Thursday, July 18, 2013
2013 First Round Picks
Eric Jagielo
Eric raked in the fifth highest bonus handed out to a draftee at 1.8394M, which was right at slot money. A former Notre Dame third baseman, he stands in at 6'3", 215 lbs and hits from the left side. In his three years at ND, Eric hit .321, slugged .432 and hit 27 home runs. He's also proven he can handle the wood bats, as he went deep 13 times in the Cape Cod league, walking away with the MVP. In the box Jagielo has quick hands that allow him to get in on the inside pitch. His swing is built for power, with good loft and backspin, but could lead to him making less contact. His coach from ND praised him as the most talented hitters he's ever seen, now keep in mind Eric is only the third position player drafted from his school, but it has been noted that he is disciplined at the plate and could see an OBP in the mid 3's. His defense at the hot corner isn't exactly inspiring; think a fringy defender with limited range. In the event that he is unable to remain at the hot corner, his bat could carry him over to first. He's not by any means a speedster, but he isn't bad on the bases and his arm is quite enough to get the job done but isn't amazing, which would have been a bonus. At 21 years old and having some college experience behind him, he should be able to move quickly which is something the Yankees could use in the near future with the Ow My Hip Alex spending less and less time on the field. If he manages to put in the work and make the adjustments he'll need to make, he could be getting a cup of joe next September. That's on the aggressive side, but possible.
Jagielo has begun his Yankee career in the minor league system, first starting in rookie ball for a single game and then on to Charleston. In 52 plate appearances he's both walked and struck out five times, good for a 9.6%. *small sample noted With his profile i'll take all the walks I can get. His slash line is at .364/.462/.477, but this is riding a torrid .395 babip. For the Fangraphs friendly fans, it adds up to a .446wOBA, 187wRC+. Pretty great start so far, but without batted ball profiles it's hard to say how much he'll fall off when when "luck" runs out and regression sets in. If he does continue to tear it up he'll be in Tampa by years end.
Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge is huge. Really huge. At 6'7" 255lbs. there's something like a handful of guys near his size ever to play the OF; he'll be the second tallest ever. Previously drafted by Oakland, Aaron opted to attend Fresno State where in his junior year he hit .369 with 12 HR's, 36 RBI's and 12 stolen bases. Judge is athletic considering his size, and while he has been playing center, will probably profile more as a right fielder due to his strong and accurate arm. He has to rely on his athleticism as his routes nor his first step are much to speak of. RF in Yankee Stadium is a perfect fit for a guy like him. For a guy his size you would expect big power, and he has it but only in batting practice. His swing doesn't give him enough loft to get out of the park, but he'll hit a lot of line drives. His swing is not without its warts for sure. For one his size makes for a lot of long moving parts and makes it difficult for him to repeat his swing consistently. He has some issues with pitch recognition, making him susceptible to breaking and offspeed stuff. Overall he has tons of power that could be tapped in to with a respectable average to back it up. Judge was the last to sign, and pulled off an above slot bonus of 1.8M. Both he and Clarkin have yet to start in the minors yet as they both came up injured (surprised?) before they got rolling.
Ian Clarkin
Ian Clarkin does not hate the Yankees. Apparently. I still haven't read the actual story about all that, and damn does that feel good. As soon as I heard the ruckus I filed it away in the don't give a spit bin and moved on, which leads us to our third pick, courtesy of #untuck. Clarkin is the baby of the group as a HS senior out of Madison High School in San Diego. The southpaw measures up at 6'2" and runs his fastball in the low to mid 90's on a downward plane. His butter pitch is his curveball, which was talked about as the best of all HS pitchers in the 2013 draft and could be a plus plus offering at the ML level. His changeup is a work in progress, sitting around 78 but could be average or better. Baseball America had him going quite a bit higher at 17th, and Keith Law had him as the second best HS lefty in the draft. It seems as there were some signability questions, but he who hates the Yankees signed for 1.65M, right at slot. Ian's greatest hurdle will be to turn his show me change into a real pitch he can go to when he doesn't have one of his primary pitches. If he gets caught without his big bad curveball he's going to need another offering to keep hitters off of number one. I suppose at worst you have a late inning reliever with a filthy strikeout pitch, at best he's a number two if he's got a handle on all three pitches and can command the zone. At 18 there's always room to add a tick or two to that fastball and so long as he's still commanding it it only makes him that much stronger. Another victim to the injury plague throughout Yankeeland, Clarkin has yet to get into a game. There is one player I will mention who is alive and pitching, and that's Ty Webb...na na na na na na na na na na na na na na. Be the ball.
