Sunday, April 6, 2014
Tyler Austin To Learn First Base Starting Immediately
The New York Yankees love what they have in outfield prospect Tyler Austin, especially now that his wrist is fully healed and Austin has reported to the AA Trenton Thunder. Trenton manager Tony Franklin confirmed the move towards even more flexibility and versatility for Austin and says he is close to being ready for games, if he isn't already. The time is soon for Austin and the place will be at first base in wake of Mark Teixeira's latest injury and the exposure of the lack of depth for the Yankees at first base.
Austin has primarily been a right fielder in the Yankees minor league system but the move to first base makes sense. Austin is also likely to dabble at third base some too this season. Austin spent the 2011 season splitting time between the two hot corners so this will not be something new for Austin and could make his move through the system even quicker than it already was. The problem was then, and will be now, the defensive questions that comes along with Austin at the hot corner. Austin made six errors in 2011 at third base and two more at first base but he was 22 years old at the time, hopefully the defensive issues are behind him now and the Yankees can get the infield depth they so desperately need.
Should Mark Teixeira Be Considered Injury Prone?
The question is simple, the answer not so much. Should Mark Teixeira be considered injury prone after his latest hamstring injury that landed him on the 15 Day DL? It's getting hard to think he isn't with just his Yankees injury history alone since signing a eight year deal worth $180 million before the 2009 season. Let's take a look at the injury history for Mr. Teixeira as a member of the New York Yankees:
2010 - Game 4 of the ALCS against the Texas Rangers Mark suffered a right torn hamstring. Teix would miss the final two games of the playoffs and the Yankees would be sent home early.
2012 - Mark missed five games with a sore left wrist in July and August before missing 30 more games in August with a left calf strain. The only game Mark played in was on September 8th against the Baltimore Orioles where he re-injured the calf trying to beat out a double play ground ball. Teix came back for the final three games of the season against the Boston Red Sox and batted .281 with one RBI in nine postseason games and another early Yankees departure from the playoffs.
2013 - Mark suffered a right wrist injury while working out with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and started the season on the DL. Mark attempted a comeback on May 31 but only lasted two weeks and aggravated the wrist injury on June 15 and was out for the remainder of the season. Teix had surgery on July 1.
In the first three seasons of his Yankees contract Teix played in 470 of the Yankees 486 games. The last three seasons he has played in 142 of 328 games for New York. Not a great trend for a guy that still has a couple years left on that mega contract and is considered to be a middle of the order hitter for the Yankees.
Sabathia good enough as Yanks take rubber game from Blue Jays
CC Sabathia gave up 4 earned runs in 6 innings and Adam Warren, Shawn Kelley, and David Robertson each threw scoreless frames of relief today as the Yankess won the rubber game of this weekend series over the Blue Jays, 6-4. Through 5.2 innings this afternoon, Sabathia was dealing, retiring 17 of 18 while striking out 6, but before he got his last out the Jays pushed him around a little, collecting 4 hits and three runs before Brett Lawrie flew out to end the rally.
Anyway, the Yankees offense really came to life in this one, scoring three runs in both and the first and the fourth thanks to an RBI Groundout from Jacoby Ellsbury, a 2-Run Double from Kelly Johnson, an RBI Double from Yangervis Solarte, and a 2-Run Home Run from Brett Gardner, the team's first of the season.
Besides them, Derek Jeter and Alfonso Soriano also contributed to this victory, as Jeter went 2-for-5 to move into eighth on the all-time hits list and Soriano went 1-for-3 with an HBP and a run.
Game Thread: Yankees @ Blue Jays 4/6
The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays will finish their three game set north of the border this afternoon at Rogers Centre. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off with Drew Hutchinson for the Jays and the game will be played at 1:07 pm ET. You can see the game on the YES Network, MLB Network, MLB TV, and WFAN. Enjoy the game and enjoy the rest of your Sunday Yankees family.
Here is the Yankees lineup:
Brett Gardner LF
Derek Jeter SS
Jacoby Ellsbury CF
Brian McCann C
Alfonso Soriano DH
Kelly Johnson 1B
Brian Roberts 2B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Yangervis Solarte 3B
Don't forget to join the conversation on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes or join us in our growing comments section on the site. Also remember to join our Mega Prediction Game where you predict the outcome of the Yankees game daily.
