MLB

When the New York Yankees won their 27th World Series crown in November, they did so with a 35-year-old designated hitter, a 36-year-old left fielder, a 37-year-old catcher, and a closer who would turn 40 just a few days after the Series ended.

Two of those guys are gone now and two return a little older.

Mortified:

Many Mets fans fall into a more doom-and-gloom mindset than a positive one.

Whether that’s because of persistent disappointment, a “younger brother” mentality associated with the Yankees, the attitude of talk radio hosts, or something else, Mets fans tend to approach the team waiting for the other shoe to drop and the team to fail.

As the self-proclaimed Optimistic Mets Fan, I tend not to take this approach anyway, but I’ve found that this rule is not true across the board.

Following up our injured pitchers analysis , here is a recap of hitters coming off injury in 2009, and whether they are worth the risk fantasy-wise or not for the 2010 season.

We’re giving the Green Light to players not expected to be negatively impacted by their most recent injury woes. There are some big names in the High Risk, High Reward category but they have some injury risk you need to be aware of.

Kevin Kouzmanoff made the jump from the National League to the American League this year going from the San Diego Padres to the Oakland A’s. While he’s not in the most potent offense, he still has the opportunity to be a low-end fantasy starter at third base (click to see 3B rankings ).

Former Dodger closer Eric Gagne can represent the best of times as well as the worst of times for Dodger fans.

Some would say strains of "Welcome to the Jungle" still reverberate around Chavez Ravine. Others still feel disgust from the disclosure of his PED usage.

Wash away all the sweet and bitter and one fact remains, Eric Gagne's last dominant season as a closer is five years in the rear-view mirror. The chance of him recapturing anything close to that form is approximately equal to that of Tommy Lasorda passing up a free dinner.

Lock this guy up. Just do it. He's on the brink of "Pierredom." Make that "Crawfordom." And you can get him cheap! Julio Borbon  is set to bat leadoff for the Texas Rangers, and he will be a big reason why the Rangers will take the AL West in 2010.

The Red Sox front office decided not to give free agent LF Jason Bay a four-year contract due to a suspicion that he might experience a knee or shoulder injury during the life of the contract; yet, in the next breath, the Sox gave RHP John Lackey, who HAS suffered injuries during each of the last two seasons, a five-year deal worth $85 million.

Aramis Ramirez has played 150 or more games only once as a Cub. If his shoulder is not 100 percent this season, this statistic will be repeated, and the Cubs offense will struggle.

While that may seem like an all too obvious conclusion, it is the truth. I keep hearing about how "as Soriano goes, so go the Cubs". And while a return to respectability for the Fonz would certainly go a long way to improving the Cubs offense in 2010, I say Rami's contributions will matter even more.

After the conclusion of the 2008 World Series, Tampa Bay Rays Manager Joe Maddon went on his honeymoon with his new wife. Before he left, he told reporters that he was really hoping to see someone, somewhere in Europe wearing Rays gear. Most know the story; he ran into a vacationing fan from the Bay area wearing a new Rays hat.