Rejoice! Spring training's here!

The "pop!" of a fastball hitting a catcher's mitt in CC Sabathia's first bullpen session at Steinbrenner Field.

A late-night cell phone "ring!" with Darek Braunecker informing Brian Cashman that Cliff Lee won't be signing with the Yankees, but thanks, anyway.

The "crack!" of David Wright's bat at the Mets' spring training complex.

The "clackety-clack!" of computers at a Manhattan law firm as attorneys work diligently on defending the Mets from an earth-shattering lawsuit.

Are you with me now? Are you thinking that we, as New York baseball, have never needed spring training as much as we do in 2011?

This felt like the longest, nastiest, least productive winter in a very long time. And that's not even counting the weather.

The Yankees, coming off an unsatisfying conclusion to an otherwise strong 2010 season, entered the Hot Stove League figuring they'd add an elite lefty starter in Lee and retain a very good one in Andy Pettitte.

Instead, with Lee in Philadelphia and Pettitte back home in Texas, they are scrambling to fill out the back end of their starting rotation. You could make a reality show - albeit not a terribly interesting one - out of the competition to take the ball after Sabathia, Phil Hughes and the mercurial A.J. Burnett.

Mariano Rivera re-signed without any noise, but Derek Jeter's discussions to return grew so nasty that - at the moment, at least - the captain's quest for 3,000 career hits seems sullied. Perhaps time will clean up that mess as Jeter chips away at the 74 hits he needs.

The Yankees might not be so fortunate after sinking $35 million into setup man Rafael Soriano, a risky signing prompted by ownership's irrational desire to "do something."

Compared to their compatriots from the Queens side of the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, however, the Yankees appear more robust than Blake Griffin.

To think, this offseason began so promisingly for the Mets, even when new general manager Sandy Alderson quickly admitted that he'd be shopping in the discount aisles. You can (heavily) question Alderson's selection of Terry Collins as the new manager, but you have to appreciate the low-risk, high-reward acquisitions that he and smart deputies Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi made.

Then came Madoff trustee Irving Picard, who cast much sunlight on the Mets' realities: The Wilpons are in serious financial trouble. Their stated desire to sell about one-quarter of the team, without involving the more lucrative SNY or ceding any control, is so unrealistic that the owners seem to be in denial.

Suddenly, the Mets have much bigger problems than the durability of Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes.

But now we have spring training to distract us. Actual players in uniform. Games, at-bats, mound appearances.

Maybe Freddy Garcia can prove he has enough left to keep the Yankees in games, and maybe Manny Banuelos can make a case for why he could help the big-league club in the second half. Maybe Jeter and Alex Rodriguez will be rejuvenated and determined to rebound from the worst seasons of their careers.

Maybe Reyes and Beltran, with the knowledge they're playing for new contracts, will keep it together physically. Maybe Chris Capuano and/or Chris Young will threaten to duplicate R.A. Dickey's shocking 2010, and Dickey himself will show that he's simply a maturing knuckleballer rather than a one-year wonder.

Maybe Collins, getting his first major-league managing gig since 1999, will display gained wisdom and insulate his players from the chaos occurring above them. Probably not, though.

Heck, if you can't get optimistic from the sights and sounds of spring training, you might as well give up. Put aside your baseball worries for now. It's the one time of year you're supposed to do so.