Yankee's Spring Training Preview

For the New York Yankees 2009 was another season of fascinating, thrilling and controversial story lines, as usual. I'm sure 2010 will be just as exciting.It all started in early December of '08 when the Yanks struck first to reel in one of the three big free agents on the market. C.C Sabathia really had been obvious from the start, it was a no doubter.

They struck again and snatched up A.J. Burnett 2 weeks later. Then, on the day before Christmas Eve they scooped up Mark Teixiera. These were the positives of the off season.The negatives were to come and they would be positive too but in a different way.

That would be in the form of test results that exposed Yankee super star Alex Rodriguez of failing a steroid scene in 2003. The year before he was to join the team. Then in March it was determined that he would have hip surgery and miss at least a month of the season. It's safe to say that despite all of the off season moves last off season, spring training without Alex Rodriguez was a bit daunting. I'm sure all Yankee fans were pleased to read that A-Rod will not require any further surgery on his hip and are looking forward to seeing Alex in camp this season.

The 2010 New York Yankees roster have just about taken shape and pitchers and catchers report in 21 days. Some new faces will be there; Curtis Granderson, Javier Vasquez, Nick Johnson (he's actually very familiar, Vasquez too) and Randy Winn.

A few soldiers will be doing battle with new teams; Hideki Matsui, Melky Cabrera, Brian Bruney, Phil Coke and presumably Johnny Damon. Granderson might be playing Melky Cabrera's position in his absence but we can look at Curtis as Damon's replacement. Grandy is seven years younger, a far superior outfielder and will probably supply a bit more pop- Yankee fans are expecting more than the 30 homeruns Granderson belted last year as he now will be swinging in the new Yankee Stadium. Granderson is also speedy and although has never been a big base stealer under his previous manager Jim Leyland,

Joe Girardi should look to him as one of his top base stealing threats. Veteran outfielder Randy Winn essentially replaces Melky who was shipped off to Atlanta for SP Javier Vasquez. Always considered by most an excellent fourth outfielder, Melky had a career year in '09 playing full time with a .273 BA, 12 homers and 63 RBI.

35 year Randy Winn did not have a good season last year but his previous 10 seasons in the bigs have been excellent. He's a career .286 career hitter with a .344 OBP. He's consistently steals 15 to 20 bases and, aside from last season, hits 10 to 15 homers. He switch hits and is a very good outfielder. He will mostly be platooning with Brett Gardner.

There is not one Yankee fan who is not a little bummed out at the departure of Hideki Matsui.
He was a great Yankee who when healthy was extremely clutch and productive. He always appeared to be older than his reported age though and his knees seemed even older.

I think GM Brian Cashman knew first hand the rigorous methods and treatments it took to keep Hideki on the field in '09, and maybe thinks he got a little lucky with the results. I don't think he thought the odds were good to keep Hideki on the field alot in 2010, especially after yet another off season knee procedure.

That didn't stop Cashman from replacing him with another Injury risk though. Nick Johnson is stepping in the DH shoes for the bombers. Hideki wore big shoes for the Yankees and Nick will not be the power hitter Matsui was but he will get get on base about 30% more of the time. Nick is actually good for 10-15 homers a year but I'm saying he's gonna hit twenty in the new Yankee Stadium.

He's a professional hitter. He is not a terrible replacement for Matsui; for what he may lack in power he brings a great eye, situational hitting and a little more flexibility as he can spell Mark Teixeira at first base occasionally. If it's not quite a wash, its close and better for the overall roster.

The Yankees starting rotation was as effective as any three man rotation could be in the post season.
CC Sabathia and Andy Petitte stepped up big time on three days rest and helped bring home a world championship. It's not something the Yankees would want to try again. Although they could very well have entrusted the back end of the rotation to budding stars Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes, you can't argue with bringing in Javier Vasquez and his usual 200+ innings.

Vasquez was the fourth best pitcher in the NL last year, according to Cy Young voters, but has always been an extremely solid and consistent starting pitcher. As a number 4 starter, he surely will be the best in Baseball in 2010.

The Yankees were a great team in 2009. From the moves made this winter I would say they should be every bit as good in 2010. They are considerably better defensively in the outfield and should have much more depth in the starting rotation with the addition of Vasquez and the expected progression of Joba Chamberlain.

Sources:http://www.espn.com