Gains and Pains

Number 27 was sweet, sweeter than those in the dynasty years because it came after hell froze over twice when Boston ---who also worked so hard to convince all of Baseball that the Yankees were the root of all evil, spending, Steroids...and it turned out that Boston spent more than everyone but the Yankees, stockpiled talent just to keep it out of New York, and--  won two steroid tainted titles. I still dont believe that four in a row came with unbiased officiating---just me being me...but I have seen such off things in officials and the Red Sox..and this season in the playoffs the rest of the viewing world saw them too, yet in the end Californina won, then California lost and number 27 was ever so sweet.
Now there was also pain- Damon and Matsui are gone, Damon was the spark for many wins, Matsui was my favorite player because of his clutch ability...in another telling of the season, ARod would be the supporting player to the Matsui and Jeter led season.  So many stars on this team, one can take a pick---Matsui should have been kept, that is one they will regret whether they repeat or not, the team is diminshed a bit by the loss of this major talent, and quiet leader.  Theyt have done this before...Reggie, Winfield, Mike Lowell, Jose Contreras, El Duque a long and distinguished list.
Now next year has begun, the first topic will the the pitching staff no under redevelopment... four Aces so far, and there is stilll time to do one more...HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL

Number 28

It is a numbers game, and not that idiotic thing about the Yankee payroll, buying a pennant.  This shows the power of the big lie.  Bud Selig's family owns a small market team.  I think he wanted to justify taking easy money from the Yankees and giving it to small market teams including his family's team.  So they invented this idiotic fiction about buying titles, because the highest paid players always win, or even usually win.  They taxed one team...the Yankees, took their money and gave it to other teams.

So then we watch nameless college stud one after the other come into Yankee Stadium and shut down the high priced Yankees, with our own eyes we watch the Yankees dynasty crumbled by a team, the Marlins, whose payroll equaled maybe three Yankees' players salaries.  They beat the stuffing out of the Yanks.  Watch a decade of 200 million payrolls produce NNNAAADDDDDAAA; and still this idiotic idea persists, well I guess there are people who will believe anything they are told.

This numbers game is about hitters and competition- count them-- there are some big RBI men available, any team that needs one can have one this year Mattt Holliday, Vlad, Chone Figgins, Jason bay, Nady, Damon, Matsui, and many more.  Baltimore...two hitters away from equaling the Red Sox as the best hitting team---here's Vlad Guererro and Adrian Beltre, see you in the playoffs, ...ohh-not quite, well add Randy Wolf, Rich Harden and you already have Guthrie and some good young arms.  Need relief ...the lefty Gonzalez, the closer Billy Wagner.  This is the case for every team this off season.  Even Boston cannot horde all the good hitters as they did last year with pitchers: Byrd, Smoltz, Penny,  when they already had Bucholtz, Lester, Matsusaka, Beckett, and the big eternal knuckle ball...anyway the point is there are a bunch of big hitters out there, and the Yankees wont be bidding on any of them, so the rest of the teams will have to do something besides complain about NY's payroll, and this year..they cannot help but get better, even those like Baltimore that seemed determined not to get better. Toronto should trade Roy Halladay for the ransom in prospects and become the Tampa Bay north...awash in splendid young talent.  This year the Yanks have won and have only a few maybe one opening on the starting lineup...a pitcher behind CC and AJ and a reliever...in front of Rivera.

Whatever happens in the free agent market this year, will probably not involve the Yankees.

twenty seven

my favorite number for many reasons now add yet another, Thank You Yankees for a memorable year, the end of a painful period for Yankee fans.  We watched as front office politics, right wing politics invaded baseball.  The owner of the team that was at the epicenter of steroids in baseball- Bush and the Texas Rangers, launches a crusade against steroids, and the fallout douses the Yankees, led by a partner in the Red Sox.  Then it turns out the Red Sox have steroids too, if you believe they help players perform, then the Red Sox won to titles aided by steroids.
So in this season two idiot dragons were slain, the Red Sox pretensions at winning, and the myth of Yankees somehow at the hub of steroids.  The Yankees seemed to lead the league in players whose trust and confidence in baseball was betrayed by political connivance or incompetence...you choose.  I am gald to see it dead and buried.
Next season is already beginning, and the Yankees will demonstrate the loyalty to their success by holding on to some players, show that they have learned by letting some go. No doubt making some more great moves and some later to be regrets too.  Matsui and Jeter, CC and Mo, Pettitte and ARod, even Damon and Melky these to me especially have given Yankee fans a great season, one to savor even while we relish the off-season race to the starting line.

