Protecting Alex Rodriguez - and not from Material Girls

Ok- the yanks have done EXTREMELY well in the off season this year. It is pretty clear that the only rotation that can even pretend to be as good as theirs is Boston's - but still CC, Wang, Joba, Burnett and presumably Andy Pettitte is a Hall of Fame Starting five. Period. It was worth every penny. I think there is a legitimate chance for CC to win more than 26 games this year. He just needs to pitch solid and he will be guaranteed 20 based on his current ERA/WHIP.

Their current offensive line-up is also really good:

Damon, Jeter, X (presumably Nady), Arod, Matsui, Posada, Cano, Cabrerra and Swisher is not friggin' bad.

That said, they need to fill TWO significant holes - and they can probably do it with one person

1) They need to get another power hitter. You can't protect Alex Rodriguez with Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui. Jason Giambi being gone actually leaves a very large hole, and his replacement is fighting with Melky for who gets to hit 9th.

2) They need a REAL outfielder. Damon is a hitter who is forced to make comedic errors. Melky is a young kid who chases balls like a retarded puppy. Matsui can't run to shag flies.

I think they re-sign Bobby Abreu - I will admit my bias- I love Bobby because I caught a foul ball he hit. Pay him 10-12 Million for three years. He would be insane to turn that down - knowing that he will get to the World Series. Nady and Gardner are solid, but not spectacular - Nady's numbers are inflated because he spent half the year with the Pirates.

They could also go after Manny. But that only solves the first problem- it makes the second problem worse. But at that point, we would be talking about a team that would average seven runs a game - so what are a few errors? And the pissing off the Red Sox factor has to be HUGE here. Manny hitting one out of Fenway in Pinstripes is something I would pay upwards of $1,000.00 to watch live. In the playoffs? Five times that.

Yvan Rodriguez was a total bust as a Yankee. Go back to Detroit you lousy bum. Too bad they missed on Raúl Ibañez - who was picked up by the world champs. Wow - great pick up there. Shelley Duncan had the Major League Record for most Home Runs in his first 20 at bats (6) - sadly, the next 400 at bats weren't so hot. He might get better, but he is still a clown show in the field. Last year's Shelley Duncan - Cody Ransom - also petered out.

I think the solution is Adam Dunn from CIN/ARZ. He hit 40 homers last year.

Any way you cut it- I can't wait for April. Any bets?