Derek Jeter will be in the lineup Wednesday night when the New York Yankees face the Cleveland Indians. Yankee manager Joe Girardi had said Tuesday he intended to give Jeter, four hits shy of 3,000 for his career, the night off.
This is the right decision, in my mind. The All-Star break is coming soon and, while Jeter is playing in the game, he will get a couple of days off then. Girardi wants to be cautious with Jeter, who missed three weeks with a calf strain, but sitting him when he is four hits shy of 3,000 is a tad ridiculous.
The manager told reporters he had not been pressured by management to keep Jeter out of the lineup Wednesday in Cleveland.
The Yankees, of course, open a four-game series at Yankee Stadium Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays. The ideal scenario would be for the Yankee Captain to reach 3,000 during those games against the Rays at Yankee Stadium.
If he gets them tonight, however, so be it. Ultimately the job is to win games not to try to orchestrate a spectacle. If Jeter did not play tonight his 3,000th hit would end up marred by the fact that the Yankees would, ultimately, have looked as if they were guaranteeing it would come at Yankee Stadium,
Besides, if he does happen to have a four-hit night Wednesday then the Yankees would most likely win the game. Which is what they should really be focusing on, anyway.