Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
May 27, 2008
Coining a Word

Via the ProjoSoxBlog, Joe Posnanski coins a new word, Jeterate:

Jeterate (verb) meaning "to praise someone for something of which he or she is entirely unworthy of praise."

Example: "The father could not but jeterate his daughter for coloring on the wall because she looked so cute."

...

See, the thing is Derek Jeter is such a good baseball player -- I mean, we are talking about a no-doubt, first ballot Hall of Famer here -- that people don't need to jeterate him for his fielding. The guy sucks as a defensive shortstop, OK? He's brutal out there. Every detailed defensive number shows it. He's back near the bottom again in zone rating and range factor and, I'm sure, the Dewan plus/minus. Plus every scout who pays attention knows he can't go two steps to his left and his arm is subpar. It's OK! Really! He doesn't have to be Mark Belanger. He's a great hitter! He plays every day! He's makes up for some of his flaws with his awareness and mental stamina! I wouldn't be bothered by his defensive liabilities, I really wouldn't, except, well, you know, so many people don't think he HAS defensive liabilities. They give him freaking gold gloves. They knight him Sir Derek of Defensive Wizardry because 238 years ago he tagged Jeremy Giambi and jumped into the crowd on a foul ball.

The whole article is well worth the read.

Update: On a related note, Peter Abraham wonders if Jeter is hurt:

Given the slump and how he's been throwing the ball from shortstop the last few days, you have to wonder if he's injured. His quad seems to have healed up. Maybe he has a shoulder issue or something. Something to keep an eye on.

Jeter's seasonal age is 34. In nine of his twelve season, he's played at least 150 games, and just missed that mark in two others. He's played a demanding defensive position the entire time. It's quite possible he's just wearing down.


Posted by David Pinto at 10:39 AM | Players | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I was thinking of calling that action a jeteround, but Jeterate works

Posted by: Nice call at May 27, 2008 10:55 AM

It reminds me of 'degenerate'. I'm not sure if that's insulting or far too appropriate. Only time will tell.

Posted by: Sal Paradise at May 27, 2008 08:18 PM

So since this is all true...why is it that the managers who vote for the Gold Glove can't see this? Surely they must know that there are several better defensive shortstops than Jeter.

Posted by: emains at May 28, 2008 01:46 PM

Jetaa is just a great all around player. when you are great people try to point out your flaws not matter how small they actually are. They try to point out holes in your game like they are actually the size of caverns. Yes, Jeter's weakest point is his fielding but it can't be that bad since he's won some gold gloves. Jeter's fielding has dropped off sum since he has gotten older but that is to be expect he is human.

Posted by: Sidney at May 28, 2008 02:36 PM
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