Mike Lupica's Inner Circle

"Here is an American League manager and a good one, one from outside Derek Jeter’s division, talking about Jeter on Wednesday, now that Jeter has put more than 100 at-bats into the books in the last season of baseball he will ever play for the Yankees."

Who?

It can only be one of ten people in the entire world, yet you won't tell us who.

Maybe it's top secret information; or something very controversial.

" 'Just remember what it was like for (David) Ortiz a few years ago (2010),' the guy said, 'when he looked a lot worse than (Jeter) is right now. People wanted the Red Sox to cut him.'

I told him I remembered that, everybody does, but then reminded him that Ortiz was just 34 at the time. Jeter turns 40 at the end of June, and he does that after the lost season of 2013.

'Jeter is six years older than Ortiz was,' I said.

'But he’s still Jeter.' "

I told him I remembered that, everybody does, but then reminded him: Steroids.

"I mentioned all the analytics about how Jeter can’t pull hard stuff anymore. It made the guy laugh.

'No one ever played Derek Jeter to pull,' he said.

Then he added this: 'I know how old he is. I know how short his range looks at short. But in my heart, I believe this is one player you write off at your own risk.' "

Jeez, that's it?

So your secret conversation discovered an AL manager who's pro-Jeter?

"I believe he is right. Jeter has looked old sometimes this season, as old as most 40-year-olds who have ever tried to play shortstop in the big leagues have ever looked. And there have been times when it has looked as if Curtis Granderson has hit a harder .175 than the .255 Jeter took into the third game of the Yankees-Angels series on Wednesday night."

Oh, wow.

Lupica is pro-Jeter, everybody. Now you can rest easy.

I don't know what Curtis Granderson has to do with it, but it doesn't matter.

A bold pro-Jeter stance by Mike Lupica and his anonymous AL manager.

You know what? Put numbers around it or your prediction is useless.

If Jeter's back at full throttle, then what is his slugging percentage going to be the rest of the season? Right now, it's around .300 for the season, which is bad, and that has held for the past two seasons and almost 200 at-bats.

"Of course you know the season hasn’t started the way Jeter wanted it to if already there is discussion, some of it overheated, about Joe Girardi dropping No. 2 of the Yankees out of the No. 2 spot in the batting order. The controversy of April and May was supposed to be about how many days off Girardi will give him, not how much of an easy out Jeter has been hitting where he is still hitting."

It's not a controversy.

'99 Jeter is not sitting on the bench. Brendan Ryan isn't going to hit 30 HRs. Jeter is the best option simply because there aren't any other good options.

Also, Jeter is not going to get benched because he is currently the only popular player on the team. Tanaka may get some juice by the end of the season, but not Jeter Is Retiring level.

"DiMaggio hit .263 that year, with 12 home runs and 71 RBI in 116 games after hitting .300 the year before with 30 home runs and 122 RBI. DiMaggio did not turn 37 until after he’d limped away from his last season as a Yankee. Jeter is 39 going on 40. You have to at least wonder if DiMaggio’s numbers from 1951 are looking pretty good to Jeter right now."

Thanks for the heavy duty statistical research, but I don't see why you're bringing up DiMaggio (or Granderson, or Ortiz).

Jeter is not as good as he used to be. He is past his prime. It's very cowardly to make a predictions of future success without putting numbers around it.

If Jeter finishes the season with 12 HRs and 60 RBIs, is that some kind of big comeback?

Because ARod is going to do that in 2015 and get booed until his head explodes.

"The scout continued: 'Now we’re going to see if he can make the right adjustments and start hitting the ball the way he used to, and beat you. Or maybe there’s no adjustment he can make, and Father Time just beats him.'

Maybe that is the analytical way to look at things. But he is Jeter. Even this late in the game, it is too early to write him off."

I think Jeter's batting average will be fine, but his on-base% and slugging% will be too low and his overall production will be low in terms of runs scored and runs batted in.

Major league players are often judged by runs scored and runs batted in. Just a standard "analytical" way to look at things.

I suspect Jeter's deficiencies in these areas will be ignored by his cheerleaders and, therefore, if Jeter bats .280 and scores 50 runs, Lupica can declare Victory.

So here are some precise numbers I am forecasting: .280 BA, 12 HRs, 75 runs, 60 RBIs. Decide for yourself if that qualifies as a comeback. I'd say that's unproductive, but the best option the Yankees have, and better than the slop they threw out at SS last season.

If I underestimated Jeter's production, I will be thrilled. I can also take some pride in the fact that at least I made a real prediction.