He wants everyone to congratulate him for dumping Scott Boras. He approached as a newsworthy moment. He acted like this was a noble thing to do.

It never ends with Teixeira. He acts like he invented the game of baseball and he wants people to marvel every move he makes.

It gets annoying.

There is nothing worse than a guy acting self-important, and Teixeira does this all the time.

He claimed he dumped Boras because he was tired of people knowing him as Boras' client rather than be a baseball player.

If that is not being self-centered, then what is?

First of all, no one is interested in his reasoning. No one cares.

Second of all, it's funny he talks about it now. Where was he when Boras helped him land lucrative contracts throughout his career? He's being disingenuous by citing his association with the super agent as his cause him to move on. He didn't complain when the money was coming to him.

This is about his being protective of his image. Obviously, he cares about what people think of him. That type of stuff belong to high schoolers. Professional players should just do their job and keep quiet.

There's no need to go promote themselves for something they do.

It's funny, Tex found religion about his image. He is the one that brings all of this on himself and now, he's blaming Boras for bad association.

This sounds like he wants to pass the buck rather than looking at the mirror. He should try that. This is a guy who likes to educate people about the game.

He treats the local media as if they are dumb. He gets defensive when he deals with the tough questions.

He whines about getting hit by pitch often. This is a guy who loses his temper when that happens. He intentionally injured Angels catcher Bobby Wilson by ramming through him after getting a hit by pitch last year.

Remarkably, Teixeira sounded indifferent about the whole thing when asked about it. He did not even bother calling him.

Actions define what a person is about, and too many times, Teixeira comes off looking bad. For him to blame all of this on Boras, it's absurd. It's up to the individual to conduct himself in a proper manner.

This is not the first time he had those problems. He's been like that with the Texas Rangers. He was sensitive to criticism over there.

When Ron Washington had the courage to call him out, he was pouting to the point it affected his play.

The Rangers had no choice to trade the moody player. He became a bad influence to the young players, and he took the life out of that team with his complaining.

The Rangers have done well without him. They hired players with character and it was good enough for them to go to the World Series last year.

Yes, Teixeira won a championship two years ago, but it's easy to go play for a team that buys a championship every year. Besides it's not like he was doing anything in the postseason two years ago.

The fact the Rangers won without him was not lost on him. Maybe that inspired him to change his agent and reinvent himself.

If he was serious about changing his image, he shouldn't have gone out and made a news conference out of it.

If he is going to be serious about this, he should be stoic to the media from now on. He's better off anyway because he adds no insight to his quotes.

We'll see how Teixeira conducts himself from now on. It's hard to think he's going to change. No one ever changes. It's one thing from a kid to grow up at some point, but when a man is set in his ways, there's no reason to think he will change.

This is why it's odd he would dump Boras. What good does it do?

He means well by citing his reasoning to dump Boras, but that's not going to do much. It's up to him change his ways.

Also, fans worry about him hitting a baseball. They want him to get over his April slump that haunted his career. If he does that, no one will care if he is a jerk. It seems Teixeira is too worried about what people think of him. If that's the case, he does not mean well at all.

He has to do this based on his heart. If he is really serious about this, he has to show it.

We are going to see how he does this year. He can't keep coming up with excuses to justify his actions.

By firing Boras, he put the attention on himself and that's the way he likes it.

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Didn't see this one coming. Everyone thought Lee would be a Yankee. After all, players never reject money from the Yankees. This would not suit the Players' Association well if they did.

The Yankees were led to believe Lee wanted the money and lifestyle. They assumed he would take a page from CC Sabathia and go for the money.

When Lee signed that extension, it was shocking, awesome, and hilarious. It was a great day in baseball when the ace rejected their overtures.

One can only envision what Goon was thinking. He beamed with joy. He praised Lee's character. There's no question that pitcher is his favorite player for doing the right thing.

Good for him. There's no reason to be mad at him. He did what was right for himself and his family. His wife did not like anything about New York, especially with the way she was treated in the playoffs.

There's no point in having him if he does not want to be there. The Yankees experienced this with Carl Pavano, and it did not go well after his first start with the team. Plus, he did them a favor. No team should be overpaying a starter for seven years, especially when the guy is hitting his thirties.

It was clear he wanted to stay in Philadelphia all this time. He wasn't happy about being traded in the first place last year. The Phillies traded him because they didn't believe he would sign with them.

Apparently, that team was on his mind all year. He pitched well for the Mariners and the Rangers, but that wasn't enough for him to be happy. He was hoping he would be traded to the Phillies during the trade deadline. The Phillies tried to get him but it never happened, so they settled with acquiring Roy Oswalt.

It was interesting Lee took his time to make a decision. This writer thought he would stay with the Rangers. He had every reason to stay. They were going to pay him well. That's a team that is going to be a powerhouse for the next seven years. There was no pressure to win. Plus, Arkansas is an hour away from Texas.

Those were good selling points, but it came back to wanting to go back to Philadelphia. He enjoyed it over there. He loved the fans and he loved his teammates. He enjoyed being around Charlie Manuel, who is a player's manager.

He hoped the Phillies somehow were in the race. If they were, he'd sign on their dotted line.

