AL All-star team (aka The New York Yankees) - Hitters

With the impending finalization of the Mark Teixiera megadeal, the time is right for a post on the New York Yankees.  The Yankees spent the offseason cleaning up the free agent market after purging a few "dead weight" type contracts (Pavano, Giambi, Abreau, Pettitte, Mussina to name a few) freeing up a seemingly endless stream of cash.  This cash was turned immediately into the top two free agent pitchers on the markey, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, and the best 1st baseman not named Pujols, Mark Teixiera.

Yankee haters may cry foul...but they are playing by the rules and there is no question the Yankees are good for baseball.  The complaint isn't that the Yankees are putting millions upon millions into the on field product, the complaint is that other owners can't keep up with what the Yankees spend on players and still maintain a constant flow of millions into their own personal accounts.

Here's the opening day lineup, the way i see it...

1. Johnny Damon, LF

2. Derek Jeter, SS

3. Alex Rodriguez, 3B

4. Mark Texiera, 1B

5. Hideki Matsui, DH

6. Jorge Posada, C

7. Robinson Cano, 2B

8. Nick Swisher, RF

9. Melky Cabrera, CF

A quit rundown, spots 1-4 speak for themselves...basically a lock, the only difference being the occasional day off for Damon with him as DH, he's still the best leadoff option.  Something that does still concern me is that A-Rod will still be the guy that has to drive in the big run.  He is going to see the best pitches he could ask for...however if he fails to drive in the run, Tex is not beyond taking a walk in a big situation, and with only Hideki Matsui protecting him, he likely won't see anything too spectacular to hit.  Depending on how Jorge's shoulder is and how consistently he is in the lineup, we may see a juxtapose between him and Matsui at 5/6.

I may be asking too much of Cano in the 7 hole here.  Although he may not replicate his 2007 season, I can't see him doing as poorly as he did last year...so assuming he levels out somewhere in between, he should be solid.  Swish is a big mystery to me, he had the lowest BA in the league last year but he is a money ball guy, he should see a lot of pitches and walk...if he hits 20 hr's I'd be elated.  Cabrera is in the same boat as Cano...he finished last season in the minors and hopefully has had a wakeup call.  In actuality he is only keeping the spot warm for Austin Jackson, so any production between him and Brett Gardner, as well as a plus arm, should be fine for the 9 hole.