Saturday, July 6, 2013

Hiroki Kuroda To Start Tomorrow vs. Orioles


Originally Phil Hughes was slated to pitch tomorrow in the finale against the Baltimore Orioles but Hiroki Kuroda came through his MRI and will now start in his place. Kuroda was skipped yesterday in favor of Ivan Nova after having a sore hip flexor but is okay to pitch and will slot in tomorrow with two days extra rest. Hughes will now pitch on Monday in the first game against the Kansas City Royals and CC Sabathia will be pushed back to Tuesday. Ivan Nova will get another start on Wednesday against those same Royals. Slowly but surely it seems like maybe we will start getting all our guys healthy and on the field at the same time sooner rather then later.

Game Thread: Orioles @ Yankees 7/6


The Yankees and the Orioles play their second game of the weekend this afternoon at Yankees Stadium on YES, TBS, and MLB TV. Andy Pettitte took a no decision last time out after passing Whitey Ford as the Yankees all time strike out king. Pettitte is 0-3 with an ERA near 6.00 ERA in his last four starts so he needs to have a better July then he did in June. Chris Tillman has a 10-2 record for the Orioles and has won seven straight starts.

Here is the Yankees lineup
Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Travis Hafner DH
Zoilo Almonte LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Luis Cruz 3B
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C
Follow us on twitter by following @Greedystripes and also get your Yankees tickets for this series and every Yankees home game right here on TGP .

David Phelps Placed On DL With Forearm Strain


David Phelps was given an MRI by team doctors yesterday and the doctors found a slight strain in his right pitching forearm and was placed on the 15 day DL. He was not sent down to AAA to Scranton like earlier reported but either way is the move that will make room for Eduardo Nunez to return. Phelps has been shut down for at least ten days before being reevaluated but hopefully this is a minor issue and can be back after the All Star break.

Baltimore Orioles @ New York Yankees 7/6


The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles play game two of their three game weekend set at Yankees Stadium this afternoon in the Bronx. Andy Pettitte will be on the mound for the Yankees and he will face off with 10 game winner Chris Tillman for the Orioles. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on YES, TBS and on MLB TV.

Eduardo Nunez Has Been Activated From DL


Eduardo Nunez is back and will be in the lineup today against the Baltimore Orioles. He has been on the DL for what seems like forever with a strained ribcage muscle but has finally worked himself back to the majors. Surprisingly David Phelps has been optioned down to AAA to make room for Nunez on the 25 man roster. Surely this is just a temporary thing.. surely.

Game 87 Lineup: Orioles vs. Yankees

After an exciting walk-off win last night, the Yankees try to make it 6 in a row! Here's your starting lineup. Oh and look closely. There's an old friend who is back and ready to play.

Brett Garder CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Travis Hafner DH
Zoilo Almonte LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Luis Cruz 3B
Eduardo Nunez SS
Chris Stewart C

Andy Petttite P

-- David Phelps was sent down to Scranton Wilkes-Barre. He'll be the starter for Tuesday's game there. Not fond of the move but Ivan Nova pretty much sealed Phelps's fate here last night.

Yankees First Half Awards Poll

[caption id="attachment_16098" align="aligncenter" width="300"]Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner are MVP's for the Yankees, but who will take home  the Offensive and Defensive MVP? Robinson Cano and Brett Gardner are MVP's for the Yankees, but who will take home the Offensive and Defensive MVP?[/caption]

With the All-Star break approaching us, it's time to reward the Yankees on the team for their hard work that they've done for half of the year. It's been a tough 3 months, but with a loss of many players, the Yankees are still in the hunt for a play-off spot (yes, I know it's hard to fathom). So, with the first half of the season closing in, it's time to have a poll on some deserving players who have went above and beyond in trying to help the Yankees. So here are the categories:

Yankees Offensive MVP:

The Yankees have been through a lot through the last 3 months of the season, some good, some bad, some terrible and some horrendous. However, for the Yankees there have been a few bright spots on the team. I had to find at least three players to be nominated for this award and with this lineup--it was very easy to make my decision. So thank you to the rest of the lineup for constantly struggling. Anyway, here are your nominees for Yankees Offensive MVP:

[polldaddy poll=7229651]

Yankees Starting Pitching MVP:

There haven't been a lot of bright spots for the Yankees Starting pitching, but so once again it was pretty easy to find at least three (or four) nominees for this subject. So here are your nominees for Yankees Starting Pitching MVP:

[polldaddy poll=7229653]

Yankees Bullpen MVP:

The Yankees bullpen MVP was the hardest part to choose Yankees nominees (thanks for being so good guys). These nominees went above and beyond to protect the leads for the most part, and even shut down the opposing team's offense. Here are your nominees for Yankees Bullpen MVP:

[polldaddy poll=7229659]

Yankees Bullpen Standout:

Now, there are Yankees MVP, and then there are players that have joined the Yankees in the pen for the first time in 2013 and have shut down the offense. So this category is for those players. Here are your nominees for Yankees Bullpen Standout:

[polldaddy poll=7229671]

Yankees Defensive MVP:

Now, there are some good catches...and then there are catches that leave the offense wanting to throw their helmets down on the floor in anger. Here are your nominees for the Yankees Defensive MVP for the first half of 2013:

[polldaddy poll=7229675]

Here are the polls, Yankees fans! You have until July 14th to get your votes in and I'll have the winners posted up during the All-Star Break! You can vote as many times as you want for a player, so good luck and may the best player win.

Morning Bits

Good morning everyone!

The Yankees achieved one of their most thrilling wins of the year last night by a score of 3-2 over the Orioles.

Ivan Nova pitched a complete game to get the win. Nova struck out eleven while allowing two earned runs on only three hits in a sparkling complete game performance.

The Yankees trailed by a score of 2-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning to face Orioles closer Jim Johnson.   David Adams started the inning out with a single.  Johnson then committed an error on a bunt by Brett Gardner to put runners on first and second base.  Ichiro Suzuki moved Adams and Gardner over with a sacrifice before Robinson Cano was intentionally walked to load the bases.   At that point in the inning the wonderful summer Friday night crowd got on their feet and made noise that was reminiscent of the old Yankee Stadium, imploring Travis Hafner to get something done.  Johnson walked Hafner to tie the game and with the crowd still roaring, Vernon Wells got a single by Manny Machado to win the game in walkoff fashion for the Yankees.

The Yankees moved to within a 1/2 game of the Orioles for second place in the Al East and also for the second wildcard position in the AL with last night's win.

Game two of this three-game series will begin today at 1:05 PM ET at Yankee Stadium.  Andy Pettitte(5-6, 4.40) will try to shake his slump against Chris Tillman(10-2, 3.68).  The game will be televised by YES.

Now on to today's news links:

Hunter Atkins of the New York Times writes that even though last night's thrilling win was good, that what happened off the field yesterday for the Yankees was even better.

Mike Axisa of CBSSPORTS.com has this great article about potential Yankee trade deadline targets.

Roger Rubin of the New York Daily News writes that A-Rod says he never wants to leave the Yankees.

Have a great day everyone!

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/6


On this day in 2002 the Yankees held their annual Old Timers Day and on this day they unveiled a  plaque in honor of Reggie Jackson. Reggie brought the Yankees to the playoffs four times in his five years there including two World Series victories.