This must mean there’s only one week left to the Yankees winter. Via the AP -

Hank Steinbrenner is not guaranteeing that his New York Yankees will win the 2009 World Series. Still, the team co-chairman is optimistic heading into the start of spring training next week.

“Much more so than last year,” Steinbrenner said on Thursday. “I feel real confident going into this season.”

“The entire team is fired up with what we’ve done,” Steinbrenner said.

“The American League East is by far the best division in baseball,” Steinbrenner said. “The players can’t be thinking, `Look how good we are on paper.’ They’ve got to earn it in our division.”

The Yankees have been a focal point off the field this week after the release of former manager Joe Torre’s book “The Yankee Years.”

“I haven’t read it yet,” Steinbrenner said. “I’ll read it.”