BEING A FAN IN THE WORLD OF DUNCE

Being a fan is liking a player for the ability he has.  It's for the courage he displays. Hell, some people are fans because they think a player is good looking, or think they're nice.  It really doesn't matter how a person defines why they like a player. What matters to that fan is that they like the player. And sometimes that's all one needs to know.  

You may not like that player. Nothing wrong with that. But what is wrong is when you tell another person that are wrong for being a fan of a player. In fact, it's not even wrong, it's idiotic.

I like Billy McKinney. I am a fan. I think the dude has tremendous potential and he plays his heart out. I do NOT care that McKinney is now being called a 4th outfielder because we have J.A. Happ.  That's because anyone who is actually in tune with how the media works knows, that the Yankees will spin it that way so it appears on it's surface that trading McKinney away was "no big deal".

And you know what? Maybe it's not a big deal. Maybe he will pitter out.... or maybe he'll be a superstar in Toronto. Who knows. I do know this... I'll still root for McKinney in Toronto, just like I root for Dustin Fowler in Oakland and Rob Refsnyder in Tampa Bay. Because guess what? I'm a fan of those guys too.

It's not a matter of "Where they gonna put him???" As some dunce fans asked me when I said I wanted McKinney to stay. I'll tell you why... BECAUSE I'M A FAN.  I wanted him to stay because I had this hope that he'd get some extra time with us. Because I like him as a player.  Shame on me, right?

This is my Wall of Dunce.  There are a lot like them on Social Media, but this one is mine.  Please read it if you are a reader of BYB every day.  Please let me know if I'm missing something.  Because last time I checked, I never said I was disappointed in J.A. Happ, I was just concerned about how he would adapt in the Bronx.  I also suggested that I'm a fan of Billy McKinney.

Not that I thought he'd roam the outfield in the Bronx tomorrow, but when you're a fan... there's always a part of you that hopes that one day they will just break out.  Just like Tyler Austin before him... it's how I was made. I root for the underdog and look for the positives.  This however is not positive. This is stupid... all of it.  This is what our society has become. Enjoy this...

These are my favorite... there are about 150. All of them... GOLD. All of them on Facebook, unless they all started scrambling and removing them. Too late, the good ones are here, with their names, with their avatars.  Have fun, kiddos, I just made you famous.

Bottom line, I still walk away from this being a fan of Billy McKinney... and I still like Happ.  My worry... that he'll fall under the pressure of the Bronx. I definitely will root for him... but it's a worry of mine and that's that.

Play ball.

Welcome to the Bronx, Happ…

I'm your biggest fan Billy McKinney!

And... life goes on.

REMEMBER DUSTIN FOWLER? HE'S BACK!

Source: Christian Petersen/Getty Images North America

And when I say back, I mean he's back playing baseball after that gruesome injury last year. If you don't remember... Dustin Fowler was making his Yankee debut, pretty much ran full speed, crashed into the short fence and was carried off the field at that point.

Photo: Getty Images

The reason? An open rupture of his right patellar tendon. In other words, it was nasty.

That was the end of that.  He was soon shipped off to the Oakland A's. We got Sonny Gray.  But now, Fowler is back and playing in Oakland.  You know me... I like to follow up on former Yankee players.

NJ.com writes:

Photo: Getty Images

"Back playing this season, Fowler was called up by the Athletics from Triple-A on Wednesday, he got his first big-league at-bat that day, and on Friday night he’ll be in Oakland’s lineup for its series opener against the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. And who will be pitching for the Yankees? Gray, of course.

'It's just the perfect story ... the guy I got traded for, getting to face him,' Fowler said Thursday in his post-game interview. 'It'll be nice to be in New York and play in front of that crowd. It'll be exciting. I'm ready to get there.'"

It will be fun to see Fowler again and no doubt he's out to prove something to the Yankees.  But whatever the case, it's just good that he's healthy... finally.

Welcome back Fowler.

DUSTIN FOWLER JUST FILED A LAWSUIT

Source: David Banks/Getty Images North America

Everyone is sue happy.  I'm not saying lawsuit's aren't warranted.  I'm saying that there are creative ways to do it, and you can pretty much sue a ham sandwich if you want to.  Some lawsuits are thrown out... some run their course.  I actually think Dustin Fowler has a case.

Remember when Dustin Fowler made his debut with the Yankees and literally got hurt after being on the field a few minutes?  Well, he's suing because of that.

