Listening to Jeter was right move by Joe

CLEVELAND

One criticism I've never understood is that Joe Girardi manages too much "by the book."

First of all, as if using information to fuel your decisions is a bad thing. Second of all, I don't think it's accurate. After all, if Girardi really used statistics as his primary managerial tool, then he would've moved Derek Jeter down in his lineup a long time ago.

Wednesday, Girardi displayed once more that he can work outside the book. After all but declaring Tuesday night that Jeter would rest Wednesday -- I certainly fell for it -- the Yankees' skipper changed lanes and decided to play his milestone-chasing captain after all.

Jeter went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, increasing his hits total to 2,997, while he, Phil Hughes and the Yankees dropped a 5-3 decision to Justin Masterson and the Indians. With a four-game set in the Bronx against Tampa Bay, starting Thursday night, Jeter needs three hits to reach the 3,000 mark before the All-Star break.

Jeter, afterward, said it was important for him to stay in the lineup. "That's what I like to do, play as much as I can," Jeter said. "I understand his thinking when you're coming back, especially when you strain a muscle. I understand that you don't want to push it, so I get his reasoning. But for me, I'd rather play."

It's not like the result of Girardi's decision produced great fruit for the short term. Yet the process displayed a manager willing to listen to his player. Girardi and Jeter spoke late Tuesday night at the ballpark and then exchanged text messages, and Girardi woke up Wednesday ready to try a new lineup.

"What I realized is, none of us know what it's like to be in his shoes, going for 3,000 hits," Girardi said before the game. "We don't know what's going through his mind. I thought maybe it's worse, in a sense, if you're sitting around thinking about it."

He's probably right. We don't know precisely what's going through Jeter's mind, but the shortstop has provided a brief tour, and his mood seems darker than a planetarium. Jeter admitted late Tuesday that he wasn't particularly enjoying his run at history. He spoke of "a lot of negativity that's out there," a reference to general discussion of his profound fade.

When Jeter becomes baseball's newest Mr. 3,000, I'll bet, a lot of that malaise instantly will dissipate, especially if it occurs at home. "It's going to be great," Girardi said, anticipating the Yankee Stadium atmosphere Thursday night.

And given how badly Jeter wants to get to the climax of his HBO documentary, you might as well play him until he gets there.

"He wants to get this done with so he can just go on and be Derek Jeter, not Derek Jeter pursuing 3,000 hits," Girardi said. "That's the sense that I got from him."

Alas, what Jeter really wants -- a return to his 2009 form, or something approaching that -- might not be attainable for the 37-year-old. However, if the Yankees remain in the AL East penthouse, then Jeter can do his job in relative quiet.

A reporter asked Jeter before Wednesday night's game what Jeter could do to enjoy this ride more.

"I don't know. I don't know," Jeter said. Here's a suggestion: End it. Get the three hits off a tough Tampa Bay pitching staff. It's not in Jeter's nature to enjoy this kind of attention. He'd rather discuss contributions to wins than decorations on his resume.

Because Girardi proved flexible, Jeter moved one step closer to history. To freedom. That's not something the manager learned in a book.