For Yankee fans, 'tis the best kind of off-season

The rhythms of the baseball off-season are familiar, and easy to fall in step with.

What free agents should our New York Yankees chase? What free agents of our own should the team bring back? Are players rumored to be available via trade a good fit, and are they worth the price in prospects?

We debate these things ad nauseum from every imaginable angle every day during the off-season. There are no games to worry about, so we argue about what could or should happen before a new season starts.

I'm not here today to dampen those arguments. I'm as curious as any of you to see if General Manager Brian Cashman will dangle top prospects in an effort to pry Roy Halladay away from Toronto.

I am here to remind you to enjoy this off-season. The Yankees are the defending World Champions for the first time since the 2000-2001 off-season. Enjoy it. Revel in it. Remember it when you are gnashing your teeth and wondering who in the world is going to play left field in 2010.

If you haven't already gone out and bought some World Series merchandise, remember to put a championship hat or a t-shirt on your Christmas list. In fact, make your buddy who is a Red Sox or Mets fan go out and get it for you.

Remember that everyone is chasing the Yankees now. Adding certain pieces would be nice, but there is no desperation.

Remember that no matter what moves get made the next few months the core of the World Series champion New York Yankees will be intact in 2010, and there is no reason to think World Series title No. 28 isn't at least a possibility.

For us as Yankee fans this is the best kind of off-season. The kind where the rest of the baseball world is looking up at our team.