It is very hard to look at the New York Yankees' offseason so far and qualify it as anything but a success. With $88 million coming off the books for free agency, New York has been able to sign two very good starters, CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett, while also beating out the rival Red Sox for the services of 28-year-old first baseman Mark Teixeira.

Although these moves drew criticism from fans and management figures around the game, it was not in fact an example of "spending like drunken sailors." New York had a number of pressing issues to address, and they were able to bolster both their lineup and starting rotation with young, excellent players, all while cutting their overall payroll from last year.

The one area that the Yankees have failed to address, however, is the one area that the Red Sox have once again done such a good job of bolstering: the bench and overall depth of the 25-man roster.

During the course of a baseball season, no team makes it through the 162 games without suffering at least some injuries. You would think that the Yankees, of all teams, would know this best, considering the remarkable number of crippling injuries the team has suffered in the past couple of years.

In 2006 the Yankees lost Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui for the bulk of the season, and were constantly searching for a No. 5 starter with Carl Pavano out for the season.

2007 brought more of the same, with Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang both missing time in April, Phil Hughes going down for three months after only two starts, and Jason Giambi only managing to play in 83 games.

As if this wasn't enough, the Bronx Bombers were once again ravaged by injuries throughout the 2008 season.

On the offensive front, Matsui struggled with bad knees and only managed to play in 93 games.

Jorge Posada had a nagging shoulder injury throughout the year, playing in only 51 games and hitting three home runs.

Johnny Damon and Alex Rodriguez both went on the 15-day disabled list as well, leaving the Yankees with only three players who played at least 150 games (Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, and Bobby Abreu).

Pitching wise, things weren't much better, as Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte were the only starters from the Opening Day rotation that made more than 15 starts.

Wang injured his foot in June and never returned, while Hughes and Ian Kennedy were never able to stay healthy or effective throughout the season. Joba Chamberlain had a great two-month stint in the rotation, but he also went down with an injury in August and never returned as a starter.

All of these injuries can't and shouldn't be used as an excuse for why the team hasn't made the ALCS since 2004, but there is a lesson to be learned from all this: You can never have enough good players, especially when it comes to pitching.

In each one of the last three seasons the Yankees have seemed to be scrambling to find starters throughout the year, and they have been very hit-or-miss on this front. 

In 2006, the Yankees got six good starts from Jeff Karstens, but saw Shawn Chacon and Aaron Small struggle after their great 2005 seasons. New York used seven different rookie starters in 2007, and ended up with nine pitchers who made at least five starts. Of those nine, three posted ERAs over 6.00, and only two of them were able to win at least 15 games.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?