by Tracy Ringolsby

The Yankee ended their eight-year world championship drought this week, knocking the Philadelphia Phillies off in six games to extend their own record of world championships to 27.

Quickly the thoughts turned to a repeat in 2010.

MLB Playoff Central

	Phillies vs. Yankees Yankees win 4-2
Game 6: Yankees 7, Phillies 3 Rosenthal: Yanks cash in with title Kriegel: This title was all business Morosi: Phillies will be back Klapisch: Pettitte shows his worth Matsui's 6 RBIs win him MVP Photos: See the best from Game 6 Video: Rosenthal, elated Yanks chat

Not so quick.

It never has been easy to be a world champion.

And it's more difficult now than ever.

It is difficult to get back to the World Series, much less to repeat as the world champion.

Think about it.

There hasn't been a team win back-to-back world championship since the Yankee threepeat from 1998-2000. The Phillies, who won the World Series a year ago, represent the first team to even make back-to-back World Series appearances in the last eight years. Over that span, 13 different teams have enjoyed the World Series spotlight. The only duplications were the Phillies the last two Octobers; Boston in 2004 and 2007, the only team to win two world titles in the last eight years; and the Yankees in 2001, 2003 and this year.

So while the Yankees could repeat, there's no guarantee.

The baseball world has radically changed since that 18-year stretch from 1947-64 when the Yankees were making 15 World Series appearances, and winning 10 world titles.

To even think of repeating as a world champion, the Yankees will have to find a way to repeat their free-agent success of a year ago.

They hit the jackpot not once but three times. They signed CC Sabathia, whose approach to life and people helped him deal so well with the spotlight of not only New York but of being the highest paid pitcher in the history of the game.

Sabathia's brilliance helped take the attention away from A.J. Burnett, the other free-agent pitcher the Yankees brought in and one who dealt well with being in the background.

Then there was the addition of Mark Teixeira to fill the gaps at first base and in the cleanup role, who thrived in the glare of New York that so often blinds the ambitions of players.

And now?

They face free-agent decisions from within on a group that is anchored by World Series MVP Hideki Matsui, who well could become the first World Series MVP to take the free-agent exit since John Wetteland bid the Yankees adieu following the 1996 season. Other potential free agents include Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Andy Pettitte, Jerry Hairston, Jose Molina and Eric Hinkse.

They face major decisions on how to restructure a rotation where after Sabathia and Burnett there is no sure thing. Do they re-sign Pettitte, who will be 38 next year, and make up the financial shortcomings of his willingness to take a $5.5 million deal to return in 2009? Do they use Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes in relief or the rotation? If they don't fill the holes from within, where do they find help? There are no Sabathias or even Burnetts this year among a free-agent crop in which the headliners are middle-of-the-rotation types like John Lackey and Jarrod Washburn.

They have to sort out the emotions in making the decision on Matsui, 36, whose knees limit him to DH duty, a major restriction considering he would expect an increase from his $13 million of 2009. Teams are better served being able to rotate players through that DH role, which the Yankees are well aware of, considering the physical struggles that catching every day poses for Jorge Posada, who will play 2010 at the age of 39.

What the Yankees know is they can't afford to stand pat.

They were baseball's third oldest team in 2009, and featured a lineup that included catcher Posada (39), shortstop Derek Jeter (36), third baseman Alex Rodriguez (34), left fielder Johnny Damon (37) and DH Matsui (36).

Their two main challengers in the AL East have minimal decisions to make. Boston has to decide whether to retain potential free-agent left fielder Jason Bay or put its energy into pursuit of Matt Holliday. Tampa Bay's only potential free agent is Carl Crawford, and the Rays hold an option on his contract.

The Yankees, however, have to deal with seven potential free agents, plus whether to risk arbitration with the injured Chien-Ming Wang. They have to face the reality that they only had four starting pitchers in 2009 that made as many as 10 starts, and Sabathia (3.37) was the only one of the quartet with an ERA below 4.00, and one of those four was Chamberlain.

What's more, how will the bulky Sabathia respond at the age of 30 to his workload of the last three years in which he has worked a combined 790 1/3 innings, including a career-high 266 1/3 innings this year, 36 1/3 innings of which came in his five postseason starts.

It all adds up to a challenging winter for the Yankees in their hope of repeating as world champions.