It's Been a Long, Cold, Lonely Winter

So let's sum up:

When this offseason began, ignominiously, the issues facing the Yankees were as follows:

1. Re-sign Robinson Cano, which everyone agreed would happen
2. Pursue Masahiro Tanaka, assuming the posting fee, which would be high, would be counted outside the luxury tax, since the budget HAD to remain under $189-million
3. Find some infield help because it was a decent bet there'd be no Mr. Rod this season
4. There was no great need for outfielders, as the Yankees were flush with them, including Vernon Wells, Ichiro Suzuki and Alfonso Soriano, so no worries there
5. Get Derek Jeter started on his next three or four years in pinstripes healthy
6. Maybe find a closer to replace Mo, since David Robertson is "untested" in the role
7. Sign a decent catcher to fill in until John Ryan ("don't call me J.R.") Murphy or Gary Sanchez is ready.

So. How'd all that work out?

Well, Derek Jeter is coming back. So there's that.

This offseason might not have hit all its expectations, but it certainly hasn't been Brian Cashman's darkest hour, either. The outfield, which didn't need much help (well, less than the infield, anyway), got Jacoby Ellsbury from the Red Sox and Brett Gardner, um, from the Yankees, but signed for five more years, counting this one. Wells, who last year was over the moon about being a Yankee, was ceremoniously kicked to the curb--and rightfully so, despite his lovely April and May in 2013--in favor of Carlos Beltran, who apparently had been a Yankee-in-waiting since roughly the DiMaggio era.

Cano? Not so much. 

On the infield, there will be a Mark Teixeira who readily admits he doesn't know how much he can get out of his surgically repaired wrist, and no backup for him at first; Brian Roberts, whose endorsements these days come from the likes of Band-Aid and Ben Gay; the last tour of the Captain, with a right ankle that's more machine than man, now; and someone standing around third base. It's, let's say, a question mark. I would not be surprised to see an infielder (or two!) added before spring training is over, as Wells and Lyle Overbay were last year.

Masahiro Tanaka will indeed be a member of the starting rotation, and the $189-million budget will not. Instead, he'll be joined by CC Sabathia, or whoever that is in the oversized uniform, Hiroki Kuroda, he of the advancing age and declining second halves, Ivan Nova and his bipolar curve ball, and any one of a dozen possible fifth starters. It's possible that Kelly Johnson, who is currently slotted to play third, short, second or first and maybe some outfield, is being groomed for that role as well.

David Robertson, who had been told time and again that he was not being "handed" the closer's role, will be the closer. Unless Kyra Sedgwick cares to reassume the role. Elsewhere in the bullpen, it's anybody's guess. Injured former Red Sox appear to be the in thing these days, with the hope that maybe they can show up by September. Okay. (Expect some movement in the bullpen, with the losers of the fifth-starter derby surely to be members of the pen fairly soon.)

Nobody will trade for the once-valiant Ichiro, the 2012 version of the 2013 Alfonso Soriano, who showed up and took over as an offensive force when no one expected it. No word on who will be the 2014 version until late July at the earliest. So one of the greatest singles hitters in baseball history will be a pinch hitter.

And then there is Brian McCann, who for all the world looks like the best signing of the winter. Gritty, talented, stalwart, with comparisons being made to Thurman Munson (!), McCann is now shoving people like Sanchez and Murphy into the category of prized trading chips. We'll see who's still in camp when the dust settles.

And then there's Derek Jeter. It's the opposite of a secret now that this will be #2's last campaign, and much will be made about "winning this one for the Captain." And that would be nice, but is it plausible?

Will this team be better than the woeful (and yet over-500) 2013 Yankees? Unless the same Perfect Storm of injuries strikes, byte your tongue, it pretty much has to be. Tanaka and McCann alone make it better. Ellsbury showing Gardner how to be more aggressive on the bases surely won't hurt. Girardi's great strength is in handling a bullpen, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt there. Yes, this team will be better; it'll score more runs and hopefully prevent a few more.

Robertson will be fine in the ninth inning. He won't be as dependable as Mo, mostly because in the history of Man, that's only happened once. We're going to have to get used to what every other team in the sport knows: A closer isn't automatic.

Will it be good enough to win a championship? They're not going to be anybody's pick before the season begins. That's okay, nobody picked Boston last year. This team should be good enough to get to the playoffs, and after that it's a question of who the hottest team of the moment is. That can be anybody.

So it should at least be an entertaining season. Jeter will be beatified in pretty much every city, as was the noble Mo last year. Tanaka, I'm betting, will impress, if not vie for the Cy. I have faith that CC will find ways to get people out. I refuse to believe that the Captain will not bounce back through sheer determination and the realization that there is no next year.

And look at the bright side: There won't be any Mr. Rod this year.

Given the kind of winter we've had and are having, one thing is for certain: Opening Day can't possibly come fast enough.