Tug.

Mike Lupica spoke with Jeter's agent on Saturday night. Those are some really good journalistic contacts there. The player's agent.

I like when Lupica says "Jeter wants a lot even if he is about to turn 37." It's just funny. It's like Lupica is reading from a teleprompter and still can't get it right.

"Even if he is about to turn 37."

Don't you mean it's a lot of money "because he is about to turn 37"?


To answer Lupica's question, this will not negatively affect the Yankees one bit. It's exactly like every other contract negotiation and everyone always forgets the hard feelings as soon as the player signs on the dotted line.


I actually care more about Mariano Rivera and Cliff Lee. Somebody, somewhere tell me about the negotiations with Mariano Rivera and Cliff Lee.

The Post has become a mouthpiece for management.

"Derek Jeter’s position when it comes to his contract negotiations appears to be this: I am Derek Jeter, pay me."

It's a sensible position, if you think about it.

It would be odd if Derek Jeter said, "I am Pippi Longstocking, don't pay me."


"It doesn’t matter he has almost no leverage or he is coming off his worst season or the production of shortstops 37 and older in major league history is dismal."

Jeter has a lot of leverage because he's a very popular player.


"The Yankees have offered Jeter $45 million over three years, which is being portrayed by the shortstop’s increasingly desperate camp as an insult. Except, of course, it is hard to find another organization ready to insult Jeter in similar fashion."

Perhaps other teams would not pay Jeter that much money, but they'd be wise to pay Jeter that much money. Because he's very popular.

When Jeter signs a 4-year, $55 million deal on Christmas Eve, I'm going to remember that you described him as "increasingly desperate."


"Look, a lot of this is about an elephant in the room named Alex Rodriguez. If you love Jeter — and why wouldn’t you love someone who has helped bring championships and honor to the uniform? — you are appalled the Yankees would take care of A-Rod through age 42, but not Jeter."

That's what Lupica said, too, but I don't see it. I don't think anybody is really thinking about ARod's contract.


"But the Yankees know now the A-Rod deal was a blunder. They saw A-Rod gimpy with his hip issues in 2010 and have to wonder if at some point they will have to eat $100 million or more of a contract that runs through 2017. A-Rod might be the Yankees’ Albert Belle."

Jeez, so you're just a dick.


"So the argument of the Jeter faithful is: 'Hey, you made a mistake with A-Rod and that means you have to make the same mistake with our guy. You have to turn to the left side of your infield into Jurassic Park.' "

You know, ARod isn't that bad, and neither is Jeter. This mistake-laden team won the World Series in 2009 and missed by six wins in 2010.

Last season, ARod managed 30 HRs and 125 RBIS. Jeter batted .271 and scored 111 runs.


"Even last season, in a down year, Rodriguez produced an .847 OPS — 10 points higher than Jeter’s career mark and a total Jeter exceeded just three times during the 10-year contract that covered his prime"

But you just said ARod is the Yankees' Albert Belle ...


"Yes, now we will hear about intangibles. But how did those intangibles translate last year when Jeter led the majors in making outs?"

Ha ha ... ouch!

Those intangibles translated into a Gold Glove, 4 million fans flocking to Yankee Stadium, and untold sales of Edges with cool panoramic vista roofs.


Almost every free agent is overpaid, especially at the end of the contract.

For all of Sherman's complaints about the ARod and Jeter contracts, he should at least acknowledge the lack of viable alternatives. Is Sherman shlepping the kids into the Bronx to see Pena and Nunez anchor the left side of the infield?

2010 AL MVP.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Josh Hamilton	358
Miguel Cabrera	262
Robinson Cano	229
Jose Bautista	165
Paul Konerko	130
Evan Longoria	100
Carl Crawford	98
Joe Mauer	97
Adrian Beltre	83
Delmon Young	44
Vladimir Guerrero	22
Rafael Soriano	21
CC Sabathia	13
Shin-Soo Choo	9
Alex Rodriguez	8
Felix Hernandez	6
Ichiro Suzuki	3
Jim Thome	2
Joakim Soria	1
Mark Teixeira	1

