The way I see the Yankees season going is a 2nd place finish in the AL East with a 92-70 record. I would like to see the Yankees go in as a Wild Card but I am afraid that Cleveland or Detroit will fill that role with the other winning the AL Central. The main reason I feel that the Yankees will fall sort of a playoff berth (and probably fall short by only 2-3 games) is because of the reliance on Pettitte and Mussina pitching. Pettitte I trust to pitch well, but I also trust Andy not too be healthy for the whole season. And as far as Moose goes, he will have his brilliant moments, but to me this smells like a Kevin Brown type year for him. All of which means that Wang, Kennedy, and Hughes will probably have to shoulder more of the load that they might not yet be experienced enough to do.

 Hitting/Defense- The line-up should again lead the entire league in runs scored. Should be over 900 runs again. A-Rod should have another MVP-type season with around 50 hrs, 140 rbis, and an OBP of over .400. Helping A-Rod would be the consistent Jeter, and Posada just coming off a career year offensively. I expect Cano to take the next step and hit over 20 homeruns, with over 100 rbis and runs each. Melky now going into his third full season can see a nice spike with his offensive numbers. The five guys I just mentioned are really going to be the horses to this offense, and each are good fielders despite all the talk about how statistically Jeter is among the worst fielding shortstops, he can still get the job done. But there are sore spots and I think they belong to Giambi and Damon, and to some extent Matsui. Giambi’s bat is not worth him playing first base he is horrible defensively. Damon did not look right at all last year and really has lost a step or two in center, and Matsui also shows some signs of slowing down even though I think he had a decent to good offensive year last season and he was injured for most of last season. The only question mark I have about the lineup is Abreu, I don’t what to make of him other than he will provide some help offensively, probably around 20 homeruns, and over 100 rbis, but he will walk a bunch and stikeout and the worst times, he is a stable outfielder though. I would really hope the Yankees do go to the bench and play Duncan and Belemit more because I think they could really produce despite the limited action.

 Pitching- The pitching is where the biggest questions are. Wang will hopefully get to 20 wins, as he has been the most consistent Yankees pitcher the past two seasons. Pettitte did pitch well enough last year, especially in September, really providing the Yankees an awesome boost. But after those two, it seems pretty unpredictable to say what will happen. Hughes and Kennedy are both young and inexperienced, I think this season will be more about them learning how to pitch in the major leagues than becoming saviors, that has to wait for a later time. As long as they look good and are not pitching too many innings, I think they can really shine. Moose unfortunately is going to have to prove himself despite having a pretty good resume. He was just horrible last season and he is only a starter because the Yankees didn’t pursue any one during the offseason and Joba is not in the rotation….yet. I can only hope that Moose can have a better season than last, doesn’t have to be an All-Star, Cy Young type season, and I won’t complain if it is. The bullpen outside of Mariano and Joba seems shaky, like it has for the past 6-7 seasons. But I do like the addition of Hawkins as long as he is not the closer for any games with a cushion under 3 runs.

Overall: Great offense, a decent defense (good if Giambi is not playing first and either Matsui or Damon look like they did 2 seasons ago) keep the Yankees a competitive team fighting for the postseason. But a pitching staff with youth, inexperience, two veterans with plenty of concerns, and a bullpen that has the last two innings figured out but will probably struggle with the middle relief will keep the Yankees from making it in the postseason this time around.