I was just watching SportsCenter and they showed the results of their poll which asked who has been more valuable to the Yankees in the past 15 years - Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera? The results were 65% to 35% in favor of Derek Jeter. This got me wondering what the results would be from a purely Yankee fan perspective (assuming the vast majority or all of those reading this are Yankee fans). So without further ado, let's see what you think!

I was watching ESPN First and 10 this morning and the topic of discussion between Pate Forde and Skip Bayless was whether the Yankees are just that good or if they are living dangerously with 11 walk-off wins this season. Pat Forde said they are just that good noting the fact that the Yankees are 28 games over .500 and that the walk-offs have a trickle-down effect in the clubhouse which motivates each player to step up to the plate and come through in the clutch. Of course, Skip Bayless had to disagree and say otherwise. He started out by saying that he's been rooting agianst the Yankees all season and commented on how the Boston Red Sox swept the Tigers with two emergency starters, while the Yankees almost got swept by the Toronto Blue Jays. (Which doesn't make sense because they won game 2 in 9 innings and game 3 was the only walkoff.) Bayless said that the Yankees' walkoff wins are only indication that they are a lazy team that has a mindset that they will eventually win a game in which they're trailing in the late innings. Here are some of his recent Tweets on his Twitter page about the Yankees and Kevin Youkilis' suspension after the brawl with Rick Porcello:

Joke that Youk got 5 games. Drilled 2 straight nites after RSox did not mean to hit Cabrera. Helmet not thrown, tossed! Missed! No punch! (about 14 hours ago from web)

No way Youk should be suspended for throwing helmet. Porcello running from him after hitting HIM w/ hardball at 90+ mph. Please. (about 23 hours ago from web )

Got a kick out of Youkalis going after Porcello, who obv. drilled him. Youk threw helmet at the kid, took him down. Didn't think had in him (7:14 PM Aug 11th from web )

Other than Jeter, Pettitte, Mo, I find these Yankees hard to root for. All this laughing, pie-ing, frontrunning -- I'm not buying. (9:52 AM Aug 10th from web )

I guess he forgot about the childish antics of the 2004 Red Sox. Hmmm....

Sorry, I'm not writing off the Red Sox with 53 games to go. Bats colder than Yankees' beer right now. Will change. Wake, Dice will return. (9:44 AM Aug 10th from web)

The main point of this post is to really see if anyone can tell me why Skip Bayless hates the Yankees so much. He seems worse than any other ESPN personality out there...I've seen some Boston sports personalities give the Yankees more credit than Bayless. I read his biography online...he's from Oklahoma, not Boston. I just can't figure it out. I've never been a big fan of his anyways and I usually don't take any of his takes that seriously...just for what they're worth (next to nothing). After seeing his take on the Yankees today, I can't really see myself taking this moron any more seriously.

I know in the past few days a lot of discussion has been going on about whether or not Joba should be in the Yankees' bullpen or not. I read the post today about Francesca on May 27th going crazy on the caller and I have heard a lot of good points from both sides of the argument. As for myself, I have been on the fence with this whole issue. There have been times this season when I wanted Joba as a starter and times when I wanted him in the bullpen. Right now, I can't decide. With Wang starting to come back to form and Hughes showing some really promising performances, I just don't know what exactly to think.

What happens if/when Wang comes back to the rotation and Hughes continues to perform like he has been? Do the Yankees try a 6th man every-other-start rotation? If not, who should be removed from the rotation? My brain says Joba because he has proven to be extremely successful in late inning relief (especially considering Bruney is on the DL), but my gut says keep him in the rotation because he was brought up a starter in the system.

I'm just curious to see what you guys have to say (or think) about Jose Veras. I'm never sure with this guy. Sometimes he seems like a decent middle/late reliver and other times he seem like a joke out there. I know that if the Yankees send him down, he has options and they would lose him and that their bullpen is really hurting with injuries right now. I'm just curious to get an overall idea of what yout overall thoughs are.

