The New York Yankees will win the World Series and here's why:
1) Better pitching. Last year's rotation had Mike Mussina as the staff ace for most of the year. Andy Pettitte was #2. This year, Pettitte is the fifth starter. Chien-Ming Wang is back from injury and is now a #3 starter. CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett are the top two, and while I am not a big Burnett guy, he is better than Sidney Ponson and all the other crappy guys that pitched last year. Last year's team won 89 games with a weak rotation. I am positive these guys will add a lot of wins.
2) The lineup is still strong. Most of these guys are getting old and injury-prone, but I believe that Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui still will produce a ton of runs. Adding Mark Texeira at 1B was huge. He will protect A-Rod when he comes back from injury. Derek Jeter can still get his hits. Johnny Damon is still dangerous. Robinson Cano will bounce back. And Melky Cabrera is being replaced by rookie Brett Gardner (who is a terror on the basepaths).
3) The division will be weaker. Manny Ramirez is gone, and while Jason Bay is a good player and teammate, he is no Manny. David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek are declining at a rapid pace. J.D. Drew is bound to get injured. The Red Sox lineup is not as strong as it once was. I could see them missing the playoffs altogether. As for the Rays, I just don't see them repeating last year's success. Call it a hunch, but things went too perfect for them last year. I don't think they can repeat that performance.
So you heard it here first folks! Place your bets for the Yankees beating the Mets in the 2009 World Series.
