Cry me a river, Derek Jeter

Derek Jeter said Tuesday during the press conference to announce his new contract that the sometimes contentious process of negotiating that contract angered him.

Derek Jeter's notion of his playing future is probably
far more optimistic than the reality.

Never mind that the dispute was dragged into the public light by Jeter's agent, who called the Yankees' view of his client's worth "baffling." A couple of days later Yankee general manager Brian Cashman told reporters that if Jeter didn't like the team's offer, he should test the market — and that retort is what displeased Jeter.

Hey, if he wanted private negotiations (a la the Twins and Joe Mauer) he could have/should have told his agent to zip his lips.

In the end, the Yankees relented $6 million worth — considerably less than Jeter had to relent on his supposed initial demand — and they have themselves a three-year, $51 million agreement.

Which is probably some $33 million more than Jeter would have gotten on the open market. Miguel Tejada got a one-year, $6.5 million contract from the Giants. Tejada's slash stats in 2010: .269/.312/.381. Jeter's: .270/.340/.370.

If there's anybody willing to overpay me by that much, they won't hear any complaint whatsoever.

It probably should not be surprising that Jeter doesn't accept the conventional wisdom that he's in decline. Part of what makes him Derek Jeter is that he believes he can create his own reality. In the low minors, he committed more than 50 errors in a season, mostly throwing errors; today his throwing is probably the best element of his defense.

Jeter is said to believe that he can play, presumably at shortstop, well into his 40s.  I'll have to see it to believe it.