Monday, February 17, 2014

Two Notable Yankees Change Uniform Numbers


Two notable and probable members of the Yankees out of camp have changed their uniform numbers for the 2014 season. Zoilo Almonte wore $45 last season when he broke onto the scene and will now be wearing Phil Hughes recently vacated #65. Dellin Betances wore #61 and will be wearing #68 for the 2014 season. It's probably not a coincidence that Betances is 6'8" is it?

Ubaldo Jimenez Close To Coming Off The Board


Ubaldo Jimenez is close to coming off the board for the New York Yankees as he is close to striking a deal with the American League East rival Baltimore Orioles. The contract is said to be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of four years and $48 million. After waiting out Jimenez you have to wonder why he got so much money and so many years at the end of the day. This, even with his ups and downs, makes the Orioles a better team which is never good for the Yankees.

If the deal gets done and the Orioles don't magically find something in his physical they would have to surrender the 17th overall pick in the MLB First Year Players Draft. The Cleveland Indians would also receive a first round compensation sandwich pick for losing their free agent.

Yankees Done Adding Major League Deals


According to Joel Sherman on Twitter the New York Yankees are done adding Major League contracts to their already crunched 40 man roster since Spring Training has started. That does not mean that we won't see another minor league deal or two but if you believe Mr. Sherman that does mean we will not be seeing Ervin Santana, Ubaldo Jimenez, or Stephen Drew in Yankees pinstripes in 2014. This also means the Yankees are content with going with what they have in the bullpen, which could really work out for us or really, really back fire. It also could mean that the Yankees and Brian Cashman are pulling another "Bubba Crosby is our starting center fielder" line, stay tuned.


Spring Training News & Notes From Day Four


Is it really already day four of Spring Training? Are our pitchers really throwing live batting practice already? Where does the time go. Carlos Beltran made his appearance at Yankees camp for the first time, the catchers took batting practice from out pitchers, and Michael Pineda was on the mound. It was an awesome day down in Tampa at the Yankees camp, here are a few notes from today.

Yoshinori Tateyama finally has his visa issues out of the way and has made it to the United States and Yankees camp today for the first time. Tateyama is already in full workout mode and likely has to catch up to the rest of the pitchers in camp.

Michael Pineda and Jose Campos both threw bullpen sessions today coming off of injuries and steps back after being acquired by New York from the Mariners.

Francisco Arcia, Peter O'Brien, and Jose Gil were scheduled to take batting practice against David Phelps, Adam Warren, Dellin Betances, and others.

Speaking of batting practice Mark Teixeira took outside batting practice for the second straight day today and hit a ton of line drives.

Once again a big thank you to Chad Jennings for the batting practice and bullpen assignments. He really does the best job of anyone in the Yankees blogosphere covering the Yankees Spring Training.

· Live batting practice
David Phelps (Brian McCann catching; Sanchez hitting)
Adam Warren (Francisco Cervelli catching; McCann hitting)
Jim Miller (Austin Romine catching; Cervelli hitting)
Vidal Nuno (John Ryan Murphy catching; Romine hitting)
Preston Claiborne (Gary Sanchez catching; Murphy hitting)
· Going to the minor league complex to throw BP around 11 a.m.
Dellin Betances
Dan Burawa
Robert Coello
Shane Greene
Fred Lewis
Bryan Mitchell
Jose Ramirez
Francisco Rondon
Nik Turley
Chase Whitley

Introducing The Latest Additions To Yankee Stadium III


Here on The Greedy Pinstripes we have been running a Yankee Stadium Experience all offseason long introducing many to our beautiful new stadium. Usually our friend dm23HOF does these posts but I wanted to take the time to introduce you to two of the newest additions to Yankee Stadium, the Field MVP Outdoor Luxury Suites and the Field MVP Club Seats.


