New York Yankees

New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira has continued to struggled this season. Typically a slow starter that stumbles through rough Aprils, Teixeira usually gets it going by this point in the season.

As of June 8, Teixeira is batting a meager .210, barely hanging above the Mendoza Line .

He continues to stay calm and focused while not getting concerned about his low average. The Yankees first baseman went as far as to say his past performances should say enough.

Here's some quotes from Amateur Scouting Director Damon Oppenheimer via Chad Jennings about first-round Yanks' pick Cito Culver:

“I've had basically over 100 years of scouting experience...go in and see this kid.”

“We’ve been able to see him play for a long time. We’ve probably got a couple of hundred at-bats from him… We were ahead of the game because we knew so much about him.”

New York Yankees, meet the next Derek Jeter. 17-year-old shortstop Christopher "Cito" Culver was drafted last night by the Yankees as the 32nd overall draft pick.

Rochester native Culver is only the second high school shortstop to get drafted by the Yanks in the first round since Jeter in 1992, and CJ Henry in 2005.

The Yankees will look for the Irondequoit High School senior to develop into the likes of his favorite player: Jeter.

There have many reports which have Kansas City Royals outfielder David DeJesus being available in trade. And why not? The Royals stink and they can do just as badly without DeJesus as they can with him*.

*That reminds me of a story in which Ralph Kiner, then a power hitting right-handed hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates, going into Branch Rickey's (then GM of the Pirates) office before the 1953 season to talk contract. Kiner had just led the National League again in home runs (he would lead the NL in home runs his first seven seasons!).

The board could not have fallen more perfectly for the New York Yankees Monday night.

Picking 32nd overall, they had several potential top-10 talents available for selection, including Middle Tennessee State outfielder Bryce Brentz, and LSU right hander Anthony Ranaudo.

Most years, Brian Cashman would scoop up the top available talent, pay him above-slot money, and that would be that.

But this was not most years.

The current talent in Major League Baseball rivals that of any era. Stars are both being born and resting, such as Ken Griffey, Jr.

Of the Hall of Fame hopefuls, here are 11 players whose names you can expect to see enshrined in Cooperstown, NY—the ultimate accomplishment in baseball.

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When Mark Teixeira struck out for the fifth time against the Blue Jays on Saturday, it did more than just match the worst individual performance of his career.

It also marked the exact moment the Yankees first baseman finally hit rock bottom.

It had been a long, strange trip to get there, prolonged slumps followed by promising breakouts followed by prolonged slumps. Teixeira's confidence eroded with each strikeout at Rogers Centre, his approach growing more tentative with each failure.

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