Derek Jeter: The Next Yankee Manager?

I know, I know, it sounds far fetched. There's probably no way, in this day and age, any front office would be willing to hand over the reigns of a team to a player-manager, even one as potentially admirable as Derek Jeter. But the New York Sun's Tim Marchman floated this idea today, and you know what? It ain't half bad:

He's a proven winner, a champion who knows New York intimately and has earned the respect and admiration of his peers; a man who's demonstrated complete and absolute mastery of the art of saying nothing of any interest whatsoever, so crucial for a Yankees manager; a man supported by all elements of the fractious Yankees bureaucracy; a man whose appointment as manager would not satisfy the organizational yearning for macho bluster but would be such a triumph of sentiment that it wouldn't matter. He's a man who can be groomed for the job starting right now, one who can be trusted to never embarrass the team or its fans, and one who could not only immediately surpass his Hall of Fame predecessor in the hearts of the faithful but easily manage the team for 30 years: The shortstop, the icon, the captain. Derek Jeter.

In comparison to the other candidates within the Yankees organization, Jeter actually seems like a viable option. That might have more to do with just how bad all of those options seem, but still: this could work. It used to happen all the time (Marchman references Frank Robinson) and if any player could pull this off in this day and age, it would be Jeter.

At the same time, Derek might be better off focusing on his own range a wee bit. The hitting's up this year, but that fielding ... yeesh. Maybe he and Torre should just switch positions outright, and Jeter can DH. Actually, maybe it's just time Jeter pitched. And played left field. And bat boy ...