Now that the Yankees are relevant yet again, we get to wonder if Derek Jeter really should be hitting second in the lineup in every game. Fortunately, Ken Davidoff did more than just wonder: He actually asked Joe Girardi, who suggested he didn’t have any other fine candidates for the No. 2 slot. Really, though?
To Girardi’s assertion that the rest of his hitters weren’t dominating, I acknowledged its accuracy. Yet certainly, I offered, he has more lineup choices than he did a month ago thanks to the Yankees’ revamped roster.
“Yeah,” Girardi said. “But it’s not like we have a bunch of guys hitting .300. So that’s why we’ve kept it.”
What Girardi understandably neglected to point out, and what has changed the equation of this conversation, is just how awful Jeter has been in August. Even after his productive night (he added a walk in the eighth), which contributed to an easy night for winning pitcher Shane Greene, Jeter owns an awful .226/.247/.290 slash line for the month. While it’s true, as Girardi stated, that no regular on the team carries a .300 batting average, Jeter’s .315 on-base percentage ranks him seventh on the team and his .634 OPS 11th; his .267 batting average places him fifth.
Facts! Here’s yet another and another: Derek Jeter bats right-handed, and most of the pitchers are right-handed. So while Jeter’s .315 OBP ranks seventh, it’s actually worse than that, because most of his key teammates bat left-handed, including Brett Gardner and Ichiro Suzuki. Chase Headley's a switch-hitter. When all those guys are playing, of course Jeter shouldn’t be hitting second. Of course you don’t want a sub-.300 OBP in the top third of the lineup.
