BOSTON — As Derek Jeter skipped out of the dugout onto the field last night, his new reality hit him in the face like the hot wind blowing across Fenway.
Jeter looked right, looked left and had nowhere to go.
His teammates were taking batting practice, preparing for yet another game Jeter was forced to watch, another night when the offense was horrendous in a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox.
Jeter made his way to the batting cage and leaned up against it, looking out over the field like a manager, not a shortstop.
He is sidelined again, on the disabled list with a right quadriceps injury that will keep him out until at least July 27. Jeter was asked how strange it was for him to be at Fenway and not play.
The grand old shortstop gave a revealing and honest answer.
“Man, it’s been a strange nine months in general,’’ he said. “I don’t like watching games, period. If we have a 20-game lead in certain years, I still want to play in every game. So, yeah, it’s been kind of odd. We’ve played almost 100 games and I’ve played one.
“That doesn’t even sound right.’’
No, it doesn’t. But that’s the new reality.
Jeter is 39 and after twice breaking his left ankle, he injured his right quad his first game back on July 11. Alex Rodriguez is set to rejoin the team Monday in Texas and is coming back from his second hip surgery. A-Rod turns 38 in seven days.
That is your Yankees shortstop and third-base situation. Eduardo Nunez played short last night and lost count of the outs in the first inning. Enough said.
General manager Brian Cashman said he is trying to make a deal to keep the Yankees in the playoff hunt. At this stage, Cashman might want to look into acquiring a time machine.
Jeter is going to have to make certain changes to his game, and, to his credit, he knows it. He is known for his hustle, but he is going to have to make concessions. He is going to have to play smarter so he doesn’t get injured and that means a little less busting it down the line.
“You play under control,’’ is the way Jeter phrased it.
Stay under control and you stay in the game. A simple groundout becomes just that, a simple groundout with Jeter jogging to first base. When he returns, the new reality is all about survival.
Survive each game and move on.
Jeter called it “kind of odd’’ the way the Yankees have been getting injured. Some of it is odd. Zoilo Almonte sprained an ankle last night running the bases and will go on the DL.
Some is just old. Old players get hurt, it’s really that simple. That is the ebb and flow of the game.
“You just deal with it, we’ll find a way,’’ manager Joe Girardi said.
Will A-Rod be effective when he returns?
“You want to get everybody back,’’ Jeter said. “You want guys to be healthy. I don’t know when he is coming back. Is it Monday? So, yeah, I think he’s going to help us.’’
The Yankees have little power. They have hit home runs in 12 of their last 36 games. Will A-Rod add some pop?
The genius of Jeter is he controls what he can control and doesn’t worry about anything else. That really is a life lesson. When he is not playing, he cannot control the outcome of the game.
Jeter could only ride a bike yesterday. He wasn’t allowed to run. The Yankees will have to move on against the Red Sox and Rangers without him.
“It’s frustrating, I spent a lot of time trying to get my ankle right and get back on the field, which I did,’’ Jeter said. “Finally, when that was good to go, something else happened. These things happen. I don’t think age is anything.’’
Age is something: the Yankees are now a season-high seven games back of the Red Sox.