When we last left you and that doesn't count the very sparodic blog posts during the offseason, the Yankees were left wondering how they could get steamrolled in a six-game series to the Texas Rangers and how their championship defense could go up in smoke.
This year, most of the same cast is here with some notable additions and yes I'm aware that some of them would have made the Yankees even better in 2002 and 2003, two years of 100 wins, but that's in the past and so are the events of last October.
So welcome back to baseball, which as evidenced by certain things, still trumps the other sports. And frankly based on my early 8-16 performance with the 2010 Yankees in the Strat-O-Matic computer game, the new season can't come quick enough.
Some say the anticipation for the new season starts the day the old one ends and that definitely is true for the front office, who plans and when those don't pan out turn to a backup plan. In a way, that is essentially what the Yankees did.
The offseason moves were not flashy unless you count paying $11 million for an eighth-inning guy with the ownership going over the GM's head as such. Instead they were fillers for some parts that could use a tuneup and that means Freddy Garcia (fifth starter), Bartolo Colon (long reliever/spot starter), Pedro Feliciano (left-handed specialist to compliment another lefty), Russell Martin (catching placeholder until prospect is ready), Andruw Jones (defensive upgrade over previous man in role) and Eric Chavez (veteran coming off injuries trying to prove he is not an old 33).
It is an interesting group and because of its lack of flash, the Yankees are not being predicted by many if anyone at all to be the World Champions. That falls into the theory of something to prove, which several players seem to be operating under.
Players such as Mark Teixeira, who is trying to prove that his bat will not decline or A.J. Burnett, who would like to show that he is something close to the pitcher he was in 2008 with Toronto or during portions of 2009. It even goes to Derek Jeter, whose quest for 3,000 hits will be part of him trying to prove that the .270 average of 2010 was definitely a fluke.
Whatever unfolds is anybody's guess, though a knock down, drag out battle with the Red Sox for AL East supremacy seems to be likely. Whatever happens, enjoy it from your HD TV, your radio or from your seats at Yankee Stadium.
