Derek Jeter turns 36

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Times are changing -- and fast.

Don’t believe me? Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter turned 36 today.

What do you say to that?

Jeter says it doesn’t matter.

In interviews, Jeter has talked about playing seven or eight more years. That would put him at 43, maybe 44. One has to believe that his stay at shortstop would be over long before then, but that wasn’t what he said to ESPN New York’s Ian O’Connor a year ago.

‘I don’t see any reason why not,’ Jeter said, ‘but I don’t sit around thinking about that. I seriously think about one year at a time, and when the season’s over I think about getting ready and in shape for the following year. But I don’t see any reason why, if I stay healthy, I can’t play that position for a long time.’

There has been considerable talk about age in New York with all the players responsible for the Yankees’ dominance of the late 1990s who still wear pinstripes -- Derek Jeter (36), catcher Jorge Posada (38), starting pitcher Andy Pettitte (38), closer Mariano Rivera(40) -- getting older.

Each still plays a large part in the success of the Yankees. And over the next few years, the Yankees’ lineup is bound to see changes.

But if Jeter has his way, we won’t have this conversation again until 2017.

--DeAntae Prince