The Longest Ten Days Ever

That's the count now Yankee fans. Ten days until the first spring training game...can't come soon enough! Things seem to be going rather well in the Yankee camp so far, with Giambi and Damon reporting in to camp weighing less and in better shape. I've also heard good things regarding the energy Girardi is bringing to camp so far.

Let's take a quick look at our division and our league. I must say, I am feeling very optimistic. I feel like the Yankees have a brighter future ahead of them then the Red Sox do with the sheer number of amazing talent we have coming up the pipeline. Besides, they don't scare me, we even won the season series in 2007. The Orioles have gotten weaker with the Tejada and Bedard trades. Now we'll never see Yankee-killer Miguel Tejada, and we'll have to face Bedard a few less time this season. The Blue Jays appear to be roughly the same team as 2007, but I don't think that scares a whole lot of people. Most of their good players are either getting old or are very injury prone. The Rays (as a side note, I miss the "Devil" part from their name) are certainly a better team than last year, but even still they will most likely be lucky to crack .500.

Of course Santana has gone to the NL, meaning we will be facing him less often as well. Even Dan Haren has gone to the NL, subtracting yet another ace from the AL. With our solid offense intact, we seem to be facing a somewhat weaker division than last season. There are a few causes for concern however. The Tigers have received a boost with the Miguel Cabrera trade, and the Angels signed Torii Hunter. If you ask me, overall, I would say that the AL in general has gotten slightly weaker. If I'm right, this means that our stacked (and intact) lineup from last season should be able to keep our pitching afloat. The Yankees were the best team in the majors during the second half of the season, and probably would have been the best had it not been for an injury-plagued slow start to the season. All we can do now is sit up north and hope everything continues to go well down in Tampa. The ideal scenario is that Girardi is able to find the diamonds in the rough regarding solid bullpen options, the big three continue to pull their weight, Wang and Pettite are able to start the season in a good groove, then the lineup stays healthy.

If all cylinders click, the Yankees will be the team to beat in the AL. I know that is a huge statement, given that the Red Sox are the defending champions, but I believe it is true. Granted, a lot has to go right in the next couple of months for that to happen, but I think most people will agree with me that it is certainly possible. I'll try to keep updating as often as I can here, but remember that I do have to fit blog posts somewhere in between school work, classes themselves, parties, political work, parties, a social life, and parties. Yes, I am aware I said "parties" three times. Isn't college great? I wish all Yankee fans a speedy ten days as we anxiously await the start of some real baseball action!