My obsession with Derek Jeter has reached unhealthy levels; I'm sitting here at 10 AM on a Sunday, fuming over an article I just read. In it, Jeter calls the '98 team the best ever, and even though the current Yankees have more talent, they wouldn't be able to compete with that "team". Reading between the not so subtle lines, this is what i get: "Arod sucks".

Throughout his 10 year career, and particularly in the past year (since Arod has been in pinstripes), Jeter has been the Teflon don when it comes to ball players. He is revered by both the fans and the media and literally can do no wrong. Excuses are made ("where is the PROOF that jeter refused to move from SS when they got arod?"), feats exaggerated, and shortcomings are ignored. Two questions remain: 1) What is going on here? and 2) why does it make me so angry?

1) I have no idea what's going on, but here are some factors that might be contributing.

When the Yankees first started winning championships in the late 90's, it had followed a long draught of mediocrity. Thus, the "evil empire" stigma had not yet been attached (or, more accurately, had been forgotten since their last dynasty). The Yankees finally winning after all those years was the feel good story of the year, and leading the way was the rookie, Derek Jeter.

Why Jeter and not the other home grown stars like Bernie, Posada, or Mo? Mo's ears, Posada's chin, and Bernie's challenges with the english language are my cynical answer to that. Jeter's multi-racial, but he's still not as ethnic as the other three. And his pretty boy good looks and winning smile made him a media darling. If you see a 14 year old girl at yankee stadium, there's a good chance she's got a #2 painted on her face.

Jeter had a monster 1999 and has been living off that reputation ever since. The fact of the matter is that he's a very good, but not great, offensive player. Defensively, he's just horrid. But his combination of poor range and strong arm makes him look better than he is. It's a rare talent (or lack there of), to make the routine play look memorable, but anyone who has seen Jeter's patented pivot-jump throw from deep in hole knows what i'm talking about.

Jeter is the personification of the "classy" Yankees. It's said that the current Yankees have the talent, but not the professionalism of the late 90's Yankees. Once again, this is a case of the tail wagging the dog. Let's take a look at some of the personalities on those yankee teams.

1) wade boggs - wife beater
2) david cone - remember his days with the mets and the accusations that came from the bulpen at shea?
3) cecil fielder - currently bankrupt from his huge gambling problem.
4) Darryl strawberry - yikes
5) Gooden - not sure if he was on the championship rosters, but he was part of the upswing of the Yankees
6) Roger Clemens - headhunter
7) Ruben Sierra - "lockeroom cancer"
8) Jeff Nelson - Redneck
9) Don Zimmer - A long history of inappropriate behavior (that's ignored b/c he's a lovable old white guy)
10) David Wells - A big fat drunk (but lovable b/c he's white)
11) Paul O'neil - A guy notorious for losing his temper and breaking stuff (but b/c he "cares so much"...i.e. he's white).

9, 10, and 11 are who really bother me. If David Wells was black and wore a lot of chains and was known for partying all the time, he would have been hated. But b/c he's the image of the white blue collar worker (facial hair, beer belly, hearty laugh) he's beloved.

Paul O'neil is the Rasheed Wallace w/o the tattoos, dreads, or dark skin pigmentation. That's a slight exaggeration as I'll admit that Paul's rage was more self-directed while Wallace would take it out on refs and even teamates, but they were both driven to succeed.

I'm going to cut this rant off for now, b/c this tangent is spiraling out of control. This was supposed to be about Jeter, but is turning into a rant on the myth of the late 90's Yankees. I will end though on the note that all the players i mentioned above, in addition to guys like knobloch, jimmy keys, tino martinez, etc etc, were NOT from the Yankees farm system. So, to claim that the Yankees NOW just buy their players is very very laughable.