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Carlos Correa's statement last week that Yankees legend Derek Jeter "did not deserve" any of his five Gold Gloves wouldn't be as controversial if Correa wasn't one of the hottest free agents on the market this offseason and would solve the Yankees' current shortstop problems. Goodness knows, he isn't the only person who has said such a thing.

Correa, 27, won a Rawlings Platinum Glove this year as the best fielder, regardless of position, in the American League. He also collected a Gold Glove (his first). He racked up 21 defensive runs saved, most in MLB among shortstops and seven more than runner-up Andrelton Simmons. He's no slouch in the field.

In fact, DRS was a large part of Correa's seeming diss of Jeter on an episode of "Me Gustan Los Deportes" ("I Like Sports"), a Facebook Live show hosted by former MLB star Carlos Baerga. Correa used Jeter's career numbers to illustrate the point that evaluation of defense has changed over the years because of the rise of advanced stats such as DRS.

"Derek Jeter. How many Gold Gloves did he win? Five. I think he won five. Derek Jeter did not deserve any of them," Correa, who has been an admirer of Jeter's, said in Spanish. "You know how much Derek Jeter's [DRS was] in his career? Negative 160 [actually, negative 162, per Fangraphs]. In his career. But your eyes can lie to you. Your eyes can lie to you. His fame . . ."
Heard in isolation, that snippet was a shot at "The Captain." And it came out during a period when the Yankees can bid on Correa, who reportedly turned down an offer recently of five years and $160 million from his old club, the Astros.
Jeter's fame served him well over his two decades with the Bronx Bombers, but it's not why AL managers and coaches voted him a Gold Glove winner in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2010 when he was roaring through his 30s. (Critics might say his jump throws and solid hitting were why.) He had one positive DRS figure his entire career, a plus-3 in 2009. Sabermetrics didn't help to decide fielding awards then, however; the eye test was still king.

Jeter passed the test. Correa noted that the eyes can lie.

Jeter's enduring popularity led some Yankees fans to rush to his defense Monday against Correa, who is a sworn enemy in parts of New York because he played for the cheating Astros in 2017, when they beat the Yankees in the ALCS.
But other fans — and, most importantly, Yankees management — know that Correa would be a massive upgrade over Gleyber Torres, Tyler Wade or any other internal candidate. Yankees shortstops tied for 25th in the majors this year with minus-14 DRS. Adding a top-notch player at the position is an offseason priority.

And Correa is top-notch. He heads a loaded free-agent shortstop class that also includes Corey Seager, Javier Baez, Marcus Semien and Trevor Story. The Yankees won't reject him because of a quote that may have been taken out of context. They would be glad to have him play Jeter's position — and very happy if he plays it better than Jeter did.

The Charlotte Hornets were clinging to a 99-98 lead with five minutes to play against Golden State. The easily excitable Hornets play-by-play caller Eric Collins was crackling with anticipation on every dribble in what was looming as a memorable early season win.
Despite the hope in the building from the home crowd, you looked at the Warriors lineup and saw the players on the floor.

Stephen Curry. Draymond Green. Andre Iguodala.

To that point, Curry had been decently held, tallying just 24 points. But surely he would break loose…

Charlotte, who were 7-7 coming into the night needed a big win. A highlight machine team, the Hornets play has been inconsistent through the early part of the season.

Rather than crumble under the pressure, the Hornets locked in on the defensive end, stifling the Warriors and inparticular Curry. Golden State would manage just four points the rest of the way, with Curry going scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting from the floor.

Try as he might, Curry couldn't shake loose from multiple Charlotte defenders and on this night at least, he failed to knock down the miraculous attempts.

The 106-102 win is big, but the way they executed defensively feels like something head coach James Borrego can lean on moving forward.

"We're trying to become a more consistent team in our effort, our execution. I think tonight was a good example of that," Borrego said.

"I think we were just locked in defensively. Our ball pressure, our hands, our activity. I thought our group was fantastic on Steph. He banks one in, you move on, he's going to make some of those shots. I thought in general we made it very tough on him tonight. The guys in that locker room deserve the credit, they were locked in from minute one."

An explosive offensive team, the Hornets have quickly become the darlings of NBA League Pass, with the LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges pairing providing as many highlight reel plays as any duo since the beginning of last season.

Aside from the jaw dropping passes and dunks, Ball and Bridges possess serious size, length and versatility that should bode well for a modern defense to have success.

In a positive sign, the Hornets have a defensive rating of 105.3 across 268 minutes when on the floor with big man Mason Plumlee.

As with all young teams, the defensive side of the ball usually develops after the offense, but for tonight at least, the Hornets flashed an ability to lock an opposition team down when they needed it most.

"To be a good team you've got to be able to close. I think we closed out tonight and it was more on the defensive end."

Now it's about consistency.