Here's one you haven't heard

As I was perusing the list of available outfielders this morning (like every other Yankee fan), there was one name that jumped off the page (or screen, as it were): Rick Ankiel.

Now before all of my SABR freaks start screaming about how Ankiel is impatient, let me say that I do not see him as an ideal fit in left. BUT, he is a name, and the Yankees have been interested before. He is also, according to FanGraphs, a superior left fielder in a relatively small sample size.

The reason for this post is not to urge the Yankees to run out and sign Rick Ankiel. What I will say is that I am comfortable with the Yankees organization right now. In years past, Ankiel is a player that would be plastered all over the papers as a player the Yankees would be interested in, and they would be right. He's a name, he's a story. What he isn't is a good baseball player. It's things like this that indicate just how much control Brian Cashman has been afforded. If Hank was still involved on any level, he'd be calling Scott Boras about Ankiel every time he went outside for a smoke.

This is the type of organization that people like myself and the guys over at NoMaas begged for since the inception of our respective sites; one run by baseball men, not business men. And, if you haven't noticed, it yielded a World Series title.