from the New York Times

May 28, 2000

ON BASEBALL

By JACK CURRY

The Yankees always assemble in foul territory in front of the first base dugout to do stretching exercises before games. It is a monotonous routine that usually goes unnoticed because it is so mundane. But, there was reason to watch the Yankees stretch yesterday because it was the first time in more than a week that Derek Jeter was part of it. The Yankees were complete again.

Jeter's impact on the Yankees was realized before they even played the Red Sox as his teammates treated him like the 12-year old who missed a Little League All-Star Game because he was on vacation. There were so many voices squawking to Jeter simultaneously that it sounded like recess at an elementary school.

Jorge Posada had to tell him about the 24-year-old man who had tumbled out of the upper deck and onto the protective screen behind home plate on Friday night. Tino Martinez added his version of the odd incident and Chuck Knoblauch pointed to the sagging screen to show where the fan had landed. Jeter listened, shrugged and smiled, knowing that he was one of them again.

"I'm ready to go," Jeter said. "That's all you'll hear from me."

That is all the Yankees wanted to hear and all the Yankees needed to see. The Yankees were an inferior team without Jeter because they missed the jolt he provides from the second spot in the batting order, the steadiness he provides from shortstop and the leadership he provides by being himself. When Joe Torre first saw Jeter, he said "Hi, son" and exhaled. Yankee fans should do the same.

Soon, very soon, Jeter's imprint was all over a game in which the Yankees stomped the Red Sox, 8-3. Jeter emerged from an 0-for-14 slump that dated back over two weeks with three singles, one run batted in and one run scored and his still tender abdominal muscle survived a near collision with left fielder Ricky Ledee. It was a 4-3 game when Jeter stroked a two-out, run-scoring single in the sixth off John Wasdin. Paul O'Neill followed with a three-run homer and the game was basically over. Jeter was back and the Yankees had prevailed.

"You can see that look in his eye," said Torre. "He's someone who loves to compete. The tougher it gets, the better he likes it."

Jeter was only at the Stadium because of his own dedication. He rented a private jet to insure that he could be flown from Tampa, Fla. to New York after a Class A game on Friday night. The Yankees were strangely content to have Jeter travel yesterday and play tonight, but Jeter instead offered to rent the jet he uses in the off-season and return for the second game of the series.

"They didn't pay for it," Jeter joked. "I'm going to talk to them."

The Yankees, who should have thought of this itinerary long before Jeter, should pay for the flight and should be thankful that Jeter is so resourceful. Coincidentally, Jeter and Boston's Nomar Garciaparra, the fabulous shortstops who will be compared for the next decade, were both activated on the same day. It was comforting for the Red Sox to see Garciaparra, but it was a relief for the Yankees to watch Jeter perform like Jeter.

The Yankees were 4-9 from the time Jeter left a game on May 11 with the abdominal injury and they had one run batted in from the shortstop position in the month. Jeter refined his batting style during rehabilitation by keeping his hands steady, moving closer to the plate and not leaning forward. Torre said it is unfair to expect a 10-game winning streak because Jeter has returned, but the manager called Jeter "a tough guy to lose."

Jeter might be the most indispensable Yankee. Mariano Rivera could be the premier closer in baseball and Bernie Williams is a switch-hitting dynamo.

But Jeter produces more on offense and defense and helps the Yankees whether he is smashing a double or teasing Posada about an awful haircut. Without Jeter, the Yankees lost some swagger.

"He's our mainstay, he's our captain, so to speak," said Jason Grimsley. "He adds a different dimension to our lineup."

It was only a Class A game Friday, but Jeter was nervous until he rapped two hits and felt no pain in his abdominal muscle. Those fears resurfaced when Jeter caught a pop-up in shallow left yesterday and had his legs cut out from him by Ledee, who slid behind the shortstop to avoid a collision.

"I got a little bit twisted," said Jeter, knowing he had dodged disaster. "I'll be all right."

Watching the Yankees on television was arduous for Jeter. His cable system did not retrieve every game and he is too competitive to gaze at the television.

Jeter usually has a bat beside a white chair in his living room in Tampa, which he grips while telling himself how fortunate he is to be playing baseball. That reminder was vivid when Jeter was injured, to Jeter and to the Yankees.

"It's a situation where you do realize how much you miss playing," Jeter said. "There's no substitute for playing. It put things in perspective. It tells you that you can't take the games for granted."