AL East

Derek Jeter will be a New York Yankee next season. Let's just get that out of the way.

Both sides have been a little wrong and a little right in the ongoing negotiations for the free agent and future first-ballot Hall of Famer.

Pretty much everyone knows about the two gems of this year's free agency period, Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford. Even though the pool is relatively weak this year, there are other big names out there. One of the most notable is that of Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth.

Werth had a career year this past season, hitting .296 with 27 home runs, 85 RBI, and a league high 46 doubles, en route to an eighth place finish in MVP voting. As such, there are many that could use his bat in the lineup.

Which teams have the best chance to land him, and who is the front runner?

The Yankees' original offer of three years, $45 million wasn't good enough. Jeter reportedly is seeking an annual salary of $23-24 million for a four or five-year contract, but New York GM Brian Cashman laughed that one off the table.

Trades are a funny thing.

They are a part of every sport, and the one common characteristic that can describe their nature is their inherent volatility. Trades can be a savior to a team, bringing them to the pinnacle of success, or they can be the perpetual oppressor, blamed by fans for years of struggle and hardship. Sometimes, the same trade can be viewed either way, depending on the point of view of the fan.

No sport has such a voluminous history of transactions as America's pastime, so it's no surprise that deciding which were the absolute worst was no small task.

You have to hand it to Hal Steinbrenner: He's more than just a man with a outstanding wave of auburn hair. There are some serious brains under that Superman coif.

Imagine if someone asked you, in one word, to describe the last week of As The Jeter Negotiations Turn. Now throw out "stupid", "awkward", "embarrassing", "unnecessary", and"distasteful". What are you left with?

Derek Jeter continues to seek a massive contract from the New York Yankees, who are showing no signs of caving into the future Hall of Famer's demands.

According to multiple reports, Jeter is seeking a five or six-year deal worth over $20 million per season.

The Yankees have countered with a three-year contract worth a reported $45 million.

Let the bargaining begin.

It didn't take long for negotiations to go public, with the Yankees openly encouraging Jeter to test the open market.

It sounded like a dare, and it was.

Today's baseball players simply have no idea the leverage and position they hold in negotiations thanks to sacrifices of some of the game's greatest players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

Before Curt Flood and the reserve clause, players either played or sat out.

Ownership held all the cards and ownership wasn't afraid to clench its teeth when it came to salary negotiations with some of the game's most loved and important icons.

I love when players and agents use their degrees from Common Sense University. It’s not often these degrees are used, so when they are it brings a smile to my face.

The New York Yankees are one of the most decorated and historic franchises in sports.

Names like Mickey Mantel, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra and the Babe are just a handful of the historic names to don pinstripes.

“Winning Championships” is the Yankees motto. Baseball is a team sport, which makes individual accomplishments merely an added bonus. Awards for anything other than a World Series will not absolve a season’s failure.

The New York Yankees front office was faced with some problems following the team’s outstanding 1937 season in which they won the pennant by 13 games and defeated the New York Giants in the World Series.

Joe DiMaggio received $15,000 in 1937 and intimated that $25,000 would not be sufficient in 1938. Of course, the reality of the situation was that Joe had only two choices—play for the Yankees or don’t play.  Joe didn’t have the option of becoming a free agent.

There was much more.