Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Current Arizona Fall League Standings - 10/31

The Scorpions are currently 4.5 games out of first place in the AFL East. 

Scorpions continue to look terrible; fall to Solar Sox 7-0

Well, if you thought the Scorpions were going to end their losing streak today, you were wrong. Because instead of coming out and putting up a nice fight like a team riding a 6-game losing streak should do, the Scorps played what was probably their worst game of the season this afternoon at home, losing to the Mesa Solar Sox, 7-0. 

This defeat is Scottsdale's seventh consecutive, meaning their overall record is now 7-13. Needless to say, this is getting boring. They just lose every day. On the bright side, Yankees prospect Mason Williams did hit a double today in one of his four ABs, but besides that, this game was awful. Just really awful. 

Masahiro Tanaka Prefers To Sign With Yankees Or Dodgers


Courtesy of Steve Dilbeck of the Los AngelesTimes.

Masahiro Tanaka has come out and said that he would prefer to sign with either the Los Angeles Dodgers or the New York Yankees this season. Tanaka may get his wish because if the rumors are true that the Japanese posting system is being changed Tanaka may have a small say in where he goes. If the rumors are true the top three teams with the highest bid will be submitted to Tanaka and he will choose which team that he will exclusively negotiate with.

Tanaka is in his age 24 season and has not lost a game since August,19 2012. That is not a typo, I said 2012. Tanaka will not come cheap after putting up a 99-35 record in his Japanese League career with a 2.30 ERA with 1,238 strike outs and only 275 walks.

This is exciting news especially if the posting rules are changed as I expect the Yankees to at least have a top three bid for Tanaka's services.

World Series Game 6: Open Thread


Tonight we will either see the St. Louis Cardinals force a Game 7 in the 2013 World Series or we will see the Boston Red Sox win their third World Series in less than 10 seasons. Either way, kill me, kill me now. The game will be televised at 8:07 pm ET on FOX so we will get to hear Tim McCarver at least one more time before he retires. I have St. Louis pushing this to a Game 7 tonight, what is your prediction?

Michael Wacha will be on the mound for the Cardinals and will be facing off with John Lackey for the Red Sox.

RailRiders Release 2014 Daily Promotional Schedule


As we all know, and probably love, the minor league affiliates will do just about anything to get you through the door especially on a week day and the RailRiders are no different. Our AAA affiliate down in Scranton Wilkes Barre released their 2014 promotional schedule with daily deals for you fans coming through the gates. Props to Donnie Collins on The Times Tribune for the list.

MONDAY: 
$1 Hot Dogs

TUESDAY: 

Free T-Shirt (1,500 each game; different shirt each game)

WEDNESDAY: 

Kids Eat Free (12 & under; Berks hot dog, Utz chips, small Pepsi product)

THURSDAY: 

Thirsty Thursday ($1 Bud Lights & Pepsi products; Pregame band)

FRIDAY: 

Postgame Fireworks (Pregame block party/band)

SATURDAY: 

Giveaways (Pregame band)

SUNDAY: 

Family FunDay (Player autographs, carnival entertainers before the game; Postgame kids run the bases)

Gotta love $1 hot dogs, free t shirt day, kids eat free, and fireworks, who doesn't right? So head out to a ball game this year and support the home team and get some free stuff while you're at it. 

Hideki Matsui To Be Honored Tonight By MLBPA


The Major League Baseball Players Association along with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York are honoring former Yankees star and World Series MVP Hideki Matsui tonight. The ceremony will be held at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel and it is actually going on now until about 9:30 tonight. The JCCI was established to better understand and facilitate business between the United States and the JCCI has brought over many Japanese businesses and Japanese culture, as seen when the Yankees signed Godzilla out of Japan. The Yankees relationship and business with Hideki Matsui and all involved were obviously huge for both products and Matsui will be honored tonight for his duties performed both on and off the field. Congratulations to him and his family for the honor and the award.

Shin-Soo Choo or Carlos Beltran?

So far the Yankees have been linked to pretty much every top free agent on the market for this upcoming offseason. Who knows what that means, but hopefully it means that the Yankees plan on being active in free agency this winter. 

The looming Alex Rodriguez appeal is an issue because it is not expected to pick up again for another three weeks. It will take at least another week after that to finish it, and then arbitrator Fred Horowitz will have 25 days to render a ruling. By that time all of the top free agents could be gone. 

