As we get ready for a new season of exciting Yankees baseball, let's take this time to look ahead at what we may see during this most interesting 2013 season of New York Yankees baseball.

Well, Spring Training has finally come to an end, it seemed to last for ever this year didn't it? Of course we did have the exciting baseball that was the World Baseball Classic, but nothing beats the grind of the 162 game schedule where we choose to live and die with every game, pitch, at bat. You name it, we're hanging on to it til the end.

This season for the Yankees will indeed be very interesting, to say the least and a lot of "experts" have the New York Yankees finishing...gulp...in last place in the American League East. The very division they WON a year ago with a league high 95 victories! Ok, so the Yankees are older and injuries have hit early this season, but that could very well be a blessing in disguise. It could be slow going in the early part of the season but if the Yankees can play decent, .500 baseball and get through the first month of the season, than anything is possible.

Once the month of May comes around, look for the Yankees offense to get healthy with the additions of Mark Teixiera and Curtis Granderson. Aahh, see? When those two get back in the middle of the lineup, things start to look a little different and different in a good way. The powerless lineup we've heard so much about all of a sudden has some punch in it. The additions of Granderson and Teixiera will than in turn improve the bench that the Yankees will feature with the likes of Brennan Boesch, Eduardo Nunez, Jayson Nix, Vernon Wells and whom ever the second catcher may be. Will they get anything at all from Travis Hafner? It would seem they'd be better served with Boesch as the lefty DH option, but we shall see. With the ability to have those bats coming off the bench, assuming they all do stick, will add another dimension to this team that is being overlooked. The addition of Boesch could turn out to be a very interesting move in that Boesch is still young enough to turn it around and he has the chance to stick with the Yankees if he's able to hit enough. Vernon Wells is here for the season and I think he'll provide some right handed power, along with Kevin Youkilis who quietly had himself a very good spring this year. Youkilis will be very important to this team this year, playing third base and hitting either sixth or seventh in the order. He'll need to stay healthy because no one knows what to expect from Alex Rodriguez and at this point, we really can't expect to see him play this year no matter what we're told by the media.

The sticking point for this Yankees team will be the pitching, from starting rotation to Mariano Rivera in the back of the bullpen. The rotation is loaded with veteran arms with the knowledge of how to pitch. The big man, CC Sabathia sets the tone for this team and he looks ready to go. Kuroda is trustworthy and he'll give you a good effort 4 out of 5 times on the mound. Everyone's favorite lefty, Andy Pettitte returns for another season in pinstripes and much like Derek Jeter, you just can never doubt the veteran lefty and his conviction to compete and to win. After those three veterans, it gets a little interesting. Will Phil Hughes be able to get back and stay healthy and put together a solid season in his free agent season? Will the push from David Phelps lift Ivan Nova to the next level? He has the stuff to get it done in this league, in this division and he has done it before and done it well. Beware of the rotation dark horse for this season too, remember the name Michael Pineda? Well, at some point young Mr. Pineda should be healthy enough to contribute something to the big league club. No doubt they will handle him with kid gloves early on but look for him to finally make an impact on the team come the second half of the season. The constant for Yankees in recent years has been the bullpen and this season is no different. Ok, they lost Rafael Soriano, but we knew they were not going to pay him more closer money after the season he had in Rivera's place. David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain are the bridge to Mo this season, along with lefties Clay Rapada and Boone Logan. The pen is essentially the same, save for Rivera taking Soriano's place and there isn't a person in the world that wouldn't take that swap.

Will all the question marks surrounding the Yankees 2013 season consume them and cause them to crumble under the age and injury that so many have predicted for years? It is possible, but still unlikely. This is a veteran team that still knows what it takes to get it done and win. So what if they have to hit fewer homers? Fans have screamed for years for more small ball and this could be the year that situational hitting becomes paramount for this teams success. The Yankees are arguably the most experienced team in the best, yet still improved divison in all of baseball and that experience could be what puts them over the top when it counts the most. Undoubtably this will be an interesting seson for the Yankees but through the up's and down's of it all, it promises to be a fun 2013 season.