PSSST, come close I want to tell you something. Closer. I don’t want to say this too loud because one of the policies of Yankee Stadium is to do your darnedest not to offend Derek Jeter.
But you were nice enough to read the New York Post today so I wanted to share this secret, don’t tell anyone — especially the Yankees shortstop — but the team is kind of glad he is hurt.
Well, glad is not the right term. But — to make up a word — how about not un-glad? This is not about being malicious as much as being pragmatic. The Yankees will not revel in Jeter’s pain, yet still will see the potential gain of what could be accomplished in his absence.
There are many reasons the Yankees don’t mind playing Eduardo Nunez at shortstop, right now, notably the really big one: He might be better than Jeter. Based strictly on Jeter’s 2011 — not looking through the exalted lens of his whole career — you know this: Nunez could not be significantly worse.
Jeter’s struggles are a bit of a blessing for the Yankees. Since one worry facing the franchise was how big the shoes were going to be to one day replace Jeter. Now it does not feel as onerous. That is because they are not replacing 200 hits, but rather a .649 OPS, which ranked 138th out of 165 major leaguers qualified for the batting title. Nunez is replacing limited range, vanished clutch hitting and extinguished power. This Derek Jeter, not the one in your memory bank.
The resonating disappointment was that Jeter would not chase the 3,000-hit milestone in the short run at home. So it was about career achievement as opposed to what can you do for me today.
While Jeter recuperates from a strained right calf, the Yankees get at least a two-week read on Nunez. Is he a long-term solution? Deserving of more playing time even after Jeter returns? A trade chip nearing July 31 for a team needing high-end pitching?
The Yankees beat Texas 12-4 yesterday, so Nunez’s RBI single in the second hardly seems relevant. But it was the hit the Yankees never got the previous night early against an initially wobbly Carlos Carrasco of Cleveland.
Nunez turned around 95 mph heat by Alexi Ogando with the bases loaded and one out, lining a single to left for a 1-0 Yankees lead. Later in the inning, he scored from second on a one-hop single to right by Curtis Granderson. Thus, he exhibited the electricity both in his bat and legs that so intrigues the Yanks. Nunez turns 24 today and the Yankees hope he jolts an older squad.
Even if Nunez is a dud, the Yankees can view this as a fact-finding mission about him. Again, the Yanks are not replacing the .320 Jeter. When play began yesterday, a New York shortstop named Jose Reyes was leading the majors in hitting at .342. Jeter was 100th with a .260 average.
If Jeter were hitting .342, the Yankees probably would have played with 24 men for a week hoping a star could return in less than a 15-game DL stint. But Jeter is no star these days. He could not coerce the Yanks into a five-year, $125 million extension in the offseason, and his negotiating skills were no better yesterday as he lobbied to stay active.
“I don’t like not to play, going for 3,000 hits or 100 hits,” Jeter said.
Jeter’s workman mentality is admirable. But this also is about Jeter still seeing himself as a difference maker. Memo to Derek: Those days are done. Captain Clutch is batting .179 with runners in scoring position, the second worst in the majors for anyone with 75 plate appearances in such situations.
Will Nunez do better? After a two-hit game, he is batting .233 with six errors. Still, the Yankees think Nunez is a high-end starting shortstop in the making. They attribute his issues on both sides of the ball to erratic playing time. With more regular usage, Nunez has not committed an error in 17 games (nine starts) since May 16.
So Jeter’s quest for 3,000 hits goes on hold, but Nunez’s first big opportunity of his career arrives. Shhh, don’t tell anybody, but the Yankees don’t mind that tradeoff.
joel.sherman@nypost.com