WOW! MANNY BANUELOS IS A YANKEE...

Again!

I'm always a fan of adding more useful arms but this news made my head turn pretty quick. We were raving about the "Killer B's" 11 years ago, who remembers them? It feels like a lifetime ago, but back then I had pretty hopes for one of them who was only a young 19 year old.

My have times changed. Who remembers Manny Banuelos? He was one of a trio of young pitchers nicknamed the "Killer B's" who was full of promise, but didn't pan out. Well....now he's reuniting with the Yankees according to CBSSports.com HERE.

Banuelos was invited to Spring Training back in 2011 and Mariano Rivera even said he was one of the best pitching prospects he had seen. He struggled through injuries during the 2012 season and then underwent Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2013 season and then pitched for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2014. Then in January of 2015 the Yankees traded him to the Braves in exchange for Chasen Shreve and David Carpenter who I had a love-hate relationship with and started calling him CRAPenter when he consistently failed to get the job done.

Since then Banuelos has bounced around to several teams until he had brief contracts with the Fubon Guardians of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in 2020 and then the Sultanes de Monterrey in the Mexican League last season where he finished with a 2.94 ERA.

Once this lockout ends and the season finally starts, Banuelos will be 31 years old. It will interesting to see if he can make it back to the big leagues and be effective. His last MLB appearance was disastrous and the Red Sox released him after one inning....a really bad one.

It's an interesting homecoming for Manny, he will make an appearance at Spring Training and I am rooting for him. I hope he proves that he has learned a lot and can be a good arm for our pitching staff. You can never have enough arms, right?

Welcome home, Manny.....now show us what you've got!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

ARLINGTON BLASTS

I assumed Alex Rodriguez would do something big last night. I honestly didn't think Didi would, but no one did.   It were a few homers that put the Yankees ahead of the Rangers last night and alot of clutch hitting...  and we just keep on rolling, this time it was in Arlington.

Ivan Nova took the mound for New York and went 5 innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 runs and struck out 3.  The Rangers would not score again off of Shreve, Wilson and Betances. 

In fact, big 'ups' to Shreve, the guy has been everything we could have asked for... and more.  Don't forget, we got him in the Manny Banuelos for David Carpenter trade.  Carp is gone... Shreve is killing it for us. Love that!

The Yankee run scoring went like this:

In the 3rd, it was Didi who hit a 2 run home run.  That was followed by Chris Young who sacrificed home a run. 

Then, in the 6th, it was the Alex Rodriguez '40th birthday' shot heard 'round the world.  After that, Didi came up in the 7th and singled home 2 more runs. Beautiful.

The Yankees beat the Rangers.  They're looking real good.  Keep it up!

Final: Yankees 6 - Rangers 2

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ROOT FOR BANUELOS, HE'S THROWING THURSDAY

Look, we already lost the David Carpenter, Manny Banuelos sweepstakes, although Chasen Shreve has been decent... but Carpenter's already gone... and this is a quick and important note; Manny Banuelos will make his Braves debut on Thursday. Write that down.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Banuelos, 24, is expected to be called up from Gwinnett and make his major league debut Thursday with a start against the Washington Nationals in a series-finale matchup against arguably baseball’s hottest pitcher, Max Scherzer.

Banuelos would take the rotation turn of rookie Williams Perez, who was placed on the 15-day Saturday with a bruised foot after being struck by a sharp one-hop grounder Friday."

 I'm a fan, a big fan of Banuelos.  Maybe it's the lefty thing, but maybe I just believed in the kid a helluva lot more than the Yankees did.  Just to rub it in more, AJC writes: "Banuelos is 6-2 with a 2.29 ERA and .215 opponents’ average in 15 starts at Gwinnett, with 69 strikeouts, 38 walks and two homers allowed in 82 2/3 innings."

Boom.  That just happened. He should get his shot.

Root for Manny. He deserves our support.

