A-Rod ready if Jeter stays hurt

With Derek Jeter out of the lineup with a quad injury, the Yankees aren't opposed to sliding Alex Rodriguez over to fill the gap and dropping a backup in at third.

I'm positive that there are numbers available to quantify having talent at third versus short, but is it so great that the Yanks have no choice but to move Rodriguez, throw him out of whack and possibly provoke Jeter?

It's all well and good to come up with a solid contingency plan, but was it the best decision to admit to entertaining that idea? Worse yet, why would you disclose that to the media?

With the waves finally settling out between the two stars, it's probably best to treat them like two older dogs at feeding time - keep them at a respectful distance and pray you don't start a turf war over something stupid.

(Image from: nytimes.com)