One prob with your deal… That would leave A-rod a yankee when jeter retires…do you think Jeter would like that?

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and that he’s the Joe DiMaggio/Mickey Mantle icon of his era, all while showing him the door.=
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I don’t know…maybe im the only one that feels this way but…while I appreciate Jeter as a player and what he brings to the field, and his clutchness, I just don’t feel he’s on THAT level…I’ve grown up with Jeter, and have seen his entire career…I just dunno, maybe I take the legends of the mick yogi or the yankee clipper too seriously and put them on an unbelievable and unrealistic level. While I don’t agree with you that he’s in major decline, I just don’t think hes declining from a peak as high as whats been said. Maybe it will take years after Jeter for me to realize he truly is at that level, but as for now I just don’t see it. (Yes I’d put him in the Hall of Fame, but for his clutchness and tangibles moreso than his overall skill or stats)

But do you honestly expect them to wave goodbye, if that is the smart decision, or are you just making sure you’ve staked out your position when Jeter’s next contract proves to be a mistake?
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Do I honestly think they’ll wave goodbye? No, because Steinbrenner or the yes-man he hires as his GM will do the stupid, sentimental thing and keep him around.

But I hope the Yanks do the smart thing and tell Jeter that they love him, that he can count on having his #2 retired, and that he’s the Joe DiMaggio/Mickey Mantle icon of his era, all while showing him the door.

For the record, I’m not saying this to stake out any position so that I can post this link two years from now. I’m saying it because I believe it. A team should not mortgage its own future just because fans love a certain player.

But do you honestly expect them to wave goodbye, if that is the smart decision
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Ask Bernie.

But if the Yanks & Jeter part ways, I can see some other team picking him up to provide “veteran leadership.”

To answer the question from the title of the post, unquestionably, Jeter and A-Rod will hurt the team in four or five years. They’ll be getting superstar salaries without giving superstar performance.

A question for MJ:
Of course you are right that the Yankees shouldn’t hurt the business just because Jeter grew up in pinstripes. But do you honestly expect them to wave goodbye, if that is the smart decision, or are you just making sure you’ve staked out your position when Jeter’s next contract proves to be a mistake?

there’s no way that the Yankees can let Jeter play for another team after the 2010 season
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Jeter’s legacy won’t be any more tarnished than Babe Ruth’s if he ends up somewhere else after 2010. The Yanks shouldn’t do anything hurtful to their business just because Jeter grew up in Pinstripes. If Jeter wants to stay for a fair salary, fine. But if he expects the Yanks to overpay just because he was Mr. November nearly a decade ago, well, that’s just ridiculous.