It looks as if Casey McGehee’s Yankee days may already be over. New York GM Brian Cashman was looking for a right-handed corner infielder with some pop to play third or first while A-Rod and Mark Teixeira recovered from injuries, when he sent reliever Chad Qualls to the Pirates for today’s Pinstripe Birthday Celebrant on July 31, 2012. McGehee, a native of Santa Cruz, CA had hit 23 home runs for the 2010 Brewers and driven in over 100 that same year. I joined Cashman in hoping that this guy would get better pitches to hit when he was surrounded by a stronger Yankee lineup. That didn’t happen.

He got a real chance to make an impression in the Bronx during the middle of August, when Girardi started him just about every game. His pinstriped high point came in the second game of a series in Toronto, on August 13th. He hit his first and only home run as a Yankee that day and drove in three runs in New York’s 5-2 victory over the Blue Jays. But it was downhill from there offensively and when A-Rod returned from the DL, probably the only reason the Yanks kept this guy on the team was because the roster expanded to 40 players on September 1. The more crowded Yankee bench, however, meant even fewer chances for McGehee to make a better impression down the stretch and when he went 0-for-September at the plate he lost his ticket on the Yankee’s postseason train to Baltimore.

McGehee turns 30 today, still young enough to contribute to a Major League team. I just don’t think that team will continue to be the Yankees. He shares his October 12th birthday with this outstanding former Yankee shortstop and this one-time Yankee reliever.