After reports of New York Yankees Shortstop Derek Jeter turning down a 3 year, $45 million deal, general manager Brian Cashman told Jeter and his agent Casey Close to test the free agent market.

Criticism fired from all directions at Cashman.

Life long fans couldn't believe that Cashman could let the face of their franchise, a captain, talk to other clubs about possible deals.

Neither could I.

However, this all makes sense in the end.

Since 1901, only nine shortstops age 37 or above hit over .270 in a season. Derek Jeter will qualify as the 10th player in that category next season, and the New York Yankees are well aware of that.

Sure, if you are going to bet on someone entering that group (that happens to include six Hall of Famers), it might as well be Jeter. For the Yankees, who have more money floating around than we can imagine, it is an easy bet to make.

Saying he was “extremely insulted,” New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter turned down a 10-year, $200 million offer from himself on Friday.

Jeter, who awarded himself a Gold Glove earlier this month, told the Associated Press that “the offer just doesn’t take into account all I’m worth to myself.” 

How can the New York Mets expect fans to pay more money to attend games to see a team with the fifth highest payroll in baseball, yet have finished in fourth place two seasons in a row?

They can't.

Thus, the Mets have announced that ticket prices for the 2011 season will be lowered.

The Mets announced on Tuesday that the average cost of a ticket will be reduced by 14 percent. Overall, 62 percent of tickets at Citi Field have been reduced.

The sports industry is an odd one.

You can give your heart and soul to a team and its fans, and they can want no part of you when it comes to a new contract. 

There have been several instances where a player has chosen to move on, or a team chooses to trade a player and at least get something for their star player.

But, in rare instances, a player wants nothing more in the world than to remain with his team. Only to find out that the team doesn't feel the same, but some other team is more than willing to take them in.

With each passing day, this seemingly solid and prosperous marriage between Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees seems to be on the verge of divorce.

No doubt the two are more perfect as a union, as I don’t know one baseball fan that can imagine either surviving without the other.

In a season plagued by underachievement, inconsistency, and injuries, one controllable aspect of the Philadelphia Phillies' 2010 is the bullpen.

From the dominant bullpen that lead the Phillies to a World Series title in 2008, earning the nickname the "Bridge to Lidge," the Phillies' relief corps of 2010 took a big step back, finishing 18th in ERA despite pitching the fewest innings in the National League—with only the Seattle Mariners logging more out west in the American League.

Captain Clutch is no more.

Derek Jeter entered this season an elite shortstop, but proved in the end why he is no longer worth the money. The former rookie of the year, two time Hank Aaron award recipient, four time Silver Slugger, six time Gold Glover, and once a World Series MVP had a dismal season. His batting average dropped to .270, and he hit just .231 in the ALCS.

With free agency now in full force, there seem to be a select number of elite players up for grabs.

Of course, we all know Cliff Lee is a free agent, but who else is out there, and what's their story?

Everyone expected the Yankees to be a player in re-signing players, but there seems to be more difficulty in returning players.

This will be fairly quick.

One of the more bitter days this Milwaukee ball club has seen in a while just struck it's inevitable peak.  

Brewers closer Trevor Hoffman has declined Milwaukee's arbitration offer, which now positions the Crew to get a compensatory pick in next year's MLB draft.

Hoffman earned more than $7 million during a disappointing 2010 season that saw the Brewers identify a number of younger, cheaper bullpen options that could indeed progress into future stars.