AARP Club: Yankees Begin 2013 looking old and battered

For seemingly the last six or seven years, baseball fans and writers alike have been asking the same question about the New York Yankees coming into each Opening Day: Is this team too old? And, when will age finally catch up with them?

For the better part of that time the Yankees have found a way to defy Father Time, winning a World Series in 2009 and playing in the postseason an astounding 16 times in the last 17 years.

However, this season injuries are starting to catch up with the Bronx Bombers, and, for the first time, the lack of depth on this team from the reserves on the bench all the way through to the minor leagues is starting to haunt the organization as well.

The list has been well-documented throughout spring training, but here it is again: Mark Teixiera - out 10 weeks with a wrist injury; Curtis Granderson - out 10 weeks with a broken forearm; Alex Rodriguez - likely out for the season due to hip surgery, as well as the unmitigated PR nightmare following the fallout from new steroid allegations. Derek Jeter will be out for a few days because of his barking ankle, while the catching situation doesn't look too good with Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart (two back-up catchers) platooning for the starting job.

In response to the rash of injuries, the Yankees have tried everything to try to patch the holes in an apparently leaking ship, but, let's be honest, until some of these guys actually do come back, the patch work job by G.M. Brian Cashman may not hold for long, especially in a revitalized AL East.

Hence the reason for everyone jumping off the Yankee bandwagon like it's the Titanic. Because of the bold moves by the Toronto Blue Jays, and, based on last season's surprise team, the Baltimore Orioles, there are no more deadweights in this division.

For example, the Blue Jays added Jose Reyes, R.A. Dickey, Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle among others, making them an immediate favorite to either win the division or completely implode; the Orioles feature one of the best offenses in the game, and the Tampa Bay Rays, even without James Shields, can still pitch with the best of them.

So, with so much age and so many questions about the health of their star players, the prospects for the Yankees this season do not look too good.

The Bombers are hoping that Vernon Wells, Lyle Overbay, Eduardo Nunez and Kevin Youkilis can get the job done with so many of the Yankees' stars on the pine. Wells and Overbay just joined the Yankees this week after the team was unimpressed with the back-ups they already had in camp. Juan Rivera, inspite of hitting .295 this spring, was dreadful at first base and the Yankees had no choice but to bring in a defensive first baseman; enter Overbay who was released by Boston.

Overbay is not going to light up Yankee Stadium with his bat; in his best season, he hit 22 homers in 2006 with Toronto.

The outfield situation is more muddled. Aging, but still effective, Ichiro Suzuki, there is not much out there for the Yankees on which to depend.

Left field has been a mess all spring.

The Yankees were initially hoping that Brett Gardner would be their everyday left fielder, but once Granderson went down, Gardner had to move to center field, creating a black hole in left. Rivera tried and failed; DH Travis Hafner is no longer an outfielder; Brandon Bosche, whom the Yankees signed two weeks ago, got injured, and Ben Francisco is ... well ... Ben Francisco.

Enter Wells, who is coming off two poor seasons in Anaheim, and whom the Angels couldn't wait to get rid of, even if it meant eating most of Wells' remaining contract. Wells, however, could be a steal for the Yankees if he remains true to his word that he has changed his swing.

In a New York Post article, Wells said he is no longer going to the plate trying to hit homers. If he takes that approach, he will become a welcome addition to New York. Plus, Wells is very familiar with the division having once played for the Blue Jays.

If the Yankees are able to get Teixeira, Granderson and Jeter back in the fold and if they produce, the Yankees lineup doesn't look so bad, but that, of course, is a big IF. Jeter, as great as he is, is coming off a hideous ankle injury he suffered in last Fall's ALCS. He is still favoring that ankle, but knowing how tough he is, he should be fine.

Granderson's broken forearm and Teixeira's wrist injury will be tricky to manage on a day-to-day basis when they return.

As for the rotation, the Yankees offer plenty of experience with CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes. The Yankees should not be concerned with Sabathia and Kuroda -- they know they can get 15-17 wins out of both of these guys this season.

However, the rest of the rotation is a bit shaky. Pettitte suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for much of the season last year. He returns this year, grayer but still capable of getting outs. If Pettitte can avoid the injury bug that plagued him his last two seasons with the Yankees and prove to be durable at the age of 41, then he solidifies this rotation.

In addition, Nova and Hughes are both interesting cases.

Nova was terrible last year posting a 5.08 ERA. He lost the command that made him a break out 16-game winner in 2011, and, so far this spring, has struggled to find his mojo again, but he has made progress of late. In his most recent appearance, Nova gave up only a run on three ground ball hits and threw more than half of his pitches for strikes.

The Yankees will really need Nova to pitch well at the bottom of the rotation since Hughes is going to start the season on the DL. While he is no beacon of consistency, Phil Hughes has not pitched at all this spring because of a back injury that derailed the start of his 2013 season.

This is a huge year for Hughes.

He is a free agent at the end of this year and needs to impress if he hopes to get a big-time contract.

Dark-horse: David Phelps. The injuries and inconsistency of Hughes and Nova, have opened up a door for David Phelps. Phelps has been incredible this spring. He struck out nine Orioles the other night in five-and-a third innings and has struck out 27 batters in 28 innings this spring. Last season, Phelps struck out 96 batters in 99 innings and was very solid in spot starts. Phelps is going to get a chance to keep that number four spot in the rotation, leaving the five spot up for grabs between Nova and Hughes.

Another plus for this Yankees team is their bullpen. They have Mariano Rivera back and healthy, but in front of him, they've got plenty of solid arms from Boone Logan to David Robertson and Joba Chamberlain, all of whom are capable of shortening a ball game.

While the expectations are low for the Yankees this year, this is not a team to sleep on. Jeter, Granderson and Teixeira will be back before too long. If the Yankees can hover around .500, or just above .500, and keep pace with the rest of the division until they all return, the Yankees could make a serious late season run, that is, if the old guard can hold up one more time.

Prediction: Yankees finish in 2nd in the AL East at 88-74.