Derek Jeter

This is the final installment if a seven-part series predicting the records of each team, and now the playoffs.  The teams that make the postseason in this installment are based off of previous ones.

Now that the 2011 season is closer than ever, and Opening Day is only eight days away, we writers are giving our preseason predictions, and these are mine.  Through careful analysis of records, schedules, transactions, and more I have compiled my postseason picks.

Now, it’s time to break them down.

One of the few remaining decisions for the New York Yankees in this spring training is a final choice of leadoff hitter.

The choice for manager Joe Girardi comes down to Derek Jeter or Brett Gardner.

Jeter is a 16-year veteran who had a down year in 2010.  Jeter has made adjustments to his setup at the plate which have been successful this spring.  He is a career .300 hitter, and there is no real reason to believe he won't be much better this year.

Rotoworld suggested that Brett Gardner, who has been leading off recently in spring training games for the New York Yankees, could start the season off in that slot.

Gardner, who scored 97 runs in 569 plate appearances, could challenge for the league lead in runs scored if he is hitting out of that slot.

There comes a time in every athlete's life when he must adapt or retire. Some players stubbornly fight on, maintaining the same style and insisting it still works.

We feel sorry for them (I'm looking at you, Mr. Favre).

These are players who are at this point in their careers. And we plead with them to change. 

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What is the big deal with Derek Jeter batting second? Why are the media and some Yankee fans up in arms over this?

How many games has Jeter batted second in his Yankee career? Care to take a guess? Out of his 2,295 games as a Yankee, he's batted second 1,270 times.

What is the goal of a leadoff hitter? To get on base, see a lot of pitches and steal bases.

Coming off the worst statistical season of his career, the questions of whether Derek Jeter was still a capable leadoff hitter were rampant. And with a speedster like Brett Gardner spending most of his time in the No. 9 hole, a replacement for Jeter atop the lineup was already in-house.

While manager Joe Girardi was unwilling to say directly that he would consider moving Jeter down in the lineup, he did say that he'd try "different things."

You want controversy? I'll give you controversy. Jackie Robinson was better than Derek Jeter.

Every American knows why Robinson played in the major leagues for only 10 years. Meanwhile, Jeter is starting his 17th season with the New York Yankees.

America's favorite past-time evolved into the first major professional sports league in the United States—Major League Baseball.

The MLB was founded in 1869, and now has 30 teams, one of them in Canada.

The nicknames of these teams helped create the names of sports teams ever since. For those of you curious baseball fans and history buffs, here are the origins of each MLB team nickname.

Note: If you are also interested in NCAA, NFL, NBA, and NHL nicknames, check out my profile for the articles.

With the 2011 MLB season just around the corner, it's time to see how the these team stack up. There have been a few injuries and several off-season moves and it's now time to see how those will effect each team.

There are only a handful of dominant teams out there with world series aspirations but there are also so teams flying under the radar that could make a run.

Heading into opening day these are where the teams rank, for now.

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Derek Jeter is an 11-time All-Star, five-time World Series champion, five-time Gold Glover, four-time Silver Slugger and the 2000 World Series MVP.

No doubt about it, Derek Jeter is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the greatest Yankee shortstop of all time. Jeter will continue to hit at the top of the Yankee lineup.

So, what has the Yankee captain done for me to consider him a bust?