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JOE GIRARDI'S IN A CATCH-22

The Yankees are in a bad Catch-22 situation right now, and it has to do with their pitching. Admittedly, there seems to be problems almost everywhere. But the recent injury to the closer Andrew Miller has enticed a lot of critics to come out with fingers pointing. The issue there is the reason for Miller’s strained forearm – fatigue. Is he being overused? Certainly Miller is not going to say yes. That would be a direct shot at his manager. Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman are being somewhat quiet on the issue too. Can you blame them?

I am certainly not going to defend them if they are overusing their best pitchers. It is their jobs to make sure that the players are in the best shape and position to win. Are they overusing them? Joel Sherman of the New York Post sure thinks so (read HERE). Sherman cites a number of games when the closer should not have had to come in. These are games where the Yankees had huge leads and the pitching started giving up runs in bunches. Games where the 1-2 punch of the back of the bullpen – Miller and Dellin Betances – should have been spectators. Instead, Girardi has to bring them in to save the game.

Joel Sherman thinks it’s a trust issue. He doesn’t trust the rest of his pitchers and ends up overusing Miller and Betances. No disrespect to Sherman, but I think we all have trust issues with some of these guys. Would you have trusted a game to David Carpenter? How about Esmil Rogers? Sure he could have rested the stars. But then all of us – reporters and fans alike – would have blasted Girardi for letting games get away while Miller and Betances are sitting out there in the bullpen. This is the part of Girardi’s job that sucks – sometimes you just can’t win. But fixing this is still his job.

For the record, there is a real reason to be concerned about overuse of these guys. If we look at the first 58 games of the Yankees season, Miller has appeared in 26 games, 15 (58%) of those with 1 day of rest or less. Contrast that with the first 58 games of Mariano Rivera’s final season, where he appeared 24 times and 11 (46%) of those with 1 day or less of rest. It may seem small, but when it comes to rest, it matters. Here’s some more food for thought. Miller has faced 103 batters and thrown 428 pitches – 17% more batters and 29% more pitches than Rivera did during the aforementioned span. The story gets worse with Betances compared to Rivera – 21% more games, 82% more times with 1 day’s rest or less, 39% more batters, and 29% more pitches. Maybe it’s because Betances is younger, but you have to be concerned.

The real problem with those two are the ones that come right before them. David Carpenter, Esmil Rogers, and others have not delivered as advertised, and have justified any possible distrust Girardi may have. Guys like Chasen Shreve, Chris Martin, and Justin Wilson need to step up. The Yankees may need to get some avaiulable pitchers, or bring guys up from the farm who can help. Here at BYB, we have talked a lot about how important it is to develop the kids. Now the Yankees may need to accelerate that plan. It will probably be a month before we see Miller again. Leaning even more on Betances could be disastrous. With the American League East still lacking a clear front-runner, the Yankees may have some cushion to try out a few options. No matter how you feel about Joe Girardi’s trust level, the team needs to give him some better options.

--Ike Dimitriadis, BYB Senior Staff Writer
Twitter: @KingAgamemnon
My blog is: Shots from Murderer's Row







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YANKEES TRADE FOR "BIG TONY"

News about a big trade happened today.  The Yankees as you all know by now got David Carpenter in a trade this off season.  We gave up Manny Banuelos and as you know, as our season started to unfold, we realized that giving up Manny was probably freaking stupid.

Eventually, Carpenter made BYB writer Jeana Bellezza have a drinking problem, read DAVID CARPENTER MAKES ME WANT TO DRINK!, and soon enough, because Brian Cashman reads BYB, Brass decided to DFA David Carpenter.  And  that leads us to the past 24 hours.  The Yankees have made a move to trade away Carpenter.

In return, the Yankees pick up Tony Renda from the Nationals.

According to several sources, but we'll go with Syracuse.com on this one:

"...Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher David Carpenter from the New York Yankees on Thursday in exchange for minor league infielder Tony Renda...

Renda, 24, was a second-round selection of the Nationals' in the 2012 draft. The right-handed-hitting second baseman entered the season as the organization's No. 12 prospect, per Baseball America. A 2014 Carolina League All-Star and Arizona Fall League Fall Star, as well as the inaugural recipient (2013) of the Nationals' "Bob Boone Award," Renda was hitting .267 with a .333 on-base percentage with Double-A Harrisburg at the time of the trade.

