The biggest drama of the Yankees’ 2007-08 offseason played out publicly and messily with the divorce of Joe Torre.
Joe Girardi took over and Brian Cashman felt it was improper to drop another longrunning drama onto the to-do list of a new manager, especially since the star of this drama was a player as important as Derek Jeter.
After all, it was not just statisticians working at Web sites who felt Jeter’s defense had atrophied to an unacceptable level. While no member of the Yankees family broke a pinstripe commandment — thou shalt not publicly criticize Jeter — it was not much of a secret that his defense was a concern from the executive offices to the clubhouse.
Even his most loyal supporters — and Torre was as loyal to Jeter as anyone — recognized a position change might be necessary. There had been some sentiment to make Jeter the successor to Bernie Williams in center before JohnnyDamon came aboard in 2006. And by the time the 2007 season ended, the issue could not be ignored any more.
So Cashman took Jeter to dinner in Manhattan and told the Yankees captain that his sideto- side actions must improve. Jeter has an outsized athletic arrogance. He believes in himself completely, which allows him to deftly block out criticism and negativity. This trait enables him to thrive in the cauldron, but also prevents him from seeing personal shortcomings the way others perceive them. Still, to his credit, he agreed to try a new way.
With the Yankees paying the bills, Jeter enlisted Jason Riley, the director of performance at the Athletes Compound in Tampa. Riley formulated a plan to increase Jeter’s first-step quickness, particularly in fielding grounders to his left. Power lifting was diminished, agility — especially in the hips — was empha – sized , weight was lost. The results came slowly at first in 2008 and in a wave last year when Jeter had one of his finest defensive seasons.
“The player Derek is, he took to it and said, ‘Watch, I will prove you wrong,’ ” Cashman said.
This story is instructive in anticipating how Jeter’s contract talks will play out when his 10-year, $189 million contract concludes after this season. First, like the Cashman- Jeter meeting remaining untold publicly until now, Jeter will demand that his negotiations are done privately. Second, the good news for the Yanks is that Jeter is a competent shortstop again; the bad news is he is a competent shortstop again.
At age 35, he was the AL’s best all-around shortstop last year, finishing third in the MVP vote, winning a Gold Glove (more deservedly than in the past) and being a force on a champion. He is in the same training regimen for the third straight offseason and if 2010 resembles 2009, the Yanks will be very pleased, well, until negotiations begin.
This would have been a different negotiation if Jeter was holding on as a left fielder or DH, being kept around mostly for emeritus reasons. Now the Yanks almost certainly will have to treat Jeter as the current and future shortstop of the team, and not the kind of defensive liability that enabled them to play hardball in pushing Williams and Damon off the roster.
Let’s face facts, the Yanks and Jeter ultimately are going to find a way to reconnect; Jeter cares way too much about his public image to become a baseball Brett Favre and do a road s h o w l a te in his career.
There is a lot of talk about how the pressure is on the Yankees with the Jeter talks. But, really, Jeter has the same pressure to stay in pinstripes. He knows that his brand becomes a lot less attractive and his legacy soiled if he finishes out his career as, say, Derek Jeter, Detroit Tiger.
Still, he is not going to undersell himself. But the hidden card is what does a fair contract mean to Jeter. His contract averaged $18.9 million a year and he will make $21 million this season.
Is that the right area for two or three years? Or does Jeter demand a contract until he is 42, like the Yanks gave to his frenemy Alex Rodriguez? If so, that would mean a six-year deal before even contemplating that Rodriguez averages $27.5 million a year with a high of $32 million.
My gut tells me the agreement point will be toward the middle, think four years at $100 million. However, to convince the Yanks that is a good idea — to create an age-challenged infield left side of Jeter and A-Rod for years to come — Jeter is going to have to play like in his prime again; show that athletic arrogance in which he proves he is still a great shortstop, not just to himself, but to the Yankees and the world.
joel.sherman@nypost.com