Is Jeter Past His Prime?

Derek Jeter. One of the best short stops in the league. He can hit, he can run and he sure can play the field. Wait...what? Well we thought Jeter could play the field. He's got that great arm. Hes got that signature jump throw that everyone knows about. He made that running catch on the third base line before diving into the stands. I must have seen that clip over 5000 times. Something is different about Jeter this year though. I'm not even talking about his .250 avg in the last 10 games or his dinky ground balls to short all the time. But Jeter seems to be having a little bit of trouble in the field this year and I unfortunately don't have an explanation why. How bad is he doing? Well lets look at the numbers shall we? In 2005 Jeter finished the year with 15 errors. In 2006 Jeter finished yet again with 15 errors. However, here in 2007 we are just beginning month number 3 of the season and Jeter has 11 errors already. He had two in yesterdays game. I don't know if Jeter is too nonchalant or if his eyes are getting worse or his glove is too small I mean I have no idea what is going on but some of these errors are extremely crucial in a game and it just can't happen. Especially to a guy like Jeter who is known for great defense and winning a gold glove in 3 consecutive years. Torre's fire unfortunately did not last more than just a few minutes and signs of old age may not only be dawning upon abreu, damon, and clemens but maybe even 32 year old Derek Jeter. Whatever the case is, he better step it up because he is not helping the team too much right now (IDC what the numbers say especially avg wise) and he certaintly isn't helping defensively. Oh yeah one more thing, tapping the baseball to your chest and saying its your fault does not bail you out of the situation. Everyone on the Yankees and everyone watching the Yankees knows its your fault Jeter. No need to tell us, we are watching every one of your 17 million dollar plays.