Number 27

OK number 27, my favorite number, and one now of my favorite Championship Yankee teams.  Flawed and seemingly less than the sum of its talented parts, they somehow grew into champions by beating the baseball bullies at their own games- speed, power, pitching, even...team defense. This chameleon-esque team showed that being versatile is an asset in baseball, maybe the unique quality of the team.
This team had some all time Yankees at the heights of their games:
Jorge Posada, will be remembered as an offensive force from the catcher position;
Derek Jeter one of the great all-around players, a winner in every aspect of the game;
Alex Rodriguez (ARod)- enormous talents in a flimsy shell that this year seemed to grow into his potential, he may never hit 70 homers but he can again and again lead an offense to elite status;
Hideki Matsui- a true thoroughbred, champion character, like Jeter one of the players who will not lose, you have to beat them to the final strike, final out, a winner;
Mariano Rivera- simply the best at the most difficult job in baseball;
Andy Pettitte- a home grown winner, gets the most out of his strengths, a lot like Whitey Ford in the Fifties;
Johnny Damon- an underrated great player, has the mental toughness and smarts so many athletes lack in baseball;
Mark Teixera, A.J. Burnett and CC Sabbathia all paid dividends on investments, each was excellent and will be part of the core for a few years to come.
Next...the youngsters 20010, title # 28, and the future.

Now for the playoff...

The Angels are the favorite, they have owned the Yankess under Mike Scioscia, but not for any good reason.  They game plan and execute well, but dont have overwhelming pitching anymore.  They added a n=minis in Kazmir who has clearly lost something; Fuentes has a great record but seems vulnerable as a breaking ball closer must be.  Juan Rivera and Abreu are firmer Yankees for good reasons..Abreu replaced by a better all -arounf player- Teixera, and Rivera had a joib given to him and could not discourafge the signing of Damon. This Yankee team has dimensions: two strong starters, CC and AJ, a deep bullpen( Rivera, Hughes, Joba, Gaudin, Aceves, Robertson and Coke all going well). They can hold down a good offense for 9 innings. Power from 1-9 in the lineup, some speed and some talent(Jeter,  Matsui, Cano, and Posada can flat out rake it!) Now the ARod &Teixera combo has come on...a 3-4 tandem that can wreck a defense with power hits.  Look for one of them to have a monster game...2 HR, 5RBI stuff.

The Angels have winners, Scioscia is the most important, id he slumps they are cooked.  Tori Hunter is the key, he is the power guy who can deliver in the clutch.  Vlad is the big talent, once the best in the game...seems his back is limiting him now.  Speed is their thing to upset pitching and defense, won't work this time unlike Boston, the Yankees don't have to fear being down three-four runs, they can correct those situations... Yankees in five.

Something happened...last night

truly, something happened, you tell by the sound, you could feel a certain pent up emotion coming out into the open...down two runs in the botttom of the 9th and ...like a script in the movies, the hgh point of the show...an explosive home run from a player the fans wanted so much to see succeed...and the amazing thing..it was ARod.

ARod is an important player to the Yanks but has been much les beloved and embraced by the fans.  Even the litle children who go to the stadium to gawk and idolize these very faulted men, even they would get resiusitance all around ...ARod is not Jeter, he is not clutch like Matsui...not like Munson, Jackson, Nettles, Bernie, O'Neil...on and on...such a lucky franchise to have had so many wondeful players.  ARod is not a winner...
But last night he connected in the ways he had not before, at that level where the crowd exhales as one, roars its feelings; makes the ground shake and the air feel different.  In life every day is a chance at redemption, improvement to the point of a rebirth of one's spirit...last night, a slugger...simply reborn.

Now the season starts

Its like summer and autumn, ending and beginning, the championship season starts now, everyone is even and there is an unforgiving smallness to it all, five games will decide if your year has been an on-field success or not.

The Tigers can beat the Yankees, they have more talent everywhere except relief.  They have a better GM, Manager too.  Their fans are not as good or intense or knowledgeable...or as much fun to be around...but that is the end of Yankee advantages.

