damned if he does, damned if he doesn't...

interesting to me how the previously unassailable derek jeter (in terms of his conduct/ambassadorship for the game) suddenly can't win. many folks, including several on the board, were OUTRAGED when he was voted to the a.l. all-star team, taking the spot of a more 'deserving' player.

now, he's being ripped by even mlb folks for passing on taking his 37-year-old body, sore calf and probably 'spent' energy out for the long flight to arizona for the game. he announced last friday he'd be taking a pass; i'm sure the last place he wanted to be had he failed to hit the 3K mark over the weekend was in front of the national media confronting him about all the issues he's become a lightning-rod for.

regardless, he's taken a pass. he, a-rod and c.c. are three of the 5 all-stars (out of 84) not in arizona. at any rate, you're all quite familiar with the pro-and-con issues. what are your thoughts? much ado about nothing? unfair? or did he really eff up by not making the trip for introductions, a couple of innings, giving mlb the chance to celebrate the achievement with the stage all to themselves?

discuss...

 

I almost started the same thread Shockey. If he had shown up so that MLB could celebrate his accomplishment and he could tip his cap, he would have been accused of being an attention whore and everyone would have gone nuts over MLB "fellating" him.

By not showing up, people seem to think he's disrespecting the game, the fans and their mommas.

I'm of the opinion that he was voted in, he should have gone, played an inning and been done with it, but I can't really blame him for not wanting to risk straining the calf in an exhibition game.

It seems to me that throughout his career, he's never shown any desire (at least publicly) for individual achievements or accolades, so this kind of fits in with his persona. I can't see him ever wanting to be feted the way MLB was sure to do if he was there.

Also, I think it's certainly possible that he doesn't feel like he's had an all-star caliber season and, by begging out of the game, he did give someone else more deserving a chance to play.

I do think he should have gone, since the fans obviously wanted him there, but I'm not going to rip the guy for not going.

 

My initial feeling is that he should go to the game, but not play. Let him be introduced, get a huge ovation, allow O'Connor to swallow and then just watch the game.

That being said, it's a long, long season and I can understand how valuable three days off can be to a player in his late 30s.

 

Under the circumstances it's hard for me to be too critical of Jeter.

But here's the thing: it's not 5 All-Star no-shows. It's 16. And not all of them are hurt.

That's a ridiculous number of players to have miss the game, and a healthy Derek Jeter is the most obvious, so he'll get the brunt of it.

 

I agree with your point, but it brings me back to the NBA Finals in my mind a bit. Players like Jeter... every action they do gets over analyzed and over critiqued - for good and for bad. Jeter got so much media hype and coverage in the days leading up to 3,000. It was absurd, and there were many posts on here about it. When he does something like that, it gets over played because he's Derek Jeter, he's a Yankee, he's a newsmaker. Similarly, he does something minor like decide to sit the all star game, and that get's over hyped.

Same stuff with LeBron. He decides to sign a free agent contract and it gets hyped like never before. He says one little thing and it gets blown way out of proportion. It's part of the sensationalized nature of ESPN and major sports coverage.

BTW...... dont get me wrong..... I DO NOT mean to equate Derek Jeter to LeBron James! One is a seasoned and classy veteran with years of personal and team accomplishments under his belt.

 

The All-Star Game is gradually morphing into the Pro Bowl, at least in the eyes of the players. There are 82 All-Stars this year, although 16 of 'em won't be there. Ridiculous. But if I was running a team, I wouldn't let one of my top players go to the game if he so much as had hay fever last week. And I think a lot of front offices agree with me.

 

I don't blame him for not going. I think he should go and not play, but I don't have a problem with it.

shockey, people aren't ripping Jeter for many of those things you mentioned. It's not his fault that the fans voted him to the All-Star game even though he didn't deserve it based on his play on the field. And it's not his fault that some of the coverage of his 3,000th hit was so over the top.

When I criticize these things, I criticize the process, the voters and the media types like O'Connor who slobber all over the guy, not Jeter. He is doing what he has always done and that's fine even though his play has deteriorated considerably.

One more thing. Can we please at least try to stop with this idiotic practice of misrepresenting arguments we disagree with? Just saying that Jeter should not have made the All-Star team does not mean I am outraged. It means I don't think he should have gone. But people like you misrepresent that opinion as some kind of insane, emotional response rather than have a reasonable debate.

Am I guilty of it too, sometimes? Yeah. And I'm going to at least try to do better. Would be nice if you would try to do the same.

 

Count me among those that feel he should go. Even if he (or anyone) isn't up to playing, you still go, step on the field for introductions and tip your hat to the crowd. Then if you want, quietly slip out through the back of the dugout. It's about the fans.

Don't say "the travel" because it's not like he's flying coach. It would be first class at a minimum, likely in a private plane.

 

Thank God there's another Jeter thread.

I'm holding my breath for MrBio to chime in with his interview.

 

I don't follow baseball closely enough to know, but how many of the 16 injured players are "legitimate" and by legitimate, I mean, either they're on the DL or they've missed games in the last week?

 

The number I've seen is four. Not sure if it's correct.

 

oop, you are not the only person who has expressed (um, indignation?) that jeter was voted in when he's not deserving. 'outrage' may be too strong to describe you but not some others. whatever.

as for the 'travel' issue, whether it's coach or first-class, it's still a long trip for 37-year-old legs coming off an injury. but no doubt he could have sucked it up and done the 'tip the cap' thing, my own opinion is that it ain't no biggie either way, just as i expressed on the initial thread in which some folks whined that he wasn't deserving, poor perhalta, all that jazz.

so i was particularly surprised to see an mlb official or two criticize him for taking a pass. especially considering his exemplary record when it comes to making all the right moves, if you will. when a clown like giles has done as much for/represented the game as well as jeter has, somebody please gimme a head's up.

p.s. -- as for more than 5 of 84 players are not at the game, i was just using the figure i read somewhere this morning. if the real number is 16, i stand corrected. when did this game officially morph into the pro bowl? looks like the players don't give a crap about bud's 'home-field advantage' brainstorm.
back to the drawing board, bud.

this is the piece that threw me off. at least i'm not losing my mind entirely: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/give_derek_break_nZkEoh8etebwpjTiYUUDuId