Please do not wake me; it is such a peaceful slumber.
My dream—this dream—would normally be a nightmare.
Please heed to the smile on my face and let my eyes remain closed, allow me to lay in reverie with the soothing, pleasant, unimaginable thought that is Derek Jeter in a Boston Red Sox uniform.
The taboo subject was first broached a few weeks ago on the blogoshpere when it became evident that Jeter was asking much more than his stats say he is worth.
The Yankees were not budging from their original offer which is still more than his numbers last year deemed he be paid but not quite at the astronomical level that Sir Derek believes to be “reasonable.”
I put that word in quotes because let’s face it—nothing that these guys get paid for swinging a bat is reasonable.
A rift has developed between the iconic short stop, captain, and leader of the Yankees and Brian Cashman, the man who—as his name should suggest—holds the checkbook.
Jeter wants a four to five year deal worth as much as the low $20-million figure per year.
Cashman has responded with a 3-year deal worth $15 million per year.
If taken, Cashman’s deal would make Jeter the highest paid middle infielder in the majors despite coming off the worst statistical year of his career.
Considering his play and his age—he’s 36—the deal is more than fair.
Jeter balked at Cashman’s offer and Cashman has responded by encouraging #2 to go out and play the open market to see if he can land a sweeter deal.
My question is this—I understand that Jeter’s age and his lack of production last year warrant a drop in salary, but what about the intangibles?
How much money is his captaincy worth to the Yankee organization?
Jeter has never embarrassed the team, ala A-Roid.
He has never NOT shown up in the playoffs and cost your team a run at the series, ala A-Roid.
So why is A-Roid getting paid 167 gazillion dollars for the next 43 years (me and numbers are like oil and vinegar)?
Why is he so much more highly paid than the one man, other than Mariano Rivera, who exemplifies exactly what it means to be a Yankee?
The one man that even Red Sox fans have to respect.
How much is all of that worth to the Yankee organization?
Evidently, zilch.
Jeter is the Yankees.
He is the modern day Babe Ruth and the fact that the Yankees are holding him over the coals and treating him like just another player (which he is not) is exactly the reason why if you are not a Yankee fan then you hate the Yankees.
There is no middle ground.
To not re-sign Jeter, some would say to even take the risk they are currently taking, is just a dumb move.
This is where my delightful dream comes into play.
As I stated above, Jeter is the modern day equivalent to Babe Ruth in the Yankees organization. The Yankees shoplifted The Babe from my beloved Boston Red Sox for a play.
That’s right, arguably the greatest player to ever play the game of baseball was handed over from the World Champion Red Sox to the Yankees for the price of a group of actors dressed up in costumes prancing around on a stage.
It wasn’t even a great play, like Phantom, or The Producers, or CATS—Shut-up, you know CATS was awesome.
It would only be appropriate for the Red Sox to take today’s Ruth away from the Evil Empire.
To me and many others in the greater New England area—including certain parts of Connecticut whose inhabitants seem to think that they have the ability to choose between the two—it would be utterly fantastic to take Jeter away from the Bronx.
John Henry, the Sox owner, has the money.
Hell, he just purchased a failing English Football Club for more money than I get paid to write these columns—disclosure—I get paid less than Jeter to write these columns. Full disclosure—I get paid less than zero to write these columns.
The bottom line is that Henry has the money to buy Derek Jeter.
He can offer him more than the Yankees and with an extra year on the contract.
Stick it in their eye.
Call their bluff.
As many sportswriters have already pointed out, the worst that can happen is that it makes the Yankees way overpay to keep their captain in which case Jeter and the Red Sox are happy while Cashman and the Yankees brass are not.
The best case scenario, however, would be if Jeter actually took the Red Sox offer and ceased to be the face of the Yankees organization.
He wouldn’t be a drop off from Scutaro and if we lose Beltre at third than we can move Jeter over to the corner.
Hell, the Sox are rumored to be gunning for Adrian Gonzalez to play first in which case Youk would move to third and Jeter can stay at short leaving Scut as trade bait.
I mean why else would we let Victor Martinez go so easily if we didn’t have a beat on Gonzalez?—We better have a beat on Gonzalez, Mr. Henry.
Signing Jeter doesn’t prohibit us from making the off-season moves that we want to make and it gives us more trade flexibility.
Add an outfielder like Werth or Crawford to the mix and not only are we a formidable playoff contender but we become one while simultaneously kicking the Yankees right in the chiclets.
I dare say folks that in the spirit of the holiday season that is what it’s truly all about.
This is my dream.
Please let me sleep.
Do not wake me until the winter meetings.
It should all be over by then and while my fantasy will most likely never become a reality, it has been awhile since I have had such a pleasant and sound sleep.
FYI: As of Thursday morning, December 2, the Yankees have supposedly sweetened their offer. No response from Jeter’s camp however.
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