Derek Jeter

I have made a decision: The 2011 major league baseball season began on April 8th.

I don't need to hear you tell me that I'm crazy, or stupid, or ugly, or a pervert; the voices in my head tell me that all the time (especially Paul; he's such a jerk!) This is not about logic, this is about survival. And we all know that the most important thing any organism can do, after eating deep-dish pizza, of course, is to survive. Don't argue with me, I didn't make the rules.

Is it possible to say a player is arguably the most overrated athlete ever to play professional sports and yet still believe his accomplishments make him a surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer?  Yes it is, and that player is Yankees legend Derek Jeter.

Protagonist and antagonist. Hero and villain.

Every novel has them, even poorly-written ones.  In many stories, they are easily defined. 

But what happens when it becomes difficult to delineate which is which?

It seems that the great stories—the ones that remain in our psyche—have a protagonist-antagonist dynamic that leans toward this type of ambiguity, causing tension and making us wonder:  Who is the good guy?

Opening Day in Major League Baseball marks the start of new life. 

Winter is turning into spring, "cold" is changing to "warm", and baseball is coming out of hibernation.

The early stages of the season can tell us a lot about a team: strengths, weaknesses and if they have the potential to make a run at the postseason.

Game No. 1 of 162 has been played for each team, and we take a look at what we learned about each team on Opening Weekend 2011. 

Another baseball season has gotten underway with a smattering of baseball games on Thursday, and once again spring is here...figuratively, if not literally.

Baseball, of course, is driven by statistics more than any other sport, and the game is filled with wonderful statistical milestones that set apart the mortals from the immortals.

The 2011 season promises to see many players crossing significant career milestones, with Derek Jeter crossing that holiest of holy marks, the 3,000-hit barrier.

Let's have a look at 20 significant milestones that we may see in 2011.

Today did not feel like Opening Day in baseball should feel. It was absolutely freezing at the stadium, windy, and at times we were hit with freezing rain/hail.

However, the Yankees looked pretty great for Opening Day. The bats came alive after a slow start, and the pitching looked top notch. 

CC Sabathia tossed six innings, giving up six hits and three runs (two earned). He had seven Ks and two walks, tossing a total of 106 pitches. 

That’s right the Boys of Summer are back!

Baseball season kicks off this week and ladies, you have got to be prepared. The days of just knowing that A-Rod is a hottie, or that someone hit a home run, or who’s dating who are over.

Heading into the season, while many felt the Yankees' best arrangement would be with Brett Gardner sitting atop the lineup, the constant chatter was that Derek Jeter would remain the Yankees leadoff hitter. 

For or better or worse, the Yankees legend was getting the limelight, despite a .348 OBP in the leadoff spot in ’10, while Gardner would be hitting ninth.

However, all of that changed yesterday.  Jack Curry of the YES Network posted on Twitter:

No player has felt the demand to perform every plate appearance like Alex Rodriguez has since Dave Winfield was nicknamed Mr. May in the 1980’s. However, this week there were several instances of Yankee fans going to bat—so to speak—for Rodriguez over Derek Jeter.

Although in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter’s appeal among baseball fans is eons from fading into the sunset.