I have avoided this as long as I could. The time has come to
talk about the Derek Jeter contract situation, which, for reasons known only to
the media, has become THE story of early Spring Training in Tampa, FLA.

With any luck, this will be the last time we ever discuss this non-issue here.

Simply put, Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees are doing exactly the right
thing. There is simply no rational reason to rush to extend Derek Jeter (or
Mariano Rivera) now.

After all, neither player is barking about a new deal. And if you are one of
those people who believes Jeter or Rivera will now go through this season
distracted by thoughts of “free agency” or anything else, for that
matter, then you simply do not know anything about who those two players are.

Additionally, if time has proven anything when it comes to free agency in
baseball, it’s that the prospect of free agency being only a season away, much
more often than not, becomes the ultimate motivating factor for players.

Look at the season New York just got out of Johnny Damon. At the age of 36,
Damon, always a good player (at least offensively), had one of the very best
offensive seasons of his career while helping the Yankees to their 27th World
Series Championship.

We would not begin to suggest guys like Jeter and Mo need such a thing to
motivate them to a peak performance. Nevertheless, this policy, and holding
firm to it now, is not just about these two Yankees. It’s about EVERY current
and future Yankee.

And that’s why what Cashman and Co. are doing here is brilliant… BRILLIANT,
we say!

As long as Cashman holds firm here (and as long as the Yankees continue this
now well-publicized policy), there should never, EVER be another player and/or
agent who starts thinking contract with the Yankees before their current deal
expires.

After all, that is the Yankees’ policy.

Can you even imagine the nerve that would be required to ask for an early
extension, after this season plays out? How simple is the answer to that
question?

“Hey,” Cashman will declare to begin this hypothetical conversation.
“If we didn’t do it for Derek Jeter and we twice didn’t do it for Mariano
Rivera, why on earth would we do it for you?”

The fact that this policy is now so well known, and that the Yankees are so
strict in holding to it, even in the case of all-time all-timers like Jeter and
Mo, should prevent the final year of any contract from ever becoming an issue
for any Yankee. Do you know when the “why haven’t you re-signed me
yet?” thing becomes an issue? When you do early extensions for SOME
players and not for others.

What allows this to work, of course, is that it’s the New
York Yankees.

We’re not talking about a Pittsburgh Pirates or K.C. Royals type team
here–teams that have to trade off the risk of premature money now to save
money down the road. Taking such a risk (and it is a risk) is the only way for
those teams to lock up a player they could never afford in free agency–see
Zack Greinke and the previously mentioned Royals.

The New York Yankees don’t have to take those risks because they can afford not
to.

Bottom Line: No team can pay Jeter or Rivera more than the Yankees can afford
to pay them. Moreover, neither player has any desire to play anywhere else.
And, at the end of the day, is there a single person on this planet who
believes there is ANY chance either Yankee great is walking at the end of this
year?

So why risk giving up the money before you have to? Serious injuries can happen
in this sport.

And why, when you’re only six months away from never having to answer another
“why haven’t you re-signed me yet?” question from any player or
agent, would you just give that away?

You would not, you should not and, most importantly, Brian Cashman will not.