The long, ever-winding Dustin Ackley thread has ended in NY

One of the most maddening aspects of being a psycho Yankee fan is all that time you spend following minor league nobodies, as their no-name careers evolve into non-events of nothingness, going nowhere. I mean... it's insane to sit here and wonder what's ahead for Dermis Garcia. Who cares what's ahead for Dermis Garcia? At this point, the only thing that's interesting about Dermis Garcia is his name, Dermis Garcia. For every Derek Jeter, there are a hundred Dermis Garcias, and 20 Jackson Melians, and at age 19, they all look like future Hall of Famers to that unnamed scout with a fan-blogger's ear.

So on this hallowed day, the morning after the Yankees have severed ties with one of Cashman's great reclamation projects, let us ponder a few of the prospects, the phenoms, that have filled our heads with wasted thoughts.

Our story begins in 2012, when the Yankee hype machine targets 22-year-old Jose Ramirez, a flame-throwing starter down at Single A Tampa. He goes 7-6 with an ERA of 3.19 - not exactly Cooperstown numbers, but if you consider that the Yankee farm system is then bejeweled by the great Jesus Montero, it puts success into perspective. Ramirez breezes through Trenton and Scranton, and in 2014, he arrives in New York - a sign of our bright future. He pitches 10 innings - mostly mop-up - and gets cuffed around - an ERA over 5 - as the Yankees chase the wild card.

That same year, 22-year-old outfielder Ramon Flores rises up to the Yankees, after hitting .286 in Scranton. He impresses with his arm, throwing out some runners in key game situations, but hits only .219, as the Yankees chase the wild card.

In 2015, Ramirez and Flores are shipped off to our good friends in Seattle for then-27 year-old Dustin Ackley - the former future of the Mariners. Ackley is famous for being the second player picked in the 2009 MLB amateur draft. It's been all downhill from there. He hits .288 for us with 4 HRs, over 57 plate appearances - not bad, a late-bloomer? - as the Yankees chase the wild card.

Last year, Ackley starts slowly - hitting .148 over 28 games - then tweaks a gonad and vanishes, as the Yankees chase the wild card.

Yesterday, to nobody's surprise, the Yankees cut the thread. They waived Ackley and Nathan Eovaldi - now there's another story - making him part of future Yankee trivia. Ackley will turn 29 in February. He's a free agent.

Where are the others? Do we really care? Of course, we do. Because somewhere, deep within the lizard cortex of our minds, we keep score on these deals.

The Mariners traded Ramirez to Atlanta - a home to many ex-Yankee prospects. Last year, he threw 32 innings, with an ERA of 3.58. He's only 26. He might be a serviceable bullpen lug nut.

Last year, Flores played 104 games for - well - Milwaukee. (The Mariners cut bait on him, as well.) He hit .204 with 2 HRs. He's just 24. But he has never hit more than .220 in the majors, and he's not known for power. Bad sign.

Ackley is healthy, wealthy and free to sign anywhere, even with the Yankees, though I wouldn't count on it. I wish him luck. Injuries suck. We never really got a chance to see what he can do. That's baseball for you. And they said Seinfeld was a show about nothing.