SWARZAK OUT. HELLER IN.

Moves are happening... and even if they're small... we'll tell you about them here on BYB...we're nice.

(In Photo: Ben Heller)

Not a lot here, just being honest. It turns out Anthony Swarzak was placed on the 15 day DL and in his place, the Yankees have called up Ben Heller.  That info comes directly from the Yankees.

Not too interesting? Looking for something better?  Check out this adorable kitten...

Carry on.

COULD THE YANKEES BRING CHAMBERLAIN BACK?

Look, the reality is, Joba has struggled for a while now, years actually, but as we have stated here on BYB when we wrote: JOBA WAS JUST DESIGNATED FOR ASSIGNMENT, the idea of bringing him back intrigues both myself and BYB "Features" writer Mike O'Hara.  After all, This season Joba has been decent with the Indians, literally finding his way back after a long, long time of sucking.  

My simple line, "In my world, the Yankees will try to snatch up Joba, but I know many could care less about this guy anymore", got a ton of stupid hate emails.  I'm not sure why though, because when you see what RAB sees, it makes perfect sense. Check what they wrote in their mailbag when they were asked about bringing Joba back:

"My initial reaction was nah, why bother? Joba Chamberlain hasn’t been all that good for about five years now. That said, the bar he has to clear is “better than Anthony Swarzak,” so yeah. Maybe it is worth it. Joba had a 2.25 ERA (3.82 FIP) with a 22.0% strikeout rate and a 13.4% walk rate in 20 innings with the Tribe after pitching to a 4.28 ERA (4.36 FIP) from 2012-15. Has anything changed? Did he learn a new pitch or improve his command, anything like that? Glossing over the numbers, the answer seems to be no. Same old Joba. There’s nothing wrong with bringing him back on a minor league deal..."

So in the end, it's a former Yankee and sure, ultimately, fans love a reunion, but who the hell knows if it will be worth the time.  Nothing wrong with a minor league deal, true, but are we doing it because we think we can win with him? OR, are we doing it because it's Joba Chamberlain.

Whatever the case, for all we know, Joba isn't even on the Yankees radar.  It is interesting though and something many have been asking.I believe stockpiling arms is smart, even if you want to see if there's anything left in the tank.

Nice mailbag, RAB.

THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!

The Yankees won and now it appears to be 3 in a row.  But can we stop getting overly excited like we're the new John Sterling?  I think I saw "Parm does Harm" on Twitter or Facebook last night and vomited in my mouth.  Chris Parmelee did well last night, but this wasn't the World Series.  The Yankees played the Angels, hardly a powerhouse these days.  This is what is expected from the New York Yankees. Yes, we should ALL be excited and I'm not different, but 3 in a row, while a winning streak, isn't good enough... we need to keep rolling folks. Sterling makes the corny calls... let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Yankee pitching did decent last night.  Yankee hitting was fantastic! They appeared to understand the fundamentals of hitting and run scoring and did what they needed to do.  Thank God.

Jacoby Ellsbury 2-3, Brett Gardner 3-5, Carlos Beltran 3-4.  That's your first 3 hitters in the lineup folks and there were doubles and homers involved.  Chris Parmelee, 3-5 and you know what? He struck out twice too, and he still managed to do big things.  Good for him.

Nathan Eovaldi went 5.1 and gave up 10 hits and 5 runs and struck out 4.  Not his best outing, but here's the key... HE KEPT THE TEAM IN THE GAME. He didn't lose control of the Angels,and when the pen came in, it was only Nick Goody who gave up another run.  Anthony Swarzak got the win in this one because the Yankee comeback came in the 6th.

Ultimately, the Yankees appeared to break out, and this is good, but we have another one against the Angels today, and how sweet would it be to get the sweep. Not only will it give the Yankees confidence, the Yankee fan base can start to relax a bit.

Nice win boys... keep going!

Final: Yankees 12 - Angels 6




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THE YANKEES JUST MADE SOME MOVES

It's been an uphill battle all season, and it's freaking brutal.

Now comes word the Yankees made a few moves and we at BYB wanted to let you know about them. Don't get overly excited... we didn't trade for Mike Trout...

According to Lou DiPietro at YESNetwork.com, "Right-hander Anthony Swarzak has been called up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and to make room on the 25 and 40-man rosters, the Yankees optioned RHP Luis Cessa to Triple-A and designated LHP Tyler Olson for assignment...

'We knew we wouldn't have Cessa for a couple days, so we swapped in Swarzak, who we feel is built up as much as Cessa almost in a sense,' manager Joe Girardi said. 'We really want Cessa to go down and start, too, so we thought it was best for his growth to go pitch (in Triple-A).'"

Whatever Joe, I really don't care, as long as you are making moves to try and shake things up so we get a winning streak going. After all, BYB writer Ike Dimitriadis did what he could last night when he showed up at Yankee stadium with this terrific Facebook headline...

"Hoping to bring us a win tonight."

Just win... A LOT!  The time is now.