Preview: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 4/6
The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays will play the final game of a three game set this afternoon at Rogers Centre in Toronto. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound for his second start of the season and hopefully it is better than the first where the big man took the loss. The Blue Jays will send Drew Hutchinson to the mound to face off with the Yankees ace. The game will be televised at 1:07 pm ET on the YES Network, MLB Network, MLB TV, and WFAN.
Go Yankees!!!
Yankees Have No Interest In Mets Ike Davis
While Ike Davis is a first baseman that's available, Yankees don't appear to be interested.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) April 5, 2014
Whether the New York Yankees are interested in a first basemen in wake of the Mark Teixeira strained hamstring injury or not remains to be seen but the Yankees were quick to shoot down any rumors or interest in cross town rival Mets backup first basemen Ike Davis. Davis is left handed and as he showed Saturday night with his walk off grand slam has some power. Davis also is a patient hitter that loves to take pitches and walks, two things the Yankees love. Also Davis has a minor league option and could be optioned to AAA Scranton when Teix came back. The 40 man roster spot could easily be opened up with a Ramon Flores DFA, honestly I think the light hitting speedy outfielder would clear waivers at this point. All signs point to this making a ton of sense, so the Yankees are not interested.Granted I know Davis would not be, nor should he be, option one for the Yankees if they were looking externally for a first basemen but he does make a lot of sense, especially with that option. We all know about the struggles of last season hitting .205/.326/.334 with nine home runs but the 27 year old has a lot of baseball ahead of him. Davis is just two years from a breakout .227/.308.462 with 27 home run campaign in 2012 and would make a ton of sense for depth, so that's why it won't happen.
Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 4/5
Thomas Chases Cycle in RiverDogs Loss
Brandon Thomas produces a short-lived lead before Augusta goes ahead in the series
AUGUSTA, GA - Brandon Thomas collected his first three hits as a member of the Charleston RiverDogs and came up just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, but an early offensive outburst by the Augusta GreenJackets was enough as they held on to win 6- on Saturday night at Lake Olmstead Stadium in South Atlantic League action.
The RiverDogs are now 1-2 this season while the GreenJackets improve to 2-1 and take a lead in this season-opening series. Charleston will have a chance to even the four-game set in Sunday's series finale, which is scheduled to start at 2:00pm.
Back-to-back hits put the RiverDogs ahead in the top of the second inning. With one out, Thomas tripled and Luis Torrens followed with a single that plated Thomas and gave the RiverDogs a 1-0 edge.
Augusta replied with a rally in its half of the second to take a 4-1 lead against Charleston's Giovanny Gallegos. A bases-loaded single from Tyler Horan tied the game by scoring Ryan Tuntland. The GreenJackets scored the go-ahead run on a force out that brought in Ryder Jones. A two-run triple from Randy Ortiz added to the lead before Gallegos got into a rhythm.
Gallegos induced a groundout that closed the second inning and he faced the minimum in his last three innings. Gallegos struck out the side in the bottom of the fourth and finished his outing with seven strikeouts in five frames.
Although the RiverDogs threatened to trim Augusta's advantage in the fourth and the seventh, Charleston came up short each time. The RiverDogs had the bases loaded before an inning-ending double play finished the fourth. In the seventh, Charleston put the first two batters aboard and was unable to push a run across.
The GreenJackets scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to build a 6-1 advantage. Cristian Paulino hit into a force out that moved Horan in. Paulino then stole second base and promptly scored on a single off the bat of Oritz.
After following his triple with a single and a double, Thomas needed a home run when he batted in the eighth inning to complete the cycle. However, a groundout to first base ended Thomas' night at the plate.
The RiverDogs started a two-out rally in the ninth inning on an Abiatal Avelino double, cutting the deficit to 6-2. Avelino scored with a single and an error to put the potential tying run at the plate, but a game-ending groundout saddled Charleston with a three-run loss.