Alex Rodriguez Homers In Latest Rehab Game
Alex Rodriguez made his debut in AAA with the Scranton Railriders and he made that debut in a big, and a loud, way tonight. In Alex Rodriguez's first at bat he hit the ball a long way to the opposite field that would eventually find a glove. In Alex's second at bat he hit an opposite field home run to give the Railriders and fellow Yankees player Michael Pineda a 2-0 lead. Alex would also strike out with the bases loaded which caused a @GreedyStripes twitter follower to send us this tweet which I found quite comical and somewhat relevant.
@GreedyStripes So I'm here at the game and I've seen Alex hit a home run and then strike out with the bases loaded. Yep, HE'S READY
— Jack Jorgensen (@JackJ14RS) July 19, 2013
Dariel Alvarez Comes Off The Board, Sign With Orioles
The Yankees were recently linked with 24 year old Cuban defecting outfielder Dariel Alvarez but he came off the board today when the Baltimore Orioles signed him for $800,000. Since Dariel is older than 23 years old and has at least three seasons of professional baseball in Cuba he will not affect the Orioles international spending cap. It's a shame the Yankees did not kick the tires on this guy because by the time he would be ready to contribute every day we would be without the likes of Ichiro Suzuki, Vernon Wells, Curtis Granderson, and maybe even Brett Gardner. Oh well I just hope this isn't the next Yoenis Cespedes or Yu Darvish type that we missed the boat on again.
Chase Headley To The Yankees A No Go
The Yankees have been searching for an adequate third basemen all season long and will continue their search after speaking with the San Diego Padres about the availability of Chase Headley. The Yankees were turned away by the Padres when they said they needed a special kind of prospect that the Yankees either do not possess or are not willing to give up to acquire Chase. Switch hitting power hitting third basemen who are not defensive liabilities are apparently in high demand and unless the Padres are blown away they will hold on to the 29 year old.
Headley has struggled this season both at the plate and in his attempts to stay healthy while putting up a batting line of .229/.330/.359 with a lingering thumb and calf injury. We all know, including the San Diego Padres, that his stock is down right now but he is a much better player than he has shown this season. The Padres seem willing to hold on to him and seem willing to trade him at next years trading deadline if it came to that so Chase looks like a no go for the Yankees. That's a shame he is a perfect fit in this Yankees lineup not only this season but next season as well.
Bud Selig Wants A True World Series
Bud Selig is finally saying and potentially doing something that I am absolutely 100% on the band wagon with. Bud Selig wants to see a true World Series played with the winner of the traditional World Series playing the winner of the Japanese League World Series equivalent. Bud has contacted the commissioner of the Japanese League and has discussed this and other possibilities with him but obviously it is nothing more than that at this point. This probably will not happen in the Bud Selig era but the fact that he was the one that brought it up should give us fans something to maybe look forward to. Great idea Bud, I like it. Much better idea then the World Baseball Classic.
Staten Island Yankees Game Recap For 7/18
Yankees’ bats quiet in loss to Muckdogs
By COURTNEY NUNES
Staten Island, NY – July 18th – The Staten Island Yankees were outhit 13-4 on Thursday afternoon as they were defeated by the Batavia Muckdogs 8-2.
Both teams were held scoreless until the top of the fifth when the Muckdogs put two runs on the board. Andrew Benakreplaced starting pitcher Giovanny Gallegos on the mound for Staten Island at the start of the frame. Benak then allowed a leadoff double to Javier Lopez and a single to Felix Castillo. With runners at the corners, Luis Ortiz grounded into a force out to score Lopez. Later, Ortiz stole second and was plated on a Carlos Lopez single.
In the sixth, J.T. Riddle homered on a fly ball to center to score Felix Munoz, who had doubled, to make it 4-0.
But the Muckdogs weren’t done yet, as they rallied for three more runs in the seventh off Andy Beresford. Beresford gotYefri Perez to ground out before allowing five consecutive hits, including two doubles off the bats of Carlos Lopez and Avery Romero.
Batavia picked up one last run in the ninth when Romero singled in Lopez.
The Yankees were finally on the board in the bottom half of the inning, but their late effort was not enough. Radley Haddad walked with the bases loaded to score Kale Sumer; and Jose Rosario later came home on a ground out by Derek Toadvine.
