Mr. Mister

Ok, I'm starting to get back into the regular swing of things here. Still, there are a few major moments in baseball that need a little discussing on this blog before they can be put to rest. I'm speaking, of course, of Derek Jeter's historic campaign for 3,000 hits, and the All-Star game. I'm not saying these are on par with each other, seeing as how each year we have an All-Star game, and only very infrequently does a player collect 3,000 hits. I'm just saying they are both big stories that just occurred. Let's first give credit where it is deserved, and start with the big man himself.

Mr. Mister was a terrible band from the 1980s, that gave us the teary ballad "Broken Wings." Why am I bringing it up? Well, as you noticed by the blog title, that name can also now refer to Derek Jeter. The man who was affectionately referred to as Mr. November by Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay during the lengthened post-season of 2001, now can also be called Mr. 3,000. On July 9th versus David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays, Jeter made "history with an exclamation point." Again, I quote the gregarious Michael Kay.

Kay just knows how to sum up the accomplishments of such an outstanding player such as Derek Jeter. To say Jeter has had his ups and downs of late is an understatement. The guy has had to live with the burden of being a living legend in the Bronx, while slowly becoming a less than superb player in the twilight years of his career. Derek had one last surprise up his sleeve for the Yankee faithful, and it was something that hadn't been done before in pinstripes. Jeter not only became the first Yankee player to ever collect 3,000 regular season hits, but he added the "exclamation point" by making it a homerun. A feat carried out by one other man in history, Wade Boggs.

Derek wasn't finished with the drama yet that day. He continued to have his best game of the season by going 5 for 5, whilst driving in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. Since that day, he has gone 4 for 22, and has kept his mediocre season on pace. For one day though, the Yankee fans remembered what it was like when they saw #2 step to the plate, and everything was right with the world. Before and after that day however, the only thing heard is that Jeter is old. Jeter looks tired. Jeter should be moved to left field, or DH, or to the bench. It's a shameful way for the fans and media personalities alike to treat the man who basically rebuilt the team in his image for the past two decades. It is the nature of the business unfortunately, and especially in the fast-paced epicenter that is New York, it is 'What have you done fore me lately?'

When you look at his 2011 statistics, Jeter's season is not great, but it's still decent. Cleveland Indians' Asdrubal Cabrera should have been selected to go to the All-Star game ahead of Jeter, but Jeter was really the only choice behind Cabrera. There just aren't many good shortstops in the American League today. Cabrera did end up playing in the All-Star game due to Jeter's invitation pass. On that subject, I'm emotionally torn. I like to think that Jeter declined to attend because he knew he shouldn't have been selected, and he'd been there before, so it would be a nice gesture toward the younger Cabrera to step aside. However, the fans voted him in, so for their support should he at least have shown up in Arizona and maybe played one inning, or just waved his hat to the adoring fans before sitting on the bench and enjoying his glory? I know I'm putting him between a rock and a hard place, but that's what legendary players like Jeter have to deal with. No one has handled this kind of pressure with more class, though.

The All-Star game did actually commence without Jeter's presence. Yankee teammate, Robinson Cano won the coveted Home Run Derby Championship. This title has unfortunately brought some unwanted baggage along with it in recent years, as players have worn themselves, and thrown off their swings by swinging too hard for the fences during this event. I'm sure Cano will be fine though, as he's gotten five hits in five games since the All-Star break.

The player who really shined during the game itself was Milwaukee Brewers' first-baseman Prince Fielder. He smacked a big 3-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning, which gave the National League the lead for the rest of the game. After that, he seemed to be everywhere as MLB tried to find another star in a small-market to broadcast to the world. Credit the fantastic pitching from the NL stars as well. A strong argument can now be made that the NL is the stronger of the two leagues. I know, analysts have said the AL is more dominant in both hitting and pitching for the past decade and a half now. However, I think the majority of those writers are bias and refuse to the see the changing of the guard. With the incredible pitching from the likes of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Clayton Kershaw, and Jair Jurrjens, just to name a brief few, the National League is a force to be reckoned with.

And as I mentioned before, without Asdrubal Cabrera to solidify the shortstop vote in the AL, who else was there in that position to choose from. In fact, besides possibly 1B, the National League has probably more depth at every position. There are still star players in the American League without question. However, the utter dominance of AL play has come to an end in the past few years, and more people need should accept that. What do you think?

Sorry for the small aside there, but it's been a while and I have lots of baseball questions and ideas running through my head. Gotta get 'em all out before I go crazy! Anyways, it's good to be back. See you soon sports fans.