Mariano Rivera

The aggressive pursuit of free agents by the New York Yankees has become the norm every offseason.

Now, with the Yankees on the brink of elimination, it's time to start looking toward next year.

Before looking around the league for help, there are some pressing issues to attend to on the home front.

The Bronx Bombers need to decide what to do with aging pillars Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera.

Could two of the most polarizing Yankees ever really be allowed to walk?

When the 2010 MLB Playoffs began, almost everyone who watches or cares for baseball penciled the New York Yankees in as a probable World Series participant. A great deal of folks also had the Yankees winning it all,...again. Ah,...the Texas Rangers say "Not so Fast," and are exposing the Yankees for what they are, OLD.

Even knowing the Texas Rangers had Cliff Lee on the mound, the New York Yankee fans arrived at the game ready for a win and made it loud and clear

That dream became a nightmare pretty fast, as Lee brought his A-plus game once again and the Rangers won 8-0.

So, instead fans left confused, discouraged and embarrassed. Below are the three dilemmas I had, after freezing my butt off in the Bronx:

Two seasons ago, the Yankees missed the playoffs for the first—and last—time this decade. They went into the offseason with a sense of urgency—a sense that holds none of the connoted nerves for Yankees fans, considering they always have the financial power to get the job done.

And they did.

The Yankees signed three of the top free agents to long-term deals. CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira were all Yankees. They would go on to win the World Series.

If the Wild Card system in Major League Baseball had any remaining detractors entering this season's Division Series round of postseason play—and it did—the pair of excellent series (San Francisco-Atlanta and Texas-Tampa Bay) may have wooed them all.

For the second year in a row, the New York Yankees swept aside the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the playoffs and are once again headed back to the ALCS.

Many questions surrounded the Yankees as they entered the postseason for only the 14th time in 15 years, but it is safe to say now that the Bombers are a legitimate threat.

The Yankees again proved to be the most playoff-efficient team of all.  They bullied Minnesota right out of their own home early on and then finished them off in the Bronx.  An all-around dominant performance from the Yankees shows that they will be tough to beat once again in these playoffs.  There may be only one team that could challenge them this season.  Can I get a..."RE-MATCH?!"

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So far in the 2010 ALDS we have seen one series dominated by a perennial powerhouse, and another series go back-and-forth between two teams with little postseason history.

The New York Yankees of course finished off another sweep of the Minnesota Twins Saturday, marking the second straight year they did so.

In the other series we saw the Texas Rangers take the first two games on the road only to drop the next two at home to the Tampa Bay Rays. Game 5 is on Tuesday as we will see a matchup of aces Cliff Lee vs. David Price.

Every year we hear the same whispers:

"How much longer can Mo last?"

Because it's such an infrequent occurrence, anytime he blows a save, the doubters surface with their proclamations of Mariano's imminent demise.

At a point in his life where most of his peers are playing golf, or delving into post-playing-career business ventures, the inimitable Mariano Rivera is continuing to add luster to his likely first-ballot Hall of Fame credentials.

Entering the MLB postseason, analysts and other fans of the sports seemed to be skeptical of the New York Yankees chances to repeat their World Championship run from last year. Much of this skepticism centered around the lack of quality pitching following CC Sabathia in the rotation.

However, in the Yankees sweep of the Minnesota Twins Sabathia's win ended up being the weakest performance, as Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes pulled strung together very strong performance in their respective wins.