The New York Yankees struggled mightily through the first round of the playoffs.
The team was able to overcome a pesky Baltimore Orioles team in the 23rd matchup between the two this season to advance to the League Championship Series.
Derek Jeter, as usual, was a vital part of the Yankee team this season and during the playoffs. The Yankees captain led the majors in hits with 216 and was one of the only players on the team to hit during the playoffs, batting .333 with nine hits on six games.
The shortstop played in every single Yankee postseason game since he was with the team, but all that changed during Game 1 against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday night.
The Yankees were able to stage a comeback from 4-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning by getting two two-run home runs from Raul Ibanez and Ichiro Suzuki. But two innings later in the 12th, with the game tied 4-4, Jeter lunged and dove for a grounder and twisted hard on his ankle.
Unfortunately for the Yankees and for the usually injury-free Jeter, he fractured the ankle and had to be carried off the field. Jeter would face a decision soon after on whether to have surgery or not.
On Wednesday, according to ESPNNewYork.com, the team said in a press release that Jeter will undergo surgery on the ankle and will need at least four or five months to recover.
At first it was reported that it would take three months for Jeter to recover, but now, after being examined by foot and ankle specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, the prognosis might be a bit longer.
"The specialist is taking a more conservative approach than our team doctors," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "This doesn't preclude him being ready in three months."
According to the Daily News, Anderson is one of the top doctors for ankle injuries in the country.
"People fly to (Anderson) from all over the country. Jeter is going to the real deal," Dr. Lewis Maharam, the past president of the New York Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, told the Daily News on Monday.
This past season Jeter quieted any detractors about his declining skills, playing an excellent shortstop and hitting .316 for the year.
Although the recovery time would come close to spring training and the beginning of the season, Yankees executives are confident Jeter will be fine for the start of next season.
According to the Daily News, Dr. Anderson has worked with many different athletes in various sports, including New York Giants players Ahmad Bradhsaw and Hakeem Nicks, former Giants Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress as well as Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones.
The agent for Jones spoke to the newspaper about how Anderson helped keep the All-Star third baseman's career going.
"We flew to see Anderson, and he said Chipper's big toe was pushing into his other toes, stretching the ligaments," said B.B. Abbot. "It's a condition he was born with, and potentially career-threatening, but Anderson said it wasn't reasonable to have surgery. Chipper was lucky in that regard. He just has bad feet. Anderson recommended a different size cleat with varying width."
"He'll be ready when he's ready," said Cashman to ESPN.
The Daily News also reports that, "both (manager Joe) Girardi and GM Brian Cashman have said they expect Jeter to be ready for spring training, whether he has surgery or not.
Jeter has been relatively healthy throughout his career and never had to deal with a serious injury during any of his seasons with the Yankees. In 2011 he hurt his calf and was placed on the 15-day disabled list for the first time since 2003.
The shortstop did not travel with the team to Detroit and now the Yankees are facing a 3-0 series lead that seems impossible to overcome. If Jeter was still playing, the Yankees might have a chance. But with Jeter out, the emotional core of the Yankees is now missing.
The team is dealing with the media firestorm regarding the benching of Alex Rodriguez and the complete disappearance of their offense. Star players Nick Swisher and Curtis Granderson have been awful this postseason and Rodriguez has regressed considerably.
The team is facing a huge task by having to come back from a 3-0 series lead, but the Yankees should know that it is not impossible. In 2004 the Yankees suffered a comeback from the Boston Red Sox from 3-0 down and that team went on to win the World Series.
This is baseball. Stranger things have happened.