Most of us were relaxing and enjoying the break from school somewhere on Valentine's Day. But our day was interrupted with the news of the imminent transfer of Alex Rodriguez to the New York Yankees. Sudden thoughts of the Yankees scoring over 1,000 runs in the 2004 season and having a daunting 3-4-5 of Rodriguez, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield made even the most optimistic Red Sox fans somewhat uneasy about the upcoming 2004 campaign. Imagine, Jorge Posada, one of the leading MVP candidates in 2003 could be batting eighth! Although all of these ideas did crawl into my head, I began to realize it really wasn't the end of the world. Although receiving the best player in baseball can never hurt a team, the consequences for Sox fans aren't as dire as one might first expect. Let's be honest, none of this would have happened had third baseman Aaron Boone not hurt himself by playing pick up basketball. So before, we had Aaron Boone playing third and Alfonso Soriano occupying second. Now we have A-Rod taking over at third and a platoon of Miguel Cairo, Tyler Houston and Enrique Wilson at second. When examining these different scenarios, it is evident that if there is any advantage, it would probably point to the situation the Yankees had last season. Many people forget that Soriano is one of the most promising young players in the game and nearly had a 40-40 season a year ago. He has been treated in the media throughout this whole time as simply a player to be bartered in the A-Rod trade. Furthermore, it is difficult for the average baseball fan to imagine that there will be much chemistry in that Yankees' clubhouse. With Bernie Williams and Kenny Lofton fighting for a starting spot in center field and the plethora of superstars on the team, it will take time for manager Joe Torre to develop an atmosphere conducive to a team-first mentality. And while it seems that the Yankees and George Steinbrenner have more money than God, the Bronx Bombers will be well over the luxury tax and not to mention also nearly possess $70 million more than last season's Yankees in their payroll. As for the Boston versus New York rivalry America has come to cherish, the Sox will most likely have a favorable pitching staff with three perennial all-stars in Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling and Derek Lowe. Tim Wakefield and Bronson Arroyo will likely fill out the starting rotation.The Yankees on the other hand lost their two strong left-landed starters (Andy Pettite and David Wells) as well as future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens. They do have veterans Jon Lieber, Kevin Brown and Javier Vazquez. But all three are questionable in terms of their production. Meanwhile, while everyone is saying players like like Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar and David Ortiz had career years and will not be as effective in 2004, it is unlikely that Manny will put up his 2004 totals of 31 HRs and 104 RBIs and that Nomar will slump the last seven weeks of the season. If you still don't believe the Red Sox are prepared to challenge the Yankees, look at the conditions of the A-Rod trade: Rangers receive: Alfonso Soriano (38 home runs, 91 RBI, .300) and a player to be named later Yankees receive: Alex Rodriguez (47 home runs, 118 RBI, .298)