The problem with doing a major-league-baseball preview, particularly in this area, is that Red Sox fans are nearly as concerned with their hated hardball neighbors three hours to the south as they are with their own team.

For Sox fans, their team’s competition with the New York Yankees is paramount; for the most part, nobody else matters. It’s a kind of (Lincoln) tunnel vision: Red Sox vs. Yankees; if we can beat out the New Yorkers, it’s a successful season, no matter what else happens.

New Englanders hate no team as much as they do the pinstripers, although Bruins fans’ loathing of the Montreal Canadiens comes close. So we’ll leave the Red Sox preview for next week and the full-bore American and National League breakdowns for a later date. For right now, we’ll set our sights firmly on the 2003 edition of the Bronx Bombers, the team whose season will provide the yardstick by which the 2003 Red Sox’ fortunes will ultimately be measured. After all, it’s not the 143 games against the rest of the league; it’s the 19 against Derek Jeter & His Traveling All-Star Band that really matter.

• Offense. The Yanks had the third-best-hitting team in the majors last year, batting a collective .275. Centerfielder Bernie Williams led the way with a .333 average, along with 19 home runs and 102 runs batted in. With their team total of 223 home runs, the Yankees were second only to Texas as far as knockin’ ’em out of the park, and they were the best in baseball in slugging (.455) and on-base percentage (.354).

So what needed to be fixed?

Well, as long as George Steinbrenner signs the checks and the team hasn’t won a world title in two whole years, improvements have to be made. Ergo, the Bombers went out and reeled in the Far East’s top slugger, Hideki Matsui, the three-time Japan League MVP who collected 50 HRs, 107 RBIs, and a .334 average last season. Signing the 28-year-old outfielder nicknamed " Godzilla " solves one of the Yanks’ biggest problems from recent years — the need for a significant offensive contributor out of left field. New York also traded underachieving outfielder Rondell White to the San Diego Padres for utility outfielder Bubba Trammell and a pitching prospect.

Other than that, the Yankees figured that they had all the bases covered. First baseman Jason Giambi will earn $13 million in his second year with the pinstripers, coming off a steadily improving season in which he batted .314 and added 41 homers and 122 RBIs. Second baseman Alfonso Soriano was one of the surprises of 2002, as the 25-year-old Dominican batted .300 in his second full season; despite some concerns about his aching shoulder, even better things are expected of the Yankee infield’s lowest-paid member (scraping by on $800,000). Shortstop Derek Jeter ($16 million) hopes to bounce back from what Steinbrenner implies was a " disappointing " season, even though he batted .297 and played his usual near-flawless defense. The boss’s criticism of Jeter’s off-field behavior could throw the likable 28-year-old into a funk, but don’t bet on it — he’s too much of a pro. Against all odds, third baseman Robin Ventura is back after taking a pay cut to re-up with the Yanks, and will earn $5 mil this season despite his .247 average last year. Jorge Posada’s ($7 million) numbers were off a bit last season, but he’s still one of the best catchers in the league, routinely adding a .275 average and 20 home runs to the Yanks’ cause. In the outfield, Matsui ($6 million this year as part of a three-year, $21-million deal), Williams ($12 million), and underachieving/overpaid Expos cast-off Raul Mondesi will again patrol right to the tune of $7 million. Most teams don’t have even a $25 million pitching staff; New York is paying that much to its outfield.

• Pitching. The Yanks made their biggest off-season improvements in pitching, but questions remain. The Bombers last year had the fourth-best staff as far as ERA went and second-best strikeout total, but New York’s first-round playoff ouster at the hands of the Anaheim Angels last October meant that some retooling would be necessary for 2003 — cost be damned. The Yanks still have some of the top starting pitching in the majors, but their 1-2-3 starters (Roger Clemens, Mike Mussina, and Andy Pettitte) don’t necessarily beat out the top three on Oakland, Boston, or even Anaheim. Consequently, the Yankees went to great lengths to sign Cuban defector Jose Contreras, who was highly coveted by the Red Sox yet decided to take less money to join the Dark Side. His four-year, $32 million deal was unprecedented for an unknown quantity, but Steinbrenner’s loyalists were ordered to sign him away from Boston, reportedly at the risk of losing their jobs if the 32-year-old righty went elsewhere. After a rough start this spring, Contreras settled down nicely, although his control is the biggest question mark, and he may start the season out of the ’pen. Former Tiger Jeff Weaver seems to have earned a starting shot as well, and best-selling author David Wells is the final cog in the starting rotation, though revelations contained in his recently released autobiography created a tumultuous spring for the chunky lefty. Combined, the six Yankees projected as starters will earn $46.9 million this season, more than many teams’ entire payrolls. Age has to be a concern for Yankees fans, though, since apart from Weaver (26), the fact that Clemens (40), Mussina (34), Pettitte (almost 31), Contreras (32), and Wells (40 in May) are all probably past their primes raises questions about their durability. Perhaps for that reason the Yanks made adjustments to their bullpen, casting off veterans Ramiro Mendoza (signed by Boston) and Mike Stanton (signed by the Mets) in favor of 37(!)-year-old Chris Hammond (7-2 for Atlanta last year) and 33-year-old Jon Lieber, who is recovering from elbow surgery. At last glance, starter-turned-set-up-man Sterling Hitchcock was still on the team, although the Yanks had hoped to trade him before Opening Day to avoid paying his bloated $6 million contract. Steve Karsay ($4 million) was expected to be a key contributor out of the bullpen, but he was diagnosed with bursitis last week and is unlikely to head north with the team. New York still has ol’ reliable, Mariano Rivera, to close out the tight games, but groin problems have hampered him for much of the spring, and that does not bode well for a lanky, overused pitcher who is already 33 and has collected 243 saves over his career.

• Intangibles. In short, the Yankees are loaded with talent again this season, which is hardly headline news. They went out and fixed some things that may or may not have needed fixing, and in the process deprived the Red Sox of some much-needed pitching help by indirectly aiding the Bartolo-Colon-to-the-White-Sox trade, along with luring away Contreras from under Sox GM Theo Epstein’s nose.

Contreras and Matsui could be huge additions to the Yanks’ efforts to return to the World Series this fall, but they also could prove to be big disappointments if they cannot handle the pressure of the majors and the spotlight of the New York City fans and media. And given the standards that past Yankee teams have established, and the team’s two-year absence from the winner’s circle, the whole squad could feel the heat from Steinbrenner and the impatient masses if any lengthy losing streaks develop. Like the Red Sox, New York should not have problems generating offense, but pivotal questions remain concerning its pitching, particularly in terms of age and injuries. Clemens, Wells, and Pettitte have a history of physical breakdowns, and many of the set-up guys, as well as Rivera, are starting the season a little bit banged-up, if not on the shelf indefinitely. If that becomes the running subplot of this year’s Yankees team, Boston or maybe even the youthful Blue Jays might have a shot at taking the AL East for the first time since 1997.

But on paper, the Yankees are solid, well-paid (a whopping $146.3 million payroll), and deep. Still, they are also getting on in years and, as usual, have the bull’s-eye on their collective chests wherever they travel.

Keep an eye on the pinstripers’ disabled list as the season progresses, because it could well make the difference in whether the Yankees return to glory or continue the fade that began in Phoenix in the autumn of 2001 and carried over into Anaheim last fall.

It is that latter possibility that gives Red Sox fans hope as they head into the upcoming season, and gives Yankee fans pause as they ponder whether the aging empire will ultimately be able to strike back.

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com