Part two of our New York baseball season preview concludes with the World Series Champion New York Yankees.

Key Additions: Curtis Granderson (CF), Javier Vazquez (SP), Nick Johnson (1B/DH), Randy Winn (OF)
Key Losses: Johnny Damon (OF), Chen Ming-Wang (SP), Jerry Hairston (Util), Eric Hinske (OF), Hideki Matsui (DH), Xavier Nady (OF)



The 2009 campaign was a memorable one for the Bronx Bombers, they opened a brand new Yankee Stadium, they spent nearly half a billion dollars on three players, Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking steroids, had hip surgery, came back and dominated, and of course they won their 27th World Series. Things were happy in Yankeeland for the first time in nine years, but the question is can they continue the dominance from last season? Here are some keys to the Yankees upcoming season.

Number 5 Starter:
The Yankees staters 1-4 could be the best in baseball, but the question falls on who is going to take the last spot in the rotation. Right now it's up in the air with Joba and Hughes fighting for the spot with Sergio Mitre and Chad Gaudin. It's more of two horse race with Mitre and Gaudin there to put some pressure on Joba and Hughes. Joba struggled as a 5th Starter last year, while Hughes became a dominant set-up man for the Yankees and helped cement their bullpen. I have long been a big supporter of Joba as a starter, but Joba has not proved he can be a consistent starter. He has however, proved he can be a lights out set-up man. Why not start to groom him to be Mariano's successor? He showed in the playoffs he can be a confident reliever. He never seemed to have that as a starter during the season. What happens if Joba, Hughes, Mitre, and Gaudin can not fill the number 5 slot? Then it becomes a very dicey situation for the Yankees. They do not have much depth in their minors as far as starters go, so for the Yankees sake lets hope one of the four proves themselves in spring training.

The DH:
The Yankees lost one of the most clutch hitters in baseball last year, Hideki Matsui. Matsui single handedly won game 6 of the World Series for the Yankees driving in 6 runs to clinch the championship for them. The reason the Yankees let Matsui walk was a good one, he has had knee problems for the past two years in both of his knees. He can no longer play the outfield and is limited to just to being a DH. So the Yankees went out and got Nick Johnson. Now Nick Johnson certainly isn't an offensive force like Matsui was and he also has had a history of injury problems. But what Johnson has that Matsui doesn't is a career on base percentage of .402. He most likely will be the number 2 hitter in the line-up behind Derek Jeter, and will help to set-up RBI opportunities for the latter part of the line-up. If Nick Johnson gets hurt or can't produce in the DH role, things get interesting. They have enough hitting depth in the minors that if Johnson struggles or gets hurt, they can call up Jesus Montero.

Left Field:
The Yankees decided not to re-sign Johnny Damon at his asking price and decided to go with a platoon of Brett Gardner and Randy Winn. Having signed Randy Winn was a great move by Brian Cashman. Winn has the potential to fill in with production equal to that of Johnny Damon and he also has a very good glove. When Winn isn't playing, the left side of the outfield can cover a ton of ground. Gardner and Granderson are both speedy guys that can make some highlight reel plays. The Yankees also just signed Marcus Thames to a minor league deal, so if Winn isn't the answer or if Gardner isn't working out the Yankees can call up Thames. I think Thames will most likely make the roster and be a bench player for them, much like Hinske was last year.

The Bullpen
The Yankees don't have much to worry about at the end of games with one of the greatest closers of all time, but the bridge from starter to Mo is a question mark. The Yankees bullpen was one of their strengths at the end of the 2009 season, much different than the beginning of the year when guys Jose Veras were involved. Can Marte be lights out like he was in the playoffs? Will people learn how to hit Dave Robertson in his first full year? And how will Boone Logan who has a career era of almost 6 fair in New York? The Yankees strength last year is again not a strong point this coming season. Every reliever aside from Rivera has a glaring question mark that comes with them, Cashman is going to have to try and acquire a solid reliever or hope that Joba can return to form in the pen. Otherwise there are going to be some blown leads in the Bronx this summer.

The final verdict is that the Yankees will win the AL East going 98-64 and make the playoffs. Their line-up is even more solid than last year and the staff is also strong 1-4 even with the 5 spot still up in the air. The bullpen however could be their downfall but there is enough to out weigh that factor.

Stay tuned for our upcoming American and National League predictions.

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