Cliff Lee

The New York Yankees' two biggest free agent targets this season are most definitely long-time shortstop Derek Jeter and star pitcher Cliff Lee. 

It seems unlikely that they'll sign both, so in the hypothetical case that they only sign one, which will be more valuable to the team?

In my mind, there's not even a question about this—Cliff Lee.

Lee is one of the best pitchers in all of baseball; he may even be the absolute best. 

This is an extremely rough first draft of my pitching rankings and faces a lot of changes as the offseason progresses (as well as being expanded significantly).  Keep that in mind as you look things over.

Baseball is a unique sport for a lot of different reasons.

One of them is payroll. Unlike the NBA, NFL and NHL, there isn't a salary cap in MLB.

That's the main reason the Yankees and Red Sox are able to compete every year while the Pirates are close to 20 years of consecutive losing seasons.

Traditional big spenders like the Angels and the Tigers are going to have some money to blow. But there are some traditionally cheap teams looking to dish out some dough as well. Don't sleep on the Orioles, Nationals and A's to make a splash in free agency.

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.

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.

In the digital age, rumors fly much quicker than they used to.  It literally takes only seconds to post a rumor online and create a huge buzz over basically nothing.  The same applies to Phillies free-agent  right fielder, Jayson Werth.  Early this morning, a talk-show radio host mentioned that the Phillies had offered Werth a contract and that it was good enough for him to possibly sign.  Should you give credence to this rumor?  The simple answer is "No."

The New York Yankees have once again failed to reach their goal of winning a World Series Championship.  While the team was solid, it won nothing last year but a single playoff series.  Granted, it sounds pretentious to 29 other teams to call a trip to the ALCS a failure, but in Yankee town, that’s all it is.

Derek Jeter has been the subject of much debate in the off-season so far, ranging from his value as a fielder in the Gold Glove voting to his overall value as a player and icon to the New York Yankees.

Here's a debate that won't rage long with respect to Jeter: there can be no doubt that Derek Jeter is a no-brainer, first ballot Hall of Famer.

Now that the 2010 season, playoffs, post-season, and award season are all in the books, we have everything we need to take an extended team-by-team look at today's players and their Hall of Fame potential.

       Will he’ll be the third best shortstop on the team in a couple years?  Sure.  Don’t his career numbers make him a rich man’s Craig Biggio?  Of course.  But the Yankees need Derek Jeter as much as the Yankee captain needs the pinstripes.  The Yankees are built on quiet professionalism and championship legacy, and no player, now or on the horizon (sorry, Robinson Cano), represents the Yankee brand like Derek Jeter.

As baseball's offseason heats up, one of the more intriguing names on the market is former No. 1 overall pick and current Arizona Diamondback outfielder, Justin Upton.

Numerous teams are interested in the very young and talented outfielder and, as usual, one of the teams to make an inquiry is the New York Yankees. Although the Yankees do not have Upton at the top of their wish list, he could certainly become an option.