Verlander is better than CC, Jackson is better than Burnett.  The Yankees do not have a player as talented as Miguel Cabrera, they cannot match Ordonez and Carlos Guillen with their outfield talent either.  The Yankees have an advantage with Posada as a hitter but he is not the defender that Laird is.  The Yankees will be hot or cold they don't play in the steady middle. If the Yankees are hot they might win if Detroit plays beneath its talent...as they have done most of the year.  Jim Leyland has in the past been able to bring the best out of his teams to the playoffs, he seems confident against the Yankees. They have exploitable weaknesses.  The Yankees don't field well, especially in the outfield, don't hit well in situations, they have been stopped often with runners on third and second with no outs or one out.  They rely on the long ball for confidence, and play close games like they are sorting hand grenades.

Yet, this season, the fans and I am included have this sense that this team finds ways to win, finds a hot starting pitcher, finds relievers that can put up late game zeros, finds Matsui when things look bleak, finds ARod to pad a big lead; has the determination of Jeter and Rivera.  The fan believes the Yankees will find a way to beat the more talented teams in the playoff field.  So here's to playoffs and the hope that the Yankees come in hot.

Congrats to the Yanks, AND Matsui will stay...

I wanted the Yankees to keep Jose Contreras when Boston seemed intent on running him out of New York, game planning and even his old coach from Cuba on payroll, Jose Tipped his fastball and they had a field day against him. He was traded to Chicago and led them to a World Series title as the best pitcher in the league that season. Yanks should have kept Jose.
Now Matsui was George's last hurrah, a grab of a player who caught the imagination.  Godzilla in Japan, here he was more like Paul O'Neil...a great Yankee.  Matsui has long been talked about this season as leaving after his contract expires because his knees are bad and can only DH now.  Well, he only hit 30 Home Runs and 90 rbi too; and he is only the most able clutch hitter on this team...which has two weaknesses... one starter short, and poor situational hitting.
The relief group is a plus, Mo and Hughes have made a great tandem, and sooo many great young arms: Melancon, Robertson, Coke...Aceves is a gem and Chad Gaudin has been a great pickup.  He should stay as the new swing man [ long reliever/spot starter].
Matsui...I cannot imagine the logic that lets him go to another team. Next season he could produce another 30/90 year as DH.  As of today, he has more homers(28-25) and RBI (90 to 87) than Youkilis the No. 3 man for Boston,  The other players who need to DH are able to play on defense- Posada, ARod especially, need days off not DH days.  That is the beauty of the Matsui situation he needs to DH and he is productive, when hot he produces as much as ARod and Posada, when not hot... his average effort is superior, he is the best at Sac Fly ball, and putting the ball in play against tough pitching.  I'm with Jeter on this, except for Jeter...Matsui is my favorite player too.

Maybe it is just the sight of so many non-millionaires on the mound for the Yankees these days, that raises hopes, expectations and nostalgia; take the last time Sergio Mitre pitched, a guy whose work had been almost too painful to watch: hits, walks, runs scored ... turns in a one hit quality start; and now in the blink of the game and ink of the writers he has become a fixture in the rotation; a gritty throwback to a time when a starters job was to keep us in the game...not just to cost more than some nations can spend on oil in the winter.  The Yankees have had many bulldogs..remember Jim Bouton, Mike Torres.  They were not all Whitey, Guidry, Catfish Hunter, CC Sabbathia types...talented and relatively expensive stars.
I like the idea of Sergio in the rotation, Wang was that way too, occasionally dominant.  I imagined Kei Igawa would be this way.  The Yanks have finally recovered from a string of  bad decisions: Kevin Brown, Randy Johnson, and most- trading Jose Contreras.
The Yanks have talented young arms: Melancon, Joba, Hughes, Robertson perhaps five others in various steps towards the Bronx.  Boston seemed to have even more, but then got caught hording pitchers to keep them away from the Yanks[ Smoltz, Penny, Byrd, Wagner and so many relievers] that they have now regressed in young pitching- Lester is strong, Bucholz a question mark, and the young relievers have not held up this year for long periods.  Matsusaka, maybe he finally realized how badly treated he was in the stealth acquisition from japan...so much paid to his former team relatively little to him, he is under market value if CC is worth $20 million a year, Matsusaka has more talent according to Boston he is on the Beckett level who is also underpaid or overrated... but I still think Boston leads the league in favorable ball/strike calls, and no Black starters in the field, an odd coincidence no doubt... but it catches my eye in baseball, or basketball or football, or soccer, or tennis, or swimming, or gymnastics, or ping pong, or fishing, anything except NASCAR... *grin*... I remember when the Celtics got booed at home, I think they had won 7 or 8 world titles in a row...but the lineup was maybe...Bill Russel, KC Jones, Sam Jones, Satch Sanders, and someone I can't remember...Willie Nauls maybe, Havlicek was the 6th man...they got booed in Boston, five Black players...another coincidence. Red Auerbach was the coach.

