The Yankees won the World Series they were supposed to win, the one that was the result of an offseason splurge on free agents CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett, not to mention the piles of money that kept Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada in New York. But can they do it again?

Given that five of those seven guys are 32 or older, and thus on the wrong side of baseball's actuarial tables, it will be interesting to see if the 2009 title is the start of another run or a last hurrah.

Including Joe Torre's teams in New York, only seven of 38 World Series winners have repeated in the era of divisional play. The Yankees are likely to be favored in 2010, no matter what they do this winter, as all the key players are due back. But they have significant questions to answer:

What about World Series heroes Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon, both of whom are free agents?

It's possible one will be back but not both. Matsui, the World Series MVP, would be a popular choice, but he's 35 with bad knees. He has played only 195 games in the outfield the last four years, none in 2009. Posada's injury issues and diminished receiving skills argue for him to be used as a DH as much as a catcher in the remaining two years of his contract, which makes the fit for Matsui tighter.

As for Damon, who's to say the Yankees won't sign one of the best free-agent hitters on the market, Matt Holliday or Jason Bay? The Yankees have young outfielders in Brett Gardner and center-field prospect Austin Jackson, and general manager Brian Cashman knows the team must get younger.

How could a team with a $201.5 million payroll have four pitchers (Sabathia, Burnett, Rivera and Andy Pettitte) account for 331 of the 422 outs it got in the playoffs?

Cashman's No. 1 priority is adding pitching depth. The rotation would look better if Chien-Ming Wang got healthy and Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes (20-16 with a 4.59 combined ERA in 71 big-league starts) stepped into significant roles, but will Cashman be able to resist veteran pitchers on the free-agent market?

In Matsui, Damon, Pettitte and potential non-tenders Xavier Nady and Wang, as much as $43 million could come off the books.

Can Nick Swisher become the second coming of Paul O'Neill?

With his third team in three seasons, a trend brought about by his spotlight-grabbing personality, Swisher filled a big hole in rightfield. He and Burnett made pie-throwing cool in the Bronx, breaking up the staid nature of the Yankees' clubhouse, but can he mature into an all-business player like O'Neill?

His .869 OPS this season was better than O'Neill's in the last three years he was the Yankees' primary rightfielder. Manager Joe Girardi's patience with Swisher in the postseason was impressive.

How big of a reward does Jeter get for being in the middle of everything?

The guy with 2,747 career hits and as many names in his black book has one year left on the contract he signed in 2001. Rodriguez will be paid through the season he's 42 _ a precedent that suggests a six-year extension for Jeter, 35. You wonder how much longer he has left as a shortstop, but can you really give him that much less than Rodriguez, whose deal averages $27.5 million a year?

Coming to Chicago: This is the time of year general managers usually retreat to a warm locale to discuss rule changes and lay the seeds for possible trades.

But with attendance down 6.6 percent, MLB has ordered economic restraint. That's why they will be at a hotel near O'Hare next week.

Expanded use of replay in the postseason is expected to be discussed. It will be interesting to see what is said about spending on payrolls in future seasons.

The players union, under new leadership with Michael Weiner replacing Donald Fehr as executive director, is weighing a collusion filing because of the lack of contract extensions for veterans in the last year. Among those reaching free agency this season or next are Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Joe Mauer, Holliday, John Lackey, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Josh Beckett, Lance Berkman, David Ortiz, Paul Konerko and Derrek Lee.

Two times two: You think Damon's dash from first to third base against the Phillies' overshifted infield in Game 4 was something? What about a play the Cardinals pulled off against the Cubs during their championship season in 1985?

Just as Damon was given two stolen bases on his heads-up play, the Cardinals' Vince Coleman and Willie McGee each received two steals on a play that started as a double steal at Wrigley Field.

Coleman overslid third base, winding up somewhere near the coaching box, so he hopped up and started home. The Cubs' Ron Cey, Jody Davis and Scott Sanderson botched the rundown, allowing Coleman to score and McGee to wind up at third.

Rick Hummel, the outstanding baseball writer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, recalled the play after seeing Damon go from first to third. Official scorer Randy Minkoff awarded each runner two steals after conferring with the legendary Seymour Siwoff of the Elias Sports Bureau.

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THE WHISPERS

Vicente Padilla's pitching ability wasn't the issue when the Rangers released him in midseason. It's the off-the-field activity and his ability to alienate teammates that limits his value. The Dodgers had said they were interested in re-signing him but are asking hard questions about an incident in which he was shot in the right thigh last week in his native Nicaragua. The shooting did appear to be the result of an accident, possibly due to the mishandling of a gun by a bodyguard. ... Smart move by the Angels in retaining Bobby Abreu. He would have found a much bigger market for his services this winter than he did a year ago. ... As with the Jeremy Hermida-to-the-Red Sox deal, rich teams are going to get richer this winter. The economic climate suggests an unusually large number of players will be non-tendered, and teams with money to spend _ the Yankees, Red Sox, Giants and Angels, maybe _ can trade for them rather than trying to sign them as free agents. The Cubs might find their bullpen help this way. ... Look for the Twins to get busy working on the Joe Mauer contract extension. Where's the starting point? Five years, $95 million, maybe? The Twins have a good catching prospect coming in Wilson Ramos, 22, the leading hitter in Venezuela this winter (.403-6-23 in 20 games). ... Diamondbacks first baseman-outfielder Conor Jackson is making a nice comeback in the Dominican Republic after missing much of the season with a mysterious illness. ... The Brewers' acquisition of Carlos Gomez for J.J. Hardy means Mike Cameron won't be re-signed. General manager Doug Melvin says that money will be used to pursue pitching. ... The Cubs' Jeff Samardzija has been throwing well in Mexico, which can be a tough place to pitch. Ted Lilly hopes to be back from his shoulder surgery by Opening Day, but the Cubs could be looking at two vacancies in the season-opening rotation, not just the one opened by Rich Harden's expected departure.

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(c) 2009, Chicago Tribune.

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