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Derek Jeter's season of horrors continued over the weekend when he re-aggravated his surgically-repaired ankle that cost him most of the 2013 season. He underwent tests that were sent to his surgeon in North Carolina, which seems concerning, but the Yankees aren't ready to pull the plug on Jeter's season just yet.
As the Yankees took the field on Monday to prepare for the first of four games at Camden Yards against the Orioles, Jeter was receiving treatment and did not participate in any baseball activity. Joe Girardi said that he could have used Jeter in the case of an emergency, likely one that would involve Eduardo Nunez dying on the field again, but it seemed obvious that few scenarios would have Jeter playing in the series opener. The plan was for rest and re-evaluation on Tuesday, but Girardi did not seem optimistic about Jeter's chances for Game Two. The Yankees obviously want to avoid another situation where Jeter plays on his weak ankle enough that it ends up succumbing to the work load and breaking again like it did in spring training. With so few days left in the season and the teams' playoff hopes dwindling with losses and the passage of time, it seems like it would make sense to shut Jeter down for the season and hope for a brighter 2014.
Brian Cashman refused to entertain the idea of ending Jeter's season early on Monday when prompted by the media. Maybe he truly believes that Jeter's issue this time is only something that will take a couple days to repair. Maybe he knows that there is no way Jeter would want them to permanently send him to the bench for the remainder of the year with the team still within striking distance of a playoff spot. Unfortunately, everyone saw what happened in the playoffs last season when Jeter tried to play through an injury. With the way his 2013 season has gone so far, it wouldn't really be surprising for him to end up causing more harm than good by trying to play through the pain he is obviously still experiencing. The Yankees have to decide if putting their Captain on the field every day at less than 100% is worth it when the playoffs seem like more of a dream than reality at this point. Jeter's playing days aren't yet over, but another significant injury could change that.