One of the newest additions to our beautiful Yankee Stadium III is the Field MVP Outdoor Luxury Suites located on the first base side of Yankee Stadium in the upper levels. This private section can seat six to eight people comfortably and are described as "an intimate setting to entertain clients" by Yankees.com. The outdoor suites will have inclusive food and non alcoholic beverages available, although I am sure alcohol can be purchased for an additional fee, and will even have the luxury of an in-suite waiter and staff. No more waving down vendors at the top your lungs, passing your ID down a line of people, and half your beer or beverage being spilled on the way over. Not to mention it takes two and a half innings to go get a hot dog it feels like. Not to mention that buying Yankees tickets for clients, family, and friends will get you tons of brownie points, especially in these suites.


Another addition to the new Yankee Stadium for 2014 is the addition of the Field MVP Club seating. For those familiar with the stadium these seats will essentially replace the Field MVP Sections 116-124 rows 12-21. The Yankees are not simply changing the name and charging more for these seats, which start at $190 by the way, they are adding certain perks for buyers. Thankfully there are too many to list here so head over HERE to see the full list for one year buys, three year buys, five year buys, and ten year plans. The Yankees also have added a new Field MVP Club Lounge for fans which looks really impressive, not that we should expect anything less at this point from the Yankees organization.

The Yankees may be trying to "price out" the fans and cater to big business with the price of Yankees tickets sky rocketing but when they bring us an A+ caliber team every season and bring us fans great additions like these to the stadium the cost is more than justified in my opinion. Go Yankees in 2014!

ICYMI: SWB RailRiders Add Luis Sojo To The Staff


Moosic, Pa. - A slew of familiar faces and a blast from pinstripe past will make up the 2014 field staff for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Triple-A/New York Yankees). Manager Dave Miley, hitting coach Butch Wynergar, pitching coach Scott Aldred, athletic trainer Darren London and strength & conditioning coach Lee Tressel will again mentor, mend and develop the players that call NEPA home. The addition comes in the form of a former player and coach for the parent club, playoff legend Luis Sojo, who joins the team as a coach after managing Advanced-A Tampa for seven seasons. Sojo replaces Frank Menechino, who was named hitting coach for the Miami Marlins in November.
Miley, who was named Manager of the Year for all of minor league baseball in 2012 by Baseball America, enters his eighth season as the skipper in SWB and ninth with the Bombers' Triple-A squad. He also called the shots during the Yankees' final campaign in Columbus (2006). Wynegar, a two-time All-Star during his Major League playing days, enters his eighth season with the franchise as well. 2014 marks year six with the team for Aldred, who pitched in the bigs for 11 seasons. London, the International League's Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2006 and 2012, has spent more than two decades as the Yankees' Triple-A athletic trainer with this season marking his 22nd at the level and 26thin a row with the organization. Tressel enters his 11th year in pinstripes and his sixth with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Sojo may be the new man in Moosic, but is a well-known name to fans of the parent club. His résumé includes two seasons coaching for the big league Yankees (2004-05). The versatile infielder played parts of seven seasons with the Yankees (1996-2001, 2003) while helping the club claim four World Series titles (1996, 1998-2000). That included delivering what proved to be the World Series-clinching hit for a Game 5 defeat of the New York Mets in 2000. While managing Tampa, he led the team to the Florida State League title in 2009 and set the league's all-time wins record. He also skippered the Yankees' then-Double-A satellite, the Norwich Navigators, to the Eastern League crown in 2002.
"We think the world of our staff," said RailRiders president and general manager, Rob Crain. "Our fans get a true treat each night when they watch a team prepared by this bunch. It is one of the most talented and experienced staffs in professional baseball."
The RailRiders' 2014 season begins on Thursday, April 3 when the club kicks off a seven-game road trip at Syracuse against the Chiefs (Washington Nationals).The home slate commences a week later on Thursday, April 10 when the Chiefs visit PNC Field for a four-game series and homestand. For season ticket information or to book a ballpark group outing, call (570) 969-BALL (2255) or visit swbrailriders.com.

Being posted with permission from the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders organization. The original article can be seen HERE.

Meet A Prospect: Alfonso Soriano


Alfonso Guilleard Soriano was born on January 7th, 1976 in San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. Contrary to a popular report and belief or two Guilleard does not translate into "2013 Yankees season savior" even in the most broken of Spanish. Let's take a look at how Alfonso got to where he is today in his major league career.