Pennant race begins

in the AL East, which may not be the best teams in the AL anymore...Angels have added what they were missing in Kazmir to the rotation and now are clearly the best team in the American League.  The Cardinals the best in the NL by far.  Now the Yankees and Red Sox will come down to the glamor contest in late September, each will likely have 100 wins by the end of the season.  The Yanks are primed to make a run, they have all of their parts coming together at the right time. Boston has the advantage of being able to spend freely.  No one has restrained them as have the Yankees--so they can let go Smoltz and penny and add Billy Wagner, three pitchers the Yanks would love to have.  The Sox have such depth they can trade with anyone, but no one asks them for the price they ask the Yankees.  The Sox have anedge in the ownership collusion area.  The Angels have a brilliant GM and his moves are deft and effective.  Adding Kazmir has tilted the table, LAA is the favorite now to win the World Series, one star pitcher can make that difference.  Kazmir is an Ace.
30 games to go, Yanks and Sox are virtually even, the Sox have an easy schedule and the incredible home field advantage, [and the advantage of so many players who remind umpires of their children...] Ohhh the calls they get in Boston, strike zones tailored to their hitters, sooooo much more giving for their pitchers...amazing, watching baseball when the Sox play is like  watching wrestling in the WWF, you know its not a real sport...but oh, the drama and the excitement are great!

Lets go watch another walk off home run and late inning rally at the Fens... it's like clock work, the last act of a fine staged play....
Pennant race begins in earnest..should be a good one!

Race begins...

So the race is about to begin int AL East, the end of August begins the countdown time, the Wild Card option means that NY and Boston are each safe for the post season unless they essentially fall apart_ go into some slumpy four-five game losing streaks, Tampa will be the most talented team not in the playoffs.  This can change abruptly...Boston had dominated the Yanks this year, and have seven dates remaining. They can overtake New York in those games, and Tampa too will be playing for the season.  The Yankes are stronger than people seem to realize...ARod and Teixera are a load, but more important so many other weapons on offense- several guys with 20+ homers, 80+ rbi type seasons.
The bullpen has potential, young arms with high up-sides, and some players still on the way back from injury- the season could end with Rivera, Bruney, Marte, and Hughes...as a strong chance for  shutting out a quality team in innings seven through nine.  A six inning game with AJ and CC and Joba will be hard on any team in the league.
So the race is about to begin, the last 40 games.  The Red Sox have big holes which will be filled by rehab: Matsusaka, Wakefield qill join Beckett and some five game streaks of wins and easy wins will follow, but Tampa...a team that can get hot and dominate the lesser talented teams with speed and balanced pitching. Clearly, if talent rises this season, it will be Tampa and Boston; but Boston despite the two series victories in recent years, is still Boston...the team most likely to dig a hole and jump in.

Pitching...not quite everything

Pitching in baseball is the key, no offense can be expected to keep up with bad pitching, but good pitching does not guarantee anything this year for Boston.  They have 8 dominant starters( the Yanks have two), and three dominant relievers( the Yanks have none).  The Boston ofense is 8 very good hitters, one great clutch hitter( Mike Lowell one of the best players the Yanks did not keep).  The Yanks have a big four: Jeter, Teix, Arod and Matsui- but a very good support group- Cano, Posada, Damon- who will each take over a few games down the stretch. But Boston will fade to fall behind Tampa, the depth wont be enough and young pitchers will be caught short in the pressure part of the season to come.  Smoltz, Penny, even Wakefield have question marks on effectiveness as the season begins to grind. AND Tampa has more talent than either NY or Boston.
The Yanks need to win three or four against Boston this year, so far they have won ZERO, they will need luck because Boston seems to have their signals and signs, and that amazing way they get favorable calls on ball/strikes. Some big offense will probably be the way...big scores, close games will go to Boston, that is their edge, but the Yanks need to win a small number 3-4, the Sox will need to sweep the season to keep themselves ahead of the Yanks, Tampa will rise like cream and Boston will have the hardest time of the three, to  stay afloat...good pitching is not the same as great pitching...Boston this year...has good pitching, and it may not be nearly good enough.

Start your engines...

