Taking a Look at the Winter...

The Yankees made huge off-season moves after the 2008 season, and it helped lead them to a World Series title in 2009. This off-season proves to be another where the Yankees have many decisions to make.

Three notable Yankees are free agents: Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, and Andy Pettitte. These three individuals played a major role in the Yankees championship run.

Damon:

Everyone knows that Johnny is an exceptional player. He hits home runs, hits for average, and still has speed. The one main fault in Johnny's game is his play in the outfield. He has no arm, and not much range in left field. A major question for the Yankees is: Do they want Damon to be their left fielder next season? I see them re-signing him as a DH, if they do not sign Matsui.

Matsui:

Not enough can be said about Matsui. He hit over 600. in the World Series, and had 6 RBIs in the clinching game. He had an excellent season as well. The problem with Matsui, is that he does not have the legs to play left field anymore. He is strictly a DH, and nothing else. Matsui has had a great career with the Yankees, but if I had to guess, his tenure in New York is over.

Pettitte:

Andy Pettitte thought about retiring before this season, ended up coming back, only to win the clinching game of every playoff series. What a year for Pettitte. He definitely still has gas in the tank, and hopefully comes back to pitch in New York on a one year contract. If not, the Yankees must take a look at John Lackey.

World Series Champs! #27

The Yankees have done it again. After winning in 96', 98', 99' and 2000, the Yankees went through a nine year drought. During that nine year period, the Yankees reached the World Series twice, yet hadn't made it past the first round since 2004.

This championship marks the 27th title in Yankee history. That by far, is more than any other franchise. Behind this championship comes many different story lines.

The first that sticks out is Alex Rodriguez breaking out of his playoff slumping history with a bang. A-Rod was huge for the Yankees this postseason and Joe Girardi said "We wouldn't have done this without Alex." Not only did A-Rod get many hits and home runs in the playoffs, many of them were clutch, game tying or game leading. Rodriguez had done everything in his career besides get a ring. This means so much to him, and it's nice to see a guy who had such a tough off season (steroid admission, rough divorce, hip surgery), succeed and get a ring.

Another story is the big free agent signings that Brian Cashman was able to get done in the off-season. He brought in C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. Every single one of these players played huge for the Yankees this year.

C.C was the clear ace of this team, and continued to fill that role in the playoffs.

Burnett was the #2 starter, and although he had some shaky starts, for the most part Burnett had an excellent season, and really fit in well with this team.

Mark Teixeira is an MVP candidate. His play at 1st base makes the entire infield better, and he finished tied for the lead for home runs in the American league.

Swisher came to this team not knowing what his role was going to be. Boy did he step up. After starting right fielder Xavier Nady went down with a shoulder injury, Swish filled the role. Not only did he put up nice numbers, he became the biggest and friendliest personality on this team. Swisher was not only a huge producer, but a huge clubhouse guy.

Not enough can be said about this year's Yankee team. They got their championship, and it was well deserved. They were the best team in the regular season, and the best team in the playoffs.

Celebrate we will, but for Brian Cashman, it's decision time. Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, and Andy Pettitte are free agents. He must also figure out what to do with Chien-Ming Wang.

It will be a long off-season, but it's great to know that the Yankees are back where they belong, as champions.