No matter how much money Brian Cashman offered, it wasn't going to be enough. In life, money doesn't mean happiness. Lee applied that theory well.

It was clear he didn't want the grind of playing in New York. He didn't want to be in a situation where winning was a relief. For him, he needed fun. He has it in Philadelphia.

Good for him. It's about time a baseball player did something different. Lee did something others won't dare to do. They were tempted by the almighty dollar or the lure of the Yankees.

He sacrificed all that money just to be on a great team. He showed he wasn't about himself. He didn't need to be the man or deal with the attention of being a Yankee.

The Yankees got what they deserved here. They had no backup plan. They did not do their homework on Lee. They should have focused on other players while they were focusing on their prized recruit. No one should feel sorry for them.

It's amusing ESPN wasted their segment focusing on what the Yankees can do. It's doubtful baseball fans care one way or another. Even Yankees fans are not worked up on that.

Now, the Yankees have to do it the hard way. That is developing pitchers. What a novel concept, right?

This should be a good thing. It's time they learned getting a pitcher to sign with them is not easy as they thought. It's never a guarantee they can trade or hope to get that guy. After the Lee experience, they should know better.

They shouldn't be so sure that Lee is an aberration. In baseball, players are competitors. Most of them either stay or go to a team where they can make a difference. They don't join a team where they take the easy way out.

Lee's decision could be a trend. Players can realize they don't have to be a Yankee to be a winner. They can join other teams. They can win while being comfortable.

Baseball should be proud of what Lee did. Now, small-market teams don't have to fret about their core players going to the Yankees. He set an example that being a Yankee doesn't have to validate a career. He also set an example where guys can be content without much money.

It's rare the Yankees get shut out in this type of situation. We always hear how players want the money, and how they love the lifestyle of New York. Yankees fans have been smug and arrogant forever.

This also means the Yankees are not going to win a championship this year. The Red Sox and the Rangers are the two best teams in the American League.

The Yankees don't have the pitching. Their hitting has gotten older. It's hard to believe Cashman will make moves that will make them better. Their prized prospects are overrated too, so don't expect them to make a difference.

Now, there's no guarantee Lee will have success in Philadelphia. The Phillies look like an aging team over the last two years. Most of their players are hitting at the wrong side of 30. Lee was better off staying in Texas.

Lee is going to try to win a championship and be happy at the same time. If he falls short, don't expect him to lose sleep over it. He's content in being happy, and making sure his family is happy.

This is what sports should be about. Too many times, there is too much talk about how it's important to be a champion to validate a career. Lee doesn't need that. He pitched in the World Series in the last two years. He will try to get one more next year, but he's not going to think of himself as a failure.

He doesn't need to be a champion like Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Sabathia need to be. He's not going to apologize for it either.

It would be a nice story though if he won a championship in Philly. It would show the Yankees he didn't need them to be a champion. Here's hoping that happens.

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In fact, they shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame period. Neither did anything special to earn that honor, so it's hard to believe either of them will be there.

Steinbrenner did nothing to merit being in the Hall. He caused damage to the sport by escalating salaries, and he basically destroyed the chances of small-market teams winning championships. He created the divide between small-market teams and big-market teams when it comes to generating revenue that has not been resolved.

If that wasn't enough, he was suspended by baseball a couple of times. He made illegal contributions to Richard Nixon's re-election campaign and hired gambler Howard Spira to find out about Dave Winfield's charities.

He tarnished Spira's legacy by not paying him and turning him in to the authorities. Who needs friends like that?

For all the money he spent on the Yankees, he made the team a laughingstock for most of the '80s. That fact should negate his chances of going to Cooperstown.

This guy had too much baggage; he wasn't beloved by his fellow owners, treated employees like slaves, reneged on his promises to his employees, tried to prevent assistants from running another team's franchise and never took accountability for the team's failures.

Talk about Steinbrenner giving Steve Howe, Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden second chances. He wanted to rejuvenate their careers, but he wasn't doing it to be a savior. He wanted to take credit if those guys succeeded, and he wasn't afraid to let people know it was him that played a role in their success.

When looking at these incidents, it was an easy decision not to vote him in. Besides, owners have no business being in the Hall. they don't play the game, so there's no reason for them to be in. Yes, they run a business. But, the Hall should be about players and managers—nothing more than that.

Go ahead and talk about his success. People should remember something: The Yankees went on a great run after Steinbrenner's suspension, and when he came back, he rode on their coattails.

Steinbrenner achieved success when then-Yankees general manager Gene Michael built the farm system and starting to bring in quality guys. That happened only when the the Yankees owner was suspended.

This is the same owner who wanted to trade all those prospects. He wanted guys who can win now and did not want to wait another five or six years. Once he came back from suspension, he started his nonsense. The prospects flourished, and it resulted in the "Core Four" of Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada.

Imagine if Steinbrenner traded them all: where would the Yankees be now?

Basically, the Yankees won in spite of him. He contributed spending money by getting the best players, but it's easy to do when he has many resources to work with in the biggest media market in the world.

What Steinbrenner did wasn't impressive. His bobos will say so many good things about him, but people shouldn't be fooled. The Johnny-come-lately Yankees fans will say great things about him, but those folks weren't around during the dark days of Yankees baseball.