Source: David Banks/Getty Images North America

The New York Post has the story:

"Fowler, who ruptured his patellar tendon when crashing into the wall to make a catch in foul territory at Chicago’s Guaranteed Rate Field on June 29, is suing the White Sox and the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

(Photo: AP)

The outfielder, since traded to the Athletics in the Sonny Gray deal, filed the lawsuit Friday, claiming negligence “in not securing the unpadded electrical box he collided with.” Fowler attempted to get up on the warning track after the collision, but his right leg collapsed.

The 22-year-old was supposed to record his first major league at-bat the next half-inning but underwent emergency surgery that night instead. "

You gotta wonder what happens to Fowler's career.  Hopefully he can come around and be a productive player.  Let's not forget us Yankee fans were excited for him. After that night, everything changed.  Sad... but I will continue to root for him however.

We'll keep you posted on this lawsuit.

IT'S MORE SUNNY WITH SONNY: MY TAKE

Photo: Getty Images

Never do I stay as close to my phone as I do at the trade deadline. I end up checking it minute after minute when there's an update. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve wondering what great toys Santa will bring me.

I love to look at the endless chatter wondering if there is anything to it. A lot of what is put out there is nothing more than various writers speculating on what is going on. That's why BYB chief Robert Casey asks many of us to wait on rumors without checking, or at least attributing it to the writer, getting snarky about it too, but still... as he says, be right, not first.

Bottom line, many of the ideas being leaked by any "anonymous source" are bogus. The trade deadline can be as nerve racking as it is fun watching various rumor sites and live trade update articles.  But something great really happened for the Yanks on July31st.  Brian Cashman accomplished what he set out to do. For the second straight year, he has delivered to us, the fans, what we have long been waiting for.

Photo: Getty Images / Dustin Fowler

The Yankees are younger and better without losing very much in the long haul. While I hated to see James Kaprielian and Dustin Fowler go, in the end, Billy Beane ended up being Marlon Brando and giving Brian Cashman and the Yankees an offer they just couldn't refuse.  New York Daily News writes:

(Kathy Willens/AP)

"In the end, Brian Cashman would have been foolish to say no to the trade that he finally agreed on with A’s GM Billy Beane.

Think about it: in Sonny Gray the Yankees got a difference-making pitcher who, in concert with the bullpen trade of two weeks ago, just might give this team a chance to win a championship — and then be here for at least two more years while still under age 30."

I know, just recently I wrote an article stating that I wasn't too crazy about a deal for Sonny Gray. Well, that was mostly a knee jerk reaction to who I saw Billy Beane was asking for. I really didn't believe that Gleyber Torres or Clint Frazier would be worth it. In fact, many didn't. It turned out that neither did Brian Cashman and the Yankees either. Somehow Mr. Cashman pulled a bunny out of his hat and made it work without including them.  Genius.  Read BOSS MAN, for that perspective.

As we've stated here on BYB, you have to give to receive. Sometimes it works and other times it's a big Ken Phelps belly-flop into the shallow end. Sometimes the prospect that was given up turns out to be nothing more than a prospect a.k.a. Jesus Montero. No one really knows until they start to train and play.  But I feel good about this trade.  It's sunnier now... we got Sonny!

I wish the prospects that were given up nothing more than the best of luck.  I would also like to wish speedy recoveries to James Kaprielian and Dustin Fowler.

But for now, time to root for Sonny Gray!

--Michael Carnesi
BYB Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @sevn4evr

WELCOME TO THE BRONX, SONNY GRAY!

Done deal, or that's what it appears.  Sonny Gray is a New York Yankee. Jack Curry tweeted this:

Source: Sonny Gray will be traded to the Yankees.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) July 31, 2017

Word is the Yankees gave up 3.  MLB Trade Rumors has this:

"The Yankees pulled off a long-awaited rotation upgrade today, acquiring righty Sonny Gray from the Athletics for three prospects: outfielder Dustin Fowler, infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo, and righty James Kaprielian.  In addition to Gray, the Yankees will receive $1.5MM in international bonus pool money. "

Nice work Cash! Sad to see some of our future go, but it is what it is.

TRADE PROPOSALS THAT MAKE YOU SAY, WTF?!

(July 1, 2017 - Source: Jon Durr/Getty Images North America)     

I love the rumor mill. I have to admit though, I liked the rumor mill more when the Yankees were winning and on a roll. Right now, the rumor mill isn't as fun and some of these ideas smell like desperation and insanity as I read through them. Some of them are just completely crazy!

