The New York Yankees are 6.5 games back from the Tampa Bay Rays and 4.5 back from the Red Sox. They have the same record as the Oakland A’s who just traded pitcher Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs, and if the Yanks want to make a run at the Wild Card or even the division, their captain is the most important player in the process. With A-Rod grabbing all the attention a lot of the media and fans have been underappreciating the play of Derek Jeter. Most people are complaining about his .284 average or 4 home runs, However, with RISP the captain is hitting .321, and with RISP and 2 outs he’s hitting a gaudy .389. In close and late games the 34 year-old is batting .325 with RBI. Over the past seven days DJ has hit .333 with 4 RBI.

The shortstop is making his 9th trip to the All Star Game next week at Yankee Stadium and is tied for second all time with a .500 batting average (8-16). He has enjoyed an illustrious career as a Yankee, winning four world championships, and he also ranks 3rd all time in hits, 4th in runs and sixth in games played. DJ won rookie of the year in 1996, is a three time Gold Glover, and won the World Series MVP and All Star MVP in 2000. There is no question he has the ability to carry the Yankees with his leadership and grit. Over the past four seasons he has only missed eight games or a fewer in a season. For all those Yankee haters just admit that Jeter is not overrated.

Post-All Star 2006 Jeter hit .342 with 9 home runs, in 2007 he went for .306 and 7 home runs. His production in the first halves were much higher those years as well thus leading me to say he is due for a big second half in the ‘08 campaign. Jeter showed his worth this week hitting a two-out, two-run double in the third inning against the Rays in Tuesday’s game, and he also made a marvelous defensive play doing his leap and twist to throw out catcher Dioner Navarro at second base saving a run. The play he made in the seventh inning shows he is still able to get to ground balls and make the big plays when the team needs it most.

In yesterday’s epic extra inning win, Jeter worked a one-out walk in the 10th inning. Bobby Abreu’s walk-off double scored Jeter from first base as the Yanks took the series from the Rays. If the Yanks want to reach the 95-win plateau they have to go 46-25 the rest of the way. Derek Jeter is the key player to help guide the Yanks with his clutch play.