A Bronx bummer: Hacker DFA'd

It got just a small mention, a one liner, but I was quite bummed to read it:

The Yankees have designated Eric Hacker for assignment to make room for reliever Brett Tomko on the 40-man roster.

I had the good fortune to interview Eric soon after he was added to the Yanks 40 man roster. This is a guy who has battled back from many serious arm injuries to keep his dream alive. I got to take a peek at him when I visited Spring Training one chilly February morning. He got some nice kudos from the vets. And his willingness to chat here about some of the inside stuff about the game was appreciated.

Eric (and his family): If you're reading, thank you. We wish you nothing but the best of luck as you land with a new organization. Hopefully it will be soon and with one that can better utilize you. I can't wait to see you up in the Bigs. Please keep in touch.

Thanks to Mark Smith for alerting me late last night.

UPDATE (5/11/09, 9am): I traded a few emails with Eric (and believe it or not, his mother-in-law, who is a loyal reader, here almost daily) yesterday. The next 10 days are going to be very stressful but I have no doubt that Hacker's agent, FOTB Matt Sosnick, is working his butt off on Eric's behalf. Eric noted that he felt fine but wasn't have the results he expected. Some team will take a low-risk chance and find themselves a good pitcher and a better person. We wish him well.