GOD BLESS YOU GEORGE!

Potent offense will drive Yankees

The Yankees scored 504 runs in the last 76 games last year, after Bobby Abreu and Robinson Cano emerged from early-season slumps, after Johnny Damon began playing his way into shape. The Yankees finished the regular season with 968 runs, almost half a run per game more than any other team, production that was obscured when New York was knocked off in the first round of the playoffs, again.

This spring, Abreu and Jason Giambi have come into camp looking like linebackers, as each prepares for possible free agency in the fall; Abreu has been lifting weights at night, after working out in the mornings and playing in the afternoons, and has a .538 on-base percentage this spring. “The best I’ve ever seen him,” said a longtime scout. “He looks more invested.”

Giambi is running better than he has since his days in Oakland. Damon, effectively put on notice by manager Joe Girardi in a November meeting, is in better shape, and Melky Cabrera, now entrenched as the everyday center fielder, seems more comfortable.

The Yankees have many, many pitching questions — about every member of their rotation and some parts of their bullpen. They need somebody to contribute quality innings, and they don’t know if those will come from Mike Mussina or Ian Kennedy, or if they’ll get them at all.

But the offense should be the anchor for this team, day to day. The Yankees are going to hit and score runs, lots of them, and almost all of the Yankees have been swinging well this spring.

“When you look at it on paper, the lineup looks good, but you still have to play the games,” said catcher Jorge Posada. “You have to perform, and do a lot of things well. But on paper — tremendous.”

FANTASY
ON THE RISE
• Luis Gonzalez, Marlins: It looks like he could get a chance to play early in the first few weeks.
• Erik Bedard, Mariners: He gave up a couple of more homers, but showed improvement at the end of his rough spring.

ON THE DECLINE
• Dontrelle Willis, Tigers: He finished his work in Florida with an 8.64 ERA, and all kinds of control problems.
• Kelvim Escobar, Angels: It’s unclear whether the Angels will get anything out of him this year.
Posada offered some observations about the team’s lineup the other day, like a word-association exercise.

Damon, hitting .233 this spring: “He’s a guy that we need to have going, and he understands that. He’s our sparkplug. If he has a year he’s capable of having, he’ll be the one who will make us win. He’s more comfortable, being in left field, and he’s going to DH a little bit. We just have to keep him healthy.”

Derek Jeter, hitting .250 this spring: “He’s going to have a great year, an MVP type of season. I think that because of the way he worked in the offseason, the way he took care of his body and worked on trying to get jumps and [did] speed drills.

Alex Rodriguez, batting .432 in the Grapefruit League: “He’s been hitting for awhile [in Florida], since the end of December, so he’s really locked in right now.”

Robinson Cano, hitting .467 this spring, with a .683 slugging percentage: “He can be a batting title champion every year. He’s going to hit .300 every year. He’s learning to hit for power now, and he’s only 25 years old. Last year, it took him a little while to get going, but he’s learning.”

Hideki Matsui, who is hitting .375 with a .462 on-base average this spring: “He played last year hurt, the whole year. Now that he is healthy, having that knee fixed, he’s going to be different.”

Giambi, who has a .415 on-base percentage and .385 average this spring: “He looks really healthy, and worked really hard during the offseason. He got in great shape.”

Cabrera, hitting .340 in Florida: “He needs to step up, and I think he understands that. It takes him a little while to get aggressive, and we need him to be aggressive, to be himself.”

The scout agreed with Posada’s assessment of the Yankees’ lineup. “They don’t have as much firepower as Detroit, maybe not as much in the way of extra-base hits,” said the scout. “But they are all high on-base [percentage] guys, and the lineup is relentless.”

Andy Pettitte is feeling better, and is lined up to pitch April 3, writes Ed Price.