There would be no “Win one for The Captain!” speeches yesterday at Yankee Stadium. At least not by The Captain himself. And there won’t be one soon.
Which is fitting. Derek Jeter always has exhibited his best leadership on the field. Now that he’s done for the season, having fractured his left ankle early yesterday morning in American League Championship Series Game 1, his healthy teammates can best honor him by emulating his grace under pressure.
“When you think about the postseason baseball, I guess the Atlanta Braves [making] 14 straight post-seasons, Reggie Jackson — Mr. October — and Derek Jeter,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said yesterday, before ALCS Game 2 at Yankee Stadium, which the Bombers lost, 3-0.
“What would Derek say? ‘I’m great, let’s go.’ And that would be his message,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “And we’ll have to find a way. We have done it all year long, and we’re going to have to do it again.”
Jeter didn’t come to the ballpark because he spent yesterday getting a CT scan and MRI at Columbia- Presbyterian Hospital to find out if he needs surgery. He is currently in a splint and on crutches, and he’ll soon meet with Dr. Robert Anderson, a foot and ankle specialist in Charlotte, with whom he’ll presumably come to a decision on surgery.
He will not accompany the team to Detroit, where the Yankees will play Game 3 tomorrow night, in a 2-0 hole in the best-of-seven series.
Are the Yankees finished without their shortstop and leadoff hitter? Of course not. These are short, quick mini-tournaments; the Yankees won their first one, the division series, over Baltimore and must prevail in two more series to be World Series champions. There are infinite paths to victory, and plenty include the absence of Jeter.
Does Jeter’s absence raise the degree of difficulty? Naturally. The 38-year-old superstar enjoyed an excellent regular season and had nine hits in the Yankees’ first six postseason games.
He never has been much of a group speaker, not one for rah-rah speeches, and at times — most notably with Alex Rodriguez — he wasn’t as welcoming as he should have been. His greatest work as captain has come completely out in the open, in the way he plays and in the corners of the clubhouse.
For instance, despite not being at the Stadium, Jeter made sure to text-message his replacement, Jayson Nix, yesterday morning.
“He just said good luck,” the veteran backup Nix said. “He said he believes in me and a ‘Go get ’em’ type of thing.”
A-Rod, lifted three times for a pinch hitter and benched once by Girardi in the postseason, has paced the Yankees’ remarkable run of offensive incompetence.
Yet he hasn’t been alone. He has been joined by Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson and Nick Swisher. This quartet, four of the Yankees’ most important hitters, come into tomorrow’s Game 3 with a combined 12 hits and 35 strikeouts in 108 at-bats. That’s about what you would expect from a pitcher hitting ninth in a National League lineup. Yeesh.
All Jeter can do is rest his ankle and see if anyone on this swaying ship can institute that special sense of calm like he could.
Bombers faithful yesterday didn’t forget their injured captain. Fans included “De-rek Je-ter” in their first-inning “Roll Call” chant, even though No. 2 was nowhere to be found.
“He’s still The Captain. It’s not like we’re just going to [forget about] him,” said fan Jeff Bell, 41, of South Plainfield, NJ. “He’s still here. He’s still our leader.”
James Steimau, 23, said after yesterday’s loss, Jeter’s absence all but dooms the team’s chances.
“It’s pretty doubtful they will come back without the heart and soul of their lineup.”
Additional reporting by Kenneth Garger