Captain Clutch or "Mr. November"

Breaking His Ankle

Could the struggling Yankees be without their captain for even longer? That is what the baseball world wants to know. Many may think that with Jeter being down, the Yankees will struggle coming out of the gate. I believe though that with Jeter being absent for a couple of days might benefit them. Derek is a tremendous leader no doubt about it, but he is battling a very difficult injury. Jeter currently is facing an ankle injury. He broke his ankle last year versus the Detroit Tigers while fielding a ground ball in the American League Championship series. Jeter had to have surgery and is reportedly back at practice. It is great that he is recovering fast, but it might be better for the Yankees if he sat out a couple of weeks. Jeter could still be in their locker room, as he is a great leader, but it would be best for the a Yankees if they had Jeter fully recover to his Hall of Fame potential before coming back at 50%. Eduardo Nunez is a stellar backup infielder. He has major league experience in clutch situations. If Eduardo can bat anything above .260 for two weeks, bat ninth, and playing good defense, the Yankees could still be a first place contender in Derek's absence. The Yankees already have a pretty banged up lineup without Jeter, and in my opinion, I would rather have a healthy backup player for a couple of weeks than an injured star. The injured player has a better chance of prolonging his injury if he is playing at game speed everyday rather than taking it easy for a week. Having a key player injured at the beginning of the season is less detrimental than at the end when you know how many games you need to win to clinch the playoffs. Jeter should sit out for a couple of weeks until he is FULLY recovered; if the Yanks allow him that time, they could be poised for a playoff run.