If he wasn't winning, he wouldn't be beloved here. He would be treated as bad as M. Donald Grant. There would not be any adulation he received after his death.

Honestly, there was nothing to like about the guy. He gave great quotes, and that was it. Most of the time it was for comic relief.

As for Martin, he was an overrated manager. He was fired everywhere he had been, and he won championships in spite of his work with the Yankees. Earl Weaver out managed him at every opportunity.

There was nothing special about Martin. He was always controversial in every stop. Teams fired him because he could not control his temper and he drank often.

If he did not like a player, he would do everything possible to make his player miserable. Ask Reggie Jackson for details.

Martin burned out pitchers often. He never knew how to work with stars. He fell in love with role players, which is amusing since they did nothing.

This guy was also a bigot. He never worked well with African-Americans, and he wasn't any better with Jewish players. He wanted guys that would kiss his fanny rather than listen to their input.

There was nothing to like about him. Martin was all about himself. He was a sideshow at home and at the ballpark. He was a fixture at nightclubs and bars.

If Martin didn't do any of those things, he may have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago. Writers may have voted him in even though he doesn't deserve it based on his work.

He was his own enemy. He felt everything had to be his way. He thought the game was about him and not the players. He never respected anyone.

ESPN featured The Bronx Is Burning in 2007. This drama revealed everything about Martin, and the writer took notes of every moment of those scenes. The impression was the Yankees manager was not the guy to root for.

There's no question the committee showed their vendetta on Steinbrenner and Martin. They wanted to make both of them pay for their actions. It's easy to complain, but those two guys have no one to blame but themselves for their situation.

If they did not get in the first time, it's hard to think they will ever get in. The committee made their minds up, and there's no reason to think they are going to change their minds on both of them.

Those guys are proud men, and they take their vote seriously. They know who made an impact on baseball and who did not; they value integrity in the Hall, and that's the way it should be.

The Hall is not a place for cheaters, criminals and jerks. This is a sacred place for guys who made the game a better one. It's for guys who made the job a better place.

This does not fit Steinbrenner and Martin. Those two caused more harm than good. If anything, they were an embarrassment to the game.

It's a joke that there is a debate about this. It's funny to see people get worked up by all this. Yankees like to think everyone is out to get them. That's not the case at all.

This is about the body of work. As good as it looks for both men, it really wasn't that special.

The committee got this one right, and they would get it wrong if they ever vote for either Martin or Steinbrenner.

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In fact, they shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame period. Neither did anything special to earn that honor. It's hard to believe either of them will be there.

Steinbrenner did nothing to merit being in the Hall. He caused damage to the sport by escalating salaries, and he basically destroyed the chances of small-market teams to win championships. He created the divide between small-market teams and big-market teams when it comes to revenue.

If that wasn't enough, he was suspended by baseball couple of times. He made illegal contributions to Richard Nixon's re-election campaign, and he hired gambler Howard Spira to find out about Dave Winfield's charities.

He tarnished Spira's legacy by not paying him and turning him in to the authorities. Who needs friends like that?

For all the money he spent on the Yankees, he made that team a laughingstock for most of the '80s. That should negate his chances of going to Cooperstown.

This guy had too many baggage. He wasn't beloved by his fellow owners. He treated employees like slaves. He reneged on his promises to his employees. He tried to prevent assistants from running another team's franchise. He never took accountability for the team's failures.

Talk about Steinbrenner giving Steve Howe, Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden second chances. He wanted to rejuvenate their careers, but he wasn't doing it to be a savior. He wanted to take credit if those guys succeeded, and he wasn't afraid to let people know it was him that played a role of their success.

When looking at his incidents, it was an easy decision to not vote him in. Besides owners have no business being in the Hall. They don't play the game, so there's no reason for them to be in. Yes, they run a business, but the Hall should be about players and managers, and that's it. Now, it seems the Hall is hiring different sorts of people for being in, and that is oversaturation right there.

Go ahead and talk about his success. People should remember something. The Yankees went on a great run after Steinbrenner's suspension, and when he came back, he rode on their coattails.

Steinbrenner achieved success when then-Yankees general manager Gene Michael built that farm system and brought quality guys. That happened only when the the Yankees owner was suspended.

This is the same owner who wanted to trade all these prospects. He wanted guys who can win now. He did not want to wait another five or six years. Once he came back from suspension, he started his nonsense. The prospects flourished, and it resulted to the Core 4 in Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada. Imagine if Steinbrenner traded them.

Basically, the Yankees won in spite of him. He contributed spending money by getting best players. It's easy to do when he has many resources to work with in the biggest media market in the world.

What Steinbrenner did wasn't impressive. His bobos will say so many good things about him, but people shouldn't be fooled. The Johnny-come-lately Yankees fans will say great things about him, but those folks weren't around during the dark days of Yankees baseball.

If he wasn't winning, he wouldn't be beloved here. He would be treated as bad as M. Donald Grant. There would not be any adulation he received after his death.

Honestly, there was nothing to like about the guy. He gave great quotes, and that was it. Most of the time it was for comic relief.

As for Martin, he was an overrated manager. He was fired everywhere he has been, and he won championships in spite of his work with the Yankees. Earl Weaver outmanaged him at every opportunity.

