FOOT FORWARD: Derek Jeter, who went 1-for-2 with two walks as the designated hitter for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday, said his ankle hasn’t created any doubt in his mind that he’ll be able to return to the Yankees and be the same player he has always been. (AP)
FOOT FORWARD: Derek Jeter, who went 1-for-2 with two walks as the designated hitter for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday (right), said his ankle hasn’t created any doubt in his mind that he’ll be able to return to the Yankees and be the same player he has always been. (AP; The Scranton Times-Tribute)
MOOSIC, Pa. — Derek Jeter delivered a single, drew a pair of walks and went first to third on a single yesterday, a successful test for his recovering broken ankle in rehab game No. 2.
And Jeter declared his ankle hasn’t created any apprehension that when he returns to the Yankees, he’ll be the player he always has been.
“It doesn’t cross my mind,” he said. “If I had doubt, I wouldn’t play.”
In an afternoon game — which meant he didn’t have as much time to recover as usual after his rehab assignment debut on Saturday — Jeter served as the designated hitter and went 1-for-2 with two walks, a run scored and a strikeout in four plate appearances for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in its 6-2 victory over Lehigh Valley.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Jeter played five innings at shortstop, handled his one chance easily and went 0-for-2 with a walk. Scouts told The Post’s Joel Sherman they marveled how smoothly Jeter moved and how his swing already had its rhythm and timing.
Jeter will play shortstop tonight for SWB, but said he wasn’t sure how many innings he would play.
The question that remains unanswered is how many rehab games Jeter will need before returning to The Bronx, and manager Joe Girardi implied yesterday, as the Yankees have been saying, it will still likely be after the All-Star break.
“He’s ready when he’s ready,” Girardi said. “You have to build him up. He has to be able to play more than five innings once every two days. We’ll go through this this week, I’m sure, and then make an evaluation. … If there’s one positive thing in all this, you do have the four days that we are off [for the All-Star break], so even if he was ready those days, you can’t bring him back anyway.”
Jeter didn’t play along when asked whether he would be upset if he didn’t return to the Yankees before the All-Star break.
“Would I be upset? That’s hypothetical. I don’t answer hypotheticals,” he said. “I’m playing here [today]. That’s all I know.”
Facing lefty Tom Cochran yesterday, Jeter walked in his first at-bat then was erased on a double play.
In his next turn, Jeter grounded a single to left, eventually scoring on Randy Ruiz’s home run. Jeter struck out against Cochran in his next turn before drawing another walk, this one off right-hander Mike MacDougal.
When Brent Lillibridge dumped a single to center, Jeter ran to second, then busted it to third base.
“I’ve done it before,” Jeter said. “It’s not like it’s the first time I’m doing it. But I guess it’s good for people to see me do it in a game. But I’m not concerned with that. I’ve done a lot of that down in Florida. It’s good to get back into a game, but I don’t have a checklist off in my mind.”
Jeter said he tries not to think about his ankle but admitted, “That’s going to take a while. That’s like any injury.”
Jeter said he also feels his timing at the plate is progressing well.
“I think I had almost 50 at-bats down in Florida, simulated at-bats,” he said. “The two starters the last couple days didn’t really throw too hard, so I look forward to seeing guys that throw a little bit harder, but I think each day it gets better.”
— Additional reporting by Dan Martin