One of our Chases is missing

Yesterday, the Devil devilish Rays of Tampa Bay signed Chase Whitley off waivers, ending his time as a pleasant Yankee surprise. Frankly, I wish they took another Yankee Chase, a certain one who throws lead Frisbees to first base, but that's for another day. 

This is good news. 

OK, I know what you're thinking: How is this good news, you idiot? Chase Whitley was an over-achiever, a wondrous surprise, even though the Yankees yo-yoed him through the system, viewing him an afterthought. Now he's gone, and we're back to hoping CC Sabathia will lose weight, gain weight, quit drinking, resume drinking - whatever - to magically transport himself back to 2007. How is this good news? 

By the way, it's pretty cruel of you to think such thoughts about CC, but I'll let it go.

It's good because the Yankees are actually having other teams pick up our table scraps. It's good because the Yankees protected Ben Gamel, an 23-year-old outfielder who hit .300 at Scranton and was named - drum roll, please - the 2015 International League Rookie of the Year. 

That's right. We have the Rookie of the Year of the International League of 2015. And we have case where a non-hyped prospect actually rises up through the Yankee system and creates value. For most of last year, Gamel seemed to occupy the Jose Pirela Going Nowhere track: A guy who hits at every level, but when the Yankee scouts look at him, they see Betty White after drinking a case of Samuel Adams Pumpkin IPA. I figured they would enter the upcoming Free Agent Draft having unprotected Gamel, which is not exactly like having unprotected sex, but the words sort of fit, so that's how I'm writing it. Sue me. 

We're keeping the 2015 International League Rookie of the Year.

As for Whitley, he's the Chase who got away. (If only it could be... you know who.) Nobody expected much from him, yet somehow you'd find him pitching into the seventh, holding onto a lead. Hate to see him go. Actually I will wish him well in Tampa. It won't surprise me if sometime in July, he's pitching into the eighth against us, nursing a lead. But for once, I'm going to assume the Yankees know what their doing. (I know, it's a stretch.) It's good that other teams are picking through our dumpster again. These days, there might be CC's last quart of Mad Dog 20-20 in there. Don't want it to go to waste.