There was nothing special about Martin. He was always controversial in every stop. Teams fired him because he could not control his temper. He drank often.

If he did not like a player, he would do everything possible to make his player miserable. Ask Reggie Jackson for details.

Martin burned out pitchers often. He never knew how to work with stars. He fell in love with role players, which is amusing since they did nothing.

This guy was also a bigot. He never worked well with African-Americans, and he wasn't any better with Jewish players. He wanted guys that would kiss his fanny rather than listen to their input.

There was nothing to like about him. Martin was all about himself. He was a sideshow at home and at the ballpark. He was a fixture at nightclubs and bars.

If Martin would not do any of those things, he may have been in the Hall of Fame long time ago. Writers may have voted him in even though he doesn't deserve it based on his work.

He was his own enemy. He felt everything had to be his way. He thought the game was about him not the players. He never respected anyone.

ESPN featured The Bronx Is Burning in 2007. This drama revealed everything about Martin, and this writer took notes of every moment of those scenes. The impression was the Yankees manager was not the guy to root for.

There's no question the committee showed their vendetta on Steinbrenner and Martin. They wanted to make both of them pay for their actions. It's easy to complain, but those two guys have no one to blame but themselves for their situation.

If they did not get in the first time, it's hard to think they will ever get in. The committee made their minds up, and there's no reason to think they are going to change their mind on both of them.

Those guys are proud men, and they take their vote seriously. They know who made an impact on baseball and who did not. They value integrity in the Hall, and that's the way it should be.

The Hall is not a place for cheaters, criminals and jerks. This is a sacred place for guys who made the game a better one. It's for guys who made the job a better place.

This does not fit Steinbrenner and Martin. Those two caused more harm than good. If anything, they were an embarrassment to the game.

It's a joke that there is a debate about this. It's funny to see people get worked up by all this. Yankees like to think everyone is out to get them. That's not the case.

This is about the body of work. As good as it looks for both men, it really wasn't that special.

The committee got this one right, and they would get it wrong if they ever vote for either Martin or Steinbrenner.

Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com

One would think his Twitter page would about the Knicks' surprising win against the Hornets last night. It was a signature win they were looking for. Instead, he wrote about the Red Sox acquiring Adrian Gonzalez. That was his first tweet of today.

Unreal, but that should be expected from a NY sports talk show host. All the talk show hosts on WFAN and 1050 ESPN Radio talk about for 365 days is baseball. It's embarrassing. The Jets have a crucial divisional showdown with the Patriots Monday night, and the Knicks have a good start for their standards, but all the talkies want to talk about is baseball.

We have 10 professional teams in town. It can't be that hard to come up with a topic about those teams. It represents laziness from the hosts. They do not work to do their homework. To Roberts' credit, he at least talks about the other teams in town.

The rest of the talkies should be ashamed of themselves. Craig Carton has no business in sports radio, especially after his embarrassing interview with Mets manager Terry Collins the other day. Joe Benigno knows nothing about sports. Mike Francesa has been overrated for years, and he was only good when Chris Russo worked with him. Steve Somers should be in retirement.

ESPN Radio 1050 isn't any better either. Neither stations have any interest in talking sports period. For being the flagship station of the Jets, the hosts do a terrible job covering the Jets. They spend maybe 10 minutes per show talking about the Jets, and move onto the Yankees.

Being the flagship station of the Jets, coverage should be better. But it isn't.

WFAN's Mark Chernoff and 1050's Justin Craig mention the public likes baseball more than any other sports. This is hogwash. Yes, baseball is big here, but so is football and basketball.

The Giants and the Jets have good fan bases. Go to sports bars or read the message boards, and the passion can be felt from there. For the general managers for their respective flagship stations to say there is not much interest in football is insulting.

The Jets are playing for homefield advantage, division and respect Monday night, yet the talkies focus on the contract negotiations of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. It's a waste of a topic. Everyone knows Jeter and Rivera were not going anywhere, so it's pointless to talk about it. It's remarkable why both sports stations went overboard on it, but whatever.

It's sad though. Decades ago, fans would get quality sports talk around here. Hosts would talk about anything in the world of sports. There was plenty of football talk back in the day. In the '90s, it was Knicks talk all winter long, and even in the summer. That's a thing of the past now.

Even if the Jets win the Super Bowl, don't expect the hosts to start being interested in that team. The Giants won the Super Bowl few years ago, and they only got a day's coverage. There was not much talk about them during their playoff run.

It's embarrassing. Sports radio shows in other towns talk about other sports. Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis and other good sports towns don't spend all of their energy talking baseball only. They talk about other topics in town. Heck they even talk about what goes on in national sports. What a concept.

That should put both sports stations in town to shame. Either the stations are not creative enough to talk about other sports or the hosts have no clue.

It's hard to blame football fans for using Sirius XM Radio for their football fix. Nowadays, fans use podcasts from bloggers to get their sports fix. One would think both stations would get a clue, but that doesn't been the case. They believe the formula of talking baseball works.

It's hard to argue with that strategy, but it gets old. This listener does not listen to sports talk radio anymore. There is no point listening to a talkie ramble on a sport 365 days a year. It's boring and stale.

