Derek Jeter should be made player-manager of the Yankees if Joe Girardi leaves.

Joe Girardi has managed the New York Yankees from 2008 through 2013.  The Yankees failed to qualify for the Major Baseball League (MBL) tournament in 2008 and 2013.  The Yankees won the tournament in 2009.

Girardi's contract expires soon and he is considering his options, which probably are signing a new Yankee contract or not managing at all.

Meanwhile Yankee captain Derek Jeter played only 17 games in 2013.  Jeter is 39 years old but determined to return to form in 2014 and be the starting shortstop.

I am proposing something that I would have considered a criticism of the Yankee owners when I wrote these posts:

Monday, September 23, 2013  Mark Cuban, buy the Yankees from the Steinbrenner Kids.

Saturday, September 21, 2013  Beyond Moneyball.

Best head coaches:
National Football League (NFL): Bill Belichick, New England Patriots - three NFL championships National Basketball Association (NBA): Gregg Popovich, San Antonio - four NBA championships.

There is no manager in the Major Baseball League (MBL) who is comparable to them even though baseball is a much simpler sport.

One thing that Belichick and Popovich have in common: neither played in his league.  In fact neither played big time college ball...

What the heck?  I've maintained for years that field managers should not be former players, not if you want the changes that now permeate the front offices to be implemented on the field.  Otherwise, you're just recycling Art Howe.
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Friday, September 20, 2013  Yankees need to clean house.

Baseball has not done what was done in basketball and especially in football: put smart people in charge on the field who never played the game at a high level but are capable of implementing the constantly evolving new concepts.  Baseball must stop using former players as field managers...

(Brian) Cashman's recent statement that Jeter is the Yankee shortstop for next season must have been his way of insulating himself from the inevitable: Jeter must go.  No reasonable baseball person would rely on him to play shortstop next season and Jeter does not hit with enough power to be a designated hitter (DH).  Hopefully, Jeter recognizes this and exits gracefully.
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I almost wrote that the Steinbrenner Kids might panic and appoint Jeter to replace Girardi.  For some reason I didn't write that.

Something happened that made me reconsider.  During the final game pitched by Andy Pettitte, Houston scored it's only run on an odd play that was not Pettitte's fault and which could have been handled differently.  The latest player to replace Jeter has been Brendan Ryan, a 31 year old journeyman who cannot hit but who is known for his glove, the opposite of Jeter.  With Jose Altuve, a fast runner, on second base a grounder was hit into the shortstop hole.  Altuve raced to third as Ryan fielded the ball and threw to first to retire the batter.  Altuve, however, after a quick glance at Ryan while rounding third continued toward home.  First baseman Lyle Overbay reacted immediately and quickly threw home but a little off target and too late to prevent the daring Altuve from scoring.

Between innings I saw Jeter do something that I would not have expected.  He was instructing the veteran Ryan on what to do in such a situation.  Jeter was not scolding or lecturing or berating.  He was clearly instructing and Ryan looked straight at Jeter the entire time, absorbing and learning.  Ryan did not seem embarrassed or annoyed or impatient.  It was quite a revealing scene and it lasted a while.

I was impressed with Jeter in a way that I did not expect.  Jeter's penchant for wisecracks even at his advanced baseball age had long ago worn thin and I never considered him managerial material.  It never occurred to me that Jeter would ever consider managing.  Jeter has been paid countless millions of dollars and as far as we know does not need the money.  He certainly does not need the aggravation of players not listening as Ryan had, players not hustling as Jeter had.  Jeter has dealt with the media by sprinkling his wisecracks among his generally boring remarks, carefully made to avoid giving information and preventing controversy.

So, there are conflicting dynamics.  If teams finally have someone not wearing a uniform running the team on the field, the Yankees will probably be among the last to embrace that change, especially if the Steinbrenner Kids continue to own the team.  Considering that the Yankees will be managed for the foreseeable future by someone in uniform, they could do worse than having their long time captain fill that role.  Here are some advantages.

1. As player-manager Jeter would control his fate on the field.  The entire issue would be defused.

2. Cashman would probably defer to Jeter more than he did with Girardi.  Jeter would actually have the leverage in that relationship.

3. The Steinbrenner Kids would love it.  Daddy George would have loved it.  Imagine the buzz.

4. It might actually work.  Jeter knows baseball and I'm betting that the first person he calls about the job would be his managerial role model, Joe Torre, who would provide invaluable advice to Jeter.

Ironically, Torre was player-manager of the Mets for 18 days in 1977 but with only two at bats.  Torre retired at 37, two years younger than Jeter, to concentrate on managing.  At age 43 Pete Rose became player-manager of the Reds when he rejoined his original team in August 1984, continuing in that dual role through the 1986 season during which time Rose passed Ty Cobb for most career hits ... in the major leagues, not including the minor leagues or any leagues in other countries.  Rose remained as the Reds non-playing manager through the 1988 season.  Rose is the most recent major league player-manager.  Rose also bet on baseball games while managing for which he is still banned.

The head coach (manager) is most important in football, then in basketball, then baseball.  Baseball is simple.  No one thinks that a manager makes much difference anyway.  Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver, who played many years in the minors but never in the majors, indicated that a good manager might be worth a couple of wins a season but that a bad manager could hurt a team of good players.