Kuzul

Wait he still plays?

Like many baseball fans, I am guilty of saying this expression from time to time. It seems like more than any other major sport, baseball players still tend to have the ability to produce in the later stages of their careers.

Every team seems to have that one old hitter that you thought retired five seasons ago. Often times we poke fun at them, but it is not deserved.

Most championship caliber teams are guilty of having these kinds of players. There is a lot of value in having a hitter that has aged like fine wine.

They can keep they clubhouse under control, they mentor young players, and they have the “game-changer mentality” to come up with a big hit.

In this list I will rank the best hitters from each team over 35 years old (at the start of the 2011 season) based on current skill, not career statistics.

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A very forgettable Yankees offseason is capped by a late signing of veteran starter Bartolo Colon to a minor league deal. The 37-year-old right-hander has enjoyed a great deal of success throughout his career, including a Cy Young in 2005.

Colon did not pitch last season and has not made it through an entire season since his Cy Young in 2005.

Along with Colon, the Yankees have also recently signed pitcher Mark Prior, who has not pitched in the big leagues since 2006.

So what are the Yankee’s doing signing has-beens and mediocre talent? The Yankees are desperate for starting pitching and big named free agents.

Their top three starters right now are C.C. Sabathia, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett. After those three, the next name that comes to mind is journeyman Sergio Mitre. Also Andy Pettitte is still undecided on whether or not he would like to play in 2011. It seems like the Yankees have dealt with this Pettitte dilemma every winter since he has returned to New York, but it appears this year Pettitte might actually walk away from the team he loves. If he does, then the Yankees may have no other option but to put either Colon or Prior in the rotation, after losing Javier Vasquez to free agency.

This offseason the Yankee’s initially appeared to be the front runner for pitching ace Cliff Lee. When Lee signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, the same team that had traded him the previous offseason, the Yankee’s did not know where to turn.

In the same week, outfielder and free-agent target Carl Crawford signed with their hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox. This move also gave the Red Sox the highest payroll—a spot traditionally held by the Yankees by a huge margin.

Now, Yankee’s fans are left wondering how their franchise, possibly the greatest and most storied franchised in the history of sports, came out an offseason loser. It is possible we could be seeing the other “big market” teams catch up to the Yankees when it comes to spending.

Maybe what we’re seeing is the Yankee’s epic decline back to the losing days of the 1980s and early 1990s. Only time will tell what is to become of this organization as they search for the answers to heal their ailing pitching needs.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com