newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Back in December 2002, George Steinbrenner accused Derek Jeter of partying too much. Jeter wasn’t too pleased about the Boss' opinion.

Their disagreement eventually led to Jeter and George Steinbrenner doing Visa commercials together, those close to The Boss said he was testing the shortstop's resolve because he was going to name Jeter the captain.

He did that in June 2003, and Jeter, who was born in Pequannock, N.J., finished an injury-shortened season with a .324 average.

Yankee owner Hank Steinbrenner appears to have learned his lessons well from his late father.

CBS News reports he told reporters this week, "Too busy building mansions?" when asked about his team's poor finish at the end of last season. Steinbrenner used the plural when discussing his players' homes, but it's hard not to think he was talking specifically about Derek Jeter's mansion, known to the locals as "St. Jetersburg."

Things got tense between Steinbrenner and Jeter after their uncomfortable contract negotiations late last year. The New York Post reported that general manager Brian Cashman told Jeter that if he wasn't happy with the team's offer, he was free to look elsewhere. Jeter finally wound up with a $51 million, three-year deal.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay Online reported that Tampa’s building department issued a certificate of occupancy for the Yankee shortstop who calls Tampa his permanent home.

Construction began on the 30,000-square-foot, seven-bedroom, nine-bath mansion early in 2009. Jeter bought up the adjacent lots on which the home sits for $7.7 million in 2005 and 2006. The mansion is nearly the size of a Best Buy electronics store and currently is the biggest house, square-footage-wise, in the county.

Steinbrenner was asked if any other player was currently building a mansion.

"I am not singling anybody out, but maybe riding the wave of '09 was too much," Steinbrenner said of the aftermath of the Yankees winning their 27th World Series title by beating the Phillies.

A lack of concentration has never been a fault of Jeter, who had the worst season of his career last year when he batted .270. And Jeter did not start building the house the day after the Canyon of Heroes parade in November 2009. In the spring of 2009, construction was well under way.

"I understand most of it," Jeter said before Tuesday's spring training workout. "The house, I didn't understand. I'm not moving, so we won't be talking about this again."

Jeter often smiled and laughed during an 11-minute session with reporters. According to Tampa Bay Online, he pointed out that Steinbrenner used the plural "mansions" and that his name was not specially mentioned.

Jeter’s batting average last year of .270 was 44 points below his career average.

Jeter disagrees with Steinbrenner, when he said the 2010 team may have been "riding the wave" of the World Series title.

"That I didn't see," Jeter said. "I wouldn't say it was a lack of hunger. We got beat by a team that was better than us in that (ALCS) series."

ESPN New York reminds us the Yankees' open their Grapefruit League Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field against the Philadelphia Phillies.