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| Derek Jeter / By Keith Allison - Flickr.com |
Yankees captain Derek Jeter has been at every opening day for the past 16 seasons; however, he was not able to play in the season opener due to a broken ankle he suffered in the American League Championship Series last October. He played during spring training even though he was in pain, which is what he believes led to breaking his ankle once again. "It was something that I hurt it, I continued to play on it, probably when I shouldn't have," he said to BleacherReport.com. "But I continued to play on it and then eventually it broke."
First baseman Mark Teixeira is also not able to play for the first few months of the 2013 season due to a wrist injury. Teixeira is still staying healthy by working with the team's strength and conditioning coach for two-and-a-half hours each day attempting to stabilize his wrist muscles. It is not known when he will return because the recovery time for a wrist injury is unpredictable."You never know when you're coming back from a wrist. You can have a setback. Everything's always a timetable. Timetables change. Sometimes it's shorter, too," Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi said to Newsday.com.
The Yankees’ center fielder and leading home run hitter Curtis Granderson was also injured during spring training when he took a fastball to his right forearm. He is expected to return to play in mid-May; however, the Yankees want to make sure that he is fully recovered before including him in the lineup. “It’s just something that I’ve thought about. I don’t know how many games he would have in his rehab coming back, and that’s a concern for me. So I want him to be comfortable wherever he’s at, because his bat’s real important to us,” said Girardi to MLB.com.
All three of these players made a tremendous contribution to the 2012 season. Both Jeter and Granderson helped their teams offense, while Teixeira impacted the defense. Jeter had an incredible year, finishing with 216 hits, the most in baseball. Granderson also had a great season; he hit 43 home runs, drove in 106 runs, and was chosen to play in the All-Star game. Teixeira was able to contribute to the defense with his elite fielding; he won the Gold Glove Award for his superior individual fielding performance.
They have acquired new players that will need to help the team both defensively and offensively until their three starters return. Lyle Overbay was acquired by the Yankees from the Boston Red Sox during spring training and has been playing first base due to Teixeira’s absence. Eduardo Núñez and Jayson Nix have replaced Derek Jeter and Vernon Wells is a substitute for Granderson. “You’re talking about high-character guys,” Girardi said of the newcomers in a New York Times article. “Guys that have been calming forces in a clubhouse for many years, guys who have played at a high level, guys who have been in the A.L. East, guys that have been in the championship series.”
The Yankees will need to continue working together as a team without these three starters and make plays that will help them win more games. As of now, the Yankees have lost a few games because they do not have the power that Granderson, Teixeira and Jeter normally provide. “The same goals are going to be there: to win every night,” said Youkilis in a New York Times article.
Contributed by Sahar Saedi and Anya Batista
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