How sweet was it to watch Joba Chamberlain strike out two in a perfect eighth inning before handing the ball off to Mariano Rivera? Or seeing Melky Cabrera race home on a dribbler from Derek Jeter to end the game? Pretty nice way to end a 7-6 Yankee win over the O’s. Sure, Mo’ blew the save, but let’s not ruin the moment here…

If you catch my drift, I’m saying that these are all homegrown talents, folks…and that makes it so much sweeter. Does anyone else think about this every time they see the Yankees’ starting line up these days? Melky in center, Posada catching, Jeter at short, Cano at second, Phillips at first…Mo’ and Joba in the pen…Hughes, Wang and Pettitte in the rotation…a crazy dude named Shelly coming off the bench, breaking hands with high fives?

That’s the dream: farmhands all around. One could argue that the Yankees are carried by free agents at the corner outfield positions and that they bought the best player in baseball to play third. Their DH is an ex-Red Sox hero as is one of the five starters. Sure, that’s all true. But you look at the Yankees these days and you aren’t necessarily seeing mercenaries with huge contracts. Instead, there’s a steady diet of guys who grew up with the pinstripes and want to win because they are Yankees.

Players like Mo, Posada and Jeter say it over and over…they are proud to have only worn the Yankee uniform all their careers. It is the kind of homegrown investment that makes players play harder when times get tough…it helps create the chemistry the Yanks have lacked for years. At the end of the year it may not win a championship, but Brian Cashman’s steadfast desire to hold onto prospects will be his legacy as GM (not his free agent signings/trades for starters or set-up men). This process of cultivating kids will serve the Yankees well for years to come.