Jeter's new stance quickly a thing of past

BOSTON

Well, so much for the biggest reconstruction in Derek Jeter's life since, well . . . since he moved into his Tampa mansion.

Remember his much-discussed and dissected new stance, the one without his trademark stride? The one he tried last September, worked on all offseason and throughout spring training? It has departed. The stride, as you've probably noticed, has returned.

"It's more what Derek Jeter has done for his whole career," Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said before the Yankees dropped their series finale to the Red Sox, 4-0, Sunday night at Fenway Park. "If you look at it, even from my standpoint, it looks more like what he's done.

"Again, he's had a very successful career, and one that has worked out well for him."

He sure has, and absolutely no one is ready to declare the Yankees' captain an official has-been. That would be beyond foolish. As Joe Girardi said Sunday: "We know how resilient Derek has been in his career, all the great things he's done. I think you just have to give him an opportunity."

Consider it given. Except, you know, the opposing pitchers haven't signed off on this agreement. And for the Yankees, it's alarming and disheartening that Jeter would give up so quickly on something that occupied so much of his time and effort.

After going 0-for-4 against a resurgent-looking Josh Beckett and closer Jonathan Papelbon, Jeter has seven hits in 34 at-bats, a .206 average. He has one extra-base hit, a double, and you could argue that he hasn't hit a ball on the screws all season.

"I feel good," Jeter said after the game. "Obviously, I'd love for the results to be there. But all you're going to worry about is being comfortable. I felt pretty comfortable the last few days. Today, I don't think anybody felt comfortable. As long as I'm comfortable, I'm confident the results will be there."

Beckett limited the Yankees to two hits, a walk and a hit batsman in eight innings, striking out 10. Yet even before Sunday night, Jeter didn't look comfortable this year, his words notwithstanding. It's particularly jarring given that his rebound last September supposedly resulted from the new mechanics that now have been abandoned.

"He started off doing [the new stance],'' Long said. "He said, 'You know what? It's hard for me to go up there and think about that every at-bat.' I said, 'You know what? I don't want you to go up there and think about it every at-bat.' He's kind of tapping, picking up. We'll still monitor, see if he's going in or if he gets out of whack with what he is doing."

Jeter has said he no longer wants to discuss his stance, swing or stride. Nevertheless, everyone understands that the scrutiny won't stop. Because Jeter is coming off a 2010 that goes down as the worst season of his career. And because it's not only the results that look bad; he simply hasn't hit the ball with any authority this season.

And because, as Girardi said, "It's just, it's Derek, and that's why it's such a hot-button [issue] for everyone."

"I guess he's just doing average," Long said. "Not off to a bad start, not off to a good start. I think he's feeling more and more comfortable. I think he feels pretty good about his at-bats and where he's at. We'll just continue to monitor it, continue to work and see where it goes from here."

Girardi urged us to give Jeter 100 to 150 plate appearances before rendering any serious judgment. By all means.

But if you're a Yankees fan and you're not even a little concerned about Jeter's hitting, given everything that has transpired in the past year, then you just aren't paying attention.