Offensively, Jeter's in a good place now

ARLINGTON, Texas - Some Yankees such as Jorge Posada said they sat by their televisions at home Tuesday night and watched every pitch of the winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Rangers and Rays.

Derek Jeter was not one of them. "I saw highlights when it was over," he said. "I was out eating at the time."

When it comes to his game preparation, the Yankees' captain has followed the same single-minded approach since he burst on the major-league scene in 1996: Forget the past, focus on the present and keep it simple.

So as Jeter gets ready for the American League Championship Series, it should come as no surprise that Thursday he vigorously downplayed the following: his subpar offensive season, the Yankees' past postseason success against the Rangers and the Yankees' overwhelming advantage in postseason experience over the Rangers.

"Whatever has happened before," he said, "doesn't matter."

That attitude was tested this year as Jeter struggled through the worst offensive season of his career. Hitting coach Kevin Long said there were times when even Jeter showed frustration, but Long insisted he never was the slightest bit concerned with Jeter's mind-set.

"You're not happy about hitting .260 with three weeks to go in the season; that's not where you want to be," Long said. "But he understands the big picture . . . He comes to the ballpark to win games."

Jeter finished the regular season with career lows in average (.270), on-base percentage (.340) and slugging percentage (.370). But in the final 17 games, Jeter hit .347 (25-for-72) with a .435 on-base percentage, and Long said he "loves" the way Jeter swung the bat against the Twins in the ALDS.

Long credited the late-season surge to a change Jeter made in his swing regarding his front foot, which smoothed out his swing and allowed him to make better contact on pitches.

"I was happy with how I swung the bat in the first round, but now we're in a new round," said Jeter, who went 4-for-14 (.286) against the Twins. "We'll see what happens. All you want to do is feel comfortable."

Jeter is 5-for-14 with a home run in his career against C.J. Wilson, the Rangers' Game 1 starter, but he said he thinks Wilson really improved this season. Jeter said he reached that opinion solely off how the lefthander looked against the Yankees this season, not any statistically based data or scouting report. "I don't really pay attention to what a guy's numbers are," he said.

Nor does he care much for history.

He laughed when someone asked him for some memories of playing the Rangers in the 1996, '98 and '99 postseasons. "What we did in '96, I don't know how that's going to help in 2010," Jeter said. "I can't remember the late '90s. That's a long time ago."

All that's on his mind right now is this series, and he made it clear he's sick of waiting around for Game 1. The Yankees ousted the Twins last Saturday.

"Almost feels like we're going to the first day of spring training, we've had so much time off,'' he said. "I think everyone is anxious now to get things under way.''