New Yorkers complained for years, but with no results. It's remarkable why their comments are being ignored. Sports radio does not exist without the fans. Talkies do not become famous without listening to the public. There is this arrogance where sports talk format can survive without the fans. It doesn't work that way.

The newspapers are no better either. Read the back pages of the Daily News and the New York Post, it's all Yankees all the time. There are more stories about Cliff Lee than there is with the football teams. Coverage for a guy that may not be a Yankees gets more priority than couple of Super Bowl contenders. This is ridiculous.

Only in New York, this happens. It's hard to know why. There is nothing special about baseball. It gets redundant after watching it for six months. At some point, a fan deserves a break from all this.

It's ridiculous a newspaper has to waste its budget on covering the winter meetings. Most towns are not even going to do it. Only in New York, this happens. There's no reason to do this.

We get the Yankees because of their brand. We know they always buy players, but it should not merit four or five pages from different baseball writers.

Then, there are the regional sports networks in town. SNY feature three sports talk shows in Daily News Live, Wheelhouse and Loud Mouths. The topic revolves around baseball, and being that they are the regional sports network for Mets baseball, it shouldn't be surprising. To their credit, they manage to incorporate other sports in their discussions.

It would be nice if we go one day without talking baseball. It's not too much to ask. Baseball is life here, but there has to be a balance, right? As fanatical as Boston fans are, even they know too much baseball is overload.

It's another good reason why this New Yorker hate the Yankees. Because of them, he is subjected to baseball year round.

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Sabermetric bloggers mocked the writers for that selection, and this started the war between mainstream media and bloggers.

On this day, the stat freaks won out. They campaigned all year for Felix Hernandez to win the Cy Young Award, and yesterday, they got what they wanted. The Mariners ace won the AL Cy Young outright, with the Rays' David Price the runner-up and the Yankees' CC Sabathia third.

The voters made the wrong choice in 2005, but they did the right thing this time around. This was a no-brainer.  Hernandez was the best pitcher in baseball this year. Watching him pitch this year, he stood out the most compared to Price and Sabathia.

Hernandez led the league in ERA and innings pitched, and he was second in strikeouts. Plus, he pitched well against the best teams this year, going 7-4 against the elites. He was 3-0 against the Yankees, holding them to one run in 26 innings with 31 strikeouts.

That's all he had to do to impress this writer. The other stats that fantasy geeks want to talk about mean nothing.

Just because Hernandez did not get that many wins, no one should think any less of him. It's not his fault that his team stunk or his team did not give him many runs. If anything, it’s a compliment to Hernandez that he won 13 games despite anemic support.

Fortunately, that did not matter. It's about time. The number of wins is fine, but if a pitcher is decent at best by winning 17 or more, it doesn't mean that pitcher is Cy Young-worthy. There are other stats that matter in winning the award, and Hernandez beat Sabathia in other categories that matter.

Sorry, folks. Sabathia was not deserving of that award. He was mediocre at best this year, when you think about it. He showed that in the postseason.

Last year, anyone can make a case for Sabathia being a Cy Young winner. He was a dominant pitcher. He went deep in games in the regular season, and that helped him handle the load in the postseason. His ERA and his ability to handle the pressure in New York made him worthy of it.

It didn't happen this year. Yes, he won games, but he went through a drought at one point when it came to wins. He was hit hard, and he never could establish any dominance out there. Teams were not afraid to face him anymore. He struggled to protect leads.

His inconsistency came back to haunt him in the postseason this year. It wasn't an accident voters voted him third. If anything, he should have been awarded fourth place, with Boston's Jon Lester ahead of him.

Sabathia received consideration because he pitched for the Yankees. He pitched in a market where he got all the attention. People knew about him from watching him on highlights every fifth day.

It was interesting that several New York writers campaigned on his behalf this summer, even though he was not the ace the team had paid him to be.

The consensus felt that Sabathia would win the Cy Young because of the market he was in. It would have been easy to write Sabathia in because of his number of wins. Fortunately, the writers understood this time.

It showed they paid attention to what Hernandez did. They did their research on all the pitchers. They looked at Hernandez's strengths rather than his losses.

This is how voting should be done—not based how popular a pitcher is or how many wins he gets. It was refreshing to see the voters get this right. If only Santana would have gotten that break in 2005.

This is a victory for small-market teams. Normally, their players get screwed because of a lack of attention from the national media. If a team is bad, what a player does is irrelevant.

It's good to know small-market teams matter in this situation. Maybe now this will make players realize playing for a small-market team is not a bad thing.  It’s also nice to realize ESPN is not in charge of voting, and that their influence with the writers means nothing.

Don't think Hernandez knew that. He was emotional when he heard the news. This award clearly meant a lot to him. If players discount that, they are lying. Most players play the game for accolades and winning.

He had to be sweating, worrying if he was going to be screwed. After all, not many people were talking about him on ESPN's Baseball Tonight or the MLB Network. The discussion was either Price or Sabathia. Hernandez received only token mentions.

Fortunately for him, justice prevailed. The only people who are complaining are Yankees fans, which is hilarious, yet sad.

Yankees fans shouldn't be crying here. After all, they get all the breaks, as it is. This is a moment that should be about Hernandez's development, not about how Sabathia got screwed.

