It's time for some New York Yankee's baseball

The MLB season gets underway Sunday night when the World Series Champion New York Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox at Fenway. And like most seasons, unless some pesky team from Tampa Bay has anything to say about it, it will be the Yankees and the Red Sox competing down the stretch for the AL East title. I think the Yankees are going to win the AL East and repeat as World Series Champions.

• The Yankees are the best team on paper in Major League Baseball. Playing in the hitter friendly confines of Yankee Stadium with the most powerful lineup in baseball, it's pretty safe to say that the Yankees will have no problem scoring runs. The infield, which remains intact from last year, is one of the best infields of all time. One of the best hitters of all time plays 3rd base: Alex Rodriguez, you might've heard of him. At SS is a five-time World Series champion and one of the greatest shortstops ever, as well as the all time Yankee's leading hitter: Derek Jeter, you probably know him too. Robinson Cano plays 2nd base in his first season as a Yankee without hist best bud Melky Cabrera, who was traded to Atlanta. Last season Cano hit .320 with 25 HRs, and I only see him improving in the future. And at 1st base is a perennial 30 HR guy, who hit 39 HRs last year to go along with 122 RBI. He is the best defensive 1st baseman in baseball, and knows exactly how to handle the New York spotlight: Mark Teixera.
• The Yankees outfield will look a little bit different from last season. The biggest change is acquiring Curtis Granderson to play CF. With the losses of such key players as Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Melky Cabrera, Granderson has big shoes to fill. He really needs to step up and produce wherever the Yankees bat him, and he need to do better than his .249 AVG from last season. The Yankees also acquired Randy Winn, a nice veteran player who can step in and play the outfield successfully. Nick Swisher and Brett Gardner will probably be playing the outfield very regularly. Swisher is a very important locker room presence who has good power and Gardner is one of the fastest players in baseball and will steal bases at will.
• The Yankees Catcher will hopefully be Jorge Posada if he stays healthy. Posada is one of the best hitting catchers of all time so his contribution is obviously very important. If Posada can't play, the backups are Francisco Cervelli and P.J. Pilittere. Also, the Yankees acquired DH Nick Johnson who was on the Yankees from 2001-2003. Johnson doesn't hit for average well, but he gets on base, as he had a .415 OBP last season with Washington.
• Starting Rotation: CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Javier Vasquez, Andy Pettite, Phil Hughes. The biggest offseason pitching story was who will have the fifth spot in the rotation. Hughes or Joba? Hughes won the job and Joba will come out of the bullpen, which is the way it should be. Sabathia has looked shaky in spring training but he's one of the best pitchers in the league and when the season starts and his adrenaline gets flowing, he will be fine. Burnett is a pretty good number two guy, but the problem with him is you never know what you're gonna get. He might pitch a perfect game, but he also might walk 10 guys and give up six runs in three innings. Burnett's main problem is control and consistency. This is Javier Vasquez's second stint with the Yankees. Last time with the Yankees in 2004, he had 14 wins with a 4.91 ERA but he's improved since then and had a 2.87 ERA last season with Atlanta. Andy Pettite is Andy Pettite; he'll have about a 4.00 ERA but will keep the Yankees in games and he's one of the best big game pitchers in the league. And for Phil Hughes I have no idea what to expect.
• In the bullpen the greatest closer of all time will hold any lead after eight innings: Mariano Rivera. It's gonna be really fun watching Joba Chamberlain pitch as the bridge to Mo, which is what he should be. Damaso Marte is a good lefty specialist out of the bullpen and pitchers like David Robertson, Sergio Mitre, and Alfredo Aceves will fill in nicely.
• The Manager Joe Girardi will have some pressure off after winning a championship, but there's always pressure when you're the manager of the New York Yankees.