DETROIT — Derek Jeter’s batting average is down, but he is still hitting 1.000 when it comes to downplaying physical issues.
“It’s not a problem, it’s not hurt,” Jeter said of a right hip issue that forced Yankees manager Joe Girardi to remove Jeter from last night’s 4-0 loss to the Tigers in the eighth inning. “It’s not a big issue. I played with it and he decided to take me out. It was stiff, but things happen during the course of the year.”
Jeter, who went 1-for-4 with a line single to center in the first, said the problem surfaced last night but he wasn’t sure when.
“It’s not an injury,” he said. “I didn’t do it on a particular play. It’s not a big deal.”
Asked if he would play today, Jeter said, “Yes.”
Jeter is batting .250 after a career-low .270 last year, and before the game, the subject of dropping him in the lineup was on the table with Girardi.
Girardi sticking with a frigid Mark Teixeira in the No. 3 spot last year and having the switch-hitter rebound from a miserable start has given the manager confidence that moving Jeter out of the leadoff spot isn’t a move that has to be made today.
“We have had other guys who have struggled in our lineup and we stuck with them,” Girardi said. “It’s still relatively early. Tex and the struggles he had last year and we stuck with him. I know it’s different because of what happened last year and the age and the question of are we getting near the end?”
Despite Jeter’s .250 average (27-for-108) and only two extra base hits and an on-base percentage of .318, Girardi isn’t ready to lower his captain into the bottom half of the order.
Some believe such a move would have a negative effect in the Yankees’ clubhouse.
“I can’t tell you it would or it wouldn’t,” Girardi said of lowering Jeter in the order would cause a disturbance in the clubhouse. “We would only know if we were to do something. Derek has always been a guy who has been team first. We will do what we think is best.”
While Jeter has consistently put the team ahead of individual accomplishments, Girardi doesn’t expect the shortstop to suggest he be dropped in the lineup.
“I haven’t seen many hitters go to the manager and say move me down in the lineup unless they want to hit third or fourth,” Girardi said.
Girardi understands when Jeter is the subject the scrutiny is going to be severe and the manager is going to be questioned. He hits two liners and he is back; four ground ball outs and he is still lost.
“It’s who he is and what he has accomplished,” Girardi said. “It’s a hot button and that’s part of my job.”
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Girardi would like to get Eduardo Nunez into the lineup a little more.
“Now that we are playing every day you are going to see him play more,” Girardi said of the middle infielder who has appeared in 11 games and started two. He replaced Jeter last night.
A natural shortstop, Nunez played left field in spring training and has appeared in one game there this season.
“I don’t know if I would put him out there but I am not afraid to put him out there,” Girardi said.
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Going into last night’s action, Brett Gardner was on a 7-for-11 run and had drawn seven walks in 12 plate appearances. Last night, he went 0-for-2 and walked once.
“He is playing like we expected him to play,” Girardi said of his ninth-place hitter. “He is taking the walks and getting base hits.”
Francisco Cervelli started his second game behind the plate last night. This way, Russell Martin can catch A.J. Burnett in today’s matinee. Martin and Burnett have developed a solid relationship.
