The New York Yankees have been extremely quiet this offseason as they have focused on re-signing the same veterans instead of shopping for expensive free agents out on the market. With the Boston Red Sox being active this winter, could they be a better team than the Yankees as we go into the 2013 season?
The Yankees' lineup still boasts some power in the middle of their lineup. You can't ask for more when you have Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson. Alex Rodriguez will likely miss the entire 2013 season, while Derek Jeter is expected to return at the beginning of the season.
The issues they Yankees have revolve around their starting pitching and role players. Will their catching be suitable enough to handle the starting rotation? Can Kevin Youkilis stay healthy enough to remain in the lineup?
The Yankees have CC Sabathia, a consistent winner, but does Andy Pettitte have enough left in the tank for an entire season? Which Phil Hughes and Ivan Nova will you get in 2013? Aside from Sabathia and Kuroda, the Yankee starting rotation is questionable.
The Red Sox are coming off a rough season. They lost more than 90 games for the first time in over 40 years. They changed managers and brought in a bunch of free agents as they were busy all winter.
The most recent rumor involving the Red Sox have them chasing Adam LaRoche since things don't appear to be working with Mike Napoli.
This shows they aren't settling for just anybody and balancing out their options.
Their new additions include Jonny Gomes, Shane Victorino, Stephen Drew, David Ross, Ryan Dempster and most recently, Joel Hanrahan. That's six new guys, plus they might get Napoli or LaRoche.
Will the Red Sox compete? Highly doubt they will be playing deep into October since their pitching and power aren't quite set up for success. David Ortiz remains their power guy in the middle of the lineup and Dempster is probably the No. 2 guy behind Jon Lester.
However, they are setting themselves up for success in the future, something the Yankees don't seem to be doing. They are more concerned about shrinking their payroll than getting the right players to help them win.
As long as A-Rod is still under contract and the Yankees continue signing these old guys, they won't look like a championship team. Players don't want to come to the Bronx or stay here as seen when Russell Martin signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Raul Ibanez went to the Seattle Mariners.
The Yankees are no longer the feared organization during the offseason and quite frankly, as fearsome as Cano, Granderson and Teixeira are with their home run hitting abilities, they won't hit one in every game, so opponents can go into Yankee Stadium confident that they can escape with a victory.