This has nothing to do with anti-Yankees bias. Voters don’t vote for agenda purposes, despite what Michael Kay thinks.

Fortunately, it won't be a debate in the New York papers today. There's no need to, either. This reader would rather read a preview of the Giants-Eagles game or the ineptness of the Knicks.

Look at the bright side, Yankees fans. Felix will be pitching in the Bronx one day and, maybe, we'll hear complaints about Hernandez being screwed for being a Yankee.

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George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin stand out the most on the list. It certainly will get people talking. There will be critics and supporters speaking out on those two candidates.

This writer does not mind if Steinbrenner is in the Hall of Fame. Sure he destroyed baseball by escalating salaries, but he should be in the Hall of Fame for giving coaches and players second chances. He cared for their well-being.

Martin is another story. He has no business being in the Hall of Fame. His conduct was an embarrassment to baseball.

This is a guy who killed himself because he was so into drinking. There goes a lack of credibility right there.

Talk about what a great manager he is. Talk about how he knew how to win. Talk about how he got the best out of his players.

Those are fair points, but let's not forget some of his transgressions. The guy was fired often because of his behavior. This is a man who liked to spite his boss. He promoted fighting in baseball by having his pitcher throw at batters.

The man was a racist. Look at his treatment towards African-Americans. Ask Reggie Jackson and he will tell you what a bad man Martin is. Jewish players dealt with the same treatment.

If he did not like a player, he would treat the player like an outcast. He would do everything possible to humiliate that person. Jackson endured that painful memory. It's something that won't be forgotten.

This is a man that assaulted his players. Ed Whitson and him got into a fight in a bar, something that expedited Whitson's departure. In an incident like this, Whitson should have charged his manager with assault.

This is a man that found a way to humiliate Steinbrenner at every opportunity. He would not listen to orders from his boss. When he was told not to drink, he did anyway. When he was ordered to bat Jackson cleanup, Martin defied him. He would rip Steinbrennber publically in the media.

It was one thing or another with this insecure egomaniac. It's remarkable how Steinbrenner hired him back so many times. He had a soft spot for a crazy person.

Of course, Steinbrenner loved winning. Martin won, so that's why he came back so many times. Still, it was not worth bringing him back.

Any manager could have won with the talent the Yankees had. Steinbrenner was buying players back then too, so he could have hired Dick Howser or Yogi Berra back then too.

Martin never cared about Steinbrenner. He was only worried about himself. He took advantage of an owner for his own fame.

For Martin to consider himself a great Yankee, it's a joke.

Does this manager seem Hall of Fame worthy to anyone? Not for this guy. Besides, he should have won more championship with the Yankees to merit being in the Hall of Fame.

Joe Torre is going to be in on the first ballot. He created a dynasty with the Yankees in the 90s and he knew how to work with Steinbrenner. Something Martin can't say.

Cooperstown should be about what's good for the game. Guys who enjoyed playing the game. Guys who displayed class and strong moral values.

If Martin is voted in, the Veterans Committee might as well put Pete Rose, Shoeless Joe Jackson, Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and other steroid users in the Hall of Fame.

Yankees fans love Martin. They love him because he won. They will like serial killers as long as they win. If a Martin critic rips Martin, they will get defensive.

These are the same folks that adore Steinbrenner. Never mind how he screwed Howard Spira and Dave Winfield. Never mind he made people's lives miserable.

With New York, it's about winning. If an athlete or coach wins, that's all that matters. It's a sad reflection on our society.

Fortunately, the only vote that matters is the veterans committee.

It's hard to believe Martin will be voted in. It will be because of his behavior. It wasn't like he was beloved in the baseball industry back in the day.

Those folks in the Committee have long memories and will certainly remember it when it comes down to voting. If Martin just managed, all of this would have been forgotten.

It will be shocking if he wins it. Even the Martin family would be hard-pressed to think that’s going to happen.

It’s too bad his off-the-field incidents overshadowed what a good baseball mind he was. The man can manage. If only he could handle other people’s egos, he would have been a better manager.

This is something he created and he has to live with the consequences.

The Committee would get it right by not voting for Martin.

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The Yankees and Derek Jeter's camp haven't talked to each other, but they are talking through the media about what Jeter's value should be.

Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner told WFAN's Mike Francesa and 1050 ESPN Radio's Michael Kay that he is not going to overpay for Jeter's services. Casey Close, Jeter's agent, talked about how Jeter's value can not be overstated.

Jeter wants to get that last payday. He reportedly wants an overpaid six-year contract. He also wants to be one of the top paid players in the game.

Obviously, this guy is in fantasy land. He still thinks he is one of the best players in baseball. Never mind, he has been average at best in the last couple of years.

He had to know he is not the player he used to be. This is not going to stop him. His ego does not allow him to accept reality.

Someone has to stand up to him, and that's Steinbrenner. He needs to live up to his talk about running a fiscal franchise. Handling Jeter is a good test to see what he is all about.

The Yankees are in the driver's seat in this situation. No team is going to overpay an aging shortstop. Plus, Jeter is not going to go to the other teams to finish his Hall of Fame career.

The Yankees will pay Jeter in their terms, and at some point, Jeter and Close will realize that. Don't think Steinbrenner does not know about it. Why else would he talk in bravado about running a business? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know who he was referring to.

