Edgy DC wrote: Well, you could really go off the deep end and conclude that a .330 hitting Jeter has been deemed to be good for baseball and American League infielders have been ordered to play him impossibly deep --- give him the cheapies to pump the stats and polish his image, but not tilt the outcomes of games so much as letting flares drop into the outfield for doubles would. Could this not be true (that it's the defenders?) he plays on a team nicknamed the Bombers, when he's actually more like Luis Castillo. Everyone played Castillo short, but if he'd had the short porch, or had just taking a full freaking swing once or twice, defenders would've lined up normally and he would've gotten more hits, had a higher BABIP like Jeter, and hell actually contributed more. The comparison isn't a bad one, Castillo was often the leader in infield hits. I've noticed the same with Jeter but it's been going on a while now. I think it also has something to do with his funky inside out swing, that puts some sort of crazy spin on the ball that infielders have more trouble fielding it. I don't get it though, it's Yankee Stadium and if he hits it hard it'll float out, so play him like Castillo and you'd do well right? Also he gets a ton of benefit of the doubt in terms of beating out throws, and hits that should be errors.