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
Josh Hamilton	40
Robinson Cano	28
Miguel Cabrera	22
Evan Longoria	7
Alex Rodriguez	7
Jose Bautista	5
Joe Mauer	5
Boog Powell	4
Vladimir Guerrero	3
Carl Crawford	1
Paul Konerko	1

2010 NL MVP.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Joey Votto	443
Albert Pujols	279
Carlos Gonzalez	240
Adrian Gonzalez	197
Troy Tulowitzki	132
Roy Halladay	130
Aubrey Huff	70
Jayson Werth	52
Martin Prado	51
Ryan Howard	50
Buster Posey	40
Matt Holliday	32
Brian Wilson	28
Scott Rolen	26
Ryan Braun	19
Ryan Zimmerman	18
Carlos Ruiz	12
Dan Uggla	12
Adam Wainwright	12
Jason Heyward	11
Brian McCann	9
Adam Dunn	9
Ubaldo Jimenez	7
David Wright	3
Corey Hart	2
Josh Johnson	2
Heath Bell	2

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
Joey Votto	46
Albert Pujols	29
Carlos Gonzalez	15
Troy Tulowitzki	6
Adrian Gonzalez	5
Orlando Cepeda	4
Ryan Howard	4
Jay Bruce	3
Roy Halladay	3
Matt Holliday	1

Go watch "Dancing With the Stars" and leave the negotiations to the grown-ups.

Negotiating is lying:

"Now it is as if he is being punished for the insane contract extension Rodriguez got from the Yankees three years ago, one that takes him until the age of 42. Sometimes you get the idea that the Yankees are more obsessed with the deal they already made with Rodriguez than the one they are trying to make with Jeter."

I don't think the Yankee management is obsessed with the Alex Rodriguez deal.

I think Mike Lupica is obsessed with the Alex Rodriguez deal.

Jeter's "punishment," by the way, will be tens of millions of dollars.


"Rodriguez opted out on them during Game 4 of a World Series and, oh boy, it was goodbye and good riddance. That position had the shelf life of an open carton of milk."

That position was a lie. In fact, Boras's first position was minimum $30 million per year, if not $35 million per year. That was also a lie.


"This negotiation doesn't involve Rodriguez, even though his name keeps popping up. It is only about the Yankees and Derek Jeter. It doesn't have to turn stupid. But if the Yankees really think that after all the years this is only about baseball with Jeter, the thing has turned stupid already."

The Yankees don't think it's only about baseball with Jeter.

Negotiating is not stupid, it's just negotiating.

If you believe what they are saying during a negotiating, then you're stupid.

2010 AL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Felix Hernandez	167
David Price	111
CC Sabathia	102
Jon Lester	33
Jered Weaver	24
Clay Buccholz	20
Cliff Lee	6
Rafael Soriano	5
Trevor Cahill	4
Joakim Soria	2
Francisco Liriano	1
Justin Verlander	1

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
CC Sabathia	50
David Price	27
Felix Hernandez	22
Jon Lester	8
Clay Buccholz	5
Catfish Hunter	4
Francisco Liriano	4
Cliff Lee	2
Rafael Soriano	1

2010 NL Cy Young.

Baseball Writers' Association of America:

Name	Points
Roy Halladay	224
Adam Wainwright	122
Ubaldo Jimenez	90
Tim Hudson	39
Josh Johnson	34
Roy Oswalt	14
Brian Wilson	7
Heath Bell	4
Mat Latos	4
Brett Myers	2
Tim Lincecum	2
Bronson Arroyo	1
Matt Cain	1

Felz & His Friends:

Name	Points
Roy Halladay	56
Adam Wainwright	25
Ubaldo Jimenez	10
Chris Carpenter	5
Ferguson Jenkins	4
Mat Latos	4
Tim Lincecum	4
Matt Cain	3
Tim Hudson	3
Josh Johnson	3
Tovani Gallardo	2
Roy Oswalt	1
Brian Wilson	1

Yankee fan or Jeter fan?

"Because there is a faction of media and fans who seem more determined to make sure Jeter is taken care of than, you know, actually making sure the Yankees remain elite contenders."

I don't think it's a problem to overpay Jeter and remain elite contenders. The bigger issue is going to be Girardi's willingness to bench him, replace him in the field, bat him lower in the lineup. But even that problem is a couple of years away.