Well now for the start of the pennant race in the AL East.  The favorites are Tampa and Boston, but the winner will likely be the Yankees, they will be tougher or they will be broken by the ordeals of their season. The league does not seem to want their success, they tax the Yankees, ten times more than any other team, give their money to other teams as profits.  They pay much more for talent and have much less than than their rivals, especially pitching and youth. Then there is the on-field disparities, the Yankees get the least of borderline calls for their pitchers or hitters, its as if every umpire has a script to follow.  They outed A-Rod the only player to have his confidential health information published ..as if being dumb enough to take steroids and shorten one's life was not bad enough, now the press "on steroids" has a field day with him.  I don't think there is an advantage to steroids for a hitter, big muscles slow down the bat and steroids slow down the brain; impair judgment... imagine how many more he could have hit with a clear mind and nature's own incredible reflexes.  You don't need big muscles to hit home runs, and hitting is more important than home runs. So with injuries and age, and hostility all around...if they can swim they will become the sharks in the water, and they will be toughened to win under pressure.  Boston has overrated pitching and the most generous treatment by umpires...incredible, but they will fade, Tampa will be the wild card and will take someone to game seven.  The race begins...this is news n Boston, I think they thought they were ahead because they swept the Yanks a few series... Calendar says its not August yet, that is the time to prove what you build in July...the race starts now.

This is Your Brain, and this is the Press on Steroids

Today the President set the nation on a road to recovery from the devastation of eight years of Republican mismanagement and social oppression, and i am writing about something even more alarming than the leg-end of Bush [and the gang that lied its way into a trillion dollar war for nothing more than the feeding of friends]; for first they put the press on a squad of tanks and Bradleys and told them they were in a war, and then they put the press on steroids in baseball...in both cases it was the American people who were taken for a ride.  Think back, embedded press and the invasion rides up to Baghdad, the crazy guy in the red tam keeps denying there is an army invading, and we are lobbing missiles at Saddam, and A SANDSTORM HITS AND GROUNDS OUR AIR COVER FOR SEVERAL DAYS LEAVING OUR TROOPS EXPOSED  but nothing really happened...I mean think  "Tet offensive", well that Administration was led by two fellows who also missed the Tet offensive... 54,000 young men and women died in the Vietnam war.

 Steroids now the press is on steroids... I would not mind all the fuss if it meant anything to anyone not ingesting the stuff...except for the children...we are teaching them that there is something to be gained from steroids, something so good that steroids have been banned..because it is cheating... preposterous is too good a word ..probably idiotic would be better...but factually unproven that these things make you better at anything except early illness, organ damage and premature death. SO WE SHOULD STOP ACTING LIKE DRUG PUSHERS SELLING RUMORS OF THINGS THAT OUR YOUNG PEOPLE WILL BELIEVE...sort of like the one about Saddam attacked the towers on 9/11... remember that one...

Pulling wings from Flies...

There has been a disgrace in baseball, that affects all Americans... a disgrace that brings shame upon a society:  cheating...no not ARod or Bonds, they are people who fell for the idea that they needed a chemical to be better than they were, as if a chemical could do that...the pushers say so but...we really know better. 

THE DISGRACE AND SHAME is on the federal prosecutors who broke the faith of the right to privacy.  The people who permitted their bodies to be searched did so on the contract and agreement of anonymity, that results would be used and not disclosed for any other purpose than baseball and its drug policy.  The the federal prosecutors seized the evidence, the confidential searches of bodies, and have systematically, carelessly, negligently leaked it to the press ever since.

We do not need to consider the effects of steroids on the users, it is their problem and theirs alone.  If the drugs were illegal then we have a public issue but that is not the issue.  The issue is the electronic drawing and quartering of Barry Bonds, the desire to divert public attention away from horrendous management of the federal government, a war that someone lied to a nation to get it done...hundred billion dollars in profits to war contractors, many well connected to the failed Bush administration; yes and the nation just NEEEEEDDS to know if Barry Bonds lied.  Unlike some other lies, no one died, a trillion dollars did not go down the toilet, and hundreds of thousands of people did not become casualties of war, oh and the US economy..oh never mind that would be like pulling wings from flies.

The Press on Steroids...

