Mariano Rivera

No it’s not Jeter, Rivera or Pettitte and as far as I know Cliff Lee has never been a Yankee so who could it be?

As I type with complete and utter nausea, the player is Sergio Mitre.

No, this is not a joke, as the Yankees have signed Mitre for another year at $900,000 to bring his talents back to the Bronx.

What talents convinced the Yankees to make this decision?

Please, someone let me know ASAP.

MLB rumors continue to heat up the hot stove—or at least New York City—as we inch closer and closer to February.

And that magical date when pitchers and catchers report.

Around baseball, it's actually been a somewhat quiet offseason for player movement. No free agents of note have signed, with the exception of the reports that former Yankee Javier Vasquez will sign with Florida.

But not even the much-coveted Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford have been in the news as much as Derek Jeter's very public contract talks with the Yankees have been.

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.

Picture a franchise player who was once considered one of the best players in baseball.  Fans watched him grow from an ambitious kid to a superstar, to now what could be the twilight of his career.  This is the case of Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees.

While 2009 ended with a World Series championship, 2010 ended in disappointment.

While the Texas Rangers celebrated in front of their home crowd and were heading to their first World Series championship in franchise history, the 2010 offseason was beginning for the New York Yankees.

The Yankees and their 200 million dollar payroll, began their offseason earlier than expected.  Now multiple uncertainties surround this team, with some of the greatest players in franchise history becoming free agents.

Derek Jeter is still a free agent, much to the surprise of the entire baseball community.

Jeter's agent, Casey Close, has said that he is "baffled" by the way negotiations are proceeding and how little respect the Yankees organization is showing for their most iconic player.

The members of the "Core Four" have been the faces of the New York Yankees for many years. As the 2010 season comes to a close, one must realize that the Core Four cannot go on forever.

Andy Pettitte turns 39.

Derek Jeter turns 37.

Jorge Posada turns 40.

The Great Mariano Rivera turns 41 this November.

The great question is: How many more years will the Core Four continue to play?

Here is my observation of the Core Four, future Yankee legends.

Not only does the ALCS Game 6 loss to the Texas Rangers end the New York Yankees' quest to repeat as baseball's World Series champions, but it may also signify the end of an era.

No, not the end of a dynasty that some have spoken of, that would require more than one World Series title in 10 years to be spoken of in such terms. The last Yankee dynasty ended in 2001, or 2003 if you're generous.

My first weekend without Yankee baseball had me feeling how I imagine Mark Teixeira feels before his postseason at-bats: confused, helpless, and resigned to a fate that cannot be avoided.

The World Series is starting on Wednesday, and I can tell you I'll probably only have a cursory interest in it. Whenever the team that eliminated the Yankees advances to the Fall Classic, I have trouble rooting for anything but horrible things to happen to the American League entrant.

The Yankees 2010 season is now officially over.

There will be no ticket-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes in November. There will be no celebrating the 28th World Series Championship at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

After the Rangers defeated the Yankees 6-1 in Game Six of the ALCS, all the Yankees have in the winter is a bitter defeat by a team that outplayed them in the series and a lot of questions surrounding their team.