Would we have been better off signing A.J. Pierzynski?

The Redsocks today signed 37-year-old catcher AJ Pierzynski to a one-year deal.

Aside from the fact that the Yankees will never again sign anybody named "AJ," should we not wonder if Pierznski wasn't a better option for us?

For starters, there is the 900-pound gorilla in the room: That Boston ate our lunch last year, and so anything they do is probably a slicker move than what Cashman and the Sons of Monarchy can cobble together. That doesn't mean it's automatic. Just probable.
 Pierzynski is generally considered one of the game's biggest assholes. I can't help but think that courteous Hal Steinbrenner would never take such a player. Also, the Yankees don't need the two guys generally considered the game's biggest assholes, and we still don't know whether ours will be playing or banned.

Disregarding assholiness, Pierznsky's hitting numbers beat those of Brian McCann, who we now have for five - maybe six years. Pierz hit 17 HR, drove in 70 RBI and batted .272.  McCann hit 20, 57 and .256, respectively.

Pierzynski caught in 119 games. McCann, 30, caught in less than 100.

The Redsocks are banking on young catchers rising through the ranks and taking over in 2015. They have two young studs and a tank named Gary Larnaway. They are showing faith in their farm system. Of course, their system is not like ours. It actually bears fruit.

For years now, the Yankees' best prospects were supposed to be at catcher. But it's now uncertain whether any of them will ever get a chance. Gary Sanchez - our best prospect in most surveys - may find himself back at Trenton next season - or traded for some old coot Yankee fans will end up blaming, if Sanchez turns into a star. (Also, it seems like a risky business for a team as old as the Yankees, with so little in its farm system, to be trading its best prospect. It's what George Steinbrenner did in 1980s.)

The Redsocks have a young, World Championship organization, and they're still looking to the future. Our reaction to a terrible year seems to be doubling-down on the kinds of moves that got us into this mess. Do we now add Carlos Beltran to this old folks' home? The Redsocks will be drafting ahead of us next June. They might even hoard picks. Will we even have one until the third round? Yeesh.