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“He looks old and frail,” one AL scout said. “He looks like he lost 10 to 15 pounds rehabbing his ankle and the biggest difference is in his strength. He always had the strength to muscle that pitch on the inner half to right field for a base hit. (I) don't see it anymore.”
If the strength is a question to this scout, so is the speed. For the first time, Jeter is something other than an excellent or very good runner, at least according to this fellow with a stopwatch.
“Those infield hits are going to be limited now because he is a tick below average runner with a [bad] ankle,” that scout also said. “He always figures out a way defensively, but you have to hit to be a regular. If anyone can prove me wrong it's Jeter. But the Yankees are going to have to make some really tough decisions if he doesn't start off well offensively.”
Another scout saw similar things, and seems similarly concerned. Like the first scout, that scout identifies himself as a great Jeter admirer, and he'd like nothing more to be proven wrong. But he's not seeing it so far either.
“Jeter's bat speed has slowed down and he needs to make adjustments, to open up his stance to see the ball more clearly,” that NL scout said. “He's running on eggshells right now to protect the injured foot. I hope he can stay healthy. [But] the first-step quickness is gone. It's tough to get back at 40. He'll need to read hitters counts and position better to make up for the deficiency.”
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/...ut-of-miracles
If the strength is a question to this scout, so is the speed. For the first time, Jeter is something other than an excellent or very good runner, at least according to this fellow with a stopwatch.
“Those infield hits are going to be limited now because he is a tick below average runner with a [bad] ankle,” that scout also said. “He always figures out a way defensively, but you have to hit to be a regular. If anyone can prove me wrong it's Jeter. But the Yankees are going to have to make some really tough decisions if he doesn't start off well offensively.”
Another scout saw similar things, and seems similarly concerned. Like the first scout, that scout identifies himself as a great Jeter admirer, and he'd like nothing more to be proven wrong. But he's not seeing it so far either.
“Jeter's bat speed has slowed down and he needs to make adjustments, to open up his stance to see the ball more clearly,” that NL scout said. “He's running on eggshells right now to protect the injured foot. I hope he can stay healthy. [But] the first-step quickness is gone. It's tough to get back at 40. He'll need to read hitters counts and position better to make up for the deficiency.”
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/...ut-of-miracles
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