WHY WE NEED TO LOOK AHEAD

February 14th means 2 things to me:

1. Expressing my love to my wife
2. Expressing my love to my ball club.

February 14th is the day that Pitchers and Catchers officially report to Spring Training for the New York Yankees and that's the day I forget about the snow and ice and start looking forward to baseball again, the greatest sport in the world.

I'm thrilled that Cashman put in place alittle veteran energy on the bench by signing Eric Chavez and Ronnie Belliard. Yes, both Chavez and Belliard have signed minor league deals, but I expect both will be on the big club come March 31st along with someone like Ramiro Pena, merely because of speed and because he can play shortstop.

I personally love the fact that veterans are mixed in with youngsters. It's a good mixture of experience and youth and it usually works out well. I know I'm getting way ahead myself assuming Chavez and Belliard will be on the Yankees bench, but I just don't see it any other way.

The pitching obviously is still key and many Yankee fans are panicking. Don't be. Cash did what he could do. He never fell in love with anyone after Cliff Lee but examined everything carefully and took the best options. I trust his judgement and I know something's coming, I just don't know what. Again, expect a good competition for rotation spots and expect some surprises. At the end of the day, I see Mitre as the mop up guy in the bullpen and a Garcia and Nova combination in the back end of the rotation.

And finally, I just want to take a moment and express my sadness, yet excitement for Ol' Reliable, Andy Pettitte. Only Andy knows what his body can do, and if Andy needs to sit this one out, then we as fans, need to respect it. He's fought hard all these years and has always come through. Hell, he even got a base hit in the World Series in 2009. You have to respect the guy.

Andy Pettitte is and will be a Yankee forever, but for now, it's time to turn the page. Spring Trainings right around the corner. Let's move forward... we have a 28th championship to win. After all, players come and go, but our energy is still the same, and now it's time to harness it once again, into another winning season. LET'S GO YANKS!

Finally, look for the Bleeding Yankee Blue's first Fan of the Week on our page Monday morning. For those of you who haven't sent in your picture wearing Yankee Gear, please do so soon, deadline is February 6th... Super Bowl Sunday. Email it to my FB message OR email to BleednYankeeBlu@gmail.com.

Good luck.

Please comment and let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.