Yankeetorial: Should we even bother watching our prospects in the minors, knowing they will just be squandered in trades?

Last night, the latest future former future great Yankee, Mason Williams, went four for four with a homerun way down south in Dixie, the Charleston Riverdogs, which a River Ave dog commenter dubbed "the 1927 Yankees" of minor league teams.

On another night, this would inspire dreams of Williams playing CF in the house. Not today. It just hurts.

Why bother following Charleston, or any Yankee farm hand? We know the outcome: Somebody in the vast, lordly high Yankee command will detect a flaw in his game, and before you can say "Jose Tabata," we'll deal him for a washtub we see through a rose-colored MRI.

It's the classic Steinbrenner betrayal: Dwell upon the flaws of your players, and disregard those of the opposition. Make trades accordingly.

Right now, we have crapped the bed in the top of our minor league system. Baneulos and Betances collapsed. Brandon Laird went stale in the can. The Traveling Wilkes Barres are the saddest team in baseball; they don't even have a home. Remember Austin Romine, the reason why we could trade Jesus Montero? Hasn't caught a pitch all year.

Last night, Texas trotted out a 22-year-old who last year pitched in A ball. Shut us down. How is it that other teams - better teams - routinely bring up youngsters, while we churn and season, churn and season, until their arteries are clogged, and their best days are behind them? How did we get to be the team without rookies? (David Phelps, god bless him, is old enough to be a doctor.)

WTF happened? And why care about Charleston? The 1927 Yankees of the minors. And they'll all play for our enemies.