In a perfect world, Jeter wouldn't be coming back. He is nothing more than a fringe player at best.

Sure, he hits well in the postseason. Guess what? Any role player can flourish in the postseason. This year's World Series MVP, Edgar Renteria, proved that theory well.

What the Yankees need is a shortstop that has a good throwing range. They also need a shortstop that can hit consistently. That used to be Jeter, but that's no longer the case.

In the last few years, teams started to hit in the left part of the field. They know Alex Rodriguez and Jeter don't have the athleticism to go catch or make a grab. Hitters can somehow beat the throw for an infield hit.

Jeter has been dropping the ball. That's un-Jeter-like, but that's what happens when a player is in his late 30s.

Want to know Jeter is not living up to his high standards anymore? He has become an automatic out. It's easy for an opposing pitcher to get a strikeout on Jeter's expense. No one fears pitching to him. He doesn't beat the throw anymore.

That's why Yankees manager Joe Girardi moved his shortstop up and down the lineup. For all the criticism Girardi gets for tinkering the lineup, this is one move he got it right. It goes to show blind squirrel can find an acorn.

If his name is not Jeter, he would be moving on. Since he is an icon, the Yankees have no choice but to bring him back for public relations. This is nothing more than a team showing generosity to a washed-up player.

Jeter is a fan favorite here. He deserves it for what he has done in his career. He is one of the reasons why the Yankees won championships in the '90s. If he did not make that ridiculous throw to Jorge Posada in getting Jeremey GIambi in the 2001 Division Series, the A's would have swept the Yankees.

That play turned that series around, and New Yorkers never forget it. After all, they see that replay all the time in commercials.

Folks want to see him retire with one team. The Yankees want to see that happen. It's rare these days to see a great player finish his career with one team only anymore. Part of it is a player moves on free agency and another part is the team like to replace him with more athletic player.

The Yankees want to see Jeter achieve several more milestones in a Yankees uniform. The YES Network can't have enough of him achieving it, so that he can be on Yankeeography in an updated version.

This is why the Yankees are not going to be cold-blooded in handling this decision. It does not mean they should give in to his demands.

That's not happening. The Yankees know it, and Jeter's camp knows it.

Right now, both guys are going to presents offers. That's standard procedure for negotiations.

It will be interesting how long this lasts. It's hard to believe this is going to be lasting a long time. If this goes on until January, then someone is being in denial.

At this point, Jeter shouldn't be worried about getting a payday. He is financially secure. He plays for an organization that will always contend for a championships, so he will always get an opportunity to have his typical Jeter moment in October. He plays in a great sports town.

His ego can't be that big, right?

If the Yankees are stupid enough to bid themselves against others in keeping their shortstop, they deserve to be ridiculed. Don't expect that to happen.

Hopefully, this will be quick and painless. No one needs to see the drama between Jeter and the Yankees.

A three-year deal to Jeter sounds right.

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This is what made Monday night special. A middle market team won a championship by doing it the right way. The Giants drafted well in the last few years, and it resulted in a championship.

It's refreshing to know a baseball team can win a championship by actually building a team. With strong scouting, the Giants made it happen.

Giants general manager Brian Sabean hired two assistants that knew what they were doing. Dick Tidrow and John Barr scouted young players from the college level, and they got it right in Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner.

Those four youngsters played an integral role in leading the Giants to a championship. They started a renaissance after several down years that started in 2004.

The Yankees love to talk about how they won with homegrown players last year, but in reality, those guys made a minimal impact at best. Only Robinson Cano can say he is the homegrown player that made a difference on this team. No one can say the same for Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Brett Gardner and others.

Their other homegrown players have now become old men. They made impacts, but those guys have the experience of getting it done in the nineties. With the Giants, their new guys played well in their first taste of the postseason.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman dreamed of building his rotation of the future in Phil Hughes, Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy. His goal was to build with young pitching instead of throwing money away to free agents.

It hasn't worked out at all for all three of them. Here's the scorecard:

Kennedy was a bust.

Chamberlain flopped as a starter.

Hughes has been medicore at best.

If any of those three worked out, why would the Yankees throw money at CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett? Why are they going to overpay for Cliff Lee?

Let's not kid ourselves about the Yankees trying to develop young talent. It was never going to happen. They were going to dole out money to free agents whenever they wanted. It's their right, but the Yankees shouldn't go insult our intelligence about how they win with homegrown players.

Maybe in the nineties they could say it, but not now. They don't have to be ashamed of doing so. With the market they are in, it's their right to go out and buy players. The Yankees shouldn't get defensive, though, when other teams criticize them for their pursuit.

It's not just the Giants outsmarting the Yankees with homegrown players. They get it right with castoffs, and they have a great coaching staff.

The Yankees can always make a trade in the summer. They did that this year by acquiring Kerry Wood, Lance Berkman and Austin Kearns. Unlike most teams that have a budget, the Yankees can always expand theirs during the season.

The Giants built their team by getting guys on the waiver wire. No one took a chance on Pat Burrell but the Giants, and it worked out well for him and the team. Burrell posted good numbers in the summer.

