At least from what I see:
1. Hideki Matsui's knee. If he can't do much but DH, Melky plays every day and Damon plays the field every day (or game, I should say, with all the off-days). Giambi barely plays at all because Dougie M. will be manning first.
The offense suffers in favor of the defense. However, with a 2-3-4 of Jeter, Abreu and Rodriguez with Posada and Cano in the wings, that really shouldn't be the biggest concern. I'm worried, but not so much so.
2. Jason Giambi as a pinch-hitter. He's done it before, and he's a great bat to have off the bench. Torre, I think, would be best served having a game plan for him so he's not stuck with guys out of position or losing the DH late in a game. Yes, it's elementary to say that, but hey, most of the year an AL manager can coast, relative to the NL.
3. The LeBron effect. Just interesting -- he's a Yankees fan, and folks just need to "deal with it." (NoMaas spotted this)
4. Luiz Vizcaino's arm. Expect him to put a game in serious jeopardy (as opposed to not serious jeopardy), but it won't be his fault. His arm is shot, and Joe Torre hasn't helped that. If I haven't already stated it, I think Vizcaino isn't the workhorse he thinks he is, nor as good as his May 30-Aug. 15 numbers hinted at. But still, he's too important to this team to be nearly useless. Somebody needs to step up here.
5. How retaining Willie Randolph affects...oh wait, Yankees fans don't care about the Mets. Sorry, I don't root against them, but they are like the Padres or Brewers -- I wonder who the hell they have beyond starter #3 and middle reliever #2.