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THE YANKEES 'LITTLE' MOVES ARE ADDING UP

(In Photo: Tyler Olson)
The Yankees have made a bunch of under the radar, unimpressive moves over the past couple of weeks leading to some of us fans cracking jokes at their expense. Comments like "Another game changer" or "Look out, the Yankees are making moves!" have come up. I'd have my fair share of laughs reading some of these comments, which are mostly made in fun, but what they are doing is beneficial to the organization as a whole.

(In Photo: Kirby Yates)
The Yankees made trades to obtain LHP Tyler Olson and utility man Ronald Torreyes from the Dodgers and RHP Kirby Yates from the Indians, plus signed RHP Anthony Swarzak, INF Donovan Solano and Jonathan Diaz to minor league contracts. They even snagged Lane Adams.

(In photo: Anthony Swarzak)
I honestly had never heard of any of these guys! But what they do bring is depth to minor league system. Plus you never know, one of these guys could be a diamond in the rough! I'm not holding my breath but you never know!

(In Photo: Donovan Solano)
As important as it is to obviously add depth to the Major League roster, it's equally as important to add depth to the upper echelons of the minors. By doing so they can leave some of the younger players still developing at the level they belong rather than promoting them out of necessity.

I know it's tough for us to swallow as Yankees fans that they aren't making blockbuster deals day in and day out. In the back of our minds we are awaiting the breaking news of the blockbuster trade or the big time free agent signing but that's not the way they are operating now. I've mentioned in several other pieces that we very well may have to wait a year or two for the large contracts to begin to expire.

With that being said, there are still several free agents that could fall into the Yankees laps. Justin Upton and Yoenis Cespedes, for example, remain unsigned and teams seem unwilling to offer them long-term deals. Several outlets have speculated that they could be signed for a one-year deal with the hope that next year's slimmer free agent class would allow them to earn their pay day.

So for you fans hoping for that big name to come through, there is still hope!!!

What Brian Cashman has done however is created one of the league's best bullpens, added a young Aaron Hicks, who has some big upside, brought in some young power arms to the minor leagues via trades and not spent much money at all. These moves will all allow the organization to continue to get stronger as a whole, even though the Big League club shows modest improvement from last year, minus Aroldis Chapman and Hicks.

I am excited for the future and also excited to continue to watch the youth movement develop. The off season is not over and I'm sure Brian Cashman is still taking calls regarding trades. Maybe they'll surprise us, maybe not.

But all in all, these little moves add up and the Yankees organization, from top to bottom, is stronger now than it was this time last year.

As I wait out the winter, I'll (impatiently) take it.

 
 --Dan Lucia
BYB Senior Writer
Twitter: @DManLucia




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HOLD THE PHONE! YANKS SNAGGED SWARZAK!

The Yankees picked up yet another pitcher.  Nice job stockpiling arms.  I dig it.

The latest news is the Yankees have signed relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak.  According to Jon Heyman:

Anthony swarzak agrees to Yankees deal. 750K in majors.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 13, 2016

And according to LoHud:

" A team source has confirmed the Yankees have signed longtime Twins reliever Anthony Swarzak to a minor league deal...Swarzak, 30, came up as a starting pitcher and has regularly pitched multiple innings as a reliever. From 2012 to 2014, Swarzak averaged more than 90 innings a season while making just nine starts total. His best year was 2013 when he had a 1.15 WHIP and 2.91 ERA through 48 appearances. He wound up with the Indians last year and broke camp with the team, but he was ultimately designated for assignment and released. He’s a fastball/slider guy with nearly 200 games of big league experience."

Look, my title's overly sarcastic because when you think 'Yankees', you think bigger, but it's the little things that can help bring championships too.  I welcome Swarzak. You should too.

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MR. 3400 & THE YANKEES WIN ANOTHER

There are 2 important parts of today's Yankee game. For 1, the Yankees won... and two... Derek Jeter now has 3400 hits.  It's an amazing feat, but if you ask Derek Jeter about it, he'd be happier with winning as a team. That's what makes Jeter great... it's never about himself.

It looked like the Yankees were on a dominant run today. Papa John's was all excited when the Yankees scored 9. But then, craziness happened and the Twins rallied big time.

First off, Hiroki Kuroda pitched.  He went 5.2 innings, gave up 7 hits and 4 runs.  That's manageable, and what I mean by that is, the Yankees could handle a 4-0 deficit if needed. Kuorda usually keeps a team in the game.  Luckily for us, the Yankees were on fire and scored plenty today. The big bats were namely Jacoby Ellsbury and Derek Jeter.

Ellsbury was 2 for 5 with 4 RBIs. Jeter was 3-4 with 2 RBIs.  The Yankee run scoring went like this:

Mark Teixeira drove in Brett Gardner with a single in the first. Then Brian McCann doubled knocking in Jeter. In the second, Jeet sacrificed home Brian Roberts. Jacoby Ellsbury then hit a 3 run homer.  In the 4th, Jeter then singled, knocking in Ichiro. Ellsbury then grounded out and Kelly Johnson scored in the process.  After that, McCann was up, and Ellsbury was on third when Anthony Swarzak balked... Ellsbury scored.

Oh, and Jeter had hit 3400 today.  A huge accomplishment. On the all time list, he's right behind Carl Yastrzemski.  He's 9th... not too shabby.

Final today: Yankees 9 - Twins 7.

Keep going!!

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