That's how it is for me. Each game is a cause to celebrate, or a cause to (figuratively, of course) kick the dog.

I can't spend the whole season waiting for the World Series. The Yankees might not get there. I need to enjoy the season, and savor every win along the way. It's the daily cycle of the sport, and the journey of the season, that is great about baseball. Seeing younger players develop, older players give it the last try, or whatever. There are myriad stories throughout the season, and to say those are all "wasted" because the team did not win the World Series is short sighted in my opinion.

No season is wasted as long as there are good players to watch, good games to get your blood boiling, and some wins to keep it fun. I appreciate Jeter's attitude, and I know it is that single minded focus that drives guys like him, Tiger Woods, and MJ to the heights of their profession, but it can't be that way for the rest of us.

Carpe diem, eh?

BP

In a sport now inundated with all sorts of stats to qauntify or qualify a player's abilities, Jeter is the perfect example of where statistics fall short of measuring a player's true value.

I think its this quality of Jeter's that makes him so appealing to Yankee fans and neutral observers, and so goddamn annoying to Yankee-haters.

MFD, I think you are absolutely right; people like that tend to burn out the other folks around them when they are in charge if they don't learn how to back off. He seems like a really bright guy though, so I'd bet at some point the light would go on for him and he would quickly figure out how to nurse a group along. You can't breathe fire every minute. Just ask Larry Bowa.

Would that not be about the coolest thing in world though. I hope it's a very long time from happening and that we have lots more great stuff from the Captain but man that would be neat.

As the on-field leader of the team it's great that Jeter has that winning mentality and expresses his competitive spirit. I admire him for approaching the game that way. But even a prolific winner like Jeter has to accept that failure is as much a part of baseball as water is a part of Earth. If a player accepts that reality it doesn't mean "they don't belong here," as Jeter suggests.

Everybody processes failure their own way. Some can shrug it off, some work it out in therapy, some punch clubhouse walls. Jeter's approach clearly works for him, but it's not for every player.

I agree, Alex. I don't think Jeter can live without the game. When he's finished, he'll still be involved in some capacity.

He's essentially saying that the fans of 29 teams waste six-to-eight months of their lives every year. That the efforts of 97 percent of his peers are wasted annually. If it's all such a giant waste, why should we bother? If he knew for a fact he wasn't going to win a World Championship this year (which he probably won't) would he just pack up his locker and head home? Would he accept playing in an empty stadium, because the fans would otherwise be wasting their time watching him and his teammates play only to lose in the end?

This is Boss George brainwashing as far as I'm concerned, and a by product of the first six years of Jeter's career (four championshps and two we're-so-mad-we're-gonna-win-it-all-next-year payoff losses). It's my least favorite thing about the Yankee captain.

Only the players of the 40's and 50's Yankees can relate to such heights of success at such an early point in their careers.

I'm sure Ernie Banks doesn't consider his life in baseball a waste.

All that aside though, it is nice to hear a player speak more about the "team concept," rather than the "me concept." There's far too little of that in sports these days.

Although I don't completely agree, I have no problem with what Derek said about winning championships. It is how he feels, how he motivates himself to prepare for every season. I agree that his early success along with George has influenced his way of seeing things. He is really the Yankee, the most like Steinbrenner when it comes to winning.

I just remember hearing Boggs and Bonilla back in the day talk about how they were essentially "entertainers" out there and thinking, these guys suck. If you're a Yankee and your bottom line isn't a ring, there IS something wrong.

I'd much rather have the quasi-Boss George ramblings of Jeter than the "I'm not doing enough for the team" lamenting of A-Rod.

A-Rod's needs a new shrink ... this one ain't working.

If Jetes was on Kansas City, winning might be defined as finishing over .500. If he was a 1966 Met, it might be not finishing last.

His attitude is what drives him. I don't believe it's a statement on Mattingly's career or anybody elses. 'Winning' is relative. However, based on the talent of the teams he's been on, in his case, 'winning' is the WS.

"if you don't win it's a waste."
"[battling] shouldn't be why anybody plays."
"there's only one goal, and that's to win the World Series"

16 Yes, I'm sure Donnie would trade that MVP for a ring in an eyeblink.

BP

"Guess Melky's gonna be gettin' laid tonight", heh heh heh ...

Wouldn't ever trade my life for Jeter's, but it's fun to think about sometimes.

BP

You don't go from there to losing to the Royals in May and shrugging it off. That is not acceptable unless you are a bad team.

The idea that losing in a tightly fought World Series is the same as splitting a May series with the Royals is ridiculous.

Then if they are not the same, you can't have the same reaction to them.

14 I was about to go through that list and see how many Jeter has actually gotten (that we know about). 20 is so true...

Jeter is frustrated. He wants to be playing now, and he can't, and especially since its against the Red Sox and the division is close and the Yanks have a lot of injuries . . . He did try to lobby himself into the lineup on Monday, after all.

Frustration can be like alcohol, makes people say things they normally wouldn't/shouldn't otherwise say.

Capt. Munson: "I'm a little too belligerent. I cuss and swear at people. I yell at umpires and maybe I'm a little too tough at home sometimes. I don't sign as many autographs as I should and I haven't always been very good with writers."

Capt. Mattingly: "This guy is working all week and he brings his son to this show, has to pay $2 to get in, maybe $5 for a picture and then $6 for an autograph. These guys have to think you're a real ass with your head down all the time signing."

Capt. Jeter: "If you're going to play at all, you're out to win. Baseball, board games, playing Jeopardy, I hate to lose."

It's DESIRE. He's saying that if he doesn't burn and desire to win the World Series at every moment, at every play, he's wasted that play, that game, that day, that season.

Does anyone play intramural softball, baseball, basketball, soccer, bowling, water polo? Do you approach each game like you're playing shortstop for the Yankees and it's the World Series Game 7? Of course not - you're playing D League softball - but you approach the game that night as if you DESIRE to win that game. Your attitude before the game is similar to "if you lose, it's a waste" - you're not telling yourself ahead of time that it's okay to lose cause you're really out there just to run around to get exercise while your team loses 30-2, do you?

He's talking about an approach to the game. And the other commenters are right - his approach, as a Yankee, as an employee of the Boss, as a guy who has won before, that each day, game, and season is about winning. If each day, each game, and each season is about getting a hit, keeping your average at .300, or impressing other teams for your impending free agency, then you are an employee of the Royals and as a team, you will never have the Desire to win as a team.