Renda also played for the Auburn Doubledays, hitting .264 with 32 RBI and 15 steals for that team in 2012."

Now, you're wondering, why am I calling him "Big Tony"? I have no reason.  It rolled off the tongue and much like Aaron Judge's BYB nickname is the Iron Giant... Tony Renda will now be Big Tony.

We're good like that.

 

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ADIOS DAVID CARPENTER!

He's gone and it needed to happen. Not to beat the guy when he is already down, but the Yankees simply couldn't keep giving this guy the ball and hoping that eventually it was going to click. He just hasn't been the guy that caught there eye back in Atlanta. Sometimes things just don't work out. When they don't you have to know when to call it quits. The Yankees finally figured it out.

No, I was not a David Carpenter fan. I realize I was hard on the guy. I still stand by what I have said in DAVID CARPENTER MAKES ME WANT TO DRINK! No matter what situation the guy walked into, he just crashed and burned. The Yankees could be up by four runs, and he would just give those runs right back. Or, when the games matter the most he could just give up the go ahead run like he did on Tuesday night's game. The Yankees tried to give him the time and space to figure it out. Eventually time has to run out. I am just glad the clock finally ran out.

The Yankees designated Carpenter and his 4.82ERA for assignment yesterday. I would be lying if I said I didn't smile when the news came out. In fact, I did a cartwheel and everyone I work with thought I had officially lost my mind. Considering how many times I would yell and scream at my television when he came into a game it is no surprise.

Every game I kept scratching my head and wondering WHY Joe Girardi kept putting so much trust in this guy. I knew he was trying to give Carpenter the chance to right the ship, but in my mind it just took too long. Finally, Girardi broke the silence, read that HERE. I am glad to see that Girardi was pulling for him but as a fan, I was aggravated that the Yankees were not seeing the weakness in the bullpen. They were gambling with a bad hand of cards at the blackjack table. Could the Yankees have more distance in a weak AL East division if it weren't for him?

There is a lot to take from this. Now that Carpenter is deemed a failure the Braves are supposedly the winner in the Manny Banuelos trade, read that HERE. It's an interesting take on the situation. However the Yankees still have Chasen Shreve on the team and Banuelos is still playing in AAA. He wasn't developing here so I am not ready to call this a failure yet.

Not to mention that somewhere in all of this mess the fans FINALLY got to see Jacob Lindgren contribute to the team. It's nice to see more youth on this team, and we have been waiting to see what the hype was all about. I was worried that the Yankees were going to choose Carpenter over Lindgren just because they could send Lindgren back down to the minors. I am glad that the Yankees made their choice based on merit.

At the end of the day this is about what is best for the team. I am sure Carpenter is a good guy. In fact, after reading how sorry he felt for letting Brian McCann down I know he is. The Yankees need results though and Carpenter didn't give us those. If in 10 days the Yankees work out a trade for someone else and he becomes a dominant reliever for another team then so be it. It isn't easy playing in New York. I wish you well in the future Carpenter and I will officially stop yelling at you now.


 
 --Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ  




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CAN WE THROW THE BATHWATER OUT WITH CARPENTER?

I didn't understand the expression "Throw the baby out with the bathwater"  for a long, long time. I mean, I get it, but maybe I am just sensitive to children or something. Who the hell knows.

Just to give you background, "Throw out the baby with the bathwater is an idiomatic expression... used to suggest an avoidable error in which something good is eliminated when trying to get rid of something bad." In other words, we got rid of a great performance last night by CC Sabathia and the Yankees when David Carpenter came in and walked in the run.  The Yanks would eventually lose, and that's on Carpenter... no doubt about it.  By the way, thank you Wikipedia.

The Yankees were on their way, and there was no reason why this loss should have happened.  Sure, CC ran into alittle trouble, but if you are trying to win every game, just bring in Betances and Miller, give your team a chance to get back ahead and then shut the door.  Argue all you want that those relievers just pitched and they're tired, but these are pros. They want the ball. They would have done a better job than Carpenter.  Last night sucked.

