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Torre Shrugs off Jeter "Slump"

Yankees.com, May 11, 2000

By Mike Henry

On the way out of Yankee Stadium Tuesday following his third-straight hitless game, Derek Jeter stopped off across the clubhouse with a fistful of bats for Jorge Posada. Not to lend to the red-hot catcher, but to store overnight in his locker.

Anything for Jeter - batting a season-low .268 heading into Thursday's rain-delayed tilt with the Devil Rays - to catch fire. Even if it means borrowing a spark from Posada, one of the league's hottest hitters.

Jeter, as well as the Bombers' powers-that-be, are handing the slide in stride.

"He's really a together kid," said Joe Torre. "He makes fun of himself about it, handles it in a light-hearted way. He'll still be upset after making an out, that's natural, but he won't go brooding or blaming umpires. It's all part of being tested."

It's a stunning role reversal for Jeter and Posada, with batting average the telling statistic. Jeter hit a team-high .378 in April '99, Posada a team-low .146. This season, Posada sits third in the American League at .376 while Jeter sits second from the bottom in among Bomber regulars with at least 100 at-bats.

What gives?

"It's very odd, but what's interesting is that [Jeter's] still the same guy," said Torre. "He looks at it in a way that's not dark. He knows it's going to be okay, and he still has a good frame of mind even though he's a little antsy up there."

And while Jeter's "struggles" may be exaggerated - he only has five fewer hits than team-leader Posada - any extended slump raises eyebrows. He is, simply, a victim of his own consistency.

The last time Jeter went hitless in at least three consecutive games? April of 1997.

"He'll fight his way out of it," said Torre. "When you're jammed a lot, you tend to look inside, and then the pitch down the middle looks outside. Right now, he's just not selective. We know he's a free-swinger, but there's a difference between being a free-swinger and swinging at everything.

"I do know one thing. He may not always be able to do the job, but he's never afraid to try."

The Yankees, who open a three-game weekend set with the Tigers on Friday, originally planned to fly to Detroit on their scheduled day off this morning. Torre's goal? To make a Thursday afternoon workout at brand-new Comerica Park.

"I'm curious to see it," said Torre. "I've heard it's pretty spacious. [The plan was to] work out there [Thursday], check out the outfield and the guys who [wanted] to hit can hit. This [gave] us two days to get on the field. When you have the opportunity to do that with a new ballpark, you take it."

The park's reputation as a hitters' graveyard hardly deters Torre, who admits its dimensions (345 feet down the line in left, 398 to the left-center power alley and 420 to center) play into the Yankees' hands.

"It's more our style because we're pitching-strong," said Torre. "Which means that if we get into a low-scoring game, we have a chance to win it. But with Juan Gonzalez there, I don't think the size of the park matters with him."