I did not go here for residency, but I closely know a couple people at Yale, and they are very happy with their experience there. Similar to other upper tier programs (ie. see my WashU post), their program is front-loaded, gets better after PGY-2, and they match very well after training. My friends at Yale have told me that their chairman (Dr. Waxman) meets with the residents once a week - over lunch or walking rounds for interesting cases.
As far as any program being characterized as "producing better researchers and just okay clinicians," IMO, it would be unfair to categorize any program in that manner. After all, I would bet that there are both excellent and poor private practitioners from elite programs, and I have seen some strong academic researchers who began at small/clinical residency programs. As you will observe in your residency and beyond, it is inaccurate to stereotype any program - although people love to do it.
As I'm beginning to realize on my job search (I'm a fellow), I have found that residency and your career are really what you make of it --> ie. if you choose to become a good clinician, you will do so; however, if you are lazy or don't like patients, you may become a subpar clinician - et cetera. Par for the course, as with most everything.
Best of luck with you match.
