Mark Teixeira

The people who say Derek Jeter is overrated must not watch Yankee games.

For the second day in a row, the Captain played an integral role in New York's win over the defending American League champion Tampa Bay Rays.

On Tuesday, the shortstop's opposite field single in the eighth got the go-ahead run to third with less than two outs.  His three-run homer in the ninth put the game out of reach.

By the time the Kansas City Royals got on the scoreboard it was too late to make a comeback. CC Sabathia had given the Yankees seven-and-two-thirds innings of shutout baseball and Jose Veras held the shutout until Tony Pena Jr. grounded in the Royals' first and only run of the night.

Once again, the Yankees jumped on the Royals' pitching. Johnny Damon singled, Nick Swisher walked, and Jorge Posada doubled in two first-inning runs for the second straight game. In the third, the Yanks' catcher doubled in another run after Swisher tripled in captain Derek Jeter.

In what was the last spring tune up for the New York Yankees, and only the second game played in the new Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers topped the Chicago Cubs this afternoon, 10-1.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the afternoon was the hitting show put on by the Yanks’ $180 million off-season acquisition Mark Teixeira.

The new first baseman had two home runs in today’s game, smacking a solo homer into the right-center field bleachers in the third inning and a three-run dinger into the upper deck in right field in the fourth.

One of the pretty cool things about Bleacher Report is that so many people look at your work. One of the best features is the editing format, and through the plethora of editors on this site, I have improved my writing skills.

Thanks to all who have helped me along the way.

Another great feature is when your name gets out there, other writers want your opinions on their articles, and even more information gets flowing through my brain.

The World Baseball Classic has taken many players around the major league away from their teams this spring and in some cases it has been viewed as a very negative thing. For Mark Teixeira that was not going to be an issue during his first spring training with the Yankees.

Standing at 6 feet 7 inches, 290+ pounds, hurling a horse-hide sphere at 96 miles an hour straight at you, it's safe to say, you're not safe when C.C. Sabathia's on the mound. But for how much longer will Sabathia be able to maintain this level of pitching?

An offseason acquisition brought him to New York, where good players go to die.

So the 28 and overweight Sabathia was a perfect candidate to play in NY: a pitcher who's had mediocre-to-terrible statistics against the division he recently joined.   

With all due respect to the Tampa Bay Rays, the two favorites are finally in the building—the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

I feel a little bad about doing this because it's one of the primary reasons people really hate these two franchises—they get all the hype no matter how recent and thunderous their failures.

Boston lost the American League East and the AL Championship Series to Tampa in 2008. New York failed to even qualify for the playoffs. Yet, here I am, touting both as the kings of the hill with no reason except offseason headlines.