Derek Jeter announces 2014 will be his last season

Yup. Then I disagreed with part of what you said and stated my own opinion.

 

Glanville on Jeter:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/opinion/glanville-the-book-on-jeter.html?smid=fb-share

 

You disagree that Jeter's decision to retire has allowed the Yankees to begin planning for 2015, takes the pressure off of management and that now there will be no questions regarding Jeter's future as Yankees shortstop in the second half of 2014?

 

He couldn't have done that privately?

 

Whether he made the decision public or not has no bearing on my post.

The points I made in my post are:
A) Jeter's ego was certainly a factor in making a public announcement
B ) Teams across the league are going to fete him all season
C) The timing of his decision makes things easier for the Yankees going forward in several respects

If anyone cares to disagree with any of those statements, they're just being argumentative.

 

I don't see how it makes things easier, should they not have been looking for a replacement already?

 

Should have, but it's hard to push a beloved legend like Jeter out the door, no matter how much his skills have declined. If he's anywhere close to productive it's even harder.
The Yankees won't exactly alienate their fan base if they shove Jeter aside, but it's still something they should be loathe to do from a PR standpoint. Jeter isn't just a run of the mill Yankee great like Posada or Pettitte, or a guy who joined up at some point and was a fan favorite like Paul O'Neill. He's not only the short list of greatest Yankees ever, he's a Yankee born and bred. That means something, and it should mean something. A handful of guys have earned the right to be treated a little differently and I think Jeter is in that very rare group.

 

Good point. I'm sure a team playing in the media capital of the free world would have been able to keep the retirement of its biggest star a secret for an entire season…

 

The Derek Jeter farewell extravaganza is a much better option.

 

What earthly reason would there be for Jeter to keep this decision private? "I don't like all the praise he'll get all year" is not a reason.

 

Exactly my point. Not that he has any reason to keep it quiet, but to say he was serving any interests other than his own is just silly fanboy stuff.

 

Can you point to where I said he was serving any interests other than his own? I'll wait while you find it.

And please, OOP, tell me more about being a fanboy after your 34,750th post about the Steelers.