Jeter won't talk about ankle anymore, will likely start season on DL

It looks like that rehabbing left ankle of Derek Jeter's isn't the only thing that's getting cranky these days and, prior to his Triple-A game Saturday, the New York Yankees shortstop made it clear that questions about his health and the ankle's setbacks and progress are growing old.

“I will not address how anything feels anymore,” Jeter said. “It’s good. It’s not broken. Some things you’ve got to work through, so it’s really pointless to sit here and say each and every day, ‘How’s it feel; does it feel better?’ It’s pointless. Some days are good, some days are bad, but you’ve got to work through it. So that’s what I’m going to do.”

If the Yankees Captain banned the ankle talk, before playing for the first time since being scratched Tuesday due to stiffness in his surgically-repaired left ankle, he was more than willing to talk about his at-bats after the game.  Even if he did go 0-4 with four groundouts.

“Results, just like when you start, aren’t the most important thing,” Jeter said. “It’s just to see pitches and that’s what I did, and then we’ll move from there.”

It probably wasn't the groundouts that people noticed but the way Jeter gingerly trotted down to first base on the wet field after he made contact with the ball.

"No, not at all, " The 39-year-old Jeter said when asked if he was running to first at full speed. "It takes time, but I was also cautious, the field was kind of wet and I almost wiped out twice coming out of the box, but that is something you build up to.

"I feel good," he added. "The good thing is that I am seeing it good."

Jeter — who also has his eyes focused on Opening Day —  never tested his ankle running the bases, trotting down the first-base line each time on the slippery field. In between at-bats, Jeter hit some balls off a tee with Reggie Jackson, who was on hand for Jeter’s game.

He will "more likely than not" miss the Yankees' April 1 season opener with continued soreness in his surgically repaired left ankle, general manager Brian Cashman said about his shortstop on Sunday, according to The New York Post

The Yankees have sat the captain for the second time in a week. The team leaves Florida on Thursday. It would take a miracle for Jeter to not be left behind to start the season on the disabled list — and he knows it, according to Cashman.

"I've met with Derek Jeter today," Cashman said. "I told him what I think and he didn't fight me on it. That's reality."

Jeter was not available for comment.

"I think that he understands the reality of the situation more today than maybe the other day," Cashman said. "Because he went out there and DH'd in a minor-league game and then, lo and behold, he's feeling some more discomfort . . . For me, I'm kind of there already."