Well here is the problem, little Johnny can't hit four home runs per game in Little league, and clearly he needs to do this if he is to realize Dad's dream of being the highest paid player in the history of the universe. So, we must give him steroids...its the only way and everyone knows it is how Bonds and ARod and McGuire hit all those home runs...in fact it seemed odd that so many of Bush's lawyers are out busting his former players[ some folks gave him the opportunity to own part of a baseball team, they liked his father...Texas Ranger stuff] because they should be out taking steroids too...so that they can hit home runs and be highly paid by someone like Bush... better yet..what they heck am I doing sitting here in this chair...writing a blog...I  should be taking steroids too... as a matter of fact... hey, Grandma...you could get a deal as the best hitting Grandma in history too... just need an anabol highball a day ...and lets call Scott Boras... Steroids are the answer, but what the heck is the question... could the question be...does an American have a right to privacy of their own body?  Does the word "confidential" mean anything if someone can make a buck... you can make a fortune violating Court Orders ?  and who knew that Sports Illustrated knew or cared anything about people with  clothes on?

Still something...

Something about this Yankee roster in 2009 seems lacking, the parts are for the most part excellent, it is the sense of the whole team that causes a pause... there are weaknesses: lack of speed, defensive range, and high on-base/ wearing at-bats.  The weakness in 2008 was not so much the pitching, the five to eight losses that would have put them in the playoffs against Boston  and Tampa, those awful losses to Baltimore and Toronto when the offense was shut down by strong pitching...were more due to the failure of the team effort on offense.  Cabrera and Cano, sometimes Molina and the role players gave in far too many times, one and two pitch at-bats with runners on base in key situations.  They have added some tough at bats, Swisher for one, Teixera for another...and they have brought back situational hitting with Matsui.
The solution could be in hand or at hand: Ramirez would be a DH for the ages, Griffey has a decent year left especially in a hitter friendly park like the new Yankee Stadium, even Abreu could be helpful. The other idea is to put the pizzazz back in Centerfield by a trade for someone to add speed, offense, on base, and slugging...Grady Sizemore, or a trade for someone like Ichiro.  They are a potent offense when Posada gets pushed to number 7, Cano is number 9...and someone like Teixera bats behind ARod in the 5 slot...the key rbi slot in the lineup.  Pitching is fine because of the bullpen strength an a tough 1-2-3 combo of CC, AJ, and Pettitte, Wang will be an advantage at the 4 spot and Joba belongs in the pen...but if he stars in the 5 spot he will be an advantage....So...looks like there is one move left to be made for the offense, and plenty to choose from...

talkin baseball on a cold winter's day

wrapping cold fingers around a warm mug of tea, sniffling a bit; snow outside is falling again on a good layer already in place...so let's talk baseball.
The Yankees cut payroll and added payroll, but the talk is as of they caused the recession and are rubbing our noses in it.  The Yankees are the victims here, Boston bid 174 Million for a player they Yankees signed at 180, so the market was set by...Boston. Now Boston has added Saito, Ramirez, Smoltz, and Penny to a pitching staff that was already 8 deep in starters and ten deep in relievers; Tampa made the biggest improvement by adding Burrell and getting a year older with their young stars, Boston may now add Michael Young and pay less than his salary... all things done because NY added payroll as it cut payroll, rivals have clearly added payroll.
The Yankees will open a new ballpark and play to nearly packed houses at home and on the road, they pay 100 million to the league and other teams; and frankly would be a team who would greatly benefit financially from a salary cap.  Say $100m in cap with no minimum ...to satisfy the small mind er... uh ... market owners and the Yankees would turn quite a profit.  They would rather spend on the product they put on the field, and their fans...are glad for it.

Yankees '09

A Democrat in the White House, the season has hope.  Starting pitching will be a plus with one or more moves remaining the Yankees have a number 1, 2, and 3...CC, A.J. and Wang will match up with any team in the league, the bullpen is a steength if Joba goes back to setup and that us the early key.  Humberto Sanchez or someone from the minors is needed to fill 60 innings or so of shut down relief in early innings.  The offense has new life with Teixera batting third ARod 4th and someone not on the roster perhaps 5th. Posada, Nady,Matsui and Cano are fine in 6 through 9.  Trade and bench from Cabrera, Gardner, Miranda[1B]; Molina is insurance at catcher.  Team defense is improved but still the weakness with Damon in CF, or LF; team speed is lacking but many good base runners compensate for the lack of blazing speed and stolen bases.

The Yankees may need to trade to reduce payroll and add the remaining parts needed: Sheets or Pettitte, Manny or Griffey as another strong bat...even Barry Bonds should be considered. The potential is there for a good year from a very good team.