Is It Too Early To Start Thinking About #28?

If you're a baseball fan, January is the worst month of the year. Normally there is never any big Hot Stove news, and everybody in the Sports world is tuned in to College Basketball and the NFL Playoffs. I'm a football fan, but still, baseball is no where to be seen in the first month of the year. So, do you think we should start looking ahead to when baseball returns and the Yankees begin their pursuit of back-to-back championships? I think so.

During the offseason, the Yankees lost both Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon (so it seems) to free agency. Many were upset with the moves, and personally, so was I. But of course the Yanks had something up their sleeve, and sure enough they acquired Curtis Granderson and Javier Vazquez via trades. They also re-signed Andy Pettitte and brought back Nick Johnson on a 1-year deal. These three guys aren't CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Mark Teixiera, but they were all very nice pickups for the Yankees.

As for that other team down in Beantown, they signed John Lackey, Adrian Beltre, Mike Cameron, and Marco Scutaro to try and get on par with the Yanks. While those are all nice moves, you still have the aging Jason Varitek, the sluggish slugger David Ortiz, and except for J.D. Drew, you wouldn't really want that outfield on your team. Am I saying they can't win the AL East? Of course they can, but like all teams, they have some weaknesses that may separate them from the Yankees.

Now let's go back to New York. When you mix the newest Yankees in with the Core Four and the likes of Nick Swisher, it’s a match made in heaven. Granderson will hit around .270 and may smash 40 out of the park. Javier Vazquez finished fourth in the NL CY Young voting last season and has thrown 200+ innings the past five years. And we can't forget about Nick Johnson; he's an OBP machine, and while he may not hit for power or average, he'll get on base most of the time.

Right now I say the Yanks will win the AL East again. All in all they are still the best team in the American League and maybe the best team in baseball. Am I going to jump the gun and say the Yankees will win their 28th World Championship this season? No, but I think there's a good chance.