I don't remember who won the 2010 Best Male Actor Oscar, but he should turn it over to Derek Jeter after his performance in Wednesday nights game against the Rays. With the Yanks and the Rays starting a series on Monday, the question in my mind now is how long in that series will it take before Jeter takes one between the shoulder blades and doesn't have to act?

Jeter's Year

As we all know, Jeter is having a bad year at the plate and having his usual less than stellar year in the field. And he's in his free-agent year. Not a good combo.

But...

Even having a bad year, we all know there is NO WAY the Yankees will let him walk. He's won 5 championships, will be within 80 hits of 3000 and has an outside shot at 4000 hits. They and Jeter know that Yankee fans would attempt to burn down the Stadium. The only to decide really is how long the contract will be and for how much.

The dollar amount has no interest to me at all. He's going to get his, plus whatever he makes in endorsment money. And he deserves it for what he's done. And given what we do know about how much pride Jeter has, do we really think he's going to take less than what Alex Rodriguez makes? I think not.

No, the real issue (in my point of view) is what position he will play. I've written and said in conversations that Jeter was, and always has been, an average fielding shortstop. No team, I repeat no team, has ever won a World Series with a starting shortstop over the age of 36.

The only spots to play Jeter at this point would be left field or right field. He can't be moved to 3B because you-know-who is there. 2B? Occupied by some guy named Cano. 1B? Teixera is there for the next 5 years. This leaves right field, but Nick Swisher is there. Wow, that leaves left field as the only option. And this means that either Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner have to go. (My choice would be Granderson) But will Jeter volunteer to move? That's the real question.

Also, the Yankes have to move Jeter down in the order and put Gardner in the leadoff spot. If he was any other player, he would've been placed lower in the lineup a long time ago, but he gets a pass because he's Derek Jeter. Personally, I hate seeing him hit leadoff because he strikes out way too much. He can't bat second because then all you see is a 6-4-3 double play. At this point in the year he should be hitting 8th or 9th.

It's going to be interesting in the playoffs and in the offseason.