I know it's hard to look at the positives after it appeared that money-grubbing Mark Teixeira was going to sign with the Sox for like four months, only to have the damn Yankees swoop in and sign him in all of two minutes, but it is not all bad, Sox fans. Remember two things:

1. The Red Sox will enter Spring Training largely as the same club that came within two runs of advancing to the World Series last year. Experience, camaraderie, comfortability... all things the Sox have going for them that the Yanks will have to pick up throughout Spring Training and into the season.
   
2. The Yankees had to overpay and drop $423.5 million on THREE PLAYERS to ensure they wouldn't finish in third place again and at least be competitive next year. And that is exactly what they will be: competitive. Don't get me wrong, the Yankees will be a very formidable team next year, but the average age of their starters is 31.7 years and their defense is suspect, at least compared to the Sox's. 

Let's look at the two projected lineups for next year to shed some light.

Yankees
RF Johnny Damon
SS Derek Jeter
1B Mark Teixeira
3B Alex Rodriguez
C Jorge Posada (may see extensive time at DH, as well)
CF Nick Swisher/Melky Cabrera
DH Hideki Matsui
LF Xavier Nady
2B Robinson Cano

Red Sox
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
DH David Ortiz
1B Kevin Youkilis
RF J.D. Drew
LF Jason Bay
3B Mike Lowell
SS Jed Lowrie/Julio Lugo
C  Jason Varitek?/TBD

It goes without saying that the Yankees have a stronger offensive lineup. But as you can see, even with Teixeira their lineup is not ridiculously overpowering. Remember, they lost two key parts of their lineup last year to free agency in Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu.

KEY: The key this year for the Yanks is A.J. Burnett. When healthy, his stuff is better than almost any pitcher in the majors, but if he's injured and becomes another Carl Pavano, the Yankees will struggle to find reliability in their rotation after their new ace, C.C. Sabathia.

Either way, with the ridiculous offseason the Yankees are having, the AL East is going to be very entertaining next year. Hopefully it remains entertaining throughout the entire season from a Sox fan's perspective.