The state of the middle infield is particularly troubling. Derek Jeter at short and Cano at second are both sub-optimal defenders, and in Jeter's case he can expect further decline with the glove. Since Sabathia and Burnett, the Yankees' two marquee additions, both show above-average groundball tendencies, that should be a concern.

And speaking of the rotation, it isn't as improved as you might think. There's no assailing Sabathia's excellence, but the Yankees may live to regret giving five years and more than $80 million to Burnett. Burnett's injury problems have been widely chronicled (just twice has he pitched 200 or more innings in a season), and as mentioned the infield defense isn't going to do him any favors.

Now consider Burnett's remarkably unremarkable season in 2008. In the AL last season, the run-scoring levels were at their lowest since 1992. Despite the environment, Burnett posted a rather middling ERA of 4.07. And that was while toiling in front of a much better defense. Certainly, his 2008 peripheral numbers were strong, but it bears repeating that the Yankee infield defense is going to hurt him. So what are Burnett's prospects for being healthy and putting up near-ace numbers in 2009? Not good. And let's not forget that the rotation will be without Mike Mussina's 200.1 innings and 3.37 ERA.

The heartening news for Yankee fans is that the organization seems to be aware of these weaknesses. According to some reports, they're in the mix for Mark Teixeira, and given their needs that makes tremendous sense. Teixeira would give the Yanks a high-OBP, high-power hitter in the middle of the lineup, and he'd also improve that harped-upon infield defense. It's going to cost a shiek's ransom to bring him to the Bronx, but the Yanks have the dough and are already "pot committed" for 2009 and beyond. Now's not the time for belated penny-pinching. In fact, no team in all of baseball needs Teixeira more than the Yankees do.

If the Yankees make that move, then you can make the case that they're the best team in the AL. If they do nothing more or merely address needs at the margins, then third place is where they're probably going to wind up. Again.

Boston RedSox News News » Yankees haven't overtaken BoSox, Rays
Yankees haven't overtaken BoSox, Rays
It hasn't been enough. The New York Yankees — flush, as always, with resources and resolve — have been this winter's most active team. But it hasn't been enough. They've coughed up almost $250 million in an effort to revamp the rotation, and they still might bring back Andy Pettitte. Even then, though, the Yankees will remain a third-place team in baseball's toughest division. To be sure, the additions of CC Sabathia and (if healthy) A.J. Burnett make the Yankees a better club, but they still haven't caught up to the Rays and Red Sox. More must be done, at least if the Yankees are serious about making the post-season. As presently constructed, the Yanks have neither the offense nor the team defense to hang with Tampa and Boston. On the offensive side, last season the Yankees ranked seventh in the 14-team AL in runs scored. Worse for the mediocre New York attack is the fact that they had the oldest lineup in all of baseball in 2008 (average age of 31.3), and they haven't gotten measurably younger. Jason Giambi, one of their most productive hitters last season, is no more, and he's being replaced by Nick Swisher, who hit .219 in 2008. They must hope that Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera, and Swisher all have bounceback seasons. Everyone else is on the wrong side of 30 and not likely to improve. Given age-related decline up and down the lineup, the Yanks might find themselves in the bottom quartile of AL offenses. The defense, meanwhile, is similarly hopeless. Take a look at how Yankees stacked up in the AL in 2008, according to a trio of advanced defensive measures: Defensive Efficiency: 12th Ultimate Zone Rating: 14th Plus-Minus System: 10th All these the metrics, unlike, say, fielding percentage, evaluate a team's ability to make routine plays and demonstrate range. In other words, they provide much more information than does merely eyeballing error totals. They're also in agreement: The Yankees can't play defense. As with the offense, the Yankees' advancing age and lack of turnover among position players means that the defense is likely to be even worse in 2009. MLB Hot Stove