Rant of the day: the Yankees are at it again...and not in a good way

I read an article at Newsday.com today that the New York Yankees are looking for a hitter, preferably a leftie, and their top candidates are, drumroll please...Raul Ibanez, Hideki Matsui, and Johnny Damon.

Wtf?

Raul Ibanez is 39 years old. Hideki Matsui will be 38 this year. Johnny Damon just turned 38 a few months ago. Now, in Real Life, 38-39 is nothing to look twice at. It's not old. In fact, many 38-39 year old men still act like children. Just ask my almost-41-year-old boyfriend, who constantly makes me feel like I'm babysitting a 12-year-old. But in The Sports World? 38 years old is ANCIENT....why why WHY WHY do the Yankees insist on doing this and pissing me off in the process? Why do they think that spending their money on an aging, fading former superstar for one or two years is a better investment than scouting and cultivating young talent via the homegrown farm system, which could reap young up-and-coming future superstars??? Where do they think the likes of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera came from? Yes, it takes time, but if you get another Mo out of it, isn't it worth it?

I had started to think the Yankees were changing their thought process on this when they were patient with a young, unseasoned, immature Robinson Cano, who - guess what! - is turning out to be a phenomenal YOUNG player, but I guess my elation was premature. And maybe I'm wrong, but weren't both Matsui and Damon ALREADY on the Yankees and let go because they were getting too old and slow and losing power in their bats and their throwing arms? Am I wrong? Did I hallucinate that?

I wish they would realize the worth in investing in players like Cano and Nick Swisher and even Mark Texeira, who is still in his early 30s. Nobody wants to see a team of old men get their butts kicked on the field by teams that realize the importance of giving young players - the FUTURE of baseball - a shot.

::Sigh::

I love them, I bleed pinstripes, I really do, but they really make it very difficult for me sometimes to stand by my fandom.

Here endeth the rant. Fan girl, out.