Keury Mella won his GreenJackets debut and has a 1-0 record. Gallegos, despite a strong finish to his performance, was tagged with the loss for the RiverDogs and fell to 0-1 this season.
COMING UP: The finale of this four-game series, scheduled for Sunday afternoon, features Charleston RHP Brady Lail (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Augusta LHP Carlos Diaz (0-0, 0.00 ERA). First pitch is set for 2:00pm on Sunday. Up next, Charleston will return to The Joe for a seven-game homestand that starts on Monday, April 7. The RiverDogs host the Greenville Drive for Charleston's grand Opening Night celebration, complete with $1 hot dogs and $1 beers presented by Coors. Tickets may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or on-line at www.riverdogs.com. If fans cannot make it to the ballpark, they are encouraged to tune in to all the action this year both home and away on 1250 WTMA, the new radio home for RiverDogs baseball.
Box Score: http://atmilb.com/1h1xNCD
Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs organization. The original article can be seen HERE.
Trenton Thunder Game Recap 4/5
Williams, Thunder Rally for Improbable First Win
TRENTON, NJ - Mason Williams drove in Yeral Sanchez with a base hit to right give the Thunder a walkoff victory over New Hampshire 6-5 on Saturday night.
Williams' second hit of the game capped off Trenton's second late-inning rally of the game. After New Hampshire rightfielder Michael Crouse tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth to tie the game at five, the Thunder rallied back using a walk from Sanchez and a single from Taylor Dugas to set up Williams' heroics.
Trenton entered their half of the eighth inning trailing 4-1 after Fisher Cats starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx held the Thunder bats to just three hits through the first seven innings. The Thunder had each of their first three hitters in the inning reach against reliever Tony Davis to load the bases. After a pitching change, reliever Randy Boone threw a pair of wild pitches to bring the Thunder within one and third baseman Rob Segedin tied the game with a single to left. Gary Sanchez followed with a double to right center to score Segedin from first and give the Thunder a 5-4 lead.
After Diego Moreno suffered his first blown save of the season in the top of the ninth, the Thunder bats rallied for a second time to give Trenton their first win of the season.
Zach Nuding and Austin Bibens-Dirkx each earned no-decisions despite throwing quality starts. Nuding allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits and three walks. He struck out seven, one shy of his career high. Bibens-Dirkx continued his domination of Trenton from 2013 with seven innings on one-run ball. The right-hander surrendered just three hits and two walks and has allowed just two earned runs in his last 27 innings against Trenton; a 0.67 ERA.
Andy Burns and Ryan Schimpf each hit solo home runs for the Fisher Cats, the first home runs allowed by Thunder pitching this season.
The Thunder will send RHP Joel De La Cruz (NR) to the mound on Sunday afternoon, New Hampshire will counter with RHP Scott Copeland (NR). First pitch will be thrown at 1:05 at ARM & HAMMER Park, the first 1,000 fans, age 5-15 through the gate will receive an Ivan Nova Replica Jersey presented by TD Bank.
Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder organization. The original article can be seen HERE.
Quick Hit: Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Sabathia Tonight?
Leave us a comment in the comments section of this post or shoot us a tweet on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and let us know which man will show up this afternoon in Rogers Centre, Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Sabathia. CC Sabathia had a rough first outing in his spring training debut and went on to not give up another run all spring, giving the Yankees and their fans hope that the big skinny man had finally put his struggles behind him. CC came out and laid an egg in his first start of the season against what we all thought was an offensively anemic Houston Astros team. Now CC starts today against the Toronto Blue Jays and honestly I have no idea what to expect from the big man anymore.... what say you?
This Day In New York Yankees History 4/6
On this day in 1973 Yankees designated hitter Ron Blomberg became the first designated hitter in Major League history. Blomberg drew a walk in Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox off Luis Tiant. Blomberg was also the first DH to get a hit when he singled in the 3rd inning in a 15-5 victory for Boston over New York. Orlando Cepeda, the Red Sox DH, went 0-6 in the game.
On this day in 1984 the Yankees would send shortstop Bobby Meacham to the minor leagues after the fourth game of the season on the orders of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The move stunned manager Yogi Berra and would lead to his firing the next season after the Yankees drop 10 of their first 16 games in 1985.
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