The Yankees Are Killing Me

I honestly thought the last 2 and a half months were bad enough with everything the Yankees' Front Office did (or didn't) do during free agency. I was able to overcome the urge to drive off a cliff when Cliff Lee got away (pun was intentional), and I was able to stay away from sharp objects when the Yankees acquired Mark Prior and Bartolo Colon instead of Carl Pavano and Justin Duchscherer.

But last night, I literally broke something in my "man-cave" when I heard the latest news about the Yankees. Jerry Crasnick from ESPN.com is reporting that the Yankees have reached an agreement to a minor league deal with pitcher Freddy "The Chief" Garcia. If he makes the big league club, he will make $1.5 million in base salary, and then be eligible for $3.6 million from incentives.

On paper, this looks like a "low risk, high reward" setup because it's a similar deal to the ones Colon and Prior received, and Garcia did go 12-6 with an ERA over 4 last season with the White Sox. However, there is one glaring issue people seem to be overlooking: the dude is 35 years old!

The Yankees were an organization supposedly looking to "get younger" when they signed a young CC Sabathia and a young Mark Teixeira a few years ago. But now, they have reverted back to the "living in the past" philosophy that cost the Yankees nearly a decade without winning a title from 2001-2008.

Instead of going after younger guys like Justin Duchscherer and Carl Pavano, the Yankees have been sitting around with their hands tied, hoping and praying that an almost 40-year-old Andy Pettitte comes back and doesn't continue to regress. So again, much like when Bartolo Colon was signed, I ask on behalf of Yankee fans around the world: WTF?