Benak suffered his first loss after throwing 2.0 innings and allowing four earned runs off six hits. James Wooster earned the win for Batavia after tossing 2.0 scoreless innings of reliever and surrendering just two hits and one walk.
The Yankees will take on the Batavia Muckdogs again tomorrow at home. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00PM. LHPCaleb Smith (1-0, 2.65 ERA) will toe the mound for the Yankees, while RHP Ryan Newell (1-2, 2.12 ERA) is expected to get the ball for the Muckdogs. Tickets are on sale now by calling 718-7-9265, visiting the box office at Richmond County Bank Ballpark or www.siyanks.com.
John The Artist Paints Derek Jeter's 3,000th Hit
Earlier we shared an original painting of Mariano Rivera and another of Lou Gehrig painted by one of our twitter followers and wanted to take the opportunity to share another one that John The Artist was generous enough to share with us. This one is a painting of the Yankees captain Derek Jeter when he became the first player in Yankees history to collect his 3,000th hit. Follow John The Artist on twitter by following @john_theartist and check out his website where his paintings can be purchased by clicking THIS LINK.
Thank you John we appreciate you sharing this with us and hope you do well in all your endeavors. Go Yankees!
Follow us on twitter and share with us your original Yankees material by following us @GreedyStripes and maybe you will make the blog too!
John The Artist Presents A Lou Gehrig Painting
Earlier we shared an original painting of Mariano Rivera made by one of our twitter followers and wanted to take the opportunity to share another one that John was so gracious to share with us. This one is a painting of the Iron Horse and Yankees legend Lou Gehrig. Follow him on twitter by following @john_theartist and check out his website where his paintings can be purchased by clicking THIS LINK.
Thank you John we appreciate you sharing this with us and hope you do well in all your endeavors. Go Yankees!
Follow us on twitter and share with us your original Yankees material by following us @GreedyStripes and maybe you will make the blog too!
Original Mariano Rivera Painting By Sports Artist
As many of you probably know, and if you don't you should, we love our followers on Twitter and especially when we see things like we did today. The above picture is a twitter follower of The Greedy Pinstripes, @GreedyStripes, and shared this picture of his original painting of Yankees legend Mariano Rivera. Follow him on twitter by following @john_theartist and check out his website where his paintings can be purchased by clicking THIS LINK.
Thank you John we appreciate you sharing this with us and hope you do well in all your endeavors. Go Yankees!
New York Yankees Off Day Movie Recommendation
Register Now For Trenton Thunder's Charity Treasure Hunt
Press Release - July 17, 2013
2ND ANNUAL TRENTON THUNDER CHARITIES
TREASURE HUNT
Saturday, August 10 Starting At ARM & HAMMER Park
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New York Yankees Off Day Music Recommendation
The Yankees go back to work tomorrow in Boston when they take on the first place Boston Red Sox in a three game weekend series.Yeah I know that this guy sounds a lot like Eminem, and yes I know that he looks a lot like Eminem, but that doesn't mean you cant like him does it? If you can't for those reasons then honestly your not listening to music for it's true purpose, the enjoyment factor. This is almost like having a new Eminem CD to listen to while I am waiting on the new Eminem album to drop. Sounds like a win to me so check it out if you want to and enjoy the off day.
Yankees First-Half Awards: Results
Welcome back Yankees fans! Now, on July 6th, I posted a poll about the Yankees First-Half awards. The poll had now closed and now it's time to give the results.
DISCLAIMER: I was not allowed/couldn't vote for anyone in any category in anyway. All of these votes are from you guys. Now that we are perfectly clear, let's start with the Pitching Category, shall we?
Who Is the Yankees Starting Pitcher MVP?
For this category, I listed the pitchers that have had either great or s0-so years. (Ivan Nova wasn't added because he wasn't in the rotation the entire half and Phil Hughes was plain terrible when I made the poll). So, here were your nominees for the Starting Pitcher MVP.
1) CC Sabathia
2) Hiroki Kuroda
3) Andy Pettitte
4) David Phelps
The Winner Is:
Hiroki Kuroda!
Hiroki Kuroda had a whopping 92% of the vote among Yankees fans. Andy Pettitte was second in the voting at 3% and CC Sabathia and David Phelps were tied with 2%. So pretty much Kuroda had this category in the bag.
Who is the Yankees Bullpen MVP?
