On the eve of the Yankees’ 10th straight postseason appearance, George Steinbrenner strode into the Stadium shortly before his team began its off-day workout. When asked how confident he was of the Yankees’ chances in the ALDS against the Twins, the Boss smirked and walked away without answering.

Later, however, he released a statement that indicated that the concerns of many fans are also on his mind.

“I’m just hopeful,” Steinbrenner said in a statement released by his spokesman Howard Rubenstein yesterday. “I’m hopeful that the pitching is OK and that we play championship baseball.”

It’s that pitching that has led many to wonder whether the defending AL champs should be considered the favorites to return to the World Series. The struggles of the starters, particularly of Javier Vazquez, as well as the health of Kevin Brown and Steinbrenner favorite Orlando Hernandez, seem to leave the Yankees vulnerable.

Steinbrenner has already called out the ineffective Vazquez and criticized Brown for foolishly breaking his left hand after punching a wall after an outing.

Yet the ever-optimistic Steinbrenner sounded confident.

“I’m hopeful for New York and I want to give New York a championship.”