Game Thread: Yankees @ Orioles 9/9

The New York Yankees will travel to Oriole Park in Camden Yards to take on one of the teams they are chasing in the wild card race in the Baltimore Orioles. The O's are looking to overtake the Tampa Bay Rays and we are simply trying to chase both teams down with less then 20 games to go in the 2013 season. The pitching match up is CC Sabathia for the Yankees and Chris Tillman for the Orioles and it can be seen at 7:05 pm ET on the YES network, MLB network, and MLB TV. If the Yankees want to hold on to any semblance of a playoff push they need to start winning and need to start winning now. We need AT LEAST three of these games head to head to be in the discussion in my opinion so hopefully Joe Girardi manages these games that way. Go Yankees!!!

Here is the Yankees lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Curtis Granderson DH
Eduardo Nunez SS
Lyle Overbay 1B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Austin Romine C

Follow us on twitter by following @GreedyStripes.

New York Yankees Wild Card Update

While it is very disappointing to think of where we could be had we won three of four instead of losing three of four I am still grateful that nobody seems to want this wild card spot and that we are still within striking distance. 

New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles Meme

Let's Hope So....

Chris Bootcheck Granted His Release From AAA

The Yankees still technically owned the rights to Chris Bootcheck for the next couple of weeks but they have still granted Bootcheck his unconditional release. Bootcheck has been the best starter the Yankees had on their Scranton RailRiders affiliate team in his age 34 season. Bootcheck only had one inning of a cup of coffee in the majors this season and will look for a major league deal after this season.

Zoilo Almonte Added To The Roster For Tonight

Zoilo Almonte is in Baltimore with the Yankees and is listed as an available player for the Yankees tonight. The Yankees have obviously activated him off the 15 day DL in order to call him up after a short rehab assignment in Trenton with the Thunder. Since Zoilo is already on the 40 man no roster move needs to be made. World War Z is back in the major leagues!

New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 9/9

The New York Yankees travel to Camden Yards to start a huge series, another huge series, with the Baltimore Orioles in a four game set this week. The Yankees need to file the Boston Red Sox series under the "did not go as planned" file and move on because they received a ton of help with the Tampa Bay Rays struggling as well this weekend. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound who has pitched well lately, especially in Oriole Park, to face off with Chris Tillman for the home town Orioles. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on the YES Network, MLB Network, and MLB TV.

A Toast to the 2013 Yankees

The 2013 Yankees… I can guarantee that many different things come to mind when you hear that phrase. Some may think of a team that has been haunted by the DL, others may think of a team that is struggling because players are getting older, and some might just think about A-Rod… 

For me, it’s a mixture of everything. The Yankees season has been nothing short of a 3 (or 27)-ring circus. Players are getting injured, Mariano Rivera (the greatest closer of all time) has blown 7 saves – the most he has blown since 2001, Derek Jeter has been on and off the DL more times that I would like to count, Yankee fans seem to constantly be wondering who’s playing 3^rd, and at some point during the season, fans started to turn against each other. It seems like there is no longer one Yankees fan base, but 2; Team Alex and Team Not Alex.

TEAM ALEX

TEAM NOT ALEX

I can understand why Red Sox fans, Orioles fans, Mets fans, any other teams’ fans, could hate Alex Rodriguez but I still do not understand why Yankee fans have turned into haters that continue to hate. If we have learned anything from this season it is that players will come and go… they will be successful and then they will also have their off days/weeks/months/years (Look at CC Sabathia) but remember that baseball is a team sport. When the Yankees are playing, I root for the logo on the front of their Jersey – the number on the back is just an added bonus. People complain that A-Rod is getting too much media attention, that he needs to shut up and go away, that his career should be over…  I say you are all bluffing. Let’s be honest, we love his shit. 

In fact, the 2013 Yankee fans need the shit. The A-Rod and Cashman dispute, the fact that Jeter has been on and off the DL 3 times, Chris Stewart got dehydrated… twice, Curtis Granderson Hurtis Handerson, D-Rob entered a charity competition and it happened to be against the Red Sox pitcher that purposely hit A-Rod… each one of these small events have helped the Yankee fan base get through this season. 

And what have the Yankees done to make sure we don’t lose hope or interest? Gatorade showers, twitter accounts, HOPE week… Derek Jeter has finally cursed along with all of us! Fans want to feel like they are a part of something that they care about so deeply and the 2013 Yankees have given us so many chances to play a crucial role throughout the season. One may say that the Yankees have the most fair-weathered fans but I would have to disagree.

  

Yankee fans are so emotionally invested in the team even though each season is never guaranteed to end happily. We, as fans, feel happiness and joy or sadness and pain depending on the outcome of games – but in reality, these games do not effect our every day lives. The emotional roller coaster we put ourselves on as fans helps us deal with other heartbreaks we experience in life. This is another reason why Yankee fans cannot stand bandwagon fans! They have not suffered with us, or endured all of the painful losses. The Yankees have managed to keep their fan base because The Yankees have never bored us. Especially not this season. And whether or not the Yankees win or lose, this will be a season to remember (just like every one that came before it). So I know the season isn’t over but here’s to the 2013 Yankees… thanks for letting us all continue to bleed pinstripes. 

