Now that all that NFL stuff is out of the way

Well, with all this Super Bowl broo ha ha (I’m spelling that word how I want) now over, we’re just nine days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training. Oh for real!

The Yankees, who see strength in versatile outfielders, will be heading to George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa Bay, with their first Spring Training game scheduled against the Pittsburgh Pirates on March 3.

Last year there were plenty of questions surrounding the Yanks coming into Spring Training after they missed out on the postseason in 2008. How would new free agents CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett perform in New York? Who was going to be the starting center fielder, Melky Cabrera or Brett Gardner? Who was going to be the right fielder, Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher? Was Jorge Posada’s shoulder healthy? Were Hideki Matsui’s knees healthy? Joba (Joba, Joba): starter or reliever? Was Joe Girardi going to loosen up a bit during his second year as Yanks manager? Girardi also decided to switch Derek Jeter to leadoff and have Johnny Damon bat in the No. 2 hole.*  You had the excitement about the new Yankee Stadium. And, of course, there was also the whole A-Rod steroid scandal.

*When it first was announced, I thought it was ridiculous. Until I
remembered all the double plays Jeter hit into in 2008 (honestly, it
was out of control) and the fact that Jeter being on first would open
up the hole at second base for Damon. It ended up working out great.**

**I stole this idea from Joe Posnanski

As everyone knows, whatever needed to be done during Spring Training last year worked out, and the Yankees went on to win World Series title No. 27. There were bumps along the way: A-Rod ended up missing the first month and a half of the season due to hip surgery; Nady was eventually lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery; Joba’s uneven season as a starter; Phil Hughes joining (and solidifying) the bullpen and the bridge to Mariano Rivera. Most importantly, basically everyone on the team, outside of A-Rod at the start of the year, was healthy the entire season.

That, it seems, will be the main concern heading into the 2010 Spring Training: making sure everyone gets to the start of the season healthy. There is some concern about the age on a few players, notably Posada (I guess you could throw Jeter in there as well), and I’m sure some people might be worried about the amount of innings both CC (although he threw a ton of innings in 2008 as well) and Pettitte threw last season, but for the most part, there isn’t much.

The only position battle looks to be over who plays center field, Granderson or Gardner. I believe Granderson will start in left when Gardner is in the lineup, and might shift over to center when Wynn is playing. I’m sure people are going to focus on how Granderson hits left-handers throughout Spring Training. The other two big acquisitions this offseason were Nick Johnson and Javier Vazquez, and they’re both former Yankees who, at this point in their respective careers, you know what you’re going to get: If healthy, Johnson will get on base and Vazquez will strike plenty of people out.

There’s also the fifth starter spot, but I think that’s Joba’s to lose. Unlike Hughes, Joba doesn’t really have an innings-limit any more, so I can’t see them putting Hughes in the rotation unless Joba has a terrible Spring Training and Hughes is absolutely lights out. Or, if Joba struggles, they might go with Sergio Mitre or Chad Gaudin in the rotation, and stick both Hughes and Joba in the ‘pen, but I highly doubt that happens.

I know for some the absence of Damon will be a big story, but I’ve already made my views on the Damon situation known on this blog. I’m sure new questions will pop up once everyone arrives, but I’m much more at ease heading into Spring Training this year compared to the day after the Super Bowl in 2009.

Mets fans on the other hand …