I first about this story of Selena Roberts claiming that A-Rod tipped off opposing batters to pitches in her upcoming book A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez on Mike Francesa's show today on YES. Personally, I think this is pretty crazy. But like Mike said today on his show, a lot more research has to be done and it's too early to start making any accusations.

What do you guys think?

Where's Joba in the rotation? Andy started in game 1 vs. Kansas City and now (according to yankees.com) CC is starting game 2. I checked on the Yankees' website and Job is still listed as active and he's on the depth chart still, so why isn't he set to be the starter tomorrow? Of course, if CC does good I wont mind him starting but a 4 man rotation seems a little odd to me.

Maybe I'm missing something, but maybe someone can enlighten me. Thanks!

I was just watching Baseball Tonight on ESPN and they were talking about the state of the Seattle Mariniers this upcoming season. Buster Olney believes that the Mariners will trade third baseman (one of the best in the MLB according to Olney) because of his expensive $13 million salary. As many of you would probably guess and not be surprised, Olney believes that the team to go after Beltre will be the Yankees because of A-Rod.

What do you guys think about Adrian Beltre and the possibility of the Yankees going after him in a trade?

Who would the Yankees trade for him if they were to go after Beltre?

                                                             2008 STATS

BA: .266     HR: 25     RBI: 77     OBP: .327     SLG: .457

A story appeared on Yahoo! Sports today about a starting pitcher on San Diego State University's baseball team named Stephen Strasburg who consistently throws at speeds around 101 mph. It's really a great story about this kid and what he has accomplished. Going from a freshman closer at SDSU to a starter with Team USA in Beijing in only a span of 3 years...the only collegiate athelete on the Olympic roster.

It keeps showing up, 101 again and again, and as scouts peek at the number, they ask aloud what everyone else in the baseball world wonders: Will Stephen Strasburg someday throw a baseball harder than anyone has before?

I'm interested to hear your guys' thoughts on this kid and what MLB team has the best shot at getting him. Of course I would love to see the Yankees somehow get him, but if he enters the draft anytime soon...it looks like it will be up to the Nationals, Mariners, Marlins, Royals, etc. to grab him.

The day after a recent outing – he had 15 strikeouts in seven scoreless innings against BYU on Friday – Strasburg leaned back in the dugout and marveled at the rapidity of his rise. How he went from an immature, overweight high school senior ignored by every major league team to the most coveted amateur player ever in three short years. How in another three months he’ll have super-agent Scott Boras negotiating on his behalf the largest contract ever given to a ballplayer out of the draft.

Executives believe the asking price for the Washington Nationals, who hold the first overall pick, will start at $15 million. It’s even been suggested that Boras could pull a fast one and attempt to destroy the draft slotting system by shooting for a deal that essentially would treat Strasburg as a front-of-the-rotation starter before he’s thrown a professional pitch.

Here's a video of Stephen in action.

Here's a very interesting article...especially for Italian-American fans of baseball like myself. Written by a Red Sox fan, but that's alright...the article is great! If you think about it, baseball has seen a lot of great Italian-American players in its history. Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto to name a few. And there are even notable players today in Rocco Baldelli, Mark Defelice, David Delucci, and more.

Here's the article at the Bleacher Report.

So this Tuesday I will be at the Yankees - Reds game and I was wondering if anyone here had any tips who would be easiet to get some autographs. I figure that since both Jeter and A-Rod will not be there because of the World Baseball Classic and the cyst that CC, AJ, and Teixeria will be swamped with fans. I was hoping to take advantage of this and use it as an opportunity to possibly get autographs from guys like Posada, Pettite, Joba, Cano, Damon, etc. They will probably be swamped too but I don't think as much as CC, AJ, and Teixeria. (However, if I could I would get them too.)

The last time I got a Yankee autograph was from Giambi during his first season with the Yankees in Spring Training...I need a current Yankee!!

(I got George Steinbrenner's autograph too, but that's different. lol)

Any ideas...?