Rob Refsnyder: Inspiring Yankee fans everywhere - until they think of Stephen Drew

This ran Friday in the Gray Lady. It's the kind of story that makes you proud to be a Yankee fan - especially if you followed Refsnyder's rise through the minors.

But then you think about how the Yankees signed Stephen Drew, this year's Brian Roberts. The YES apologists keep assuring us that this is wise, this is right, this is all good for Refsnyder - that Drew playing 2B will give the kid another season of growth. (That's why they call it "seasoning," I guess.) Maybe they're right. But I dunno. When a guy hits .300 at Triple A, he ought to get a shot at The Show. Is that crazy?

It just seems as though too many Yankee prospects get flipped back for Year II in Scranton and then become permanently demoralized. We saw Cervelli barely hit .200 for half a season, after he got sucker punched at the end of spring training three years ago. Last year, Dean Anna actually was playing well - he battled through a clutch base-on-balls that won a game for us - then was shuffled to Scranton and quickly disappeared off the face of the earth. We went with Brian Roberts because we were paying him too much money. And this spring, I find it hard to believe that the Yankees won't go with Drew for the same reason, regardless of what Refsnyder does in Tampa. So where will that leave him? With a nice Times write-up?

Because this part - David Waldstein's kicker ending - is the stuff of a Disney movie.

Sometimes, Refsnyder said, his mother asks if he would like to find his birth mother. Rob’s response is typical of his approach to the subject as a whole: “Sorry, mom, you’re stuck with me.” One day, he said, he hopes for a family trip to South Korea.

Recently, Jane recalled the day when Rob was in high school and he cautiously asked if her feelings would be hurt if he decided he wanted to search for his birth mother.

“Oh, Robert,” she said she told him. “I’ll go to the ends of the earth with you. And if we ever find her, I’ll be the first to put my arms around her and thank her for the great gift she gave us.”

A long time ago, the Redsocks unveiled a rookie 2B in a hellish April and May. For about six weeks, Dustin Pedroia didn't even hit his weight - and that aint much. They stuck with him. I've often wondered if Pedroia had been a Yankee, we would have gone that route. When a rookie doesn't hit for the Evil Empire, the reaction is to pull the plug, banish him to Hell, and then have one of their brain-squeezers change his stance. Let's hope that doesn't happen to Rob Refsnyder.