Klapisch: Derek Jeter, Yankees have reasons for early optimism Thursday February 20, 2014, 11:53 PM By BOB AP Yankees captain Derek Jeter didn’t look his age or show any signs of his ankle injury Thursday while taking ground balls at spring training. TAMPA, Fla. – One look at Derek Jeter taking ground balls told you what kind of morning it would be in Yankees camp, generous in both sunshine and optimism. The captain moved fluidly and athletically enough that’d you never believe he’d been seriously injured last year or that he’s on the bullet train to his 40th birthday. In fact, it looked so much like the early-era Jeter that Joe Girardi noted the unusual “buzz” in the stands Thursday morning. He was talking about the fans who didn’t just walk though the gates of Steinbrenner Field for the Bombers’ first full-squad workout – they sprinted. More than a thousand lined the stands along the right and left field foul lines for a glimpse of the captain, who looks like he was telling the truth about a full recovery from two ankle fractures. No wonder everyone was in such a good mood – it’s what February is for, to dream about everything that could go right and with it, a path to October. In fact, it’s impossible to find anyone in the Yankees’ hierarchy who isn’t willing to take a leap of faith on the 2014 season. “I like what I see,” was Girardi’s verdict after the three-hour workout. You bet he was paying close attention, too, and not just to the way Jeter turned mock double plays with Brian Roberts. The manager has been watching Michael Pineda and his resurrected fastball. The same goes for Mark Teixeira, who so far has passed every test in the batting cage. Bundle those two questions with Jeter and, if the Yankees get an affirmative answer on all three, it becomes possible to envision a 90-win season. While no one is crazy enough to anoint the Yankees as an American League powerhouse just yet, they at least have a chance to be relevant again, dangerous enough to be taken seriously by the Red Sox. When Girardi says, “we’ve brought in a lot of exciting players” he was talking about Masahiro Tanaka and Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brian McCann. No one is happier about it than the executives at YES, whose ratings took a 33 percent hit last season while the Yankees slogged their way to an 85-win season. The organization’s self-image has been restored – although, granted, it took more than a $400 million stimulus to get there. If you want to accuse the Yankees of spending shamelessly, no one will say otherwise. But one rival executive said the Steinbrenner family has nothing to apologize for. “If I had [the Yankees’] money, I’d spend every single penny of it and say ‘so what?’ to anyone who had a problem with it.” Indeed, the idea of the Bombers doing the Limbo to get under the $189 million threshold was a myth from the start, and club officials have wisely stopped talking about it. Instead, they’re focused on the machinery of the next six weeks, during which we’ll learn if the camp’s feel-good aura becomes a reality. Jeter, for one, will likely miss the first few games of the preseason schedule, but that’s only a precaution. The shortstop made a point of saying his health “is not an issue … hopefully I won’t have to keep addressing [the state of] my ankle every day from now on.” Teixeira won’t be ready for next week’s opener against Florida State on Tuesday – he’s shooting for the first week of March – just as Pineda is probably a few days behind the rest of the rotation as well. Tanaka’s debut represents a secondary story line; although Girardi hasn’t announced when the Japanese right-hander will progress from his current bullpen sessions, throwing him on March 1 against the Phillies – at home, televised on YES – satisfies every organizational need.
First, Tanaka won’t have to worry about giving away any secrets to an AL rival. Second, he’ll be in front of a friendly crowd and, finally, appearing on the home team’s network will only heighten interest in this team back home. Not that anyone really needs another reason to tune in. Jeter, on his own, is reason to start taking notes. He’s making history every time he bolts out of the dugout, a fact the captain is beginning to process. All Jeter had to do was look up into stands to see The Vigil had already begun in camp – there were signs sprinkled throughout the stands, not to mention the near-desperation of fans who’d converged near the dugout asking for an autograph. Jeter did his best to accommodate the loyalists, but for now he’s immersed in the endless drills that prepare infielders for opening day. That means ground balls, a million of them, with no break from the monotony. Still, you couldn’t help but notice how much bouncier Jeter looked, possibly because he’s 6 pounds lighter than he was in 2013. Jeter is trying do his body a favor, “taking the pressure off my legs” is how he put it as the engine revs up for one last summer. The captain smiled broadly enough to let you know it was a good first day. That’s February, chicken soup for the baseball soul. – See more at:
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