Thursday, March 6, 2014

RiverDogs Radio Broadcasts Turn to WTMA


Club Moves to "The Big Talker" WTMA 1250 AM in Charleston After Nearly 20 Years with Kirkman Broadcasting

CHARLESTONSC - For the first time in nearly two decades, the Charleston RiverDogs have a new home for their radio broadcasts. The RiverDogs are excited to announce WTMA 1250 AM as the ballclub's new flagship station.
"I cannot think of a better way to kick off the baseball season in Charleston than to start this long-term partnership with the RiverDogs. This is an exciting time for the city, for the RiverDogs, and for WTMA. We will execute fun and interactive promotions both on-air and on-site at the games to create a big buzz around the entire Lowcountry," commented Sherry Dollar, Vice President/Market Manager for Cumulus Media Charleston.
"Over the years, we have enjoyed a long and wonderful relationship with Kirkman Broadcasting and particularly with its owner, Gil Kirkman," added RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols. "We felt now was the right time for a change, and we're extremely glad about having WTMA 1250 AM and Cumulus Media as our broadcast partner for RiverDogs baseball on the radio beginning this season."
Per the agreement, WTMA will carry all 140 games except the few weekday games that start before 7 pm. There are eight games that the station will not carry due to their start times, plus there are a few 6:35 starts that will join in progress at 7 pm. Just like in years past, every pitch of every game will be streamed live online worldwide on www.riverdogs.com.
The RiverDogs will continue to have "This Week in RiverDogs Baseball," the one-hour weekly manager's show on Saturday mornings when the team is home. This season, the show will originate live at Bay Street Biergarten located at 549 East Bay Street in downtown Charleston. In addition, the club will continue to have "Saturday Dog Talk," the extended 30-minute pregame show prior to every Saturday game home and away.
For the third consecutive year, Sean Houston will serve as the "Voice of the Charleston RiverDogs" and will be behind the microphone for all 140 games.
WTMA broadcasts on 1250 AM with 5,000 non-directional watts of power during the day and 1,000 directional watts of power at night. The station can be heard throughout the Lowcountry region, which includes Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley counties.
WTMA 1250 AM is owned by Cumulus Media, which is the largest pure-play radio company in the United States with approximately 525 radio stations in 110 markets and a nationwide radio network serving more than 4,000 stations.
The RiverDogs begin the 2014 season on the road April 3 at the Augusta GreenJackets. The team kicks off their home campaign starting April 7 with a seven-game homestand beginning with three games against the Greenville Drive and four games against Augusta. For schedules and ticket information, please contact the Box Office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com.

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs organization, the original article can be seen HERE

New York Yankees Spring Training News & Notes 3/6


Manny Banuelos is expected to pitch one inning on Saturday, awesome. This will be the first time he faced live hitters since his 2012 Tommy John surgery.

Tyler Austin hit off a tee as he is getting eased back into baseball activities after a sore wrist stopped his spring training.

There will be more later as today's game with the Phillies just ended recently so check back for that.

Chad Jennings with the assignments from the day:

Sabathia’s sim game:
Catcher: Austin Romine
Hitters: Zoilo Almonte, Dean Anna, Zelous Wheeler
· Today’s second string: C John Ryan Murphy, 1B Corban Joseph, 2B Yangervis Solarte, SS Brendan Ryan, 3B Scott Sizemore, LF Ramon Flores, CF Antoan Richardson, RF Adonis Garcia
· Today’s scheduled relievers: Bruce Billings, Chris Leroux, Mark Montgomery, Dan Burawa, Fred Lewis (Preston Claiborne, Cesar Cabral, Brian Gordon and Chase Whitley listed as available just in case).
· Today’s batting practice groups in Tampa:
Group 1: Jacoby Ellsbury, Eduardo Nunez, Ichiro Suzuki
Group 2: Russ Canzler, Francisco Cervelli, Austin Romine
Group 3: Zoilo Almonte, Dean Anna Zelous Wheeler

Yankees rally late to beat Phillies, 4-3

Masahiro Tanaka gave up a home run and a double in his three innings of work today as the Yankees beat the Phillies for the second time this spring, 4-3. Of the 9 outs Tanaka got in this one, 7 came on the ground, so yea, I guess it is in fact true that this guy actually isn't the strikeout pitcher we've all bee hoping for.