Sabathia went 6 innings, and gave up 5 runs. It was that 6th and 7th inning that the Athletics really crept back.  Then, the Yankees brought in Carpenter. With the game tied 3-3, it was Carpenter who walked in CC's run. Then it was 4-3. That's when the A's kicked us while we were down... Billy Butler sacrificed home another to make it 5-3.

The Yankees scored 1 more run when Brett Gardner doubled in a run off of Tyler Clippard, a former Yankee, but that was all we'd get, and the irony here is Clippard got the save off the Yankees... and we used David Carpenter.  Seriously.

Sure, I'm annoyed at CC as well, he let it get tied up, but the pen is supposed the stop the bleeding, and if you asked Betances or Miller to lock it down, they would have, no questions asked. In fact, the percentages were in their favor.  Carpenter has been horrible.  Girardi has a tendency to protect his pen, or overuse them, one or the other, and usually at the wrong time.  Last night he picked the wrong reliever again, bottom line.

So yeah... I'd never throw a baby out with the bathwater. I'd never get rid of good to get rid of bad... but I would like to get rid of Carpenter.  It's just not working out.

Final: Athletics 5 - Yankees 4

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DAVID CARPENTER MAKES ME WANT TO DRINK!

Sad, but true. It's only May and I know I should not have lost so much trust in him, but I have. I know he is better than this. He knows he is better than this! Sadly, we are getting some really bad moments from David Carpenter and it feels like he is turning into the red headed step child of the Yankee bullpen and I am sure it sucks to stick out like such a sore thumb in a really strong group of relievers. I need a drink just to get through his appearances lately....and I am not a heavy drinker!

I keep replaying all of the botched appearances so far in this short season. The fact that I keep replaying three of them is scary. I shouldn't be able to count this many! First, there was the Baltimore meltdown. Joe Girardi put him into the game in the sixth inning with a one run lead. That is not unfamiliar territory in his career. In less than a full inning of work, he allows three runs, two hits and a walk that cost us the game. It wasn't pretty. That game is still fresh in my head and this isn't a recent game!

How about his game against the Blue Jays last week? Girardi puts him in the game in a non-save situation. Michael Pineda pitched an amazing eight inning game and the Blue Jays weren't even on the board. Then here comes Carpenter again....and he gives up 3 runs in the ninth inning creating a save situation. I know the Jays have a good lineup but COME ON man. He had six runs worth of breathing room and he blew it! We need to give some of these other guys a break in the bullpen. With a six run lead there was no reason to need to bring Andrew Miller into the game. Sure, maybe Girardi was a little hasty to do that but when you see a guy slowly implode, you aren't going to just sit there watch it, and do nothing right? Bottom line Carpenter....if you can't handle a six run lead and pitch effectively what good are you?!

Then of course there was Monday night. Finally CC Sabathia gets his first win of the season. In the eighth inning Carpenter comes in for relief. He hits a batter, throws away a ball on a pick off attempt allowing the runner to go to second and gives up a run. Sure, it wasn't a close inning but the Yankees have got to get this guy straightened out. At this rate, the only time we will see him is when the Yankees can afford to give away runs. That is no way to manage a bullpen.

Sorry Carpenter, but if you can't get it together then you just got to go. We can't just use you when there is little risk to losing the game and we can afford to just give away runs. We need you to be able to pitch in high pressure situations and give nights off to Dellin Betances and Miller. You used to do that back in your days with Atlanta. WHERE IS THAT PITCHER?!

You are better than these shitty games you have appeared in. But the fact of the matter is I can't go to work the next morning with a strained voice because I was yelling and screaming at you from my living room. Capeesh? Get it together!
 


 
 --Jeana Bellezza, BYB Senior Writer and Editor
Twitter: @NyPrincessJ  




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THE YANKEES ARE ROLLING, ROLLING, ROLLING

Damn, the Yankees look good.

CC Sabathia started tonight and got his first W, and I'm real happy about that.  The Yankees gave him some nice run support and the Monster did good for himself, going 7 innings, allowing 6 hits and only 4 runs.  Hopefully this was the turn around he needed.  We shall see...

