New York Yankees shortstop and captain Derek Jeter is struggling entering what could prove to be the final month of his career if the Bronx Bombers don't make the playoffs, but manager Joe Girardi wants the media to ease up on the questions about moving the five-time World Series champion down in the lineup.
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Jeter struggled in August, posting a .487 OPS and just a .207 batting average with one homer and nine RBI, which has prompted many people to question if he should be sauntered down the lineup. Girardi told those people to back off, pointing to other inefficiencies in the Yankee lineup.
"He is going to be the focal point because of who he is, but I think people are talking about moving him. But in saying that, you say, 'OK, well, look up and down our numbers and there are a lot of .230s and .240s,'" Girardi said via ESPN New York before the Yankees 9-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night in the Bronx. "I'm not so sure why he is the one that is necessarily picked on here. He has been a money player his whole career, and we need him to be that the last month."
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Girardi also said he isn't keeping Jeter up in the lineup for his captain's "farewell tour," but rather Jeter remains near the top of the lineup card because the team has so many struggling hitters.
"I've said it a number of times: If I had eight other guys hitting .300, it probably wouldn't be difficult," Girardi said. "If you look up and down at our numbers, we've had a number of guys have tough years, years we wouldn't have projected. So I move him? Who am I going to put there? That's my question. Who are you going to move there that's been more consistent during the season? We haven't hit collectively as a team. To single him out is unfair."
The Yankees' bats have been dormant thus far and they've scored less runs (539) than everyone in the American League except for the opposing Red Sox (535) this season.
"We are 14 out of 15 in runs scored. That's not all Derek's fault. That's collectively we haven't hit," Girardi said.
Jeter is hitting just .261/.308/.311 this year in his final season in New York with three homers and 37 RBI.
Still, given Jeter's clutch past, Girardi is hesitant to move him down in the lineup with the Yankees (70-68) sitting five games behind the Detroit Tigers (76-62) for the final wild-card spot in the AL. New York also has the Cleveland Indians (70-66) and Seattle Mariners (74-63) in front of them in the race.
"I consider us to kind of be in playoff mode right now," Girardi said. "We obviously need to win games. Throughout his career he has been clutch in the playoffs. So we are leaving him. He is a hot topic always, just because of who he is. There are other issues that we have in our lineup that we have to be better at as well."
Jeter was right back in the two-hole in Tuesday night's loss where he went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
After a career filled with joyous memories, it is possible that the Yankee captain's career will go out with a whimper.
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