I was reading a rumor piece from a major news source talking about two pitchers the Yankees should go after. The names weren't new, we have talked about them here on BYB but the trade proposals made to get these guys were new....and rather ugly. The name Jose Quintana still won't go away and Johnny Cueto looks more appealing with everyday that passes, but the Yankees are looking to deal and build for the future and not be robbed which is exactly what these proposals were....highway robbery.

Photo: Getty Images

1) Yankees Gain: Jose Quintana AND Todd Frazier
    Yankees Lose: RF Clint Frazier, RHP Justus Sheffield, RHP Zack Littell, 1B/OF Tyler Austin and SS Wilkerman Garcia.

We've talked about Quintana for months but here's a quick breakdown on WHY we and many other teams are talking abut him. He's attractive because he is cheap, offers team control to the Yankees, he is an innings eater and he's a consistent starter. All things that sound great. However, the proposal made above is not great.

Photo: Pinstriped Prospects

First of all....I am not trading two young top prospects in Frazier and Sheffield for Quintana. Frazier is a five-tool player and I'm not giving him up for a number three starter. I like what Quintana offers, but not enough to give up a five tool guy who is younger. You can't discredit Sheffield either, this is a guy that will probably be a starter for the Yankees at some point next season.

(June 2, 2017 - Source: Leon Halip/Getty Images North America)

So Todd Frazier may make sense on paper. He can play first and third which we all know are HUGE problems for the Yankees right now. Those are the cornerstone pieces in any infield and should be major offensive contributors. The Yankees have not had any luck at first with injury plagued Greg Bird and Tyler Austin and then Chris Carter with his lack of offense, defense and habitual strikeouts. Chase Headley is no better, he just happens to be healthy. Frazier may sound like a guy the Yankees could use but he is also barely batting above the mendoza line. He's not an upgrade no matter how you look at it. Oh and....Austin is injured again so why would the White Sox want him? The logic is missing here.

Source: Getty Images

2) Yankees Gain: Johnny Cueto
     Yankees Lose: OF Dustin Fowler and SP Chance Adams

We've talked about Cueto before also, and sooner or later he is going to be on the move. The Giants are 22 games behind in their division and he has an opt-out clause waiting for him to exercise at the end of the season so the Giants have no reason to keep him. The Giants are also needing a major influx of young new talent. Their farm system is weak, and the Yankees is just the opposite and we all know what had to happen to give us a strong farm. Knowing that, why give up a strong farm for a rental?

Giving up Adams is a no-go for me. This kid has a future spot pitching on this team and he has been doing well down in Triple-A. Some fans are already petitioning for the kid to be called up to the Bronx despite not logging enough innings down in Triple-A. I'm not giving up a young pitcher with a high ceiling for a short term rental. Not to mention, Cueto has allowed 18 home runs in pitcher friendly AT&T Park. I don't want to imagine how ugly those numbers can get in hitter friendly / short right porch Yankee stadium. Not to mention, the guy is 31 years old and is having his worst season since 2009. It makes no sense to trade the future for a guy like Cueto.

Oh and not to harp again but Fowler has a pretty bad injury. He won't be back this season so that really doesn't make any sense.

Photo: SI

The Yankees need to stick with their plan and build towards the future. Guys like Adams and Frazier are players you build around. The Yankees will have a very strong team with these guys playing for years to come. Do we want to win now? Of course, we are Yankee fans....but we aren't dumb either. We know what we have, and it's much better than the trade proposals above. Some things you just can't make up.

--Jeana Bellezza
BYB Managing Editor 
Follow me on Twitter: @NYPrincessJ



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CARTER'S BACK, BUT THE YANKS HAVE A BETTER CHOI

Photo: Jason Farmer/Citizens' Voice Staff Photographer

Tomorrow is America's Independence Day, but Yankee fans should already be celebrating their liberation from a June that was nothing short of a royal pain in the arse.

The month saw seven starters hit the disabled list, a stout bullpen melt like Velveeta, and a four-game division lead evaporate beneath a 13-15 record that included the season's longest home and road losing streaks. It was the team's first month of sub-.500 play since April 2016 and  made all the more painful by nine one-run losses, including three of the walk-off variety.

It ended with the call-up and subsequent horrific injury to outfield prospect Dustin Fowler in the first inning of his major league debut, the re-injury and return to the DL of rookie first baseman Tyler Austin and -- adding insult to  injuries -- the reappearance of the momentarily designated-for-assignment  Chris Carter to replace Austin.

