AL East

As the Derek Jeter contract negotiations degenerated into a very public he-said, she-said battle of egos, Mariano Rivera and his representation quietly went about the business of re-upping with the only team he has ever known.

The two sides soon agreed on a two-year, $30 million deal, the news made official via press release. Apparently, an awkward press conference where the player appeared to be wondering if he could choke his GM to death and get away with it was deemed unnecessary.

The New York Yankees have to divert whatever attention is left from all the Cliff Lee drama, but there is no denying the painful disappointment still lingers.

Losing Kerry Wood to the Chicago Cubs was unexpected, but the signing of former Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Russell Martin gave the first ray of hope thus far in this offseason.

Why is signing Russell Martin such a positive? For two reasons:

Baseball's offseason player movement is in full swing at the moment, albeit with a certain team from New York being much quieter than anyone expected. Today, word came out that the Blue Jays had joined in on the fun and signed a free agent.

The Boston Red Sox have once again shaken up their roster, executing a huge trade with the San Diego Padres for Adrian Gonzalez and signing one of the biggest free agents of the 2010-2011 offseason, Carl Crawford.

Returning are popular veterans David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia (can we call Pedroia a veteran now? He's achieved more in three MLB seasons than most players do in 15.) How will this play out in the lineup? Read on to find out.

After the Red Sox stabilize their pitching staff, I'll do the "Potential 2011 Red Sox Roster: Pitching Staff."

The clock is officially ticking on Jonathan Papelbon‘s time as closer in a Boston Red Sox uniform.

The Yankees have a strong need for a starting pitching.

They lost out on Cliff Lee.

Andy Pettitte is undecided about retiring or coming back for one season.

I've thrown out suggestions like Brandon Webb and Carlos Zambrano.

The Yankees are rumored to not be interested in Webb, and a trade for Zambrano is unlikely because he has a full no-trade clause.

So if those options are out, they need to get a little creative.

A.J. Burnett is coming off an extremely disappointing season with the New York Yankees, and as if things cannot get any worse, he has to deal with ESPN Radio's Colin Cowherd.

Burnett did not need this especially, as he is going to try and bounce back from a dreadful season in 2010.

Cowherd ironically made cowardly comments regarding a divorce between A.J. Burnett and his wife. Cowherd made comments about Burnett's wife being spiteful and vindictive.

A.J. Burnett is fuming, steaming and most likely darn-right mad.

He's mad at ESPN voice on the radio, Colin Cowherd.

This one's a doozie.

Seems the guy with the strange name—that would be Mr. Cowherd—said something on his show about the New York Yankees pitcher that he might, at this moment, want to take back.

Ah, but such is the beauty of our modern day sports talk radio. Once you say it, it's ON the record. No misquotes, no pleading, no back-peddling.

The New York Yankees are in trouble, no denying that. The Boston Red Sox have flown past them this winter, and the Yankees' inability to lure free-agent ace Cliff Lee with a colossal seven-year contract offer leave them hurting badly for starting pitching.

Zack Greinke, the second-best available pitcher and current ace of the Kansas City Royals, seems to be on their radar screen.

Assuming that the Royals do not lessen their sky-high price tag for Greinke, though, the Yankees are hardly in the right position to make a deal.

As Christmas approaches, fans of the New York Yankees have been left with nothing but coal in their stockings.  This isn't by any means meant to be a slight on recently acquired catcher Russell Martin whose signing makes for a decent "stocking stuffer."  It is the big prize though that has so far eluded the Yankees.