Death, taxes, Derek Jeter producing in the postseason. You can remove the last component from that list.
Jeter disappeared for the AL Division Series, just part of the reason the Yankees are headed toward a seventh straight offseason that will not include a tickertape parade.
The Yankees captain had two singles in last night’s 6-4 loss to the Indians in Game 4 of the ALDS, but finished the series 3-for-17 (.176) with no homers and one RBI.
“Sometimes you do well and you lose, and you don’t do well and you win,” Jeter said. “It doesn’t really make a difference. We didn’t get the job done and that’s the only thing that really matters.”
It wasn’t the first postseason series of Jeter’s career in which he didn’t hit, but was maybe the most pronounced given the struggles incurred by most of the lineup.
Jeter’s last chance to make a big contribution came in the sixth inning last night after the Yankees had cut Cleveland’s lead to 6-2 and put runners on first and third with one out. With the Stadium buzzing, Jeter hit into a double play, all but pouring a bucket of cold water on the season.
Only adding to Jeter’s offensive woes, he did not walk in the series and struck out four times. Over the final two games he hit into three double plays.
A lifetime .314 postseason hitter entering the series, Jeter went hitless in Thursday’s Game 1 loss to C.C. Sabathia and never recovered.
Of course, Jeter wasn’t alone, with Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui also MIA in the series.
Though the Yankees were an offensive mess in last season’s ALDS loss to the Tigers, Jeter hit .500 with a homer. A year earlier he hit .333 in the Yankees’ ALDS defeat to the Angels. The last time he had failed to hit at least .200 in a postseason series was the 2001 World Series, when he batted .148 against the Diamondbacks. But even then, he made his presence felt with a home run that gave the Yankees a Game 4 victory.
There was no such heroic moment for Jeter in this series. He was an October mess, as were the Yankees.
“Last year was frustrating, the year before that was frustrating,” Jeter said. “Every year when you lose is frustrating.”
mpuma@nypost.com