Look Ahead: Jeter about to hit special mark

Weekend Buzz: Tigers underrated

NEW YORK -- Any day now, Derek Jeter will get his 2,722nd hit, which will make him the Yankees' career leader and will lead to two questions:

1. Is it really possible that no one has had more than 2,721 hits for the Yankees? Not to diminish anything that Lou Gehrig did, but 2,721 hits would make you the franchise leader for exactly four non-expansion franchises: the Indians (Nap Lajoie, 2,046), the A's (Bert Campaneris, 1,882), the Phillies (Mike Schmidt, 2,234) and the Yankees.

Derek Jeter is more concerned about the final score, not individual success. (Getty Images)

The Indians, A's and Phillies have combined for 13 world championships (and just seven in the past 79 years). The Yankees have 26.

2. Will we really remember Jeter for this record, or for any other individual record? Or will his legacy be the wins and the championships, especially if he adds one (or more) before he retires?

"The championships," said Alan Trammell, who was still playing in the American League when Jeter came up, and later managed against him. "And that's probably one of the things that really drives him, that it's been a while since he's been [in the World Series]."

Trammell, whose 2,365 hits rank seventh in Tiger history (1,535 behind Ty Cobb), has long been a Jeter admirer, in large part because he feels that Jeter plays the game the way Trammell believes it should be played.

"He plays the game to win," Trammell said.

Other things Trammell admires?

"The consistency," he said. "That's what any player strives for. And he's been very durable, not exactly Cal Ripken-ish, but close. He's been consistent, and tough-minded -- plus, he's talented. He's talented, but he has a work ethic."

Sure enough, when reporters asked Jeter about the hit record over the weekend in Toronto, he responded by talking about the team.

"We are trying to win games," he said. "That's the bottom line."

As for his consistency, the Elias Sports Bureau reports that Jeter is about to become just the fourth player to have at least 10 seasons with 190 or more hits. The other three are Pete Rose (with 13), Cobb (with 12) and Stan Musial (with 10).

Through Sunday, Jeter had 2,718 hits, three short of Gehrig's record. He's getting there in a hurry, too, with 44 hits and a .431 batting average in his past 26 games.

The other stories to watch this week:

Getting hot at the right time: With four weeks still to play, the Cardinals' magic number is already down to 15. The Yankees' magic number for clinching a playoff spot is down to 16. Meanwhile, the Giants and Rockies seem ready to go right to the end before deciding the National League's wild-card team.

Advantage wild card?

"Everything from now on is like the playoffs," Giants shortstop Edgar Renteria said. "It's good, because then you've already played like that, and you go in with the same intensity. A team that makes the playoffs like that is hard to beat."

Maybe, maybe not.

Since 2000, the playoff team that had the best September record has won the World Series just once (last year, when the Phillies were 17-8 in September, tied with the Dodgers for the best record). Meanwhile, the playoff team that had the worst September has won the World Series three times (the 2000 Yankees, the 2001 Diamondbacks and the 2006 Cardinals).

"I think clinching early is an advantage," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, whose 1990 world champion Reds clinched the division with four games left in the season. "I don't think you want to clinch on the 10th of September, but somewhere from the 15th to the 20th, with 10 days or so to go to set things up, I think that's a big advantage."

Trammell, Piniella's bench coach with the Cubs, goes with the early-clinch theory, based on personal experience. His 1984 Tigers, who led wire-to-wire and were able to coast through September, went on to coast through October, too. His 1987 Tigers, who had to win their final four games to make the playoffs, were quickly eliminated by the Twins.

The Cubs look to the future: While the Cubs have yet to be officially eliminated, Piniella said Sunday that he wants to look at young starters Esmailin Caridad and Jeff Samardzija before the end of the season.

"It would behoove us to take a look at the young kids," Piniella said.

The Cubs reacted to last year's playoff ouster by trying to add left-handed hitting to balance the lineup. They might react to this year's disappointment by looking for a true leadoff hitter who can run.

"We're last in baseball in stolen bases," Piniella said. "I think that tells you something."

Can the Royals win it for Zack? No starting pitcher has ever won the Cy Young Award with fewer than 16 wins (in a non-strike season). Kansas City's Zack Greinke, who leads the majors with a 2.22 ERA and has had a Cy Young season, has 13 wins with four weeks to go.

Can he get three wins in four weeks?

Maybe, but Greinke has just three wins in the past 10 weeks, thanks to a severe lack of support from the Royals offense, defense and bullpen. He's 3-9 in 12 starts since the beginning of July, despite a 2.60 ERA (second-best in the American League to Jon Lester in that span).

Three games to watch: 1. Twins at Blue Jays, Thursday. How lucky for the Twins, who get to see Roy Halladay in his first start since a one-hitter against the Yankees? Not very lucky, especially because it also means that Halladay won't pitch in Toronto's four-game series against the Tigers, which begins Friday. The Tigers could face Greinke on Thursday, but Royals manager Trey Hillman is considering pushing Greinke back to the weekend series against the Indians, in order to give him a little extra rest, so they could miss him, too.

2. Rays at Red Sox, Friday. Eleven months ago, they were playing for a chance to go to the World Series. One month ago, it seemed they’d at least be playing for a spot in the playoffs. Now, the Rays are nearly out of the race, and the Red Sox are trying to hold off the Rangers for the wild card.

3. Dodgers at Giants, Sunday. Brad Penny gets his chance. Remember, when he was told there would be 42,000 people at AT&T Park who hate the Dodgers, Penny quickly said: "42,001."