Soriano began his professional career in 1996 playing for the Japanese League and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp team after training at their Carp Team Academy in the Dominican Republic. Soriano made quick work through the academy and was promoted to the varsity team in 1997 wearing jersey #74 and appearing in nine games batting a robust .118 with two walks. After a monetary dispute and the Carp refusing to increase his salary from $45,000 to $180,000 Soriano hired Don Nomaru and came to play in the United States. Commissioner Bud Selig, after a lengthy dispute between the Nippon Professional Baseball league and Soriano to try and get out of his contract Bud Selig announced that Soriano would be a free agent on July 13th, 1998. The New York Yankees quickly snatched up Soriano as a free agent in 1998 and called him up on September 19th in 1999 for his major league debut.

Soriano burst onto the Yankees scene as a third basemen before being moved to second base over concerns with his arm strength. Soriano was elected to the Future's Game in his first year in 1999 and won the MVP award in the game after hitting two home runs in the contest. Soriano would make his major league debut on September 19th that season and got his first hit, a game winning home run, against Norm Charlton of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays that season. Soriano was limited to only 22 games in 2000 before becoming a full time player in 2001. Soriano would have a great rookie campaign, finishing third in the Rookie of the Year award voting, playing in 158 games and putting up a triple slash of .268/.304/.432 with 18 HRs and 73 RBIs and a trip to the World Series. Soriano would have two game winning hits in the playoffs that season and would have had a third when he hit the go ahead home run off of Arizona's Curt Schilling before the Diamondbacks came back and walked off for the series victory in the seventh game.


In 2002 Soriano joined Bobby Bonds as the second Yankees player to ever hit 30 HRs and have 30 SBs in a season finishing with a .300/.322/.547 triple slash and 39 HRs, 102 RBIs, and 41 SBs. Soriano also led the league in plate appearances, at bats, runs scored, hits, and stolen bases that season. Soriano would repeat the 30/30 club feat in 2003 as well as setting the Yankees record for most lead off home runs in a season with 13 while leading the league in at bats for the second straight year. Soriano finished 2013 with a triple slash of .290/.338/.525 with 38 home runs, 91 RBIs, and 35 SBs. Soriano would be traded that offseason in the deal that brought Alex Rodriguez to the Bronx and stole him away from the rival Boston Red Sox in the process.

Soriano would spend the next two seasons in Arlington with the Texas Rangers including a 2004 All Star Game election and MVP award after hitting a home run off of the Astros Roger Clemens. Soriano also became the first Ranger to have six hits in a nine inning game on May 8th of that season in a 16-15 win over the Detroit Tigers. In 2005 Soriano finished sixth in the American League in stolen bases, third in extra base hits, and eight in strike outs. Soriano would leave after being traded in the offseason before the 2006 season to the Washington Nationals.


Soriano would spend one season in Washington and received a record setting $10,000,000 in arbitration after requesting what was thought of as an insane amount in $12,000,000. The Nationals would offer Soriano a five year extension offer worth $50,000,000 that was ultimately rejected by the soon to be free agent. For the first time as a full time player Soriano was moved to left field by manager Frank Robinson causing Soriano to refuse to take the field. The Nationals threatened Soriano with disqualification which meant a forfeit of salary as well as not being a free agent at seasons end so Alfonso took the field two days later in what would be a permanent move for the long time second basemen. Soriano thrived in left and became one of the few players to ever get elected to two All Star games at two different positions in his career. Soriano smashed a career high 46 home runs, took a career high 67 walks, and stole 40 stolen bases joining the elusive 40/40 club. Soriano became the quickest to ever reach the 200 home run and 200 stolen base club doing so in 929 games smashing Eric Davis' previous record of 1,053 games. In September Soriano had his 20th outfield assist becoming the only player in major league history to have 40 home runs, 40 stolen bases, and 20 assists in one season. Soriano would become the fourth member of the 40/40 club joining Jose Canseco, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez as well as the only player to ever have 40 home runs, 40 stolen bases, and 40 doubles in a season. Soriano would enter free agency with all the leverage in the world and looking for a huge contract.