My problem is with so-called Yankee fans who actually claim they don't care how the team does, as long as Jeter is happy.

Just recognize that you're a Jeter fan more than you're a Yankee fan.

Errr ... why did Jeter win a Gold Glove?

"Derek Jeter won the Gold Glove this year for the same reason he can snag a greatest-hits list of starlets and have his own scent of cologne and instantaneously own any room into which he walks:"

Well, before I get started reading this article, the negative reaction to Jeter's Gold Glove is really a condemnation of the award, not so much a condemnation the 36-year-old Hall of Fame shortstop. The most supportive defense of the award has described Jeter's defense as merely "above average." So now the Gold Glove means defensive player who are above average. Which makes no sense.

Still, it continues a decade-long backlash to the ridiculous heights of Jeter worship.

Anyway, why did Jeter win the Gold Glove?


"He oozes Jeterness."

Yuck.


"Perhaps you have not heard of Jeterness. It is an all-encompassing and -embodying quality that amalgamates Derek Jeter’s greatest attributes into one succinct air of being. It is equal parts cool, attractive, intelligent, heroic, humble and confident. Men want Jeterness. Women swoon at those who have it."

Kind Sir, I live in the New York City Metropolitan area.

I've never heard of Jeterness? Even if it has never been described in such a foolish manner, I have heard about Jeterness just about every day for the past 15 years.

In short, Jeter's got an edge, baby. And he's got one with a cool panoramic vista roof!


"Right now, for the first time in his career, Derek Jeter is a free agent, and this development is spurring a great debate. There are two sides: to pay or not to pay, a fairly black-and-white construct."

Black-and-white construct? Just like Jeter himself. Har dee har har.


There really is no great debate. Everyone knows that the Yankees have plenty of money to pay Jeter and they will overpay him. Most veterans are overpaid, most free agents are overpaid, most pro athletes are paid for their past work instead of their future work.


"Hardcore Jeter loyalists want the Yankees to open their overstuffed pocketbook and write him a blank check. Jeter realists see his age, skill set and quantifiable contributions to the team and want him back – he is, after all, the only shortstop in this free-agent class worthy of wearing Pinstripes – albeit at market price, which is a good $10 million a year less than Jeter will end up getting."

I guess I agree with that, but it's not hard to figure out why. They're paying Jeter extra because he is the team icon and he moves lots of merchandise, etc.


"In the end, his Jeterness made his Gold Glove, and it makes it difficult to stomach, too. Anyone who watched a couple Yankees games this season – even the most ardent Jeter supporter – could say his defense isn’t what it used to be, and what it used to be was never much more than above average. Jeter wasn’t ever Luis Aparicio, Mark Belanger, Ozzie Smith, Omar Vizquel – and those are the only players to win more than his five Gold Gloves."

Hey, that's a good point, Jeff Passan.


"Jeter will get at least three years, and though the Yankees want to talk about $15 million per year, the number should creep closer to $20 million in the end. Last season, he was one of only five players to top that benchmark, and he doesn’t want to slide underneath it, not when the man to the right of him, Alex Rodriguez, made nearly 50 percent more than him last year. Jeter never complained about it because he’s bigger than that. You know, the Jeterness."

Well, stop saying "the Jeterness." It is not going to catch on.

But Jeter has no reason to complain about ARod's contract. ARod is a teammate who helps the Yankees win. Also, ARod sets the bar high, and the Edge is going to cash in.

Mike Lupica should be an agent.

Whenever the Yankees start recruiting a big free agent, the best part, every single time, is the hilarious notion that it's not about the money, it's about the relationships.

Right. This observation from one of the clows who thought Steinbrenner should have phoned Andy Pettitte. Like Pettitte and Clemens went to Houston for respect.


"Brian Cashman has now flown to Arkansas to meet Cliff Lee and Mrs. Lee and Lee's agent, just to get to know them. Maybe tell them that hardly anybody will try to spit on Mrs. Lee when she's sitting in her own suite. Before getting down to asking the only question that ever matters in this process:

When the time comes, after they've established a relationship and had so much fun getting to know each other, will Lee be willing to take a whole lot more money than anybody else is offering to come pitch for the Yankees?"

