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Brian Cashman addressed the media, discussing everything from looking forward to getting the team to Tampa to feeling comfortable with the roster as it currently stands. Cash was, predictably, confident in the Yankees' chances to compete with the players they have now, going as far as to say it's always difficult to improve upon a 95-win team. He's in the marketplace for free agents and potential trades, and plans to stay that way right through the trade deadline.
Yankees Never Close With Hairston, Upton:
Scott Hairston received a two-year contract from the Chicago Cubs last week while Justin Upton was traded from the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Atlanta Braves, and Brian Cashman says that the team never really got close to landing either outfielder. The GM says that the team feels like it is in their best interest to look at more short-term deals than long-term ones, but that they won't ignore the possibility of something long-term if it presents itself.
Carl Pavano, everyone's favorite Yankee, has injured himself in spectacular fashion. This time, the culprit was shoveling snow in his driveway that caused him to rupture his spleen. Pavano doesn't figure that he will be signing with a team anytime soon because of the injury, and we can only hope that the Yankees wouldn't have really been interested in heading down that path again anyway, even if he was completely healthy.
Chad Jennings continues his series of looking at the best case and worst case scenarios at each position for the Yankees. Next up is shortstop, where all the hope in the world lies with Derek Jeter following up his 2012 with an equally-strong 2013, minus a broken ankle at the end. Outside of that, it's ugly. Real ugly.
Projecting the 2013 Yankees by WAR:
Michael Eder at TYA goes through the current roster to make some shots in the dark on what kind of WAR numbers each has a chance of putting up. His conclusion would make the Yankees roughly an 87-win team. Is that enough to get them into the playoffs?