OK I let it seep for a while. It has had time to settle and it’s been pondered and considered. I’ve given it an ample dose of thought and after all of that it still pisses me off. Now before I mention his name and ask why, I want to say that I hope my foot ends up in my mouth as a precursor for my rant.

Eric Hinske. Why all mighty and powerful Brian Cashman did you elect to sign a mediocre utility man that takes the spot of a young and exciting, already in place Yankee farm-system-grown rookie? Why are you so opposed to home grown talent? Why do you love signing players from the Pittsburgh Pirates that end up not working (Damaso Marte).

I really don’t get Hinske, I really don’t. I’d like anyone to enlighten me on the thought process here. Someone who could tell me why they’d rather have this over-grown utility man over the likes of Ramiro Pena our soon to be starting short-stop or Francisco Cervelli our soon to be starting catcher, (all soon-to-be categories are solely my opinion and have only been backed up by common sense and performance of said soon-to-be-er).

Yes, Eric Hinske won the Rookie of the Year award back in 2002 with what happens to be the best season of his seven and a half year career. Reading this should bring two seprate pieces of thought to your brains. 1) He peaked his first year and has gone from star prospect to post-season baggage. 2) We now have two washed up Rookie of the Years (Angel Berroa won the award the year after Hinske) taking up space on our bench.

My tone may come off as anti-Hinske, but it’s not. I have nothing against the guy; he won a world series and has been to two (’07, ’08). My quarrel is with Cashman (such a fitting name for the Yankees GM). This trade was about as necessary as a fried Oreo after a 7 course meal. Look the guy had no place on the Yanks so Cashman thought it wise to put two young energetic guys that the fans were growing to love in the minors to make room for this bicep flexing has-almost-been.

Seeing Cervy leave is truly hard to watch. He had more energy than anyone on the team (except for maybe Swisher when he’s done something well), he had some speed on the base paths (for a catcher), he could hit a little bit, played great defense and, EH-HEM, has been catching our ace since his complete game shut out against Baltimore in late May. Posada’s bat and leadership are invaluable but the guy’s got to stop squatting behind the plate before his body falls apart and his bat turns into fools gold.

Pena is young and if you had to send one of the two down I can understand it being him. Small talented infielders are a dime a dozen but there is something about this guy that I like. Although he is a little undersized for the MLB he has some sort of good baseball energy around him, oh yeah and a beautiful glove with spectacular range and the ability to play all infield positions (minus 1st, but I wouldn’t put it past him) with big league-confidence.

Which brings me to another headache: Cody Ransom. How on God’ green earth did this guy get the OK over Ramiro Pena? Ransom’s a true third baseman and Pena is a short stop but I’m pretty sure Pena could handle giving A-Rod his occasional day off from defense better than Ransom could. Ransom is hitting .185 and receives a universal groan from Yankee fans around the world when they read the starting line-ups and he’s on it. I’d like one person out there who thinks this is a good idea to speak up, please!

My frustration is directed towards the decision makers here not the players. It’s not Ransom’s fault he’s a bum nor is it Molina’s that Cervelli stole his thunder. I simply don’t understand how grown men that are paid to watch baseball and run this team can watch the Yankees day in and day out, and think that these moves were the best one’s to make. I realize I’m the kind of guy that listens to his gut and Cashman is one to listen to his wallet and stats but I’m quite sure it doesn’t make sense from any angle.

Maybe I’m an idiot. Maybe I’m the one who doesn’t see the point of these nobody trades and rookie hating. If there is a point behind all of this someone has to point it out to me. And I invite you to. Who knows maybe I’ll get what I asked for in the beginning of this rant and I’ll be gnawing on my toes. Maybe Hinske will be the savior late in the season and into the playoffs coming up with a big playoff pinch-hit. Or perhaps I was wrong about Pena and Cervelli and they’ll never surface in the big leagues again.

But if Ransom continues to suck like it looks like he will and Hinske is not better than his talent suggests, something tells me Cashman won’t be opening wide for a mouth full of podiatry.