Desperate For Pitching Yankees Sign Leonel Vinas

The Yankees missed out on their free agent prize target in Cliff Lee and then missed out on trading for Zack Greinke. As much as I'd like to see them give Carl Pavano another $40 million, I can't imagine them doing that no matter how many emails I send to Brian Cashman. But it's not like the Yankees to leave free agency with just their own elderly overpaid short stop and still eerily dominant closer. So the Yanks announced the signing of prospect Leonel Vinas.

If you aren't familiar with Leonel Vinas, then you were clearly not one of the dozens of people watching Vinas outduel Mariano Rivera Jr. to win the "Boss' Cup" for "Hank's Yanks." And if you didn't understand a word of that sentence, you probably live outside of New York. It turns out Hank Steinbrenner is involved with a youth team comprised of kids from different socioeconomic backgrounds which also serves as a scouting system for the Yankees. From MLB.com...

A 2009 graduate of Freeport High School in Freeport, N.Y., who moved to Long Island from the Dominican Republic at age 11, Vinas said playing under the Yankees' umbrella had only been a distant dream.

*snip*

He was 12-0 with a 1.12 ERA in 84 innings pitched for "Hank's Yanks," recording 168 strikeouts, including two no-hitters -- a four-inning no-hitter vs. Adelphi University and five no-hit innings vs. Suffolk Community College.

"They told me, 'You've got a chance to be a Yankee,'" Vinas said. "When they first told me that, I didn't believe it. I didn't think it was true. As the season went on, it got bigger and bigger, and here we are now. My dreams are coming true."

Alright, even as a cynic, I have to admit that's a pretty cool story. Hey, that's the nicest thing I've ever written about the Yankees. Don't get used to it.