Soriano went looking for that contract did not take long to find it as he signed an eight year deal worth nearly $136,000,000 with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent. The deal that would run through the 2014 would be the richest contract that the Chicago Cubs ever handed out in their history. Soriano would repay the Cubs with a 2007 All Star Game selection and one of the most productive Septembers in franchise history hitting 14 HRs, 27 RBIs, a .320 batting average, and a National League Central division title for the Cubs. The Cubs would be swept by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ALDS but Soriano would finish with 33 HRs, 70 RBIs, and a .299 average. Soriano came out of the gate struggling in 2008 and ended up on the disabled list before turning things around and getting a 2008 All Star Game selection even though he had a broken ring finger because of a hit by pitch on June 11th. The Cubs got another playoff run behind Soriano leading the team in home runs in only 109 games but lost at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.


2009 may have been the beginning of the decline for Soriano after a hot start Alfonso was dropped in the order and was not elected as a starter for the All Star Game by the fans, finishing in 4th place. Soriano led the league for left fielders in errors and saw his season cut short by a left knee injury in September. Soriano dropped all the way to the 6th spot in the lineup in 2010 where he again led the league for errors by a left fielder but also played in 147 games while collecting 40 doubles and 79 RBIs. Soriano also smashed his 300th home run off of Jake Peavy. 2011 was another season and another league leading errors campaign including a .244 average with 26 home runs. 2012 was a bit of a bounce back year for Soriano as he belted 32 home runs and had a .262 batting average to go with 108 RBIs. Soriano also may have finally figured out left field as he only made one error out there all season, easily his career best. Soriano played in 93 games for the Cubs in 2013 including having a .254 average with 17 HRs and 54 RBIs before being traded to the New York Yankees for RHP Corey Black on July 26th.


Soriano was a welcomed addition back at home with the team where his career started, the New York Yankees, after the team was offensively anemic and riddled by injuries all season long. Soriano wasted no time getting his 2,000th hit off of Justin Verlander in a Yankees uniform as well as hitting his 400th career home run on August 27th. Soriano also went on to teach an RBI clinic when he got six RBIs on August 13th only to follow up his performance the next day with seven RBI's. Soriano had 18 RBI's in that four game span tying a Major League record and pushed the Yankees right back into the playoff hunt. While the Yankees fell just short on the playoff push it was no fault of Soriano's as he finished his 2013 campaign with the Yankees with a .256/.325/.525 triple slash with 50 RBIs in 58 games, 17 finger points, and more swag and confidence than any New York Yankee last season. Soriano can be seen in left field and in the batters box in 2014 with the New York Yankees in his final season before he heads back to free agency before the 2015 season.

Soriano is married to his lovely wife Angelica Soriano, as seen the Yankees Wives & Girlfriends section of the blog, and they have three daughters Alisis, Angeline, and Alisha to go with three sons named Allen, Angel, and Alfonso Jr. You can see Mr. Soriano all season long this coming season in pinstripes manning left field for us and finger pointing after every home run.

Yankee Stadium Legacy: #42 Joe Pepitone


Joe Pepitone was a skilled defender at first base for the New York Yankees. Pepitone earned the American League Gold Glove Award in 1965, 1966, and 1969 while in New York. Pepitone was also a three time MLB All Star and even started the game in 1963. On 5/23/62 the rookie Pepitone became the sixth player in American League history to hit two home runs in the same inning at the time.

42 days until Yankees Opening Day

Prospects Month: Top 28 Yankees Prospects List #12


Continuing our look at The Greedy Pinstripes Top 28 prospects list as a part of Prospects Month we name our #12 prospect, Gosuke Katoh!

