06-20-2019, 12:40 AM
TAMPA, Fla. -- Derek Jeter spoke for 25 minutes, 44 seconds and answered 26 questions about his decision to retire at the end of this season. He said "its time," "the right time" and "the time is now." Twice more he added "the time is right." Jeter will be leaving the major leagues the way he entered: accessible, yet opaque; approachable, but distant. So why is Jeter retiring? "He just said its time, but he didnt really say," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman concluded after Jeter reported to spring training Wednesday for his 20th and final major league season. One week earlier, the Yankees captain surprised and saddened teammates with his announcement, revealed by posting a 15-paragraph, 644-word statement on his Facebook page, one relatively few people were aware he even had. "You cant do this forever. Id like to, but you cant do it forever," he said to a crowded room filled with Yankees management and players in addition to media. Jeter, who turns 40 in June, was limited to 17 games last season, hitting .190 with one homer and seven RBIs after breaking his left ankle in the 2012 AL championship series opener. While he returned last July, he wound up on the disabled list three more times because of leg ailments caused by a lack of strength after the ankle healed. "It wasnt fun because I wasnt playing. I think it forced me to start thinking about, well, how long do I want to do this? And thats how I came to my decision," he said. "It just became a job last year." He sounded much like Joe DiMaggio, who left the Yankees in December 1951 saying, "when baseball is no longer fun, its no longer a game." Just two years ago, Jeter led the big leagues with 216 hits. And after an off-season of intensive workouts, Jeter is confident he will regain his productivity this year and be an everyday shortstop -- only the fourth in big league history in the season they turned 40. Wearing a navy Yankees pullover and shorts, and a New York cap, he spoke directly and dispassionately, much like during every interview since he first reached the major leagues in 1995. He kept his arms crossed in front of him for much of the time, resting them on a table. He flashed those famous white teeth and smiled, displaying not a trace of melancholy. "Trying to get me to cry?" he said after one question. "I have feelings. Im not emotionally stunted. Theres feelings there, but I think Ive just been pretty good at trying to hide my emotions throughout the years. I try to have the same demeanour each and every day." Hes been clear that he doesnt reveal his deepest thoughts publicly, not in the tabloid, talk-radio and Twitter-driven tumult of the Big Apple. "I know I havent really been as open with some of you guys as you would have liked me to be over the last 20 years, but thats by design," he said. "It doesnt mean I dont have those feelings. Its just thats the way I felt as though Id be able to make it this long in New York." He made the announcement on Facebook to circumvent "cut-and-paste" media, to get out his full message and to draw attention to his Turn 2 Foundation -- a pun on middle infielders making double plays and on his uniform No. 2. He is a relic, the last of the single digits to wear a Yankees uniform, the last to be introduced before each at-bat by Bob Sheppard, the Yankee Stadium public address announcer from 1951-07. While Sheppard died in 2010, a recording is played when Jeter walks to home plate. In the second half of his life, Jeter could have a future in business or even baseball management -- hes earned enough to become an owner. Hes been among New Yorks most eligible bachelors. "Theres other things I want to do. I want to have a family. Thats important me," he said, without a hint of what "other things" might entail. Jorge Posada retired after the 2011 season, and Mariano Rivera spoke in the same pavilion behind the third base stands last March and said 2013 would be his final year. Andy Pettitte departed last fall, too, leaving Jeter as the last of the Core Four who helped New York win five World Series titles. Owners Hal and Hank Steinbrenner and Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal watched Jeter from the front row, manager Joe Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman in the second. Teammates, who said his decision shocked and saddened them, were in the rows after that. Cashman called Jeter "a Secretariat, so to speak, that you can run in as many races as you can and win a lot." "Right now its kind of surreal and its strange to think of the Yankees without him in the lineup. But were not there yet," said Hal Steinbrenner, the teams managing general partner. When he spoke with Jeter hours before the Feb. 12 announcement, he didnt lobby for a reconsideration. "I respect when an individual makes a decision like this because I know how much time and thought they put into it. Its not my place to second guess," he said. Jeter wouldnt put an exact date on when he made up his mind. "I wanted to make this announcement months ago. I really did. But people -- I dont want to say forced, but they advised me to take my time before I said it," he said. He kept getting asked about his future. "Even walking down the street," he said, "people ask because I missed last year: Are you playing this year? How much longer are you going to play? How many years to do you have? You get tired of hearing it." He enters his 20th big league season with a .312 average, 256 homers and 1,261 RBIs. Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson already has Tweeted "for those booking early" the 2020 induction ceremony is scheduled for July 26. For Jeter, the titles mean more than the statistics. And most of all, he treasures getting to wear the pinstripes. "The thing that means the most to me is being remembered as a Yankee, because thats what Ive always wanted to be, was to be a Yankee," Jeter said. "I have to thank the Steinbrenner family thats here today and our late owner, the Boss, because they gave me an opportunity to pretty much live my dream my entire life. And the great thing with being a Yankee is youre always a Yankee. So in that sense it never ends." Wholesale Panthers Jerseys . -- Quarterback Josh Johnson has returned to the San Francisco 49ers and his former college coach, Jim Harbaugh. Cheap Panthers Jerseys Authentic . Numbers Game looks at the As getting Jon Lester from Boston, sending Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox along with a deal involving the As and the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics Get: LHP Jon Lester, LF Jonny Gomes, OF Sam Fuld and cash. http://www.cheapfloridapanthersjerseys.com/.com) - Virginia is for loving Latrell Scott. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- Kevin Stadler might be playing in the Masters for the first time, but hes already showing his old man a thing or two. Cheap Panthers Jerseys China . As the Winnipeg Blue Bombers opened their main training camp Sunday, Kuale is one of the newcomers brought in to bolster a sagging defence that ranked overall where the Bombers finished 2013, in the CFL cellar with a league high 585 points against.The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals have been two of the NFLs hottest teams since enduring bumpy stretches. One will head into the playoffs on a winning note - with a home game awaiting them - after Sunday nights matchup in Pittsburgh, which serves as a de facto AFC North title game. You can watch the game live on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5 starting at 8:15pm et/5:15pm pt. These teams are tied for the leagues second-most wins since Week 8 with both going 7-2 in that span. Pittsburgh (10-5) started 3-3, blowing a fourth-quarter lead against Tampa Bay and suffering losses at Cleveland and Baltimore by a combined 41 points. The Steelers, however, clinched their first playoff appearance since 2011 with last Sundays 20-12 win over Kansas City. Theyre now a victory shy of their first four-game winning streak in a season since 2012. We knew we had the talent, and that it was just a case of us being consistent and putting it together, said LeVeon Bell, who is tied for the league lead with eight touchdowns from scrimmage since Week 11. It might not have looked like we were making progress, but we knew that if we kept doing what we were supposed to be doing, wed be all right. Cincinnati (10-4-1) followed a 3-0 start with an 0-2-1 stretch that included 26- and 27-point losses to New England and Indianapolis. The Bengals have since found their footing, clinching a fourth straight playoff berth with Mondays 37-28 win over Denver on Monday night. They also bucked the trend of poor prime-time performances after entering with a 2-6 record in night games since 2011, including two blowout losses earlier this year. Cincinnati can set a franchise record with a fifth straight road win. We answered a lot of questions, especially on this Monday night thing, defensive tackle Domata Peko told the teams official website. Everybody was talking about it. We kept it in-house and just got it done. Were just getting started. The Bengals would clinch a home playoff game with a win or a tie and are still in play for the AFCs No. 2 seed, though they would need the Broncos to lose to Oakland. Pittsburgh will be playing on wild-card weekend regardless of the result but can avoid traveling with a victory. The Steelers already have two more wins than they had in each of the past two seasons and are seven points shy of the single-season club record of 416 from 1979. They werent necessarily celebrating the end of their brief postseason drought, however. Were going to treat that like a playoff game like weve had the last three weeks, said Ben Roethlisberger, who is one TD shy of becoming the 18th quarterback to throw for 250. We stilll have work to do.dddddddddddd Pittsburgh has only trailed for five minutes since going ahead of Cincinnati with a 25-point, fourth-quarter outburst in a 42-21 road win Dec. 7. Bell recorded 235 yards from scrimmage and three TDs, while the Bengals were limited to 86 yards on 21 carries. The Steelers are limiting opponents to 99.3 rushing yards per game, sixth-best in the NFL. Cincinnati has bounced back with its first back-to-back, 200-plus yard rushing performances since 2003. Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard combined for 227 yards on 40 carries in a 30-0 win at Cleveland on Dec. 14, then Hill ran 22 times for 147 yards against the Broncos second-ranked run defense. He joined Eric Dickerson and Curtis Martin as the only rookies to run for 140-plus four times and ranks second among running backs this season with 5.2 yards per carry. The ground game has the Bengals confident that they can make a deeper playoff run after being one-and-done each of the last three seasons. They rank fifth in the NFL with 135.4 rushing yards per game after finishing no better than 18th in the last three years. We just have a new attitude, left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. The running game has really sparked kind of a feistiness, a will to make something happen for us. At times, we havent had that, for whatever reason. The ground game may need to be particularly good if the passing attack is off a bit after Andy Dalton missed practice time this week due to the flu. The illness also has caused tight end Jermaine Gresham to miss practice along with defensive backs Terence Newman and Reggie Nelson. The Bengals expect Dalton to be fully recovered by game day. Its always a big deal when you dont have your quarterback at practice, offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said. Again, its also not good if the guys sick and cant practice. Pittsburghs passing attack, second in the league at 300.5 yards per game, had its way in the first meeting as Roethlisberger was 25 of 39 for 350 yards and three TDs. The Bengals have since held two opponents to a combined 50.6 passer rating and picked off Peyton Manning four times. Cincinnatis A.J. Green, who caught 11 passes for a career-high 224 yards against the Steelers, is expected to play after suffering a bruised right biceps Monday. Green, who was held without a catch for the second time in his career, has averaged 98.7 receiving yards in three games at Pittsburgh. Antonio Brown is two catches shy of eclipsing Herman Moore and Wes Welkers shared mark (123) for the second-highest single-season total in league history. A Bengals win would mark the third consecutive season series split. 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