"Nightmare." Derek Jeter does not have the kindest of words when it comes to describing the season the New York Yankees. The shortstop is struggling. The Yankees are struggling. The captain is not happy. Now possibly out for an extended period of time, Jeter is tired and done speculating about his return.
An MRI exam has revealed that Jeter has a strained right calf muscle, just another setback in a season that cannot seem to get starter for the Yankees captain. Jeter had hoped to be playing the rest of the season after coming back from an ankle injury, but now is at risk of missing a large chunk of the remainder of the season.
"It's been terrible, like a nightmare," Jeter said after the Yankees' 6-3 loss to San Diego on Sunday. "The whole season's been a nightmare, so I really don't know what to tell you. I wish that wasn't the case, we were sitting here talking about something other than injuries. We'll see what happens. I have no idea."
Jeter cannot recall a certain play where he felt like he re-injured his leg. He started to feel pain move in slowly, forcing him to miss the final two games in New York's series with the San Diego Padres. He could land back on the disabled list in the next few days.
Manager Joe Girardi acknowledged that the shortstop had suffered a setback and could be facing more time away from the field.
"I can't tell you what that means or what we're going to do with him," Girardi said. "I'm not sure what we're going to do considering where we are at this point of the year. I think that if he had a normal spring training and he wasn't coming off an injury like he did, I don't think these things would be happening. My guess is next year will be different, but only time will tell."
All of the Jeter news is just another twist in the Yankees' season. Now it seems Alex Rodriguez could return to the team before Jeter does. Rodriguez is expected to be back with the team on Monday in Chicago. Girardi notes that is that is the case, Rodriguez will certainly be in the starting lineup.
