Long strongly believes in Jeter

First things first.

Kevin Long doesn't believe this is what Derek Jeter has become -- a hitter annually trying to hit .270.

"I'm never convinced with Derek Jeter that this is it," the Yankees' hitting coach said earlier this week. "I have too much respect for him. There's part of me down deep that sees him work every day, that knows how much he cares and wants it, and when you put in time and effort like he does, I expect not only him to do what he's capable of doing but everybody else. I'm not convinced that this is who he is."

Long acknowledged it could be, but . . . "I will say this," he said. "If Derek Jeter hits .270, .280, we can win a championship this way because he brings so many intangibles to our team; the leadership, the positive vibes, the spirit, just the way he helps everybody around him. He makes everybody around him better. When you have those intangibles, guys feed off it."

That is one reason, Long said, that Jeter, hitting .268 with a .320 on-base percentage, shouldn't be significantly dropped in the order against righthanders.

Lately, Joe Girardi has gone back to hitting Brett Gardner leadoff against righthanders and dropping Jeter to second. Girardi began the season that way but abandoned it after Gardner started horribly. Jeter has hit lefthanders well -- a .329 average and .430 OBP -- and won't be moving from the leadoff spot against lefties anytime soon.

The argument in keeping Jeter high in the order against righthanders, against whom he's hitting .247 with a .294 OBP, is hard to make. Long didn't make a strictly baseball case, instead giving voice to what usually is spoken of behind the scenes.

"I understand you're going to have some times where you think about moving him, but he's the one guy you kind of work your order around," he said. "You say he's going to be at the top and we'll worry about where everybody else goes."

Long said "it would be detrimental to our team" if Jeter didn't hit one or two because of the storm it likely would create. "I just think all the outside attention, all the media attention that would come along with that, I think that would hinder our ballclub," he said.

Since coming off the DL on July 4, Jeter is 24-for-78 (.308) with one homer, a triple and six doubles. "I've felt good for a while," he said. "I'm happy with my at-bats right now."

Girardi is fond of saying "I wouldn't bet against Derek Jeter" and can only hope the Jeter he's seen since his return from the DL is the one he will get for the rest of the season.

"It would help us a lot," Girardi said. "I just see him driving the ball better and getting the barrel of the bat to the ball better. It's different pitches, it's not just fastballs. We've seen him hit changeups, we've seen him hit curveballs. He just feels good at the plate, and as I've said, if he can continue the way he's swinging the bat now, it's really important to our lineup."