NEW YORK YANKEES

Starting Lineup
SS Derek Jeter: HR totals have dropped four straight seasons and his BA and SB's havd dropped in three straight but you really can't complain about a .300 BA with 11 HR, and 11 SB's from the SS position UPDATE 3/26 - Girardi is considering flip-flopping Jeter and Damon in the lineup
LF Johnny Damon: .303 BA with 17 HR and 29 SB's not bad for a 34 year-old that is supposedly past his prime UPDATE 3/27 - dropping Damon to the #2 hole helps balance the lineup by separating him from Gardner, the left-handed hitting #9 hitter
1B Mark Teixeira: for what it's worth, he was 7-for-15 in his first playoff appearance with the Angels last season; his regular season numbers won't mean much if he doesn't perform well in the playoffs
DH Hideki Matsui: still a productive hitter at age 33 but Godzilla could be relegated to DH duty because of knee trouble UPDATE 3/14 - Girardi says that Matsui will likely bat 4th while A-Rod is out
C Jorge Posada: if his shoulder is not at full strength, he will have to share DH duties with Matsui
2B Robinson Cano: despite a decrease in production in '08, the 26 year-old is averaging 15 HR's, 77 RBI's, a .303 BA, and 38 doubles in his first four ML seasons
RF Xavier Nady: subject of trade talks once again despite coming off of his most productive ML season (.305 BA, 25 HR, 97 RBI) UPDATE 3/23 - Girardi says that Nady would be the starting RF if the season started today
3B Cody Ransom: 32 year-old had a nice 43 at-bat audition with the Yankees in '08, batting .302 with 4 HR's and 8 RBI's UPDATE 3/8 - takes over the starting 3B job, at least temporarily
CF Brett Gardner: speedy outfielder will battle Cabrera and Swisher for playing time in CF; should be a heated competition UPDATE 2/28 - so far, so good for Gardner UPDATE 3/29 - officially named the starting CF

Bench
C Jose Molina: only a career .237 batter with very little power but is one of the best at slowing down an opponent's running game (thrown out 41% of attempted base stealers in career)
IF Ramiro Peña: UPDATE 3/25 - battling Angel Berroa for the backup IF job UPDATE 4/4 - made the opening day roster
OF Melky Cabrera: stuck in reserve role unless he can win the CF job outright
1B/OF Nick Swisher: off season acquisition is being shopped now that the Teixeira signing takes away AB's from the 28 year-old, who was expected to play 1B; UPDATE 2/21: Manager Joe Girardi is saying that he would like to stick with the same lineup as often as possible, making the possibility of a RF platoon between Nady and Swisher a long shot

Starting Rotation
LHP CC Sabathia: became the highest paid pitcher in baseball based on his '08 post-trade numbers (11-2, 1.65 ERA); Yankees better hope they don't get the pre-trade version (6-8, 3.83 ERA)
RHP Chien-Ming Wang: career 54-20 record and 34 HR's allowed in 628.1 career IP for the 28 year-old UPDATE 3/12 - will be the #2 starter to serve as a change of pace between Burnett and Sabathia
RHP A.J. Burnett: risk of injury and risk of mediocrity but the 32 year-old is still one of the most talented pitchers in baseball
LHP Andy Pettitte: Yankees aren't taking any chances this off season, signing the 36 year-old veteran instead of taking a chance on a youngster such as Phillip Hughes
RHP Joba Chamberlain: a lot of hype to live up to despite being the #5 starter on what appears to be, on paper, one of the top rotations in baseball

Bullpen
RHP Mariano Rivera: had arguably his best season at age 38 last season (39 of 40 in save opps; 1.40 ERA) although it was the first time Rivera didn't go to the playoffs in his career
RHP Brian Bruney: 3.00 ERA in 109 appearances over three season for the Yankees UPDATE 2/24 - expected to be a huge part of the Yankees pen in '09
LHP Damaso Marte: re-signed to a three-year deal despite a disappointing 1-3 record with a 5.40 ERA after being acquired mid-season
RHP Edwar Ramirez: pitched well in middle-relief, allowing only 44 hits and striking out 63 in 55.1 IP
RHP Jose Veras: decent middle-relief option posted a 3.59 ERA in 60 relief appearances
LHP Phil Coke: team's #8 prospect, according to BA, posted a 0.61 ERA in 14.2 IP with 2 BB's and 14 K's
RHP Jonathan Albaladejo: posted a 3.95 ERA in 7 relief appearances early in 2008 but missed the rest of the season with a stress fracture in his elbow UPDATE 3/31 - beat out Aceves, Giese, and Tomko for the last spot in the bullpen

