By Tony
Arnoldine
Saturday, April 5th, 2003
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On Monday night, the New York Yankees suffered a devastating loss when their
star shortstop, Derek Jeter, dislocated his shoulder after a collision at third
base with Toronto Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby. Now one of the most discussed
topics in baseball is how the Yankees will fare without their unofficial
captain.
Obviously, the loss of Jeter is a crushing blow to the Bronx Bombers. Not
only is he a presence in the field and at-bat, but also a locker room and
clubhouse leader. He is not the centerpiece of the Yankees' offense, however,
and they should be able to cope without him.
In fact, young shortstop call-up, Erick Almonte, may even be able to carry
the load. Almonte was 2-for-5 with 3 RBI and a homerun in Wednesday's
game at the SkyDome. If he can provide decent numbers throughout Jeter's
absence, the Yankees will be in good shape.
One concern in New York right now should be the bullpen. The offseason losses
of Mike Stanton and Ramiro Mendoza have not been the problem; the lack of
stability and production out of their replacements has been. With Steve Karsay
and Mariano Rivera on the DL, new Yanks Antonio Osuna, Jose Contreras,
Chris Hammond, and Juan Acevedo have been forced into a role that they may
not have been ready for.
The bullpen has looked anything but solid, except for Juan Acevedo, who has
done well filling in as the Yankees' closer. This is not an unfamiliar role
for him, though, as he saved almost half of the Detroit Tigers wins a year
ago. New York signed him as most likely a non-roster player in the offseason,
proving to be a great move now.
The bullpen, which usually for the Yankees is stable, will probably continue
to be a worry even when Karsay and Rivera return. Rivera has not
been the same since his throwing error in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series
and has also been injury-plagued.
One thing that should not be a concern for the Bombers is their offense,
with or without Derek Jeter. Hideki Matsui, through Spring Training and the
first set of regular season games, has showed that he was not all hype. Alfonso
Soriano picked up right where he left off last season, blasting a Grand Slam
in Monday's opener, and Jason Giambi has also continued his hitting
success.
Even the reserves for the Yankees are playing like superstars, with Todd
Zeile belting a homerun in his Yankee debut Wednesday. Enrique Wilson was
2-for-6 with an RBI during his time as Derek Jeter's replacement and
if it weren't so early in the year, he would probably be New York's
everyday shortstop.
Even though the Yankees clearly need Derek Jeter to return to the World Series,
they can manage without him. Jeter should take his time and make sure he
is ready to return instead of rushing a comeback, hurting himself and his
team.
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