What's wrong with Derek Jeter???

Derek wasn't the only reason the yanks lost in the playoffs. Posada, Matsui, Wang all played badly also. But the more I watched Jeter at the end of the season, the more I got the impression that he wasn't enthused... there wasn't the usual hustle. What I will tell you, when a ball was hit in the hole (between 2nd and 3rd) Jeter was slow moving to the ball and many times gave little effort. On balls hit just out of his range, he never left his feet trying to keep the ball in the infield. I don't recall him diving for one ball in the 4 playoff games!! This is the player that dove head-first into the stands to catch a foul ball in the regular season, but here in the playoffs, he doesn't even dive for a ball. I'm a BIG Jeter fan and always have been, but something is very wrong with his play in these playoffs. Maybe his injured knee is much worse than was reported by the team and maybe he shouldn't have even been playing w/ the injury, but Yankee fans didn't get to see the Derek Jeter we're used to seeing. Jeter is a lock for the Hall of Fame with another 4-5 years of his usual stats and he didn't come close to Hall of Fame play in these playoffs. Jeter certainly can't shoulder the blame for the way the season ended, but he was a part of the problem and in my opinion, the team captain didn't play well, wasn't enthusiastic and seemed to have the look of a defeated player before Game 1 even started. But hey, it is only my opinion.

Let's hope the new management is enough motivation to change. He ain't gettin' any younger so if he wants another ring....now is a good time.

I agree! He puts up above average numbers every year and still plays hard, but I'd love to see a little fire out of him. He plays more of a "let the chips fall where they may" instead of "do or die" lately. I don't want him to have become jaded, like he has his share of rings, now let's just have a bunch of good seasons, with a few playoff appearances and grind his way to 3,000 hits and a Hall of Fame selection.