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Sweeny: Talk Of Kids Is Nice, But Older Yankees To Drive 2016 Bus

By Sweeny Murti
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We need to fast forward to Opening Day.

I mean, it was nice to watch Aaron Judge and Jorge Mateo and James Kaprielian do their things last week and dream about the future. And it's important to see how the bench and the bullpen fills out the roster, with the next three weeks of games helping you figure all that out.

But as much as we wring our hands over who are literally the 24th and 25th men on the team, and ponder a hypothetical world in which the next Core Four is in place by Memorial Day, we need to get to Opening Day and plant ourselves in the reality of the 2016 Yankees season.

MORE: Sweeny: A Sit-Down With Yankees Player Development Guru Gary Denbo

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And that reality is based on how well the high-priced names perform over the course of 162 games. Health is the big key, we all like to say this time of year. But what it really means is health and performance.

Chase Headley was healthy last year, but his performance on both sides of the ball came in below expectations. Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury were healthy enough to take the field in August and September, but weren't healthy enough to be the players the Yankees needed them to be. Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Beltran -- the were issues with all in 2015, but on the whole of their numbers, they all had good seasons.

But now they are another year older, and at stages of their careers where that can make an incredible difference. Based on the position he plays, maybe we can say the same about Brian McCann. Of the six starters vying for five spots, all but one dealt with an injury last year and the one who didn't -- Luis Severino -- has made 11 career major league starts. More than half of the bullpen spots can be considered open at this point, and this is supposed to be the strength of this Yankees team.

The AL East is no joke when it comes to head-to-head play. The Blue Jays may have lost David Price but they can still mash. The Red Sox found David Price and they are still the Red Sox. The Orioles have won back-to-back season series against the Yanks. The Rays always have pitching to shut down the big bats (last year's season series win vs. TB was the Yanks' first since 2009).

I'm not the first one to point out all these question marks and how they could turn a season of hope into a season of doom. Now, I don't think all these questions have negative answers to them. There is enough talent to put this team in the 85-92-win playoff picture, but there are also enough things that can go wrong to put them in the 78-84-win, not-nearly-what-you-expect-for-this-payroll category.

The weather is getting nicer in New York. It's a reminder that the real baseball season is coming. Down in Florida they still need time to figure a few things out. But for those of us who want to see what the Yankees are all about this year, Opening Day can't come fast enough.

Follow Sweeny on Twitter at @YankeesWFAN

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