Here is the complete up to date list. Check back every day as the list fills out and we continue our look at the prospects in the New York Yankees system during Prospects Month here on TGP.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12. Gosuke Katoh
13. Shane Greene
14. Jose Ramirez
15. Peter O'Brien
16. Aaron Judge
17. Ty Hensley
18. Luis Severino
19. Abiatal Avelino
20. Rob Refsnyder
21. Nik Turley
22. Cito Culver
23. Ramon Flores
24. Mark Montgomery
25. Rookie Davis
26. Jake Cave
27. Ben Gamel
28. Angelo Gumbs

Exclusive Interview w/ Yankees Charley Short


The latest interview brought to you by the Greedy Pinstripes as a part of Prospects Month is with Yankees prospect Charley Short. Charley is a member of the Charleston Riverdogs organization in the Yankees farm system in A ball. Check out the interview where we talk video games, soccer, substitute teachers, and this great game of baseball, enjoy!





The Greedy Pinstripes: Hello Charley, how are you?  Are you having a good offseason so far? 

Charley Short: The off-season is going well. Did a little bit of traveling, mostly worked, and even found some time to stay in shape and get physically stronger for the upcoming season.

TGP:  What kind of work do you do working with the kids at a High School?


CS: I am a substitute teacher at my alma mater in Homestead, Fl. I also go around the baseball field when I can find the time and talk with the baseball players and help the coaching staff out.

TGP: I see your a big soccer fan, what would you say to sell the game for someone who has never watched like myself?

CS: Yeah, I'm a huge soccer fan. I get made fun of a bit about that from some friends and teammates, but I'm okay with it. I think, what's so great about soccer is the passion surrounding the game and the passion involved in the game. It's more of a finesse sport and I am impressed with the technical abilities that these players possess. I think it is a game that requires patience, so if you need to see action all the time, then soccer will be tough to watch.

TGP: Do you have a girlfriend/wife waiting for you at home while you are on the road so much?

CS: I do have a girlfriend, we recently started dating a couple months ago.

TGP: What are you doing this offseason to improve on your 2013 season?

CS: The 2013 season was a good one for me, and I’m looking for 2014 to be better.  I haven’t done anything crazy or different from last off-season.  Get in the gym and work hard 4 or 5 times a week and keep my arm in shape for spring training.

TGP: What do you do during the offseason to keep yourself occupied?

CS: As I said earlier, I am a substitute teacher at the high-school from which I graduated, so that keeps me busy 3 or 4 times a week.  Other than that, I took a few vacations and actually bought a kayak.  So, a couple buddies and I do a little fishing on the water.


TGP:  Are you a big gamer? Those Battlefield 4 servers are really annoying right now, pushing me back to Call of Duty Ghosts.

CS: I am a bit of gamer. Not really big on it tho. I do play a lot of FIFA 14 tho, and occasionally I’ll get brave enough to play a little Call of Duty: Ghosts.

TGP: Favorite restaurant to eat at?

CS: I love to eat, so this question is tough for me.  I’m not a huge fan of the giant chain restaurants, I’ll eat there if I have to, but I generally stay away. In Homestead, where I live, there is a little cuban restaurant called Mario’s, everything on the menu is really good!

TGP: What's the best part about living in Miami?

CS: Miami is a great city, it’s where everyone vacations. Miami has a little bit of everything. There is so much culture down here it is unbelievable.  The nightlife is very fun, the beaches are amazing, the people are great. It is 70 degrees right now, doesn’t get better than that!

TGP:  Who would you say is your craziest teammate you have every played with and why?


CS: Craziest teammate? I have had some teammates that were out there, but I don’t know that I would classify them as crazy. Every team has their clown, who cracks jokes and goes the extra mile to make everyone laugh.


TGP: I think this answer may be obvious but in my time around social media I have noticed there are two kinds of fans when it comes to prospects. You have the "prospect humpers" (myself being a self professed prospect humper) and a name yet to be determined (due to my lack of creativity) describing those who want to sell all the prospects off for the 37 year old "sure thing." Which category do you think yourself as a fan falls into?

CS: I like to think of myself as a well informed fan and someone who doesn’t get emotional over their teams (that is a lie).  I like to see prospects play, sure, I want to play and prove myself, but at the end of the day as long as my team is winning, I’m happy as a fan.

TGP: What current Major League player do you think you compare to the most?

CS: I’ve been asked this before, and I am no good at comparing myself to a MLB’er. The only person that jumps to mind is Brian Sanches, and that’s really only because I saw him pitch for a few years in Miami.

