MINNEAPOLIS — So the unlikely takeaway from Derek Jeter’s last All-Star Game, quite possibly his last big moment on a national stage, is this:
Couldn’t Adam Wainwright just have lied?
The Cardinals ace, who long ago secured a dark place in Mets history for getting a key strikeout, now will be unwelcome in The Bronx — for giving up a key hit. Different sides of the RFK Bridge, different gripes. Too good for one borough, too honest for another.
Jeter’s first-inning double to right field off Wainwright initiated a three-run AL rally Tuesday night, and though the NL erased that deficit, the AL eventually prevailed, 5-3 at Target Field, to give Jeter’s Yankees the home-field advantage if by some miracle they reach the World Series.
The retiring Yankees captain added a trademark inside-out single to right in his second at-bat, in the third inning against Cincinnati’s Alfredo Simon. He departed in the top of the fourth, replaced on the field by White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez, to the accompaniment of “New York, New York,” yet another standing ovation, hugs from everyone in the AL dugout and a curtain call. Really, the night couldn’t have gone much more smoothly for the perpetually smooth 40-year-old.
At least, until the earnest Wainwright opened his mouth.
“I was going to give him a couple of pipe shots. He deserved it,” Wainwright, who struck out the Mets’ Carlos Beltran looking at a nasty curveball to end the 2006 NLCS, said of Jeter. “I didn’t realize he would get a double, or else I would’ve changed my mind. I probably should’ve pitched him a little better than that.”
Wainwright said this to a group of about 20 reporters, including myself, and there was no doubt he meant what he said, albeit in a good-natured manner. But by game’s end, when the Twit(ter) hit the fan, Wainwright good-naturedly backtracked, calling himself a “knucklehead” and insisting he misspoke.
“I was fine with him hitting the ball,” the right-hander said. “I didn’t think he was going to get a hit. I don’t face too many hitters where I think, ‘This guy’s going to get a hit right here.’ ”
Jeter, focused on the final score as usual, said, “If he grooved it, thank you. You’ve still got to hit it. I appreciate it if that’s what he did. Thank you.’’
Wainwright possesses an excellent reputation throughout the game. It would be highly out of character for him to talk trash, to purposely belittle one of the best players in the game’s history and the night’s star. No, this was just a case of the 32-year-old, having spent his entire career in the small media market of St. Louis, not fully appreciating the impact of his words.
After all, Wainwright displayed his respect for Jeter before the at-bat even began by laying his glove on the mound, stepping back a few feet and clapping while the crowd stood and applauded (again) for Jeter.
“I just wanted him to enjoy it,” Wainwright said. “I wanted to stay as far away from it as possible. I didn’t even want to get near that mound. I put my glove up and just backed up far to second base. He was telling me to [pitch].”
As for whether Wainwright should have been grooving a pitch to Jeter when this game determines home-field advantage for the World Series — and his Cardinals are defending NL champs and very much in this year’s race — well, of course he shouldn’t. But it is complicated.
Retiring commissioner Bud Selig tends to throw many eggs in one basket, and it can get messy — think of how teams compete for wild-card spots despite facing dramatically different schedules. On the All-Star Game front, the “This time it counts!” angle has been going on for 12 years now, yet MLB also was heavily invested in sending off Jeter right.
If Wainwright had dominated the diminished Jeter and struck him out, television and marketing folks would’ve been disappointed. So would many of the All-Stars themselves, for that matter.
Of course, if the Cardinals lose a World Series Game 7 on the road, then St. Louis fans probably won’t be thrilled with Wainwright.
Which is why he should’ve fibbed. Looked us straight in the eye and credited Jeter for prevailing in their first-ever matchup. Say that he was hoping to get Jeter reaching outside on the cutter. And hope that the hit won’t come back to bite him three months down the road.
Jeter deserved a grooved pitch, and he deserved the cover-up. He went 1-for-2. He’ll be fine. It’s Wainwright who will have to deal with the ramifications of his actions and his words.
“People in New York already don’t like me,” Wainwright said, smiling. “…. I should probably hush up.”