The pen only gave up 1 more run.  It was David Carpenter again.   But the Yankee scored 11 runs to the Rays 5... and it went like this:

In the first, Alex Rodriguez hit a solo shot.  It was 662. In the 4th, it was Chase Headley who hit a 3 run homer.

In the 5th, another homer, this time from Carlos Beltran.  Then, in the 6th, a home run by Brett Gardner, another 3 run shot.

In the 7th, Headley sacrificed home a run. Then, in the 9th, Mark Teixeira hit a 2 run shot and those are the Yankees 11 runs.  Incredible.

Mustaches must be magic! That, or the Yankees are really feeling good about themselves right now. Whatever the case, the Yanks are on their way, and us fans love it.  Keep on bringing it!

Final: Yankees 11 - Rays 5

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YANKEES LOSE TO THE LONG BALL

This is literally the story... write this down:

"The Orioles hit 3 home runs off Chase Whitley and the Yankees were never quite able to recover."

I mean... that's really it.  The Orioles struck early and often and it appeared too much. We had a hard time offensively off of Wei-Yin Chen, who pitched 7, and that the difference in the match-ups yesterday.

Whitley went 5.2 innings giving up 6 hits and 5 runs. He struck out 5.  After that, it was David Carpenter who gave up another.  Now, not too many Yankee fans have been too high on Carpenter lately.  I just say let the guy work it out... it's early.  It's a new team with a new feel... he'll get there.

As far as the Yankee offense, they scored their first run in the 5th, when John Ryan Murphy sacrificed home Chase Headley.  Then in the 8th, Carlos Beltran singled and knocked in another.  But that was all though folks... that was all.

Today, being Mother's Day, I hope the Yanks get a win for Moms everywhere. I mean, my mom's a Yankee fan. 

Yankee fans are not too unhappy with the Yankees right now... yes, losses happen, but the wins are happening more and we see it and we like it.  I was speaking to one of my friends the other night about the Yankees.  He's an older gentlemen, and he doesn't go to the games as much as he used to.  I said, "Yanks look pretty good right now, don't they?"  He smirked as he was leaving the house, turned to me and said... "Yeah... they're fun this year."

That very telling and it almost seems true.  I'm not sure if it was the just the Derek Jeter mystique we've seen 19 years before this one, or the corporate atmosphere that we've had for as long as I can remember, but something has definitely changed. The clubhouse seems loose.  They're growing mustaches. They're showing "team"... hell... they even look like they're laughing more.  It's very true... the Yankees have been fun... and it's working.  Loss yesterday... sure, it happens. No team can win 162... but I don't feel as bad about it, because I feel like they'll just win the next one.  I like that feeling.

Final: Orioles 6 - Yankees 2

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MUSTACHE RIDE!

It has to be the mustaches, right?  Or, maybe the Yankees are actually good this year?  Last night, once again they proved that they have what it takes to win games.  Mark Teixeira and his mustache "starter set" hit a home run.  Michael Pineda pitched terrific once again.  Things are happening ladies and gentlemen... strap in.

Pineda went 8 innings, giving up just 5 hits, no runs.  He was quickly followed by David Carpenter, who gave up 3.  By then, the Yankees had their 6... but just in case, they brought in Andrew Miller to close the door, his 11th save and just like that they locked it up.  Many are asking if Andrew Miller is the best closer in baseball right now.  Look, if a team wins and a guy can come in and close the door in any situation... he kind of is.  Let's hope this routine continues.

The Yankee run scoring went like this:

The Yanks scored 2 in the first. Alex Rodriguez hit a 2 run double.  That was followed by a run in the second when Jacoby Ellsbury singled knocking in Gregorio Petit.

In the 5th it was that Mark Teixeira 2 run homer.  By then it was a mustache ride. In the 8th, Didi Gregoirus singled, knocking in 1 more.

Then, like I said, the Jays scored 3 in the ninth and were threatening, but Miller stopped it and just like that, we were on our way.

Nice win Yanks. Keep going... don't shave.

(Original photo via USA TODAY Sports; Photo illustration by Rubie Edmondson)

Final: Yankees 6 - Blue Jays 3




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