I need to get this off my chest.

Before I get the inevitable “27 RINGS, LOOZAH!!” comments from Yankee fans, relax for a second.

I have nothing but respect (not R2SPECT) for Jeter. He was the central figure on one of the most dominant baseball franchises for a long time. He’s a model citizen off the field. He played the game the right way. He hustles, he produces, he always says the right things, yadda yadda yadda. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a knucklehead and just likes to argue for arguments sake. There, we’ve gotten that out of the way.

Now, with that being said, nobody is more about Derek Jeter than Derek Jeter.

Jeter claimed he announced his retirement at the beginning of the season so that questions of his longevity would not be a distraction to the team. It’s always about the team.

Right. Because there is nothing distracting about a nightly tribute, curtain call, and gift ceremony at every stadium.

He is frequently the last one out of the dugout and one of the last back in, soaking in endless ovations from the crowds. He happily accepts the gifts and homage teams pay to him during road trips. He creates a massive advertising campaign with Nike, depicting a “who’s who” of celebrities all tipping their cap to him. And yet he creates an advertising campaign with Gatorade, showing him walking through the streets of New York on his way to the stadium, greeted with cheering and crying fans just dying to see the Captain one last time.

But, it’s all about the team, right?

Actually, Jeter and the organization are, as they always have been, on the same page with what they’re both seeking: Money. The timeliness of his retirement announcement was perfectly calculated so the Yankees organization could cash in big time. And if there’s one thing they’re good at, it’s making money.

Tickets, hats, shirts, jerseys, flags, glasses, pens, beach towels, dog leashes, Christmas ornaments. You name it, the Yankees are selling it and slapping a Jeter logo on it.

Thought Yankee tickets were expensive the past few years? Trying buying them under the notion that it’s one of the last chances you’ll get to see Jeter possibly hit a single from Row 43 of the upper-upper-upper deck in right field. That’s easily worth double the price, right?

Now, for the final three weeks of the season, the Yankees will wear a commemorative Derek Jeter “Captain” patch every game. Yes, wearing a patch honoring a player who is still currently on your team.

I’m sorry, did he die?

Not only that, Steiner Sports, a high-end memorabilia dealer who has an exclusive deal with Jeter and the Yankees, is selling anything and everything Jeter related. Hundreds of items ranging from signed baseballs for a few hundred bucks to game-worn uniforms, going for $25,000.

For the low price of $409.99, you can even own a Derek Jeter game-used sock. A SOCK! You don’t even get the pair, just one!

Prior to this season, Jeter was cashing some fat checks for these deals. Now that he’s retiring, can you imagine what he’s making?

Oh right, I forgot, there’s actual baseball being played in New York!

And it certainly isn’t great baseball by Jeter. But don’t tell Yankees fans that. They’re too busy ignoring the fact that the Yankees are going to miss the playoffs this year and their Golden Child is a big reason why.

The Yankees are 20-20 since the beginning of August and sit five games out of the Wild Card. Barring some sort of miracle, they will not be making the playoffs.

(Misery loves company, “loozahs”)

But back on August 8th, the Yankees were 61-54 and just a half game out of the Wild Card. Not a bad place to be.

Yet, since the beginning of August, Captain Clutch has hit just .181, including an abysmal 0-for-28 streak he just broke last night. He’s second on the team in at-bats, yet ranks at the bottom of the league in offensive categories, and last in baseball among 150 qualifying hitters in slugging percentage.

Despite the plummeting results, manager Joe Girardi refused to move Jeter down in the batting order. Even little league coaches would know to move a player slumping that bad down in the lineup.

So why did he keep him there?

The Yankees were very much in the playoff hunt. No reason to let your foot off the gas pedal in the beginning of August.

But, what about Jeter? It’s his farewell tour. We can’t drop him in the order, can we? He’s The Captain… We can’t let him go out like that…

Apparently not. And the Yankees suffered for it.

They say nobody is above the team. Nobody is bigger than the game. That is, of course, unless you’re Derek Jeter.

Now Yankee fans will be left to wonder if they sacrificed the post season to keep the mystical aura of the retiring Jeter in tact.

But they don’t care. They paid to see Jeter play one last time. And they bought their Jeter hats, shoes, and shirts to go along with it.