Results tagged ‘ Derek Jeter ’
Bernie: This one’s for you, Jeet
Before taking the stage on Saturday night in Phoenix, Ariz., where he is participating in several Major League Baseball All-Star events, Bernie Williams passed on the following message to Derek Jeter.
STATEMENT FROM FORMER YANKEE BERNIE WILLIAMS REGARDING DEREK JETER’S 3,000TH HIT:
“Congratulations, Jeet, on No. 3,000. I wish I could have been at the Stadium today, but I was certainly glued to the TV in my hotel room in Arizona. In true Jeter fashion, you did not limp into the 3,000 hit club, but absolutely blew the doors off of it. I celebrate with you, your family and friends, all your teammates through the years, the Yankee organization, and baseball fans around the world. While the home run for number 3,000 is what everyone will remember from this day…knowing you…you probably are more satisfied with that eighth inning single up the middle that won the game. I was privileged to have the best seat in the house to see the majority of those 3,000 hits, and so many of your greatest moments, and while today is yet another one of those moments to add to your amazing career in pinstripes, I know there is still a lot more to come. Just exhale, enjoy it, and know what an honor it was to be your teammate for so many years. Tonight, my last song is dedicated to you my friend. “
Bloomberg: Jeter represents best in spirit of NYC
STATEMENT OF MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON DEREK JETER’S 3,000TH CAREER HIT
“Long before joining the 3,000 hit club, Derek Jeter became another one of New York’s icons because he represents what is best in the spirit of our city: an unbreakable belief that with hard work and determination, anything can be accomplished. Perhaps above all else, Derek is someone who loves this city and who has a long history of giving back to the place and the people that helped make him the superstar he is. New York has a greater baseball tradition than any other city, but we’ve never had a player get all 3,000 hits in a New York uniform until today. Congratulations Derek – you’ve made all of New York City proud.”
Boggs: 3,000 “another piece of the legacy” of Jeter
This just popped in from the Yankees:
STATEMENT FROM HALL OF FAMER AND FORMER YANKEE WADE BOGGS
“Congratulations, first of all, to Derek Jeter on joining the 3,000 hit club. It is an exclusive honor, achieved by only a select group, that not many people can call their own. It is a monumental achievement, and Derek has climbed the mountain. He’s reached that honor, where he can stake his flag in the mountain and call it his own.
“I had the opportunity to play with Derek when he was a rookie in 1996, and I had no doubts that Derek would reach this milestone. He is a very consistent player and he never deviated from his game. When you stay healthy and you are consistent and compile a lengthy career like Derek has done, you have the opportunity to reach that 3,000 hit plateau.
“Reaching the 3,000 hit mark is another piece of the legacy that Derek has created. It won’t be too long now before we are on the verandah in Cooperstown at the Otesaga Hotel celebrating his Induction to the Hall of Fame.”
Jeter, A-Rod tell MLB they’re out of All-Star Game
NEW YORK – The left side of the Yankees’ infield will sit out for the July 12 All-Star Game, as Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez have informed Major League Baseball that they will be unable to participate.
Jeter said that he is concerned about re-injuring his right calf, which cost him three weeks and delayed his pursuit of 3,000 hits. Rodriguez has been bothered since June 19 by a sore right knee and was sent by the team to have a MRI examination on Friday.
Jeter said that he had reached a decision after speaking with manager Joe Girardi, general manager Brian Cashman and head athletic trainer Gene Monahan.
“It’s just a situation where, after talking with Joe and Cash and Geno, it’d probably be best not to try to push it,” Jeter said. “It’s most important to be ready for the second half. That’s where my focus has to be.”
Jeter said that he will not travel to Phoenix during the All-Star break. Asdrubal Cabrera of the Indians was a player-elected reserve and could start for the American League in Jeter’s place.
“It’s unfortunate because you guys know how much I enjoy going to All-Star Games,” said Jeter, a 12-time All-Star. “I love playing in All-Star Games, especially getting voted in by the fans. It’s something I would like to do.
“I’m trying to be smart about it. I know I can be stubborn a lot of times when it comes to injuries, but I’m trying to be smart about it.”
The Texas Rangers’ Adrian Beltre could be in line to start for the AL in place of Rodriguez, a 14-time All-Star.
Jeter and Rodriguez are the second and third Yankees players to announce that he will not attend the 82nd Midsummer Classic, following closer Mariano Rivera, who said that a sore right triceps will keep him away this year.
