Most scrutinized 3,000th ever

Derek Jeter finally returned to the Bronx Thursday night, two nights after complaining of the "negativity'' surrounding his 2011 season and just in time for the positivity of Yankees fans to wash over him.

It should have come as no surprise that he returned the favor seconds after being introduced by the late Bob Sheppard, lashing the first pitch by the Rays' Jeff Niemann for a double. After all, he's Derek Jeter!

That would be his only hit of the night, but the dramatic moment was a timely reminder of what we are dealing with here.

Those of us living in the present -- fans, journalists, sports radio hosts -- have every right to discuss the untidy particulars of Jeter's march toward 3,000 career hits.

No, he's not the player he used to be, with a shaky hold on the leadoff spot, limited range at short, a recent stint on the DL and a contract that could become a pox on the team's payroll by 2013, if not 2012.

To top it off, he committed the unpatriotic sin of going 0-for-4 on his first day back on the Fourth of July, prompting a blunt spanking on tabloid back pages.

Might he not reach 3,000 in time (gasp) for the All-Star break and ensuing road trip?

All of that is legitimate sports fodder, if you'll pardon our negativity, Mr. Jeter. But it also is true that all of it soon will be a mere blip on the historic arc of the man's career.

In five years or 15 or 25, when Jeter is introduced at Old-Timers' Days, the particulars of the past three months will be long forgotten, by fans and likely by Jeter himself. The closer he gets to the big hit, the more it is impossible not to focus on the staggering feat itself.

Both Jeter and Joe Girardi put the figure in perspective before the game by doing the math in terms of 200-hit seasons.

"You're talking about 15 years of 200 hits,'' Girardi said. "Two hundred hits a lot of times will be the leader or real close to the leader in the league.''

When Jeter was asked about chasing 4,000, given that he now is a week younger than career hits leader Pete Rose was when he got his 3,000th, he laughed off the notion. "You're talking about five years with 200 hits to get that extra thousand,'' he said.

The details of most of the previous 27 3,000th hits largely have been forgotten. One notable exception is Roberto Clemente's, which became memorable in retrospect when he died before getting another.

What about the most recent 3K man, King Park High's own Craig Biggio? He was three shy of 3,000 when he went 5-for-6 in an 11-inning win for the Astros. What, you don't recall? Well, it was all the way back in . . . 2007.

How about Alex Rodriguez's 600th career homer? Remember that drought of 46 at-bats after No. 599? No? Understandable. It was more than 11 months ago.

Moral of story: History inevitably favors broad strokes over day-to-day splotches, and it isn't going to care where Jeter bats in the lineup come August.

After Tuesday's swipe at the nattering nabobs, Jeter seems ready to do what he said he would before the season began and enjoy the ride. Well, mostly. Asked before Thursday night's game if he would feel euphoria or relief after reaching the milestone, he said, "I really don't know. Maybe a little bit of both.''

Has he gotten advice from members of the 3,000-hit club? He cited Dave Winfield, who encouraged him to enjoy himself. Then Jeter added this: "And hurry up.''

As he has all week, Girardi juggled excitement with a desire to close down the circus surrounding the most scrutinized march on 3,000 ever, given the magnitude of the player, the team and the city.

"I think he'll enjoy it, but I think he's looking forward for that to stop,'' Girardi said. "We are going to try to wrap this up this weekend, that's the bottom line. We want to get through this so he can have his normalcy.''

Normalcy? It's 2,998 hits too late for that.