KK you're right that they were better with Jeter than without, my main gripe was that they moved A-Rod when Jeter should've been moved instead. Also its annoying the whole romantic nature of the Yankees, and how over the top it was during the Jeter years. I don't care that Billy Crystal saw Mickey hit one out, or that Joe Dimaggio never showed disappointment on the field.
And probably the biggest piece of it for me, is Jeter was the face of a team I hated during an era of baseball that was completely messed up IMO. 94-2005ish give or take was the peak of 2 things: 'roids and payroll disparity. The league has corrected both pretty well. Small market fans hated the way the league was set up, and the Yankees were the tar baby, and Jeter was the face of that team. So yeah, the butthurt still lingers a bit.
Now lets cheer on Salvy tonight!