The Yankees had a MLB-high six players selected to the All-Star roster, with second baseman Robinson Cano, outfielder Curtis Granderson and catcher Russell Martin heading for Phoenix. Cano is set to take part in the July 11 State Farm Home Run Derby.
Jeter doubles for hit No. 2,997
CLEVELAND – Derek Jeter has moved within three hits of becoming the 28th Major League player to collect 3,000, raking an opposite-field double off the Indians’ Justin Masterson on Wednesday.
Jeter stroked his hit over the head of right fielder Austin Kearns while batting in the eighth inning, with the Yankees trailing, 3-0, at Progressive Field.
The captain had struck out, flown out to center field and walked in his previous at-bats against Masterson, coming into Wednesday’s game 5-for-12 lifetime against the right-hander.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi has said that he will consider continuing to play Jeter until he reaches the milestone. New York will travel home to begin a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays that opens on Thursday.
Derek Jeter in Yankees lineup at Cleveland
CLEVELAND – Sensing his 3,000th hit is within striking distance, Derek Jeter talked his way back into the Yankees lineup on Wednesday, and he may remain there until the milestone is in the books.
Yankees manager Joe Girardi had been strongly considering resting Jeter for the series finale against the Indians. But after a conversation, Girardi penciled Jeter’s name back into the leadoff spot, playing shortstop.
“His [concern] was how much I’ve been playing, just coming back,” Jeter said. “I told him I was fine and that was pretty much the extent of it.”
Girardi said that he spoke to Jeter after Tuesday’s 9-2 victory at Progressive Field, and later exchanged text messages at the team hotel with the captain, carrying through on his promise to sleep on the decision. Ultimately, Girardi found himself changing his mind.
“What I realized is, none of us know what it’s like to be close to 3,000 hits,” Girardi said. “We don’t know what’s going through his mind. I just started thinking, you know, maybe it’s a lot worse if you’re sitting around thinking about it.”
Jeter went 2-for-6 in Tuesday’s victory, notching a single and a two-run double, and needs four hits to become the 28th player in Major League history to reach the 3,000 plateau.
He is 5-for-12 in his career against Indians starter Justin Masterson, but even his teammates believed Jeter was a lock to get Wednesday off.
Alex Rodriguez wandered by the lineup card posted in the visiting clubhouse and did a double-take, asking a bystander, “He talked his way in?”
“If I had 500 hits, I’d still be wanting to play,” Jeter said. “This isn’t the first time I’ve done it. I used to do the same thing with Mr. T (Joe Torre) when he tried to take me out. I like to play.”
Girardi said he spoke with head athletic trainer Gene Monahan, who assured the manager that Jeter’s right calf has held up well through the two games against Cleveland following two Minor League rehabilitation games.
Additionally, Girardi said that he has sensed the pursuit of 3,000 hits has been weighing on Jeter, and said he could decide to play Jeter in each of the club’s upcoming four games against the Rays at Yankee Stadium.
“We want to get over with,” Girardi said. “I know he wants to get through it so he can just be Derek again. You don’t want it to carry over to the All-Star break and you don’t want it to go on the road trip.”
Jeter logs hits No. 2,995 & 2,996
CLEVELAND – Derek Jeter legged out an infield single in his first at-bat on Tuesday, belted a two-run double in his second at-bat and now needs four hits to join the 3,000 hits club.
Leading off for the Yankees against Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco, Jeter chopped a slow bouncing ball that third baseman Orlando Cabrera charged but couldn’t handle in time to make a throw.
With two outs in the second inning, Jeter ripped a two-run double to center field, driving in Jorge Posada and Francisco Cervelli to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.
Jeter’s hits were his first since being activated from the 15-day disabled list on Monday, when he went 0-for-4 in New York’s 6-3 loss to Cleveland at Progressive Field.
The Yankees have one more game remaining in Cleveland on Wednesday before returning home to Yankee Stadium for a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays that opens on Thursday.
Pregame notes: Mariano reports improvement
Mariano Rivera played catch in the outfield at Cleveland’s Progressive Field today and said that his sore right triceps feels better, but he still feels something in there. He’ll give manager Joe Girardi a full report after the session, but told reporters that it’d take an emergency for him to pitch tonight.
Earlier today, Rivera said the toughest person to convince is usually Gene Monahan, who’ll nod when a player says he feels OK and then tell the manager to give him another day off. You’ve seen it before, but Rivera might get a little extra leeway with Girardi because of who he is and what he’s been through.