The Giants are capable of making unheralded moves. Who would have thought that Cody Ross, Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez would have done more than Berkman and Kearns? It says something about the Giants showing diligence in finding the right guys.

They also get it right with the manager. Yankees manager Joe Girardi loves to tell everyone about how he knows about the game more than anyone. Just watch him act smug in the top step of the dugout or when he reads his notebook binder to make decisions.

Girardi's approach didn't work out this year. Giants manager Bruce Bochy showed how it was done. He made decisions based on instincts and feel for the game. This is how a manager manages the game.

Look what Bochy did in Game 6 of the NLCS. He took Jonathan Sanchez out after being rattled early in the game. He somehow used Jeremy Affeldt and Madison Bumgarner to make it work, and the Giants broke a 1-1 tie to take the lead in the eighth inning.

How about when he benched Torres and Burrell for a playoff game? Those two responded with a good performance in the next game.

Bochy knew how to use all of his players. Girardi bailed out on players when things were tough. It's clear who was the better manager.

The Giants seem to appreciate their championship. That wasn't the case last year with the Yankees. The Yankees were just relieved to win a championship. It appeared they were bored all year to play a game of baseball.

There's something to be said about character and personality. The Giants have that. Those guys have fun, and it showed in the playoffs. It's refreshing to see a group that enjoys the game.

The injustice of all this is that the Giants will likely break this team up, while the Yankees will probably overspend by signing Cliff Lee and Carl Crawford.

The Giants should have an opportunity to defend for their title, but economics will play a role. The Yankees are the only team that can get away with it.

This is why it's neat to see what the Giants did.

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Eiland and Girardi had a difference of opinion about how the pitchers were used. This took place right after the deposed pitching coach came back from his personal leave.

One wonders if Girardi felt comfortable working with Eiland in the first place. When Girardi was hired, Eiland was not his choice. He preferred to work with Yankees bullpen coach Mike Harkey due to their past work together.

With the team falling short of its goals this year, the insecure manager decided to use his opportunity to blame Eiland for what’s going on.

Here’s a question that should be asked: Who made Girardi the general manager all of a sudden?

The job of a manager is to work with his coaches that his boss selected. Most baseball managers do not select coaches these days, so it should be expected Girardi should not have a say in this.

Eiland proved to be a valuable commodity. He did a great job with the relievers last year, and his work with A.J. Burnett is a miracle last year.

For some reason, Girardi made it a point to go credit himself for making it work with the relievers. This is what happens when a manager acts like he invents the game of baseball.

It was clear who won the power struggle between the two of them. This should teach Girardi’s fellow coaches not to cross that genius again. They should follow Tony Pena’s lead by agreeing everything the manager says.

It’s funny how Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is considered ruthless for the way he treated Eiland. If he was really ruthless, he would tell Girardi to deal with Eiland.

It’s clear now Cashman goes by what Girardi tells him. This guy developed a fetish with the Yankees manager going back to 2006. That was the year Girardi won the NL Manager of the Year for getting the Marlins to overachieve.

Would it surprise anyone if Cashman was not broken up about ex-Yankees manager Joe Torre not coming back? He sure did not plead with the Steinbrenner family to bring Torre back. He wanted Girardi to be the new manager.

It’s interesting why Girardi wasn’t interested in any other jobs back then. Cashman convinced Girardi that job was going to be his soon.

Plus, it’s interesting the Yankees general manager was quick to endorse the manager’s return after the Yankees were eliminated. If only Torre got that type of support in the years the Yankees were out in the first round.

What did Girardi do to earn the benefit of the doubt by his boss? It’s not like he is a great manager. If anything, he is a mediocre manager at best. With a payroll like that of the Yankees, anyone can get the team to the ALDS.

Girardi has no idea how to use pitchers, period. When a starter or a reliever is in a jam, he is quick to get that pitcher out of there. How is a pitcher going to get better when a manager has no trust?

The Yankees manager should take a hit for Joba Chamberlain’s regression. This is a guy who had no idea how to use his phenom. He limited his pitcher out on the mound by pitching him for few innings, and then he would take him out when he gives up a walk or hit.

For all the credit Girardi received for his handling of the bullpen last year, most of his relievers had no idea what to do out there this year. He put them in a position to fail because his binder told him to use them in a spot they shouldn’t be in.

One wonders if he listened to Eiland much in the three years they worked together.

The next pitching coach becomes tricky. Why would any great pitching coach want to work with Girardi? With the manager being a control freak, it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Say goodbye to Curt Young, Leo Mazzone or any other great pitching coaches out there. Marchand’s report did the Yankees a disservice.

Odds are, Harkey or Scott Aldred will be the new pitching coach. How is that an upgrade? Harkey had no answers when the Yankees struggled to pitch, and Aldred is an unknown.

Does that inspire confidence? Yankees fans will listen to whatever Girardi and Cashman are going to say like gospel.

These are the same folks that actually believed Eiland left because of his personal issues. This did not make sense from the beginning, especially when he was fired after the Yankees bowed out in the ALCS.

Now, we get an answer thanks to brilliant reporting by Marchand.  Of course, Yankees fans will blindly support Girardi.

Good luck to the next pitching coach who has to deal with Girardi everyday. Being a member of his staff is not a job people should envy.

Eiland learned it the hard way.

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