Captain Culprit

To my surprise, some of the New York backpages overlooked the easy target of A-Rod and actually recognized Derek Jeter as one of the biggest culprits of this playoff elimination. From the NY Post:

Though the Yankees were an offensive mess in last season’s ALDS loss to the Tigers, Jeter hit .500 with a homer. A year earlier he hit .333 in the Yankees’ ALDS defeat to the Angels. The last time he had failed to hit at least .200 in a postseason series was the 2001 World Series, when he batted .148 against the Diamondbacks. But even then, he made his presence felt with a home run that gave the Yankees a Game 4 victory.

There was no such heroic moment for Jeter in this series. He was an October mess, as were the Yankees.

“Last year was frustrating, the year before that was frustrating,” Jeter said. “Every year when you lose is frustrating.”

Newsday didn't run and hide either, noting Jeter's .176 batting average during the 2007 ALDS.

A career .370 hitter in 11 previous Division Series, the Yankees' captain had three hits in 17 at-bats (.176) with one RBI and no runs scored. He went 2-for-5 with an RBI single last night but hit into a crucial double play in the sixth inning with the Yankees trying desperately to claw back from a 6-2 deficit. It was a punch to the solar plexis that the Yankees never fully recovered from

Being realistic, Jeter's compiled an amazing postseason resume and deserves all the kudos for such play. However, it's only fair that DJ's underwhelming performances slide under the microscope with the same objectivity as anyone else's. Insert "but Alex Rodriguez is not a true Yankee" sentiment here.