“Basically, you know your body,” Rivera said. “Those things are going to happen. You always have some aching feelings and soreness. I’m not concerned because I haven’t done nothing wrong. I expect that it’s something that’s going to calm and go away, the same way it came.”
Other pre-game tidbits:
- Derek Jeter is in the lineup, batting leadoff and playing shortstop. Girardi said he checked with Jeter last night and today to make sure he’d be ready to go. They wouldn’t commit to a start on Wednesday here in Cleveland.
- Luis Ayala is available tonight. Cory Wade has pitched in three of four, so he’s out. Eduardo Nunez is available off the bench, Girardi said.
- Just a day off for Russell Martin after catching four straight, and a half-day for Mark Teixeira, who’s DHing while the Yanks play this stretch of 13 in a row. Girardi said that it’s to the point now where he doesn’t think twice about having Jorge Posada play first base.
- They’re expecting 100 pitches out of Phil Hughes tomorrow.
- Another setback for Eric Chavez, who felt something in his abdominal and has been sent back to New York for tests. Meanwhile, Rafael Soriano is set to throw a bullpen in Tampa tomorrow. Best case for Soriano is the first game after the All-Star break, but a little cushion room is more likely.
Healthy Jeter ready to resume chase for 3,000
Right around 6:35 p.m. ET tonight, Derek Jeter will step in for the Yankees against the Indians’ Josh Tomlin, with the captain getting his first chance since June 13 to continue his chase for 3,000 hits.
“It’s been kind of weird. To be quite honest with you, now I just want to go out and play,” Jeter said today at Cleveland’s Progressive Field. “I’m not going to think about it today. Hopefully if I get a few hits one of these days, I’ll think about it getting a little closer. At this point, I just want to go out and play a game because I haven’t played in a while.”
Jeter is in New York’s lineup, batting leadoff and playing shortstop. He said that his right calf feels fine and that he had enough opportunities to test it during his two-game rehab stint with the Double-A Trenton Thunder.
“It feels good to be back. I don’t like to miss games, period, so to be out for three weeks – it’s tough to be away, because you want to be out there playing,” Jeter said. “In retrospect, it probably was the best thing to do.”
Postgame notes: Colon didn’t skip a beat
That was pretty much what the Yankees expected out of Bartolo Colon, all right — six innings and 80 pitches, keeping the Mets off the scoreboard in a five-hit effort.
By the time Colon’s work was done, his strained left hamstring and any concern the Yankees might have had about it were far off in the rear-view mirror.
“In the beginning when I was warming up in the bullpen I was thinking about it a little bit,” Colon said. “But when the game started I forgot about it.”
Alex Rodriguez gushed praise, saying that Colon is “a dream to have for our staff. He eats up innings, he strikes people out, he gets a lot of ground ball double plays. Any guy that’s 0-2 all the time and throws with that kind of pace is great.”
The Mets lost Jose Reyes to a left hamstring injury, but it’s been a terrific weekend for the other New York shortstop (not Derek Jeter): Eduardo Nunez would be 8-for-8 if not for Justin Turner’s leaping grab in the sixth inning, adding on a Citi Field home run off Tim Byrdak in the ninth inning.
“I feel better when I play every day, because when you play every day, you can say OK tomorrow is a new day,” Nunez said. “It’s my job right now, when Jeter comes back I’ll have to make adjustments.”
As for Jeter, who is currently on the field for the Trenton Thunder and has already made one sharp play in the field, the starting shortstop’s job will be his as soon as Monday. Girardi confirmed as much, sidestepping a reporter’s question if the Yankees were better with Jeter or Nunez at shortstop.
“Nuney has played well, but Derek is our shortstop,” Girardi said. “He’s been our shortstop for a long time, and has been a great player, and he’s still a great player. We’re looking forward to getting him back. My hope is these next two days go well and we get him back and get him going like he can. Derek is the guy that has always been there for us and he’ll continue to be there for us.”
THIS AND THAT: Tonight’s attendance of 42,042 was the largest ever at Citi Field. That’s 22 more than last night … The Yankees are 4-1 vs. the Mets this year … Colon has won four straight starts, pitching to a 1.00 ERA (3 ER/27 IP) since May 30 at Oakland … The Yankees are a MLB-best 24-4 in day games this year … Nick Swisher’s eight-game hitting streak ended today. … Sergio Mitre made his 2011 Yankees debut, allowing two earned runs in the ninth inning.
Bryan Hoch
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