Disappointed by the Yankees and Raul Ibanez

The Yankees used some of the money from their trade of AJ Burnett today to sign OF Raul Ibanez.

This is tremendously disappointing.

Last year, against right handed pitching, Ibanez managed an anemic .256/.307/.440. As a point of reference, that's just about the same as the line that pushed Jorge Posada into retirement. No Yankee got 60 ABs in 2011 with an OBP that low.

What makes the deal tremendously disappointing, however, is how lousy Ibanez is in the field. Let's not talk about how UZR ranked him as the second worst fielder in the entire major leagues last year- UZR has its flaws, and I'm certainly not inclined to take it as gospel. Let's just talk about how Ibanez was never considered a brilliant defender, and he is now headed into his age 40 season.

If this guy gets time in the field, it means one of Swisher, Granderson or Gardner is on the bench. After a couple seasons of stellar outfield defense, it'll be hard for me to adjust to the sight of another Gary Sheffield level defender patrolling Yankee Stadium.