Err ... Brian Cashman is doing his job.


"We were actually expected to believe a couple of years ago that Cashman and CC Sabathia had practically turned into a buddy movie when Sabathia and not Lee was the big lefthanded pitcher in play. That it was the bonding and not the money when the Yankees ended up paying Sabathia $160 million and the next biggest offer on the table was $100 million."

Who says we were expected to believe this?

I read 100,000 articles that talked about the money. I don't recall one comment regarding the budding friendship between Cashman and Sabathia.


"Now when it's all over, we don't just hear about how it was always somebody's dream to wear the pinstripes, it was the sales pitch, too. It was the way the Yankees, especially Brian Cashman, were interested in them as people. It was Cash's persuasiveness, and winning personality."

Yes, that's true. The guy who signs with a new team always acts excited about it at a press conference.

Doesn't mean anything.

Hack writers should stop acting like it means something.


Cliff Lee and Mark Teixeira would play for the Red Sox if the Red Sox paid them one extra dollar. Same goes for Derek Jeter and Joe Dimaggio.

Jim Bouton on Marvin Miller.

" 'How did these people vote, and why are their votes kept secret?' Bouton asks. 'And why aren't there more players on that committee? Hank Aaron, Jim Bunning, Bob Gibson, Fergie Jenkins—they're all on the committee for reviewing the managers and umpires. Essentially, the decision for putting a union leader in the Hall of Fame was handed over to a bunch of executives and former executives. Marvin Miller kicked their butts and took power away from the baseball establishment—do you really think those people are going to vote him in? It's a joke.'

Anyone who doubts the truth of what Bouton is saying only has to look at the two MLB executives who were voted in: former commissioner of baseball Bowie Kuhn, a man repeatedly bested by Miller and the union in every negotiation, and Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, the man who moved the team out of Brooklyn.

Does Bouton, then, blame the MLB establishment for keeping Miller out? 'No, I blame the players, he says. It's their Hall of Fame; it's their balls and bats that make the hall what it is. Where are the public outcries from Joe Morgan or Reggie Jackson, who was a player rep? Why don't these guys see that some of their own get on these committees? That's the least they owe Marvin Miller. Do they think they became millionaires because of the owners' generosity?' "

Keanu Reeves wins best actor.

Jeter is a defensive liability.

"If you watched the even casually it wasn't hard to see that looked closer to 46 than 36 compared to as a shortstop. That's not a knock on Jeter but simply praise for Andrus' eye-popping range and athleticism."

Well, it's also a knock on Jeter.


"In truth, this isn't even about Jeter so much as it is about the voting procedure. Too often the Gold Gloves are won as much on reputation and/or prowess at the plate as defensive excellence, as silly as that sounds, mainly because the managers and coaches in each league don't take the voting seriously enough."

I don't think Cano deserved it, either, but that's just me.


"In the case of Jeter, he is far from the worst defensive shortstop in the majors, as some computer ranking labeled him a couple of years ago, but neither is he a Gold Glover just because his six errors this season were the fewest in the AL at the position.

Andrus, for example, made 16 errors, but he also handled 659 total chances at short, compared to 553 for Jeter. And if you have watched Andrus at all, you don't need a zone rating to see how many runs he may well have saved the Rangers with his spectacular range and strong arm.

Still, you can bet that many coaches simply looked at the Yankee shortstop's error total and decided that was good enough for them, especially for a player of Jeter's stature."

They didn't look at the stats at all. They just voted for Jeter because Jeter's got an Edge with a cool panoramic vista roof.

Billy Martin won one Championship as a manager.

Why would Billy Martin get into the Hall of Fame?

Alex Rodriguez is the best.

This sounds like an exaggeration at the least, but it's still funny:

"The strangest story he told me of all his years as the clubhouse manager was one which involved Alex Rodriguez.

All the stories of how the media portrayed A-Rod to be full of himself, having a big ego, and being self centered were all true, he said to me. He told me of how before MLB had cracked down on clubhouse accessibility, A-Rod had a kid straight of college, as former clubhouse manager summed up to me as, 'Someone who would basically tell Rodriguez, how good he was, how he was the best, and etc. Almost like a personal assistant.' "