New York Yankees

Let me start by saying that I am one of the biggest Derek Jeter fans ever. I grew up watching my favorite player become a legend for the most storied franchise in American sports. Seeing Derek Jeter play is something that I will tell my children.

However, this season has not been going as well as we have come to expect from "El Capitan".

At the one-quarter mark of the 2010 Major League Baseball season, the New York Yankees are 25-14. That is good for second place in the American League East, 3.0 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

Last night's loss to the Boston Red Sox has to leave a bad taste in the Yankees mouths. With a 5-0 lead after seven innings and Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera lurking in the bullpen, the Yankees likely thought this game was over and they would sweep the short two game series.

With the news coming in from all over that Nick Johnson will need wrist surgery and will be out until at least July, the Yankees have found themselves without an everyday designated hitter.

Johnson, who was batting an abysmal .167 to begin with, now needs a replacement in the lineup.

Since his departure, the Yankees have been shuffling a bunch of players around and giving their opponents different looks on almost a gamely basis.

The Yankees may not need to go out and get a DH, if they are able to win with the current mix of players they have right now.

Only 3 games back of the red hot Rays

Thursday's matchup is definitely a good one featuring Andy Pettitte and James Shields .

Another hard winner to pick because Pettitte has been so good and Shields has greatly improved since the last time he faced this Yankees lineup.

The big story of the start of the baseball season would be the great starts by Tampa Bay, San Diego, Cincinnati and Washington.

The other big stories are off the field tales of Hall of Fame players napping and teens getting tasered.

The big debate is about parity. As of right now, there are fifteen teams that are .500 or better. That is great news for those who argue that parity does exist.

The Celtics eliminated the Cavaliers in six games last week. Now, everyone speculates where LeBron James is going to play.

Basketball junkies encourage James to leave Cleveland for a chance to win a championship. Clevelanders warn their hometown star not to leave or else be vilified the way Art Modell was for moving the Browns to Baltimore.

If James leaves, Modell will be elated to know he will have a company for the most despised sports figure in Cleveland.

This begs one question to be asked.

With an "A-Bomb" grand slam from A-Rod on Friday night, the great Mariano Rivera giving up a grand slam himself on Sunday, and Marcus Thames sinking Papelbon and the Sox on Monday, it has been a week of highs and lows for the Yanks thus far.

But through it all, the Yankees are starting to see some major production out of their once struggling sluggers.

Mark Teixeira, also known as Mr. May, has been on fire this month. He has five homers to go with 21 RBI and his average now stands at .224--at the end of April it was a lowly .195.

It was a rough night to be a pitcher in the Bronx last night. Nine pitchers in total were used in the contest between the Yankees and Red Sox. Of the nine, five gave up runs in the 11-9 Yankees win.

The starters were not good. Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka   had a bad first inning in which the Yankees scored five runs. The righty lasted 4.2 innings, giving up nine hits. Three of those nine were doubles. The Yankees scored seven runs off Matsuzaka before he was taken out with two outs in the fifth.

In 2009, the Yankees won a total of 15 games in walk-off hit fashion.

In the 2010 season, the Yankees got their first of the season in a much needed way against their oldest rival.

Monday night pitted the Yankees and Red Sox in the first of two games at Yankee Stadium.

Early on, the Yankees got a 5-0 lead in the first inning off Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, who just looked awful against the Yankees.

Yankees starter Phil Hughes wasn't as sharp as he has been all season, entering Monday's game 5-0.