with the Yankees.

He's given the Yankees 16 seasons and is only 102 hits away from being the first Yankee to reach 3,000.

And of course he is the most beloved New York sports star in the last quarter century. (Seriously, who has come close?)

All of that being said... this should not be a free agency where he gets no other bids.

The Pirates need to throw in a bid.

Yup. I am dead serious.

So all of you Pirate fans who think I am picking on you guys... I am not. There is some logic to my insanity.

The Pirates have been bad for so long that there are Pirate fans who can legally buy a drink and have no memory of their team winning 82 games in a season... and not because they are drunk.

And guess what? That is now the identity of the team. In Buster Olney's great book The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty, he wrote about Luis Sojo's brief time in Pittsburgh. Sojo was stunned how there was complacency in the clubhouse that they are simply not going to contend.

That was 10 seasons ago. They haven't come close to relevance since and are currently the worst team in baseball.

But as I wrote before, there is some hope for the 2011 team. They are cobbling together some nice talent, including Pedro Alvarez at third and an outfield of Jose Tabata, Andrew McCutchen and the grizzled 25 year old veteran Lastings Milledge. Plus there are some decent arms that are going through some growing pains.

I was thinking about teams that made and unexpected turn arounds over the years.
I can think of teams like the 1986 Red Sox... 1988 Dodgers... the 1991 Twins and Braves... the 2006 Tigers... the 2008 Rays.

Each of those teams had a new comer who had post season experience and simply wouldn't tolerate losing. And it rubbed off.

Don Baylor came into the Red Sox clubhouse and helped turn a fractured team into almost a World Series winner.

Kirk Gibson stormed out of the Dodgers spring training when he felt there was too much joking. He led by example and even homered when he couldn't walk.

The 1991 World Series was between teams that were in last place the year before. Charlie Liebrandt helped anchor Atlanta's rotation and Terry Pendleton had an MVP season sparking the line up. Meanwhile the Twins imported Jack Morris to the rotation and 10 innings in Game 7 later, the Twins were champs.

Jim Leyland turned the 2006 Tigers around with some help from Pudge Rodriguez, who started the change in the culture a few years prior.

And importing some veterans like Cliff Floyd transformed Tampa from the laughing stock of baseball to a pennant winner.

Now of course each of these teams won because their talent clicked... but you can point to those veterans who helped turn the proverbial rag tag bunch of also rans into contenders.

Which brings us to the Pirates.
They desperately need someone to help change the culture and stop the "They haven't been above .500 since 1992" clock.

They need someone to tell Milledge and Alvarez how to play the game and not let the Pirates be content with losing.

And we're not even pining for a World Series winner. An 82-80 record will get the monkey off their back.

Who commands more respect than Jeter?
Who do you think would be LESS tolerant of a clubhouse that has all the peppiness of a Droopy cartoon?

The players would play UP to his level... or at least try to the same way any of us try to do a good job when someone we respect is watching us.

The Pirates NEED to go into this free agency period and put in an offer for him and do it publicly.

Now do the Pirates have a shot?
Of course not. Jeter is a Yankee for life. We all know it. And the Yankees will out bid the Pirates in a matter of nanoseconds.

And in the end the Pirates won't have to spend the money they bid.
But at least it would be a positive gesture.

And telling their fans "We see what part of the problem is" is a start.

(But man, wouldn't it be cool to see him in Gold and black?)

Derek Jeter's Bucket List

First of all it makes me sick that I am going to be referring to the movie The Bucket List in this post.

I don't know anyone who liked that movie, and yet its title has become a pretty efficient short hand of describing an essential to do list while facing a definite deadline.

So damn you Rob Reiner for sneaking that expression into our vocabulary.

But I am going to apply it to Derek Jeter's career.

Jeter doesn't have a lot left to accomplish in his career.
He's a five time World Series Champion.
He's been a World Series MVP.
He's had post season heroics.
He has hit 20 post season homers including a walk off shot in Game 4 of the 2001 World Series.
He's won the Hank Aaron Award twice.
He's won the Roberto Clemente Award.
He's a 4 time Silver Slugger Award winner.
He's a 4 time Gold Glove winner.
He won Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year.
He has more hits than any Yankee player ever.
He has become the Yankee captain.
He is the biggest New York sports star of his generation.
He has played 14+ seasons in New York without great controversy nor scandal.
He had the last great moment in the old Yankee Stadium with his impromptu thank you to the fans.
He appeared on Seinfeld.
He slept with Mariah Carey (as Chris DeLuca would say, back when that meant something!)


He has a place in Cooperstown secure for him.

AND his #2 is a lock to be retired and he will be mentioned for all time as one of the great champions in the pantheon of heroes in the most glorious franchise in baseball.

(Forgive me as this Red Sox fan just threw up as he wrote that last sentence.)

What else could he POSSIBLY have left on his to do list?

I am NOT going to say "Win the AL MVP." He has no real control over that and he SHOULD have won it in 2006. No offense Justin Morneau, but you weren't even the most valuable TWIN that year! (Joe Mauer, Johan Santana and I would argue Joe Nathan were more valuable for their division title that year.)

