Jeter has almost deity status in MLB. Look at how Ortiz got ripped apart for his (misrepresented) comments. And watch out for Damon who was known to throw hinted barbs at teamates while in Boston. If the Yanks don't win it all these personalities, along with the $200MM+ payroll, could lead to a nasty offseason.

I don't like the Yankees that much and I agree that Derek Jeter is given a pass by the media; however, this article's notion of the "Yankee way" is a load of bunk. Does anyone remember the World Series Champion Yankees of the late 1970's? Reggie, Billie Martin, et al? Yeah, that certainly was a team of peace, love and harmony. How many managers did George go through in the late 1970's and early 1980's?

Jeter's been an above avg fielding ss, surprisingly given his attrociousness at the position previously, since the arrival of A-Rod. A-Rod at 3rd? Not so good. Makes you wonder tho if Jete was doggin it before.

Jeter's offensive stats aren't A-Rod's and never will be. Both'll end up in Cooperstown but only one is a unanimous first balloter.

However, adjusted for position as the stat is, this season, Jeter's vorp is 3rd in the AL behind only the aggregiously underrated Travis Hafner (thanks for leaving him off the all-star Ozzie you putz!), and Johan Santana, and iirc the best of any ss in the majors.

A-Rod on the other hand, while having a far better season that most believe given the hype from (N)ESPN, is far down the VORP list from Jeter, and not the best 3rd baseman in the bigs.

I know you're indulging in your usual hyperbole to spark a rise out of Yankee fans (me), but jealousy and betrayal? Puleeze.

Captain tho he may be, don't you think Jeter telling the press and fans not to pick on A-Rod makes A-Rod look even lamer. Can you imaginine the headlines?

Jeter knows A-Rod is the best player on the team, why does he need to make act the big brother to his superior.?

I just read the Marchman article. I've really like the stuff I've seen from him in the past, but this is absolute dreck.

A-Rod's putting up "near mvp numbers" but he still sux? Huh? Why b/c he had an awful stretch?

Welcome to baseball Tim.

Jeter's fielding was shockingly unhorrid last year, but he's reverted to the historical norm this year:

sports.espn.go.com/mlbhist/stats/fielding?seasonType=2&sortOrder=true&split=82&groupId=7&season=2006&qualified=null&sortColumn=zoneRating

This is what happens when you've got 10 days before the season ends and no AL East playoff race to worry about. Good for water cooler discussion, bad for Yankee team unity, but it all would go away in October if A-Rod just starts smacking the ball around in the late innings of some close games with runners in scoring position.

All that matters is that the Yankees can't pitch.

No team with Randy Johnson on it, no matter how old he is, can be considered one that can't pitch.

(And I say this as one betrayed by the Unit's desire to pitch for the Yankees.)

Middle releif can't pitch -- the starters are a crapshoot. They could throw gems in one start and get hammered in 2 1/3 innings in the next, which is why Wright or Lidle will probably be converted into a middle relief role come playoff time (not that either is lights out to be effective, but they can't do much worse than the current group has in bridging the gap between the starters and Rivera).

Johnson hasn't won a postseason game since 2001.

Jim - VORP is not a good way to compare Jeter and A-Rod, because the replacement third baseman hits much, much better than the replacement shortstop - something like .100 OPS higher. If Jeter and A-Rod swapped positions, it would be like a swing of .200 in OPS, and A-Rod would have the higher VORP.

And defensively, the Yankees would be just as well off with A-Rod at short and Jeter at third.

Anyone who sees the team play every day knows that Jeter is the most clutch player on the Yankees, not to mention being an exemplary teammate. A-Rod doesn't come close -- he disappears whenever the pressure rises, then he pads his stats when the pressure is off. That's a slight exaggeration, but only slightly so.

Almost any Yankee fan will tell you he'd rather see Jeter at the plate, or Hideki, than A-Rod with the game on the line. It's not too late for A-Rod to win the admiration of the Yankee fans, but if he flops again in post-season play, then most Yankee fans I know would not be unhappy to get rid of him, his stats notwithstanding.

Giambi's comments to A-Rod in the 5-game Boston series were right on the money. A-Rod's batting average and RBI total during that series look respectable, until you realize how many of his hits and RBI took place only AFTER the Yankees took the lead. The stats also do not recognize how many DPs he hit into and how many unproductive outs he was responsible for. He was a rally killer of the worst kind.

I'll be rooting for him in October, but he will need to produce some magic to win back the fans.

Anyone who sees the team play every day knows that Jeter is the most clutch player on the Yankees, not to mention being an exemplary teammate. A-Rod doesn't come close -- he disappears whenever the pressure rises, then he pads his stats when the pressure is off. That's a slight exaggeration, but only slightly so.

Almost any Yankee fan will tell you he'd rather see Jeter at the plate, or Hideki, than A-Rod with the game on the line. It's not too late for A-Rod to win the admiration of the Yankee fans, but if he flops again in post-season play, then most Yankee fans I know would not be unhappy to get rid of him, his stats notwithstanding.

Giambi's comments to A-Rod in the 5-game Boston series were right on the money. A-Rod's batting average and RBI total during that series look respectable, until you realize how many of his hits and RBI took place only AFTER the Yankees took the lead. The stats also do not recognize how many DPs he hit into and how many unproductive outs he was responsible for. He was a rally killer of the worst kind.

I'll be rooting for him in October, but he will need to produce some magic to win back the fans.

The NY Sun had a good piece last week on how much better A-rod is against the best pitchers in baseball than Jeter or Giambi.