Anyway, Alfonso Soriano and Mark Teixeira each made their preseason debuts this afternoon, going for 0-for-3 with 3 strikeouts and 0-for-3 respectively. Besides them, Derek Jeter also made some news in this win, going 2-for-3 with a single and a double, while Brian Roberts went hitless but still had what I would call a good game due to his many nice defensive plays. So yea, this contest went pretty well. It'd be nice to see Teixeira and Soriano do a little better, but overall I'm pleased with what transpired today. 

Reminder: Looking For A Writer To Cover The Thunder


The Greedy Pinstripes have a possible opportunity to expand our coverage and our media credentials that we would like to share with somebody. Unfortunately none of us on the staff live in close proximity to the Trenton Thunder but we have the opportunity to receive credentials for a full season. That is where you, the readers, come in. We are looking for one or two members that live near the Thunder, attend games, and would be willing to report back and write for the blog.

Please send all requests and such to The Greedy Pinstripes at gmail. We need these in pretty quick as the deadline for the application is next week. We will also need a sample or two of writing to make sure before we sign you up. If you're interested and want to join one of the fastest growing blogs in the Yankees Universe contact us now.

Thank you all for reading and your continued support, without you guys posts like this would not be a reality.

New York Yankees @ Philadelphia Phillies 3/6


The New York Yankees will travel to take on the Philadelphia Phillies today as their latest spring training game in the Grapefruit League. Today is the day we expect to see Mark Teixeira and Alfonso Soriano make their spring training debuts in games so that's exciting. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on MLB TV and MLB Network.

Masahiro Tanaka will make the start for the Yankees, his first start this spring. If you remember he pitched two innings last week but was the third pitcher out of the gates. Remember when I said it looked like Francisco Cervelli may be the personal catcher for Tanaka? Well Cervelli is not making the trip today but Brian McCann is so that throws a monkey wrench into my theory doesn't it? Anyway enjoy the day Yankees family and Go Yankees!

Hey Guys, Stephen Drew Is Still Out There


The New York Yankees have one of their worst infields ever potentially for the start of the 2014 season, why is Stephen Drew not a member of the Yankees yet? It's March 6th and Drew still does not have a home, even after lowering his demands to a multi year deal with an opt out clause after the first season. With the Yankees short stop position available after this season with the Derek Jeter retirement looming Drew makes a lot of sense, more and more sense every day. 

The Yankees have one bench spot available and Drew makes a lot of sense here, especially with his new found willingness to play a new position. You can really optimize your lineup with Kelly Johnson getting starts at third and second against right handed pitching while Drew gets the bulk of starts against left handed pitching. Drew can also play shortstop and second base in a pinch as well as Johnson can. This takes that last spot away from Dean Anna and Eduardo Nunez but it makes the team better. 

He may not be the best guy nor is he without flaws but he is all but guaranteed to opt out after the 2014 season. If he plays well he opts out for his huge deal he was expecting this season. If he doesn't he still opts out because he has all the leverage over the Yankees. This is not my Plan A or my Plan B but he gets more and more cheaper and more and more attractive by the day. Get it done Cash, you have my permission.

Yankee Stadium Legacy: #25 Allie Reynolds


Allie Reynolds came to the New York Yankees after five seasons with Cleveland. In his first season with the Yankees Allie won 19 games and topped 15 wins in each of the following five seasons in Yankees pinstripes. Allie even passed his old career high of 20 wins in 1952 with the Yankees. His .686 winning percentage in pinstripes ranked sixth best in franchise history.

25 days until Yankees Opening Day

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/6


On this day in 1922 Babe Ruth became the highest paid player in Major League Baseball history at the time when his three year deal worth $52,000 a season becomes official. The total is three times more than his teammate Home Run Baker, the second highest paid player in the game. Ruth would earn every penny hitting 122 home runs and earning the MVP Award in the Yankees first World Series victory in 1923.


On this day in 2005 Suzyn Waldman made her debut along side John Sterling on WCBS-AM 880, the Yankees radio network. Waldman would become the first woman in big league history to be a full time color commentator. Waldman was also the first female to broadcast on a national baseball telecast as well as the first to provide local TV major league play by play with her time on the YES Network.