It was a tough loss for the New York Yankees last night as they not only lost game 1 to the Detroit Tigers, they also loss their captain Derek Jeter for the rest of the postseason. Read more after the jump.
After being down four, the Yankees made a brilliant comeback in the ninth inning tying the game up and forcing extra innings. The 12th inning however went from bad to worse.
Jeter was moving to his left to make a play on Jhonny Peralta’s grounder in the top of the 12th, but he landed awkwardly on his left foot and fell to the ground. Knowing something was terribly wrong with his ankle, Jeter rolled the ball toward Robinson Cano, wincing in pain as he lay on the dirt.
“For him to lay down on that field, I knew something was broke or torn completely,” Andy Pettitte said. “When I saw him not get up, I knew he was done.”
“It just didn’t look right,” Mark Teixeira said. “We knew something was wrong.”
Joe Girardi and team trainer Steve Donohue tended to the Captain, helping him to his feet and assisting him off the field as he put no pressure on the injured leg at all.
Jeter was brought to the trainer’s room, where an X-ray revealed the fracture. Team physician Dr. Chris Ahmad delivered the news to Jeter, who was surrounded by several people including Cashman, Donohue, Joe Torre, Tino Martinez and Reggie Jackson.
Cashman said Jeter was informed “that his season’s over, that you have a fracture and it’s something you can’t play through. Doc had to emphasize that because of who he’s talking to. Derek is as tough as they come, but I think Doc emphasized that this is what you’re dealing with.”
What was Jeter’s reaction?
“He didn’t have one,” Cashman said.
The fracture is in the same foot Jeter has been nursing for several weeks, leading Cashman to believe the injuries are related. Jeter had two separate bone bruises – one on the ankle and another on the foot – that he had been dealing with for most of the past month.
Jayson Nix will takeover and replace Jeter as starting shortstop. The loss of Jeter is no doubt a huge blow to the Yankees as they go down 0-1 in the ALCS. Game 2 is today at 4 PM, the Yankees have a tough road ahead.