Disabled List
3B Alex Rodriguez: AROD is a .159 hitter (7-for-44) in the postseason with 1 HR and 1 RBI over the last three Yankee postseasons UPDATE 3/5 - torn labrum could sideline him for 4 months if surgery is needed; since he is planning on postponing the surgery and playing through it, his opening day status is still unclear although this does not good at all if you're a Yankees fan UPDATE 3/8 - will undergo surgery, miss 6-9 weeks

Optioned to AAA
RHP Phil Hughes: top pitching prospect for years is in line to win a rotation spot unless the Yanks decide to continue their off season spending spree UPDATE 1/26: the Yankees continued their off season spending spree UPDATE 3/21 - optioned to AAA today
RHP Anthony Claggett: UPDATE 3/8 - has allowed only one run on three hits through 5 IP this spring; posted a 2.15 ERA with 9 saves in 58.2 IP for AA Trenton in '08
RHP Alfredo Aceves: team's #7 prospect, according to BA, could battle for a long relief or even 7th inning setup role if he impresses enough in spring training UPDATE 3/31 - optioned to AAA
RHP Dan Giese: longtime minor leaguer posted a 3.53 ERA in 43.1 IP for the Yanks UPDATE 3/31 - optioned to AAA UPDATE 4/4 - DFA'd to make room for Ramiro Peña on the 40-man roster

Reassigned to Minor League Camp
RHP Mark Melancon: 23 year-old reliever dominated at three levels (Hi A, AA, AAA) in 2008 and could be a future closer, according to BA, who names him the #9 prospect for the Yanks UPDATE 3/15 - shipped to minor league camp after allowing 5 ER and 9 hits in 5.2 IP this spring
RHP Jason Johnson: veteran journeyman gives the team AAA depth in case of injuries
LHP Kei Igawa: UPDATE 3/21 - throw Igawa's name into the mix for a long-relief role; he's yet to give up a run this spring and the Yankees would sure love to get something out of the $20 million (plus a $26 million posting fee) they gave him before his contract is up after the 2010 season UPDATE 3/23 - reassigned to the minors and advised to continue to continue to prepare as a starter
IF Justin Leone: UPDATE 3/8 - career minor leaguer could get a better look now that A-ROD is out; has 170 HR's in parts of 10 minor league seasons UPDATE 3/28 - reassigned to the minors
OF/1B Shelley Duncan: hit 32 HR's between NY (7 HR in 74 AB's) and AAA Columbus in 2007 but struggled in '08, hitting just .239 with 12 HR's in AAA and hitting .175 in 59 AB's with NY UPDATE 3/28 - reassigned to the minors
OF John Rodriguez: spent 1997-2004 in the Yankees farm system before ending up in St. Louis, where he had two productive ML seasons in 2005-06, hitting .298 with a .372 OBP in 332 AB's UPDATE 3/28 - reassigned to the minors
OF Todd Linden: career .289 hitter in the minors has not been able to stick on a major league roster, hitting just .231 with 8 HR's in 502 career AB's over five seasons UPDATE 3/28 - reassigned to the minors
RHP Dave Robertson: UPDATE 3/11 - 23 year-old is in the mix for one of the final bullpen spots; has allowed just 1 ER on 2 hits in 4 IP with 1 BB and 6 K's this spring UPDATE 3/28 - reassigned to the minors
RHP Brett Tomko: as good as his repertoire of pitches can be, the 12-year veteran has not had a sub-4.00 ERA season since his rookie year in 1997 UPDATE 3/13 - continues to make a strong case for the long relief job after pitching 3 1/3 shutout innings today UPDATE 3/31 - reassigned to the minors
IF Angel Berroa: will battle Ransom for the backup infielder job UPDATE 3/8 - off to a 6-for-13 start in the spring as the Yankees announce A-ROD could miss up to 9 weeks UPDATE 4/4 - reassigned to minor league camp after losing out on the final roster spot