Game 144 Lineup: Yankees vs. Orioles

1. Brett Gardner CF

2. Alex Rodriguez 3B

3. Robinson Cano 2B

4. Alfonso Soriano LF

5. Curtis Granderson DH

6. Eduardo Nunez SS

7. Lyle Overbay 1B

8. Ichiro Suzuki RF

9. Austin Romine C

P- CC Sabathia

- A-Rod batting second is a great move by Girardi

 

Losing Games But Not Losing Ground

After last Wednesday's games, and before they started their series against the Red Sox Thursday night, the Yankees were 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. As we all know, the series didn't go so well for our boys in pinstripes. Although they scored 25 runs in the first three games, the Yanks lost all three of them thanks to their pitchers giving up a combined 34 runs. Thankfully, the Yankees were able to avoid being swept, but the damage was done.

Or was it?

"Ah, ah, ah."

Here we are on Monday afternoon, before the Yankees start a four-game series against the Orioles, and the Yankees remain 2.5 games back. 

Even though Baltimore took 3 of 4 games from the White Sox over the weekend, their 3-6 record in the previous three series prevented them from gaining anymore ground in the Wild Card chase.

The Cleveland Indians would also find themselves in a better place after taking 2 of 3 games against the Mets and Orioles in the past week, if it wasn't for losing 5 of their previous 6 games to the Braves and Tigers

But while the Orioles and Indians actually leap-frogged the Yankees in the Wild Card standings, it was the Rays that really blew their chance to widen the gap. Going into their series against the Seattle Mariners, the Ms were 13 games under .500, and had a run differential of -103. But instead of taking advantage of a lowly team like Seattle, the Rays managed to lose 2 of 3 games this weekend. 

Even though the Yankees didn't fall back any further in the WC standings, they do have four less games in order to get into the postseason. But this four-game series against Baltimore, a three-game series against the Rays at the end of this month, and nine other games against teams with a combined winning percentage of .414, gives the Yankees a great chance of making it happen.

Of course, let's hope the Yankees do better against the Sox in this coming weekend's three-game series in Boston.

Yankees Haze Their Rookies Sunday

From left to right you have JR Murphy as Justin Bieber, Cesar Cabral as Rick James, Hiroki Kuroda's translator Jiwon Bang as Psy (Gangnam Style), Brett Marshall as Psy's sidekick in the video, David Adams as Vanilla Ice, and Preston Claiborne as Billy Ray Cyrus. Kind of disappointing not to see Miley here especially considering they did not even haze Austin Romine or Dellin Betances. They probably could not have found a fitting outfit for Dellin but Miley couldn't find one either on the VMA's so seems like a wasted opportunity but oh well. 

Looking Ahead To The 2014 New York Yankees

Looking Ahead To The 2014 New York Yankees

Obviously a lot can change between now and the end of the season, let alone before free agency really begins for the 2014 season, so keep in mind that these views are my own and subject to change. The Yankees have a lot of holes to fill in the free agency period before the 2014 season and I expect the Yankees to go back to being a free agency predator with Alex Rodriguez and his, using AAV, $27,500,000 off the books this season and available to spend. The Yankees, again in my opinion, will fill one spot in the rotation with a veteran presence, a veteran presence in the bullpen to help the transition of the Yankees pen post Mariano Rivera, a replacement for David Adams because he has not cut it at third base, and probably a veteran designated hitter that we have fallen in love with recently. Let's take a look at the Yankees roster as it stands now before we get into what should be a fun free agency for the fans, hopefully. 

Starting position players set in stone for 2014 in my opinion:

C: Francisco Cervelli

1B: Mark Teixeira

LF: Alfonso Soriano

CF: Brett Gardner

RF: Ichiro Suzuki

BN: Vernon Wells

BN: Eduardo Nunez

BN: Chris Stewart/Austin Romine

BN: Jayson Nix

SP: CC Sabathia

SP: Ivan Nova

SP: Michael Pineda

SP: David Phelps

CL: David Robertson

RP: Shawn Kelley

RP: Preston Claiborne

RP: Dellin Betances

P: Adam Warren

* Derek Jeter has a player option worth $9,500,000 in 2014 that I expect him to exercise but it is still not set in stone. 

** Alex Rodriguez is under contract for the 2014 season but is suspended due to his links to Biogenesis and will miss the entire 2014 season. 

*** I also expect Robinson Cano to be back with the Yankees before it is all said and done but again at this time that is not set in stone so therefore he is left off the roster for now. 

**** I also expect Curtis Granderson to take a one year qualifying offer to try and rebuild his free agent stock and value before trying free agency again after a healthy 2014 season. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/9

On this day in 1961 Roger Maris hit his 56th home run of the season. Along with teammate Mickey Mantle's 52 home runs the duo had a major league record 108 home runs between them passing the previous record held by Babe Ruth who had 60 and Lou Gehrig who has 47 in 1927.

On this day in 1998 the Yankees beat the Red Sox 7-5 in Fenway Park clinching the American League East title with their 102 win of the season. The Yankees would finish the season with 112 victories in 1998 and a World Series title.

On this day in 2008 Derek Jeter passes Babe Ruth on the Yankees all time hit list with his 2,519th hit of his Yankees career. The Yankees would beat the Angels 7-1 on this day.