To shoehorn Li'l CC back onto the roster, Joe and Brian saw fit to demote Miguel Andujar, who in his own major league debut the day before had helped the team to victory with four RBI -- the equivalent of 16 percent of Carter's season production over 59 games. In short, if the 30-20 Yankees of April and May were MLB's love bugs, June hit them like a speeding windshield. Splat.

Perhaps nobody has embodied the Yankees' worst expectations for this season or symbolized the organization's old paradigm of overpaying for castoff band-aids better than Carter. As NJ.com's Brendan Kuty noted: "Carter has had a terrible season, hardly making good on the one-year, $3.5-million deal he signed with the Yankees in the offseason."

Photo: New York Post

Which can only makes one's eyes roll at Joe's explanation for heading Carter off at the airport when he cleared waivers (that's right, nobody else in MLB wanted him either) and recalling him to the Bronx before he could even report to the team's Triple A affiliate, the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Railriders.

"He's a guy that's going to strike out," Joe explained. "That's been in his game ever since I remember but he's also a guy who really has the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark. So maybe the five days off will really help get him going."

Being unemployed for a week because he's been so bad nobody else in baseball will have him at any price -- let alone as an overpay -- will really get him going, Joe? Is that really the story you and Brian are going with?

Just playing along for a moment that Joe's serious about a paid vacation week for an under-performing overpaid free agent as a motivational tool,  I would really like to ask him what kind of motivational message he thinks that sends to the rest of his team -- and specifically to his younger players he's supposedly grooming in this rebuilding year for a future dynasty. How does he suppose sending down Andujar to bring back Carter went over with the kids in the system?

Photo: Newsday

Better yet, how does he think re-hiring Carter off the street and handing him his old job back after sending him packing is going down throughout the organization when Ji-Man Choi, the Scranton first baseman,  is hitting .333 with six dingers, 15 ribbies and eight runs scored over his last 10 games?

And if the 30-year-old Carter had boarded the plane for Scranton, where exactly did Joe and Brian plan to bury Choi; a 6'1 230-pound lefty-swinging 26-year-old  with a .299/.391/.461/.852 line over 209  games and 712  at bats in Triple A; who has averaged a .306/.404/.490/.893 line over all minor league levels in his seven-year pro career; who hit five dingers and had a 12-percent walk rate over 129 major-league plate appearances with the Angels last season and who reportedly turned down offers from 10 other clubs last winter to sign a minor-league deal with the Yankees?

If Joe and Brian are genuinely sincere about wanting to motivate Carter and also sincere about being competitive during this rebuilding year, wouldn't the more constructive strategy be to reward the younger Choi who's performing well with a call-up to try and fill the Yankees' hole at first base  and let Carter try to "get going" with the Railriders in his place?

Performance over excessive payroll. Isn't that what Hal has always said this rebuild is all about?  So it may not actually require a full-blown declaration of independence on the part of a binder-bound manager who prefers to play it safe or a salary-conscious GM too stubborn to concede a bad signing to bump Carter and find a competent stand-in for Austin after all.

Maybe all it takes is a small revolution -- and a pair of tickets on the Scranton Shuttle going in opposite directions.

--Barry Millman
BYB Writer
Follow me on Twitter: @nyyankeefanfore

WTF, MAN!

Photo: AP

You can't make this stuff up. I mean you'd like to... you'd like to make it a big joke and then you laugh with your buddy, slap him on the back, move on, grab a brew and go watch a good Yankee game... but you can't make it up.

Dustin Fowler in his major league debut didn't even get to bat.  He went for a foul ball, got banged up and had surgery the same night.  I shit you not.  The New York Post has the story:

"Dustin Fowler, who was promoted from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and thrust into the starting lineup Thursday against White Sox righty James Shields, suffered a gruesome knee injury after he crashed into the wall in foul territory chasing a ball hit by Jose Abreu with two outs and the bases empty in the first inning.

Photo: David Banks/Getty Images

Fowler tumbled into the seats over a low wall and collided with an unpadded metal box that manager. Joe Girardi believed was an electrical box. Fowler was diagnosed with an open rupture of his right patellar tendon and underwent surgery Thursday night at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago..."

This was the next hope, folks.  Another in the youth movement ready to play and help our team win because we have SO MANY on the DL right now.

It just didn't work out.

In the end, the Yankees lost, and slipped out of first place.  Who's ahead of us? Those pesky Sox.

This team is now officially killing me softly...