Again, I think you're giving way too much credit to A-Rod. The Yankees started out at 17-18 with A-Rod in 2008 and they started out at 14-16 with A-Rod in 2007. So I find it hard to believe that A-Rod was their savior last year.
Besides, as good as A-Rod is, he isn't as valuable as Cameron, Ellsbury and Matsuzaka combined.