Title: 
New York Yankees 2007 Preview

Word Count:
505

Summary:
The 2007 lineup for the New York Yankees’ may quite possibly the most powerful hitting squad baseball has seen. With the number of star players on the team, they should win the AL East for their tenth year in a row, and there is no reason they shouldn’t continue that trend through the post season. Here is a look at what you can expect to see from the Yankees in 2007.

First of all, losing Gary Sheffield was bad for the Yankees. In two seasons, Gary was accepted as the Most ...


Keywords:
MLB, Baseball, Yankees, NYC, New York, Sports


Article Body:
The 2007 lineup for the New York Yankees’ may quite possibly the most powerful hitting squad baseball has seen. With the number of star players on the team, they should win the AL East for their tenth year in a row, and there is no reason they shouldn’t continue that trend through the post season. Here is a look at what you can expect to see from the Yankees in 2007.

First of all, losing Gary Sheffield was bad for the Yankees. In two seasons, Gary was accepted as the Most Valuable Player for the team. Now he plays for the Detroit Tigers, leaving the Yankee’s team wounded. Bobby Abreu has a chance to prevent the loss from affecting the team negatively, but he’s going to have to continue playing like he has since he’s been in New York, or else this year will end like last year for him.

2007 starter Robinson Cano ranked as the best offensive second baseman, and second place overall. At the young age of twenty three, he’s got all of his best years right ahead of him. Cano’s defensive game isn’t very strong, but this year should see some improvement on that. 

Alex Rodriguez will be another strong contender for the Yankees this year. He should be able to have another MVP season, as long as he can come to terms with how good he really is. His defense is strong, which is a saving grace with the lack of defense from most of the team—however, a little support for him might be a good idea. Though nothing like 1999 or 2006, Derek Jeter should have another good season. Hopefully he can stay on the same trend of improving on his poor range. 

The ’07 outfielders form a very potent offensive outfield, probably the best in the league. We should see Bobby Abreu return his numbers to normal, hitting twenty or twenty five home runs. Productivity should be up from Hideki Matsui as well. Much is resting on this collection of players this year.

For the sake of the Yankees, we really need to see some improvement in Wang’s pitching. We simply need more strike outs from him. With a fastball upwards of ninety four MPH, and a slider in the 80’s, he should be able to strike a lot more people out, so the fans are waiting.  

Although a little rusty recently, Jason Giambi is still one of the leagues greatest hitters. Giambi will be designated hitter again this year. This should ensure that he won’t break down towards the end of the season for the Yankees.

The question isn’t whether or not they’ll make the playoffs; some say that’s a guarantee. The question left remaining is whether or not the team will advance in the postseason. Whether on paper or on the field, the New York Yankees are by far the American League’s best team, with the Dodgers being the only possible challenge in all of baseball for them.