Greatest Yankee of the Modern Dynasty?

Recently Joe Posnanski wrote an article about who is the greatest Yankee of the modern group: Mariano Rivera or Derek Jeter?  The full article can be found here: http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/08/16/mo-v-the-captain/.  Posnanski's conclusion was that Jeter's role as the face of the Yankees and an everyday player was too much for Mo to overcome.  While I admire and respect his talent's as a writer and sports commentator, I respectfully disagree with Posnanski's conclusion.

First, let's take a brief look at each players career:

Jeter joined the Yankees full-time in 1996 and has been the starting shortstop ever since.  He won the Rookie of the Year in 1996 and is an 11-time All-Star.  Jeter has played in 7 World Series, winning 5 of them.  He was the World Series MVP in 2000 and is one of only 11 Yankees ever to be named the team captain.  He is noted for his leadership, consistency, and clutch play.  Jeter is the face of the modern Yankees and one of the greatest shortstops ever to play the game.

Mo joined the Yankees full-time in 1995 and spent the 1996 World Series campaign as John Wettleland's set-up man.  He became the full-time closer in 1997 and the rest is history.  Rivera has also played in 7 World Series with 5 victories.  He was the ALCS MVP in 2003, the World Series MVP in 1999, and is an 11-time All-Star.  Mo has the second most saves in MLB history and owns every conceivable playoff relief record.  He is almost indisputably the greatest closer of all-time and his cut fastball is widely considered the most devastating pitch baseball has ever seen.

The first point that becomes clear in this debate is that their is no wrong answer.  Both Mo and Jeter have had sensational careers and both players appear to be far from done.  Without either player, the Yankees of today would be very different.  However, there are two reasons that make Mo the greatest Yankee of the modern dynasty.  The first is the uniqueness of his dominance.  Jeter is by no means a "common" player, but there have been other shortstops of his caliber.   In the early 2000s, you could make a very convincing argument that he was actually the 4th best shortstop in the league, behind A-Rod, Nomar, and Miguel Tejada.  He has outlasted all of these players (except for A-Rod, but he doesn't player shortstop anymore because of Jeter so it still counts), but he doesn't dominant his position in the same way that Mo does.  Other closers may have better individual years, but no one has sustained a level of dominance anywhere near that of Rivera's.  He is the best ever at closing games and he effectively makes the game only 8 innings long.  Jeter may contribute offensively and defensively on a daily basis, but Mo allows the Yankees 9 innings to score more runs than their opponents can score in only 8.  If the opposing team is losing and "Enter Sandman" comes on the loudspeakers, they know the game is over.  The second, and more important, reason Mo is the most important player in the modern dynasty is that he represents the best of the Yankees.  As a longtime fan of the team, I can tell you that it is devastating and shocking whenever the Yankees lose, especially in the postseason.  We truly do expect to win every game.  But if a team beats the Yankees by going through Rivera, I cannot be upset that the Yankees lost.  He is the most devastating player on the team and when he loses, the other team truly deserved to win.  And that is why Mo is the greatest Yankee of the modern dynasty.  He doesn't ever lose and when he does its okay because it means the other team really was better.