7 Reasons to be Excited about 2014!

Yankee Fans...

We are 7 days from Opening Day which should be a National Holiday in my honest opinion.  Given the fact that my favorite/lucky number is #7 and Mickey Mantle wore said jersey number, I am excited to give you my top-7 reasons to be EXCITED as a YANKEE FAN this season.

1) The potential to have an elite starting-5 that can be borderline dominant. 

We have seen glimpses of what the starters (i.e. Sabathia, Kuroda, Tanaka, Nova, and Pineida) can do during the last week and a half in the Grapefruit League.  Yes there are several questions about the starters, but when aren't there?  Will Sabathia rebound from a sub-par (and underweight) season and adjust to be a true pitcher without the flamethrowing heat he used to possess?  Will Kuroda start AND end the season with a bang...remember, he petered out at the end of 2013, perhaps extra rest during portions of the season with the use of Phelps can save him for a playoff run?  Will Tanaka live up to his hype? I think so and am really excited to finally see him pitch in Pinstripes when it counts.  Will Nova be the dominant pitcher he was 2 years ago or be Ivan the Terrible?  And can Pineida stay healthy for the entire season and finally prove that the trade of Montero was worth it?  The answers to these questions will keep me intrigued for much of the season I hope.

2) Brian McCann's Impending Title of the "Next Great Yankees Catcher"

Jorge Posada was the greatest catcher I had the privilege of seeing play in Pinstripes (sorry Girardi...ha).  He was also possibly the best hitting catcher in his day besides Piazza.  But what has me excited about the addition of McCann is not only his hitting, which should be able to match Posada's average and power numbers at Yankee Stadium, but his ability to call a game should make #1 above plausible.

3) What will Mark Teixeira Contribute?

Maybe it's just me, but I haven't heard much about good ol' Teix...but I have a feeling he is going to have a monster year, what with all the new faces making big cash that may take some of the pressure off of him.  And he makes the entire infield and pitching staff better as he is an A+ defender at first base.  I am excited at the potential of having Teixeira as the 6th hitter in the lineup behind Beltran, Soriano, and McCann.

Photo by Kathy Willens, Associated Press

4) How many home runs can this group hit?

I mean this is no Murderer's Row by any means, but taking a look at the average numbers per 162 games put up by the starting 9 gives us a pretty large number.  Ellsbury - 15, Jeter - 16, Beltran - 28, Soriano - 34, McCann - 26, Teixeira - 37, Roberts - 11, Johnson - 19, Gardner - 6.  Okay, I know...this is a flawed number using the 162 game average, but adding in the numbers by extras, will get the Yankees pretty close to this number as a team, you can almost bank on it.  The number above is 192.  I can see that happening...I am excited to see what Beltran, Ellsbury, and McCann can do with that short porch and whether Roberts can have a season like he had a few years back.  In 2009, his last full season he had 56 doubles, 16 home runs, and 76 rbi.  Let's hope he does again.

5) Speed, speed, and more speed.

"Man I'm fast..."

This team is not just the prototypical Bronx Bombers.  With the likes of Gardner, Ellsbury, Jeter, and Ichiro among others, this team is pretty fast.  Heck Brian Roberts once had 50 steals in a season and averages 34 over 162 games (yeah, yeah...injury potential I know...).  But the potential this team has to both steal bases and manufacture runs with bunts and scoring from first has me really excited.  This team can win with the long ball (chicks dig the long ball) and with small ball typical of the National League.  My sincere hope is that Jacoby can teach Brett something or two in order to increase his steal-rate.

6) Will Joe Girardi's Binder explode?

With so many new additions to the roster this season, we could quite possibly see THE binder blow up...I mean there are just so many new situations and different matchups to predict.  I am excited to see what Girardi can do with this lineup and see if he can infuse some of the young talent in every once and awhile to have a smooth transition after Jeter leaves.

7) The potential for Jeter to Ride off into the Sunset as a Champion.

I am excited to see how El Capitan finishes out his illustrious career.  How many hits can he compile...if he stays healthy he should at least reach 3,500 in his career.  But the most exciting part of 2014 will be seeing the Yankees reach the World Series to allow Jeter to wear a ring on his other hand.  Not that he needs it to impress the ladies.

Just a sidenote...my wife is due on October 7th, 2014...I am just hoping I will be missing a Yankees Playoff game!  Man am I excited!