Last year, A-Rod won the Gold Glove at shortstop, and it'd be hard to argue he didn't deserve that one. He made only eight errors at a crucial defensive position (David Eckstein also had eight, but in 40-something less games; Jeter had 14 in exactly 40 less), had the highest fielding percentage of any qualified shortstop, and he turned more double plays than any of his comtemporaries.

Not only that, his range factor and zone rating (check out STATS, Inc. for that) are considerably better than Derek Jeter. All that considered, my guess is that A-Rod will have a relatively painless transition, but that defense up the middle will suffer because Jeter has clearly lost a step over the years.