WHY BYB HAS YOUR YANKEES NOTES

Jack Cust: The Yankees signed lefty lugger Jack Cust to a minor league deal. This was clearly done for a few reasons. Cust probably comes cheap and the Yankees are seeing nothing from Raul Ibanez right now so Cust is Ibanez insurance. It’s getting close to Opening day and they really need a Designated hitter who can…well… hit. Raul isn’t, Cust can, hopefully. If things work out we could see Jack Cust on the big roster, maybe along side Raul Ibanez, maybe with Ibanez released, but it’s clear the Yankees are losing patience. Not sure if you remember Cust with the Athletics from 2007 to 20009, but in case you don’t, he was valuable, hitting 28 home runs and walking over 100 times. That, my friends can be helpful. We’ll keep you posted if anything new develops with Cust.(In Photo: Tatum O'Neal)

Craig Tatum: Tatum was claimed off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s 29 years old and is a catcher. The majority of his big league experience is in the minors, spending 8 seasons there. That’s all I got. It’s not too exciting, but I just wanted to keep you in the loop. Maybe it would have been more exciting if it was Tatum O’Neal… then again, that may also be really weird.

Bobby Abreu: There’s been plenty of internet chatter about the Yankees trading Freddy Garcia to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Mr. Abreu. To be honest, with the minor league signing of Jack Cust, I just don’t see this happening anymore. Hell, I could be wrong but the timing now just seems wrong now. Anything can happen of course. Plus, Nick Swisher needs a backup in right once in a while, but one of my readers brought up a good point; do we really want a backup outfielder who’s afraid of the wall in right field? Sure we like Bobby's bat, but not so sure Abreu is the right defensive replacement. Thank you for that Carol.

Pedro Feliciano: Bryan Hoch writes HERE that Felieciano is hoping to try and play in 2012. God bless this guy. I’m pulling for him ,but I just don’t see it. He said of the possible come back: "Any time soon, I'll be helping the team... I'm a hard worker, and I know that I'm going to get back healthy." Goood luck Pedro, I'd love to see you throwing again.

Nick Swisher: Swisher played in a minor league game today and homered on his way back from his groin injury. It was his first game and went 4-8. According to the Washington Post, he has 2 singles, a double and a home run. Read HERE. It's good to see Swish is getting back on track.

If there is any more Yankees news, we'll bring it to you at BYB. Hey, take a minute, go buy a Bleeding Yankee Blue shirt!

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