New York Yankees

As a Miami Dolphin last year, New York Jets linebacker Jason Taylor mentioned Jets fans taking the "cl" out of class when it comes to talking about them. Now, he has to find a way to win them back.

Maybe he can go say that about the Yankees, but this is not a good idea for a guy that is trying to make a new impression in this region.

So this baseball guy will say it for Taylor: Taylor's statement of "cl" can be applied to the Yankees.

The Yankees were presented with their World Series rings on Opening Day with former Bombers Jerry Hairston Jr. and Hideki Matsui on hand to get their rings.

Melky Cabrera and Eric Hinske, now with the Braves, got theirs from Hairston; Chad Gaudin and Edwar Ramirez, now with the A’s, got theirs when the Yankees went to Oakland; and Xavier Nady, now with the Cubs, got his when GM Brian Cashman brought it to Citi Field.

The New York Yankees had started the season red hot but have cooled down as of late. Losers of four of their last five, the Yankees now sit 2.5 games back of AL East leading Tampa Bay. I decided to look back at the past five games and try to find a common theme.

Well, I found one at it was right at the top. The top of the batting order that is. The top four spots in the Yankees batting order have not had much success at all the past five games. These are the guys expected to carry the club and provide most of the pop.

Looking at the image with this article, you see that Marcus Thames has great hitting mechanics. Hips opening for power, a stiff front leg, elbow tucked near the hip to keep the swing short and the bat rotating through the zone.

A good hitter who, on occasion, can really mash left handed pitching.

A number of major pieces from the New York Yankees' World Series championship team are gone to other franchises. I thought it would be interesting to see how they are doing with about 20 games gone in the new season.

Johnny Damon left as a free agent. He was offered a two-year deal with the Yanks at a reported $14 million and he turned it down thinking he could get a longer deal. He ended up signing with the Detroit Tigers for two years at a reported $12 million.

The Yankees consist of great talent, including Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and Mark Teixeira. And don't forget about the man behind the plate: Jorge Posada.

But what about the future of this infield? What will happen when Jeter is too old to play everyday? And what about when A-Rod, Teixeira, and Posada are no longer productive?

Here is the future of the Yankees infield.

First Base: Jesus Montero

The “Core Four” of the Yankees, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte (as if I needed to tell you) got on the cover of Sports Illustrated and let me be the first to say, that is a sweet ass cover.

That being said, I don’t have much else to say about the cover. Sure it’s cool, but after about 30 seconds I’ve moved on.

Here is what others are saying about the cover:

New York Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman hit the headlines with a "blockbuster" trade in the offseason that brought Curtis Granderson to the Bronx.

The Yankees gave up one-time first round draft pick, starting pitcher, Ian Kennedy; left handed reliever, Phil Coke; and top prospect outfielder, Austin Jackson, to the Detroit Tigers.

Coke is 3-0 in Detroit coming out of their pen.

And if you haven't checked on AJax lately, he's playing pretty well!

Curt Schilling, former Red Sox ace, current ESPNBoston analyst went on ESPN Radio’s “The Herd with Colin Cowheard” and blasted Yankees starter Javier Vazquez as somebody who can’t pitch in New York or the American League.

Schilling on Vazquez not being good enough for the AL: “I never ever thought the move to New York the first time was a good one [for Vazquez]. And I didn’t think this [move] was good as well,” Schilling said.

I've been debating recently why it is that Javier Vazquez has been put on this Earth.

If you asked Javier, he'd probably say he's here for his wife and three beautiful children. That would certainly make sense. His Wikipedia page states he's a huge wine aficionado, so maybe he's just here for the fermented grapes. Then again, he may go the religious route and say he was here for God. That's kind of the safe choice when asked these types of broad-based questions.

But you and I know none of that is true.