TAMPA — Had he not spent the previous four minutes explaining that running from home to first base presented no problem, the words that rolled off Derek Jeter’s lips would have arched eyebrows.
“Right now, I am not where I want to be,’’ Jeter said after playing five innings, going 0-for-2 and hitting into a double play in an 8-2 Yankees loss to the Pirates on Thursday in front of a surprising number of empty seats at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
Jeter quickly explained he was talking about baseball skills and not a 39-year-old body that limited him to 17 games last season when he attempted to come back from two ankle fractures and calf and quadriceps injuries in the left leg.
“I am not concerned about running,’’ Jeter said. “It doesn’t cross my mind.’’
Jeter, who grounded into a double play in the first and grounded to third in the fourth when he was safe but called out, didn’t remotely resemble the man wearing No. 2 last spring when he moved with a noticeable limp in the field and on the bases.
“I thought he ran pretty hard to first today so that was good to see,’’ said Joe Girardi, who played Jeter in the field for five innings, when his only action was gloving catcher Francisco Cervelli’s throw to second in the fifth that caught Josh Harrison attempting to swipe second. “We haven’t seen that in a while; you go back to 2012. That’s a great sign for us and a great sign for him.’’
Did Jeter run like he was 29 instead of 39? No. But based on what he displayed Thursday and given that he will probably run better the deeper he goes into the exhibition season, it was encouraging.
“Running seemed to bother him more than anything [last spring],’’ Girardi said. “To me it was no issue today.’’
Girardi plans to play Jeter Saturday against the Phillies at home and will leave the schedule beyond that up to his captain.
“If he says he wants to play back-to-back we will do it,’’ Girardi said.
While some players could do without a month of exhibition games, Jeter believes they are necessary.
“You need to play games, you need different situations. I am looking forward to playing more and more games,’’ Jeter said.
Kelly Johnson and Brian Roberts played with Jeter for the first time with the Yankees and Johnson gushed about the experience.
“It was really cool to look over there and see Derek,’’ said Johnson, who started at third base. “It was kind of surreal.’’
Roberts played several games with Jeter in the World Baseball Classic and has played against him seemingly forever, so he said it wasn’t strange looking at Jeter across the second-base bag. Yet Roberts understands what a healthy and productive Jeter means to the Yankees’ lineup.
“We all know what he is capable of doing,’’ Roberts said. “You are talking about getting a premier player in the game when he is healthy. It’s hard to replace a player like that playing shortstop.’’
Sept. 7, 2013, was the last game action for Jeter who spent the winter strengthening his legs and losing weight. And while the second game of spring training isn’t a big deal, it was a milestone of sorts for a guy who has reached a barrel full of them.
“It’s good to see games. It felt like I hadn’t played a game in a couple of years,’’ Jeter said. “Just getting into a game feels good.’’