Jeter surging, but rejects Joe's reason

Derek Jeter's recent hitting surge isn't a byproduct of a mechanical tweak or more work in the batting cage, Joe Girardi said. No, Jeter's success since coming off the disabled list July 4 is a direct result of hit No. 3,000 being out of the way, in Girardi's mind.

"I don't think any of us realized the weight that he felt with this 3,000," Girardi said Sunday of Jeter, who is hitting .313 (42-for-134) in 33 games since his return and .356 (16-for-45) in August. "And I actually think that maybe the three-week little hiatus that he had helped him a little bit, maybe to put it in perspective and to think about it and just to give his mind a little time off from the thought of it from Day 1 of spring training, when people always talked about it. It just seems like he's swung the bat better since he's gotten beyond that."

That explanation, however, was news to the Captain. "That was a situation for a week," said Jeter, who was hitting .260 when he suffered the calf injury that sidelined him. "I wasn't thinking about 3,000 hits April 1st when we started the season. So no, that would be a good excuse, but that's just an excuse."

Asked if he's more locked in on a particular pitch since coming off the DL, Jeter curtly said no. "I feel good," he said. "Like I said before, you stay back, swing at good pitches and good things will happen. That's it. Sometimes things can't be explained."

Health is the keyGirardi hopes injuries won't trip up the Yankees down the stretch for the second straight year. "There was so much made of last year and people thought, were we trying to win? Yeah, we were trying to win," he said of the 2010 Yankees, who earned the wild card after finishing a game behind the Rays. "I want to play here as many games as we can if we're fortunate enough to get to the playoffs. That's the bottom line. Our team is built for this park, so why wouldn't we want to win our division? But you can't run guys out there if they're hurt. And the big thing is, you've got to stay healthy."