TGP: I know you probably don't think of things like this but how long before you think we could see you in the Major Leagues? I have your ETA down as late 2016, is that accurate?

CS: You are 100% right I don’t think of it like that. My main focus is to pitch well enough to get a chance, whenever that may be, and help the organization win. We all are working hard to get an opportunity to play in the Show, and then stay there and win.

TGP: If you could be the Yankees GM for a day what would you do? Don't have to really be realistic here.

CS: Yankees GM for a day? Giving me the keys to kingdom. I don’t know, I would have a day where the Big League team come and play some of the minor league squads. 

TGP: Were you a Yankees fan growing up? If not what team did you root for?


CS: I am an absolute homer, in all sports. So I grew up with the Marlins, but my mother is a huge Yankees fan, so I grew up knowing all about the Yankees. I can tell you one thing now, I for sure am a Yankees fan now.




TGP: Do you have any nicknames we don't know about?

CS: Charles is my given name, so I guess Charley is a nickname. The two most prominent other names are, Chuck and Shorty.

TGP: Most famous person in your cell phone?


CS: The most famous person on my phone is…….I don’t have any famous people on my phone.  I guess you could take your pick of some of my teammates from the Yankees organization.

TGP: Most embarrassing song in your iPod?


CS: I don’t have a lot of music on my iPod(which really is just my iPhone), but I don’t think any of my songs are embarrassing. I do have a good amount of classical music on there, though. So, that could maybe be embarrassing.

TGP: We'll finish with this one, where do you see yourself in life and your career in five years?

CS: In 5 years, I see myself playing in Yankee Stadium, for the New York Yankees. Now, lets hope that also happens sooner than in 5 years as well. Thank you very much .


Thank you so much Charley for doing this interview for us, we appreciate it and so do our readers. If you want to follow Charley you can follow him on Twitter by following @Charleyy29. Good luck Charley this season!

YES Network Releases Their Spring Training Schedule


EDIT:  MLB.tv has also released their schedule for this spring bringing the total of Yankees games televised somewhere up to 24 out of a possible 32 games. HERE is the complete MLB.tv list.

The YES Network covers a ton of Yankees game in the regular season and all spring training long and released their schedule today. YES will broadcast 15 games this season and the exact games, times, dates, and locations are seen below.

DATE
OPPONENT
TIME
Thursday, February 27
Pittsburgh
1:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 1
Philadelphia
1:00 p.m.
Monday, March 3
Washington
1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 4
Baltimore
7:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 9
Tampa Bay
1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, March 12
Detroit
1:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 13
Baltimore
1:00 p.m.
Friday, March 14
Minnesota
1:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 16
Atlanta
1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 18
Boston
1:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 20
@ Boston
7:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 23
Toronto
1:00 p.m.
Tuesday, March 25
Philadelphia
7:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 27
@ Pittsburgh
1:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 29
Miami
7:00 p.m.

This Day In New York Yankees History 2/17


On this day in 1937 the New York Yankees purchased Red Sox first basemen Babe Dahlgren to replace the retiring Lou Gehrig. Dahlgren would spend four seasons with the Yankees and post a .248 batting average before being bought by the Braves for the 1941 season.


On this day in 1943 Joe DiMaggio enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces without notifying the team. Joe will not play for the Yankees again until the 1946 season. DiMaggio asked for no special treatment in the war but spent most of his time out of harm's way.


On this day in 1987 Don Mattingly wins his arbitration case for $1.975 million breaking the record for the largest amount ever awarded to a player, set by Jack Morris just four days prior.


On this day in 2006 White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen issued an apology to Yankees star Alex Rodriguez after criticizing him about his decision on which team to play for in the World Baseball Classic. Alex was born in the United States but could also play for Team Dominican Republic since his parents were from there and could play for either team and ended up playing for Team USA.


On this day in 2007 in a poll conducted by his hometown newspaper more than half of the poll takers though Carl Pavano would not bounce back with the Yankees in 2007. The myrecordjournal.com poll revealed that 54.5% believe the Yankees pitcher would continue to struggle for the Yankees.