But there are a few things he can do that will, if you can believe it, make his legacy even greater.


1. GET 253 MORE HITS TO JOIN THE 3,000 HIT CLUB

It's hard to believe with all their legends over the years, the Yankees have yet to have anyone get 3,000 hits in pinstripes.

Heck, nobody has 2,800 hits in pinstripes for that matter.

Jeter is the All Time hits leader for the Yankees, but 2,747 isn't a round number. Get to 3,000 and reach the gold standard.


2. STEAL 22 MORE BASES AND BECOME THE YANKEES ALL TIME STOLEN BASE CHAMPION

As of this writing, Rickey Henderson is the Yankees all time stolen base champion. No offense to Rickey, but he was a rented Yankee.

A franchise like the Yankees should have a Yankee under the "All Time" title.



3. WIN AT LEAST ONE MORE WORLD SERIES

Trust me, it is super rough for me to type that.

And with all the superstars in history, what difference would a 6th ring make for Jeter.

First of all, it will give him the same number of titles as Michael Jordan, the modern gold standard of champions.

Also no player has won as many as 6 World Series rings since Mickey Mantle retired with 7 after the 1968 season.

6 World Series rings would equal the total of Whitey Ford and Lefty Gomez (and a bunch of other role players like Bob Cerv who happened to play for the Yankees at the right time.)


4. MAKE SURE ROBINSON CANO BECOMES THE NEXT GREAT YANKEE

Cano is already an All Star, finished in the top 10 for batting average twice and has a World Series ring.

Most people would be content with a career like that. But he is sharing the middle of the infield with a legend.

And seeing that he is Jeter's junior by 9 years, it is reasonable to assume Cano will be around after Jeter hangs them up. Cano could become the leader of the team in a similar was that Jeter took over the leadership mantle from the Paul O'Neills and David Cones of the world.

If he hasn't drilled that into Cano's head by now, then he should start now!


5. GROOM HIS SUCCESSOR

This may make some Yankee fans confused. Some may not believe it.

But there will come a day that Derek Jeter is no longer the shortstop for the New York Yankees.

Somewhere, now, alive on the planet Earth, there is a super talented shortstop who will someday play for the Yankees and have to endure the inevitable comparisons to a Yankee icon.

And the Yankees had better hope that Jeter's successor will be handled more gracefully than Mariano's transition to the Joba era.

When the Yankees have a dynamic new shortstop, Jeter needs to take him under his wing and make sure the press is positive.

Meanwhile Jeter will probably move to first base and push Teixeira out of position. (Kind of like how A-Rod had to move to third for Jeter!)


6. GIVE US ONE REALLY FUNNY COMMERCIAL

The Harvey Keitel commercials were OK. I liked the ones with Steinbrenner taking him to task for partying too much.

But unless I am mistaken, he hasn't hit one out of the ballpark like the Roger Clemens/Debbie Clemens cell phone commercial.

Or even the Joe Torre coming to LA commercial.

So let's go, Derek. Give us one real solid funny one.


7. RESIGN AND RETIRE WITH THE YANKEES

Bobby Orr played his last games as a Chicago Blackhawk.
Babe Ruth played his last games as a Boston Brave.
Ty Cobb played his last games as a Philadelphia Athletic.
Yogi Berra played his last games as a New York Met.
Michael Jordan played his last games as a Washington Wizard.
Joe Namath played his last games as a Los Angeles Ram.
Rickey Henderson played his last games for Mamma's Pizza Softball Team.

We can't have Jeter finish his career as a Padre or a Brewer.


8. HE NEEDS TO GIVE ONE WHOPPER OF A JUICY QUOTE

He has played the New York media better than any sports figure than you will ever see EVER!

And one of his best tricks to say NOTHING interesting when a mike is shoved in his face.

In his last year, I just want him to say ONE explosive thing. Like after a tough loss say "Well, we would have won but there is one player on the team who is always drunk" and have the press try and figure it out.


9. MAKE SURE THE HALL OF FAME SPEECH IS GREAT

Seriously Derek, you are in.

You are in NOW! So let's say you play for 4 more seasons... that gives you 10 years to make sure the speech is terrific.

No excuse for ramblings. No excuse for a single "um" or "urrr."

I say he should hire a solid writer to create a witty, charming and memorable speech.

Why not Woody Allen? He's already been a front!

10. MARRY SANDRA BULLOCK


Come on Derek!
You've never been married and let's face it, Sandra has had some bad luck.

You have no kids. Sandra has adopted Jesse James' kid but I am sure would love to have her own biological child.

How awesome would the off spring of Derek Jeter and Sandra Bullock be?



Now of course Derek's reputation doesn't NEED all of this... but it would mean there would be no stone left unturned.

Now I must end this post.
I started off with references to the Bucket List and it turned into a Derek Jeter love letter.

I may have to listen to some Dropkick Murphy's just to cleanse the pallet.