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

Re: don't say "the travel" ... especially when he traveled to Miami during the break.

Jeter, I think, scored a lot of points from non-Yankee fans when he hit No. 3,000. There was a respect there. He's good for the game. He's done things the right way. All of that. But skipping out due to "emotional" stress? Not good enough, especially when he could've gotten huge standing ovations while watching the derby Monday night, then again during the pregame intros and his first plate appearance Tuesday night before taking a seat after one inning. That would've been good for baseball and good for the All-Star Game itself. Instead, Jeter put himself first.

If Jeter wants to skip out on exhibition games that no one cares about, he should sit out spring training each March. If the fans who paid money to attend the game or watched the game at home cared enough to vote him in as a starter, one inning isn't too much to ask. Heck, he probably could've flown in, hit leadoff, then never took the field in the bottom of the first and have no one bat an eye about it. Everyone would've written about his class tonight.

If A-Rod had done this, the backlash would be 1,000 times worse. And because his name's not "Jorge Posada," Jeter probably would've ripped him publicly.

 

Absolutely right. And when you say that Jeter put himself first, that should come as no surprise to anybody. That is what he has always done.

Great player. Hall of Famer. Not even a question about all of that, but this intangible leadership he gets so much credit for is crap. A great leader wouldn't pick and choose which teammates he is going to stand up for and piss on the others when his public support would have been huge.

 

I did not realize how bad it must suck to be Derek Jeter.

 

Yeah...multi-millionaire, Minka Kelly, Yankees captain, Hall of Famer...simply awful burdens to carry around

 

It's his decision to make, and the fans' choice whether or not to criticise him. However, if this stuff is going to happen each year and players who have no business playing in this game based on their stats continue to make it and not show up, then either get rid of the fan voting or force them to appear. After all, the league keeps falling back on it's all about the fans.