Ever since the offseason meetings began, Derek Jeter‘s contract fiasco with the Yankees has had more curves than many of the starlets he has dated in the past. Coming off the worst season of his career where he set career lows in Batting Average (.270), OPS (.340), and Slugging Percentage (.370), Yankees GM Brian Cashman told him to “Shop around the free agency market.”

This almost dooming quote stemmed after Jeter rejected the Yankees offer of a 3 year $45 million contract. His 10 year $189 million contract from 2000 has just expired and he has officially become a free agent. Most Yankee fans will agree with me that we love having him in New York, however we have to admit that a contract this lucrative is simply asking too much.

Jeter is no longer a superstar, yet he is asking for superstar money. Cashman and the organization literally told Jeter, “It’s our way or the highway.” And why not? The Yankees, in my opinion, offered a fair contract, would love to have Jeter on their team, and would hate to see him go. The only kicker, let us not forget, is that baseball is a business and must be treated as such, on and off the field. The Yankees have an invested future is such talent as the 23 year old Eduardo Nunez and the 24 year old Ramiro Pena, both of whom have performed in Jeter’s absence.

Granted, Jeter is still quite a useful player. He can still hit and can still field. The only question is the worth of his particular caliber and whether or not the Yankees are willing to pay him what some fans are saying is already an inflated contract. Sure the Yankees would love to have him, especially for the media, given that Jeter has 2,926 career hits. He is 74 away from reaching the benchmark of 3,000. I know the Yankees well enough to know that they get off on the “pride, tradition, pinstripes” TM along with the 27 rings and the hall of famers. They have never in their storied history had a player who has reached 3,000 in a Yankees uniform. If the contract dispute is settled and an agreement is reached, Jeter could be that one.