Joel Sherman

Joel Sherman

MLB

Derek Jeter looks like same old captain in final Opening Day

HOUSTON — The story of the baseball offseason was the story of the Yankees.

Sure there was a Clayton Kershaw signing here or instant replay being approved there. But recaps of the winter played like Yankeeographies on endless loop.

There was the staunch struggle, seismic suspension and sudden surrender by Alex Rodriguez. Robinson Cano fled to Seattle for $240 million. Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran and finally Masahiro Tanaka signed on for more than $400 million — the Tanaka agreement, in particular, was of mammoth interest on two continents.

Each of those issues still resonated Tuesday night as the Yankees and Astros became the final teams to open their 2014 seasons. Heck, Japanese camera crews and reporters followed Tanaka everywhere short of the bathroom (I think) and he is not even pitching in Houston.

On Opening Night, however, and probably much longer, those storylines were competing for second place. Each paled to Derek Jeter beginning his end, the first step of his last stand.

For Jeter and the Yankees, it was a misstep. Jeter was hit near the left forearm with the third pitch of the game — collective breaths held and then exhaled as he stayed in to witness an-everything-that-could-go-wrong game by his team.

The slimmed-down, slowed-down version of CC Sabathia was dreadful early, allowing six runs in the first two innings, making the optimism of his strong spring results vanish quickly. The offense was bad, the defense worse and the Astros won 6-2.

Jeter said he was “a little more nervous than usual” for an opener because of how little he has played in the last year, but that was knocked out when Scott Feldman hit him. After that, it was just regular-season game 2,603 of his career. He fielded the balls hit at him and went 1-for-3, then hit a Jeter-ian line single to right, hit No. 3,317, moving him two away from Paul Molitor for ninth place all-time. The most encouraging element for Jeter was, well, he looked like Jeter.

“Which is what he wants,” Mark Teixeira said. “He just wants to be Derek Jeter again.”

But in this is not just another season. So before coming to the park, he ate lunch with George and Barbara Bush at Katch 22, the restaurant of Kory Clemens, the chef son of Roger. He took the field for batting practice to a loud chant of “Let’s go Jeter.” He did it all in with continuing good spirits.

As Brian Cashman, who has served as either assistant general manager or GM for Jeter’s entire Yankee voyage, said, “I have never seen him so relaxed or joyful.” Indeed, there has been a breeziness about Jeter. He has been a touch more revealing in conversation. He seems completely at peace with his retirement decision. Not one to over-complicate matters anyway — part of his genius for thriving in New York — Jeter appears without burden, as if all the weight of the game has disappeared.

We know what can make it return. His body — after two ankle fractures and with age 40 approaching — breaks down. His game deteriorates as both his batting average and range diminish. Lastly and mostly, the Yankees don’t win.

For it is as a winning player — not just a Hall-of-Fame-caliber one — that Jeter has defined himself. A crumbled Yankees team did not even make the playoffs in Mariano Rivera’s last season. A repeat would darken this final lap.

Manager Joe Girardi said he could not imagine teammates placing an extra level of stress to send Jeter out right. Mainly because it is the Yankees’ mission statement to win every year, not just the ones in which icons exit.

Cashman went as far as to say, “I think Jeter would be offended if someone said ‘Let’s rally around Jeter.’ ” Because “It’s our stated goal [to win every year]. It’s always his stated goal.”

This is where the other Yankees offseason storylines become more relevant. How do the Yanks perform without A-Rod and Cano? How do McCann, Ellsbury, Beltran and Tanaka impact the won-lost bottom line? What does improved health for Sabathia, Michael Pineda and Teixeira mean?

“It would be a great way to send him out, with a real successful campaign,” Cashman said.

The first step of the last season was not pretty. But, as always, what matters most to Jeter is what will truly make the endgame special: Can the Yanks be the last team standing for a 28th time?