Our next category takes us to the bullpen, where we have some of our top relievers that have outperformed above and beyond. (Shawn Kelley, Preston Claiborne and Adam Warren were not listed in this category because there was a specific category for them. We all know why Joba Chamberlain wasn't nominated in any category, so that's that.) Here were your nominees for Yankees Bullpen MVP.
1) Mariano Rivera
2) David Robertson
3) Boone Logan
The Winner Is:
Mariano Rivera!
Mariano Rivera had 85% of the vote, so it wasn't shocking who won. It was shocking who came second. Boone Logan had 11% of the vote and David Robertson came in third with 4% of the vote. I would have figured more people would have voted for D-Rob. Interesting.
Who is the Yankees Bullpen Standout?
Here is the category where I listed some pitchers that weren't in the other category. (Again, Joba is not in this category). These are some first time Yankees that have opened everyone's eyes with what they could do. Here are your nominees for Yankees Bullpen Standout.
1) Shawn Kelley
2) Preston Claiborne
3) Adam Warren
The Winner Is:
Preston Claiborne!
Preston Claiborne had 63% of the vote among Yankees fans while Shawn Kelley had 34% of the vote. Adam Warren finished last in this category with 2%. I was surprised with Warren getting the least amount since he has helped out the bullpen so much as well
Now we move on to the Defense Category.
Who Is The Yankees Defensive MVP?
This category involved multiple players that have opened our eyes with their defense. Luis Cruz wasn't added to this category because he came after I already made the poll, but we could give him a pat on the back for the great defense he provided. Here are your nominees for Yankees Defensive MVP:
1) Robinson Cano
2) Brett Gardner
3) Ichiro Suzuki
4) Jayson Nix
5) Vernon Wells
The Winner Is:
Brett Gardner!
Brett Gardner quickly ran away (pun not intended) with this category with 69% of the vote. Robinson Cano came in second with 17% of the vote while Ichiro Suzuki came in third with 11% of the vote. Jayson Nix had 2% of the vote while Vernon Wells had 1%.
Onto the biggest award: The Yankees Offensive MVP
This is the final category of the awards. It also was the tightest race out of all the categories. I pulled up the Yankees best three offensive players throughout the first half and the winner...may shock you. Here are your nominees:
1) Robinson Cano
2) Brett Gardner
3) Ichiro Suzuki
The Winner Is:
Robinson Cano AND Brett Gardner!
I know what you're thinking, how could BOTH of them win the Offensive Award? It was simple. The race was SO tight that by the time voting closed--they were tied. Both Gardner and Cano had 47% of the vote. Ichiro unfortunately was left in the dust with 7% of the vote.
And those are your winners for the Yankees First-Half Awards! Join me again in September after the regular season when we have 2013 Yankees Awards (awards that are for the entire year, instead of the first half).
Charleston Ends July With A Eight-Game Homestand
Tampa Yankees Release Team Baseball Card Sets
The Tampa Yankees are releasing a set of team baseball cards that can be bought on TYBASEBALL.com. The card team sets start at only $7.00 for both the 2012 and 2013 seasons. You can also buy the entire 2012 prospect card set from the Florida State League for $15. If you're a prospect fan, a Tampa Yankees fan, and a baseball fan this is the perfect time to buy now. You can purchase the cards HERE or by visiting tybaseball.com
Staten Island Yankees Game Recap For 7/17
Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap For 7/17
Morning Bits
The Yankees and the rest of the teams in MLB continue to enjoy the only break in the long season.
Here are today's news links:
Gabe Lacques of the USA Today reports that A-Rod will rejoin the Yankees on Monday.
Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News has the midseason report cards ready for the Yankees.
Jon Heyman of CBSSPORTS.com says the Yankees called the Padres about Chase Headley.
Tobias Rosen of Yahoo Sports says there is reason for optimism about the Yankees' playoff chances.
Daniel Barbarisi of the Wall Street Journal writes that Robinson Cano is the biggest Yankee of them all.
Have a great day everyone! The next time I write this it will be a game day again!
This Day In New York Yankees History 7/18
On this day in 1921 Yankees slugger Babe Ruth became the all time home run king when he hit his 139th home run of his career. If memory serves he went on to hit a few more after that in his storied career.
On this day in 1999 on Yogi Berra Day the Yankees pitcher David Cone became the third Yankee in their history to throw a perfect game. David Cone would become the 16th player in Major League history to achieve the feat.