A-Rod anchors a potent, patient lineup that will relieve pressure on the starting pitching. John Iacono/SI
	FAST FACTS MANAGER JOE TORRE 12th season with Yankees Team Page | 2007 Schedule THE NUMBERS       LIE | DON'T LIE .485 Career slugging percentage for Jason Giambi as a DH, his every-day position in 2007 even though his percentage is 92 points higher when he plays first base. In '06 those splits were slightly less pronounced: .531 as a DH; .592 as a first baseman. Still, based on his career numbers, Giambi will produce 47 fewer total bases for every 500 at bats as an every-day DH. CONSIDER THIS The Yankees decided against writing a big check when they addressed their first base-DH dilemma this winter. While Frank Thomas, Mike Piazza and Nomar Garciaparra were available, New York was spending a pittance on Doug Mientkiewicz so that Jason Giambi could become a full-time DH. The competition to be Mientkiewicz's platoon partner, utilityman Andy Phillips and Rule 5 pickup Josh Phelps, is less than scintillating. Given that either Phillips or Phelps would likely bat ninth, provide below-average defense and eat up a roster spot, why not just let Mientkiewicz play every day? The lefthanded batter doesn't have a large performance split against lefthanded and righthanded pitching, and he's not playing for his bat, anyway. Such a move would allow Joe Torre to use the extra roster spot on a fifth outfielder, such as Kevin Thompson, to spare his three thirtysomething starters wear and tear. BATTING ORDER POS. PLAYER B-T PVR BA HR RBI SB CF JOHNNY DAMON L 39 .285 24 80 25 SS DEREK JETER R 23 .343 14 97 34 RF BOBBY ABREU L-R 18 .297 15 107 30 3B ALEX RODRIGUEZ R 3 .290 35 121 15 DH JASON GIAMBI L-R 64 .253 37 113 2 LF HIDEKI MATSUI L-R 68 .302 8 29 1 C JORGE POSADA S-R 114 .277 23 93 3 2B ROBINSON CANO L-R 43 .342 15 78 5 1B DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ L-R 317 .283 4 43 3 BENCH POS. PLAYER B-T PVR BA HR RBI SB INF ANDY PHILLIPS R 334 .240 7 29 3 OF MELKY CABRERA S-L 280 .280 7 50 12 ROTATION THROWS PITCHER PVR W L K WHIP ERA RH CHIEN-MING WANG 27 19 6 76 1.31 3.63 LH ANDY PETTITTE 52 14 13 178 1.44 4.20 RH MIKE MUSSINA 62 15 7 172 1.11 3.51 LH KEI IGAWA (R) 154 14 9 194 1.10 2.97 RH CARL PAVANO 134 4 6 56 1.47 4.77 BULLPEN THROWS PITCHER PVR W L S WHIP ERA RH MARIANO RIVERA 17 5 5 34 0.96 1.80 RH KYLE FARNSWORTH 188 3 6 6 1.36 4.36 RH SCOTT PROCTOR 295 6 4 1 1.19 3.52

Perhaps you've heard that these Yankees are different from their forebears. There's now an emphasis on roster and payroll flexibility, and a renewed interest in player development has given the franchise a burst of youthful energy that's been missing since the late '90s -- not coincidentally, the era that yielded four championships in five years. After six ringless seasons the changes are being embraced, even by the old guard. "You have to have the right mix of youth and experience, high-salaried and low-salaried guys," says 38-year-old righthander Mike Mussina. "It seems like [G.M.] Brian [Cashman] is getting that balance more than we've ever had. You can't buy the best players every year, no matter how hard you try."

"We're not reinventing the wheel," says Cashman. "We're just going back to the basics, back to what did it for us before."

The payroll is, of course, still a league-high $190 million, and from time to time spring training had that familiar soap-operatic feel, some of which was just the usual tabloid excess. (Surely righty Carl Pavano set a record for most consecutive New York Post back covers -- four -- by a fifth starter.) But there were also subplots that the Yankees' brass cannot dismiss so easily, most notably that four of the team's pillars are heading into their walk years and could be gone by next spring: closer Mariano Rivera, manager Joe Torre, catcher Jorge Posada and third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

During the winter Cashman nimbly pulled off the trick of adding youth without putting a dent in the club's annual World Series expectations. The acquisition of five minor league pitching prospects in deals that sent starter Randy Johnson to the Diamondbacks and slugger Gary Sheffield to the Tigers not only fortified what has become a top 10 farm system but also provided minor league depth to make possible a major, in-season trade that won't strip the farm bare. With no certainty in the rotation beyond the trio of Chien-Ming Wang, Andy Pettitte and Mussina -- $46 million Japanese import Kei Igawa has drawn mixed reviews this spring at best -- that's no small luxury. (Of course, New York is the favorite to fill out its staff with 44-year-old retiree Roger Clemens, who, while not exactly advancing the youth movement, would cost only an eight-figure salary and not talent.)

Among the every-day players only second baseman Robinson Cano is younger than 30, but that shouldn't prevent New York's lineup from wearing down opposing pitching. Yankees hitters had a league-best .363 on-base percentage, and that number figures to increase with Bobby Abreu in the lineup for an entire season. Acquired from the Phillies last July, the 33-year-old rightfielder reached triple digits in bases on balls for the eighth straight year, matching Frank Thomas for the longest streak in major league history.

While the production should be spread evenly, the headlines are likely to tilt toward a single player: Rodriguez, who after shedding a dozen pounds over the winter further unburdened himself last month by acknowledging his frayed relationship with shortstop Derek Jeter. Consider that A-Rod had 35 homers, 121 RBIs, an OBP of .392 and a .523 slugging percentage in 2006, the worst season of his career. This year he has the added incentive of a contract drive. Rodriguez says he wants to remain a Yankee after '07, but if he exercises his opt-out clause at season's end, he could probably double the $72 million remaining on the $252 million megadeal he signed in 2000.

"We're certainly more secure on the offensive side," Cashman says. "Pitching-wise, we're still a work in progress." Even if they don't unload prospects for pitching during the season, these Yankees -- like the 12 versions before them -- have enough to reach October. -- Jon Heyman

Issue date: March 26, 2007