Nightengale: Only silence after Jeter departs

• Derek Jeter will be out at least three months
• Jayson Nix or Eduardo Nunez likely take over at shortstop
• The club is already down 1-0 in the AL Championship Series

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees stood in front of their lockers with vacant looks and misty eyes. When they finally spoke, their voices were trembling, almost quivering, trying to keep their emotions in check.

The Yankees didn't lose just a game Saturday night, 6-4 in 12 innings to the Detroit Tigers.

They lost their franchise.

Derek Jeter, one of the greatest players who has ever worn a Yankee uniform, broke his left ankle in the 12th inning and is out for the rest of the season.

Jeter, who was carried off the field writhing in pain, was informed of the news after X-rays showed a fracture. He was emotionless, Yankee general manager Brian Cashman said, when told of the news.

It was everyone else that looked shaken, many unable to even talk.

Former Yankese manager Joe Torre, now working in the commissioner's office, was with Jeter when the captain was informed of the news. So was Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson and former teammate Tino Martinez. They gasped when the words came out, trying to grasp the reality:

Fractured ankle. Season over. Three months rehab. No surgery. Should be ready for spring training.

"The shock of the bad news,'' Cashman said, "there wasn't much dialogue after that.''

The injury occurred when Jeter, racing to his left, snared a ground ball hit by Jhonny Peralta. He gloved it, but immediately went to the ground. This time, he didn't get up.

He laid on the ground, screaming in anguish. He was immediately carried off the field while Yankee Stadium went silent.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi and trainer Steve Donahue immediately rushed toward him. The entire stadium, which had been rocking like a Springsteen concert in the ninth inning on Raul Ibanez's game-tying home run, now was silent.

They looked in disbelief, watching Jeter being carried off the field and disappearing into the dugout and through the tunnel.

"He's as tough as they come, and when Derek Jeter needs help getting off the field," Cashman said, "you know it's bad.''

Jeter, who won't need surgery, was still in the trainer's room when news reporters were let in the clubhouse. His street clothes were gone. And a security guard stood in front of his locker preventing pictures.

"This is a very, very difficult moment for us,'' Ibanez said. "It's tough knowing that he won't be with us.''

The injury, Cashman said, most likely was related to the bone bruise that Jeter sustained in Game 3 of the AL Division Series against the Baltimore Orioles, when he fouled a ball off his foot. He was used only as a DH in Game 4 and returned to shortstop in Game 5 not wanting to talk about the pain.

"We have seen what he played through in the last month and a half,'' Girardi said of Jeter's nagging injuries, "and the pain he has been in. And how he found a way to get through it.

"I mean, Jeet has always been as tough as a player as I've ever been around. And you know that's what he showed was toughness.

"I mean, even when I went to the field and I was going to carry him in, and he said, "No, do not carry me.' That is the kind of guy he is. He is going to play through injuries and everything … He never tells me what is bothering him, ever.

"I'm sad for him because I know how much he loves to play, and play in these type of situations. You can see the disappointment in his face. Everyone in this room knows who he is.''

Girardi didn't even have time to address his players after the game. They likely will have a meeting today, he said, and discuss it, almost like a support group. Jeter may even talk, telling them that they can't feel sorry for themselves, the same message All-Star closer Mariano Rivera delivered in May when he suffered a season-ending knee injury.

"I'm not sure how we'll deliver it, how we'll talk about it,'' Girardi said. "When we through it with Mo, Mo spoke to the team and told us to get it done. … Jeet is going to tell us, 'Let's go.' That's what he's going to tell us.

"I have to tell you, I don't want to be without him. Nobody in that room wants to be without him. But we have to move on. And I don't say that in a cold way, but we're trying to win a series here."

The Yankees will activate Eduardo Nunez, who will share the shortstop position with veteran Jayson Nix. Alex Rodriguez won't be an option, Girardi said. There was no time to even think who'll become the new leadoff hitter.

"Yes, I admit without a doubt, this is a big loss,'' Cashman said. "But is it something that we are going to allow us to stop dreaming and achieve our goal? No, we're not going to allow that.

"This is a big loss. But we got to do this for him. They'll do everything they can to rally around the circumstance and rally around him.

"The way to honor Derek more than anything else, and these guys all know that, is to get the job done in his absence. So that's what we're going to focus on.''