Starting pitching, catcher and the left side of the infield are considered bigger needs than outfield, but the Yankees have been rumored to be interested in Carlos Beltran and Shin-Shoo Choo. Ichiro Suzuki or Vernon Wells are not suited to be starting in the outfield and either Beltran or Choo would be huge additions to the Yankees. Which one provides the better value though? 

In a vacuum Choo is obviously the better player than Beltran, but of course he will cost much more than Beltran. With the $90 million deal Hunter Pence got in San Francisco there is speculation that Choo could be in line for $100 million, since he is a better player than Pence. With the Yankees trying to get under the $189 million luxury tax they need to watch every dollar carefully. 

Choo is an on-base machine, as he was 4th in MLB with a .423 OBP this season. The Yankees are coming off a season where they had a hideous team OBP of .307, which was their lowest since 1990. The Yankees have always been known for driving up a pitchers pitch count and working walks, and Choo would help bring that element back to the Yankees. 

Overall, Choo had a fantastic season, as he had a .285/.423/.462/.885 slash line with 21 home runs and 151 wRC+. It is realistic to think that Choo could approach 30 home runs with the short porch at Yankee Stadium. Choo could combine with Brett Gardner to form one of the best top of the lineups in MLB. 

The problems with Choo are his platoon splits, his age and his defense. I think the defense is the least of his problems because you can hide a bad fielder in right field at Yankee Stadium. His -15.5 UZR was terrible last season, but center field in Cincinnati is a lot different from right field in New York.

Against lefties last season Choo had a slash line of .215/.347.265/.612 and against righties it was .317/.457/.554/1.011. Choo did not hit lefties at all, but his OBP against them did not make him completely useless. Gardner and Choo at the top of the lineup against a lefty would be an issue as would a manager bringing in a lefty late in a game to face Choo. 

Choo is 31, so he should still have some prime years left, but the end of his contract could be an issue. That is something that has burned the Yankees recently. 

Meanwhile, Beltran is tearing it up in another postseason for St. Louis. I am one who thinks postseason performance is a small sample size and is mostly random, but Beltran continues to defy me. At this point you have to come to expect Beltran to perform every postseason, even though past postseason play usually has no effect on future postseasons. 

Beltran was great in the regular season as well, as he hit .296 with 24 home runs, 79 RBI, a .830 OPS and 132 w RC+. He is 38 years old, which is an obvious concern, but he has shown absolutely zero signs of decline. Also, because of that age the Yankees should be able to get him on a nice discount. 

Beltran has always wanted to play for the Yankees and is a great clubhouse guy. Beltran being a switch hitter is also a huge plus. With the Yankees trying to get under $189 million he would probably be the better option due to how much cheaper he would come as opposed to Choo. 

World Series Week: Game 4 Of The 1999 World Series


Watch as the New York Yankees sweep their second consecutive World Series as they beat the Atlanta Braves in Game 4 of the 1999 World Series. The Yankees would win 14 consecutive games in the World Series before losing in Game 3 of the 2000 World Series. This is World Series week on The Greedy Pinstripes.

Poll: Yankees Starting Catcher For 2014


Yankees Starting Catcher For 2014?
  
pollcode.com free polls 
Who do you think the Yankees starting catcher should be when Opening Day comes around in 2014? Should it be Austin Romine? Should we forgive Francisco Cervelli and give him another shot at it? Should we go out and get a big named free agent like Brian McCann or Carlos Ruiz? Or should we, no never mind on Chris Stewart. Go ahead and vote and the results are to follow. Thank you for your participation. 

Dustin Pedroia Wins Gold Glove For Second Base


The Yankees only finalist in the Gold Glove Award running was Robinson Cano at second base for the American League and the winners were announced last night and the Red Sox Dustin Pedroia beat out Cano for the award. Cano was the reigning champion and has two Gold Gloves already in his cabinet but this one goes to the one they call "Peddy."

This Day In New York Yankees History 10/30


On this day in 2001 President George W. Bush became the eight President to attend a World Series game and the first since Dwight D. Eisenhower to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. This all obviously came on the heels of the September 11th terrorists attacks. Bush brought the nation back together with his thumbs up and his perfect strike off the mound. 'Merica!


On this day in 2007 the New York Yankees signed manager Joe Girardi to a three year deal worth $7,500,000 to replace longtime manager Joe Torre. Girardi was coming off of a Manager of the Year award with the Miami Marlins in 2006 and beat out coaches Don Mattingly and Tony Pena for the job. Girardi would be the Yankees 42nd manager in their storied history.