Sports

THANKS TO DH, JETER ALL-HIT, NO FIELD

Derek Jeter had a total of nine atbats in his career as a designated hitter before his surprise start in that spot last night against the A’s.

With the shortstop sidelined since Sunday with a bruised right thumb, and having no idea when he’d be able to throw again, the Yankees figured a little Jeter at the plate was better than no Jeter at all.

When the Bombers opened a three-game set with Oakland, their captain was back at his usual No. 2 spot in the order. He had missed the last three games, and after yesterday’s batting practice, it was clear he was going to miss a lot more if the club waited for him to be able to throw.

“He still can’t throw, so we’ll put him in and have him DH,” Joe Torre said. “I know Don (Mattingly) was comfortable watching him, and I was comfortable. It’s a few days before he can throw, so if we wait until he can throw, he’s going to be out for a while. We’ll just take what we can get right now.” Jeter hadn’t played since leaving Sunday’s 11-4 loss to the Orioles after getting hit in the sixth inning by a Rodrigo Lopez pitch. Jeter had five hits in his previous 11 atbats, and came into last night third in the AL with a .344 average. If the Yanks couldn’t get his glove, they at least got that red-hot bat.

“Throwing is a problem, but you don’t have throw when you DH, so it’ll be all right,” said Jeter, who can’t squeeze a ball to aim it, and wouldn’t guess when he could return to the field. “I don’t know; it’s pretty much a day-to-day thing.

Hopefully I’ll be able to play there [today], but we’ll see.

“I’ve never been hit there before, [so] I didn’t know what to expect.

When you get hit in the hands, it’s pretty tough, because you use them for everything. Hopefully it feels better [today], but I don’t know.” Jeter hadn’t taken batting practice or thrown Wednesday or Thursday. He was limited to taking treatment and driving his coaches batty trying to get back on the field. He called being sidelined “irritating,” which by all accounts describes driven Jeter on the rare instances when he’s injured.

“I didn’t have to see it on his face, I just felt his vibe walking up and down after he was coming out from getting treatment. He was a pain in the neck,” Torre said. “He’s part of the fabric of what goes on here. Hopefully he can give us a lift. His ability will add something to the lineup.” With Jeter the DH, Jason Giambi moved to first base, which left Andy Phillips out of the lineup.