Sunday, June 29, 2014

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Red Sox 6/29


Welcome to tonight's open thread and game thread for ESPN"s Sunday Night Baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. John Kruk, or whichever announcer they decide to get tonight, means hello mute button. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound to face off with John Lackey. The game will be played at 8:05 pm ET and can be seen on ESPN and heard on the radio with WFAN. Let's hope this Chase doesn't repeat what the last Chase pitching for the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball did, again, and again, and again, and again.

It's not too late to get your Yankees tickets for tonight's game and they would probably come even cheaper than they normally would using TGP tickets right HERE on the blog. You can also follow @GreedyStripes on Twitter and search for The Greedy Pinstripes on Facebook to interact with myself and the writers. Drop us a line in the comments section to speak with Yankees fans from around the country, always something good going on in there.

Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy what's left of your weekend.

What The Hell Was Koji Euhara Celebrating Last Night?


I know it's hard to tell the difference but this was NOT taken after last night's game, this was at home for Boston in Fenway Park. My point is what the hell was Koji Euhara doing after he struck out Brian McCann to save last night's win for Boston? He acted like he just shut down the Yankees in the playoff game and acted like the Red Sox weren't still five games behind us in FOURTH place in the division. Stay classy Koji, that's all we ask.

If you want to celebrate come up with something entertaining like shooting an arrow in the sky, or really shoot one at Mike Nappybeard (h/t Brian Knepper) and make the world a better and more hygienic place.

6/29 Yankees Game Preview vs. Boston Red Sox


The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will finish their three game set at Yankee Stadium tonight as a part of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound to face off with the Red Sox John Lackey looking for a series win for New York. The game will be played at 8:05 pm ET and can be seen on ESPN, MLB TV(maybe, maybe not), and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Whitley lost his first game of his career last time out against the Toronto Blue Jays while struggling with command all night long. Whitley went 3/1 innings and allowed 11 hits and eight earned runs. Get 'em next time kid, tonight.

Lackey is also coming off a struggle of a start where he allowed seven hits and seven runs in 3.2 innings against the Seattle Mariners. In four career starts at Yankee Stadium Lackey owns a 1-2 record with an 8.10 ERA.

Get your tickets for tonight's series finale with the Red Sox right here on the blog by using our ticket exchange with Ticket Monster. We offer no fees and free shipping on our tickets and guarantee to get them shipped the same day or the next day. Get yours now!

Go Yankees!!

Yankees Sign Jonny Drozd To Minor League Deal


The New York Yankees are going crazy with all these undrafted free agents that they are signing on minor league deals, crazy in a good way, and added another piece yesterday when they signed Jonny Drozd. Drozd was a member of the Texas Tech baseball team and compiled a 7-1 record with a 2.09 ERA with five saves in 28 relief outings this summer. Drozd was a teammate of another Texas Tech unsigned baseball player the Yankees signed to a minor league deal lately, Adam Kirsch.

The History Of The Yankees Captains


A couple hours ago we talked about the Curse of the Yankee Captains so why not the history of the Yankee captains just to be fair?

There have been 14 players named the team captain in the Highlanders/Yankees history. Some Yankees/Highlanders players are listed as captains but the first to be officially recognized as the Yankees captain was Hal Chase in 1910. Three of the first four Yankees "captains" were not officially recognized as Yankees captains but I have included them as well with the 11 official captains in our history.

Let's take a look at the complete list now.

(P) Clark Griffith 
Spent 1891-1914 as a Yankees player
Spent 1903-1905 as a Yankees captain


(SS) Kid Elberfeld 
Spent 1898-1914 as a Yankees player
Spent 1906-1909 as a Yankees captain



(1B) Hal Chase #1
Spent 1905-1919 as a Yankees player
Spent 1910-1912 as a Yankees captain


(1B) Frank Chance 
Spent 1898-1914 as a Yankees player
Spent 1913 as a Yankees captain


(SS) Roger Peckinpaugh #2 
Spent 1910-1927 as a Yankees player
Spent 1914-1921 as a Yankees captain



(OF) Babe Ruth #3
Spent 1914-1935 as a Yankees player
Spent 1922 as a Yankees captain


(SS) Everett Scott #4
Spent 1914-1926 as a Yankees player
Spent 1922-1925 as a Yankees captain


(1B) Lou Gehrig #5
Spent 1923-1939 as a Yankees player
Spent 1935-1939 as a Yankees captain



(C) Thurman Munson #6
Spent 1969-1979 as a Yankees player
Spent 1976-1979 as a Yankees captain


(3B) Graig Nettles #7
Spent 1967-1988 as a Yankees player
Spent 1982-1984 as a Yankees captain


(2B) Willie Randolph #8
Spent 1975-1992 as a Yankees player
Spent 1986-1988 as a Yankees co-captain



(P) Ron Guidry #9
Spent 1975-1988 as a Yankees player
Spent 1986-1988 as a Yankees co-captain


(1B) Don Mattingly #10
Spent 1982-1995 as a Yankees player
Spent 1991-1995 as a Yankees captain


(SS) Derek Jeter #11
Spent 1995-Present as a Yankees player
Spent 2003- Present as a Yankees captain


Four Yankees captains have been elected into the Hall of Fame, and obviously it will be five when Derek Jeter retires, including Clark Griffith, Frank Chance, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. It is really amazing to think that players like Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, or Catfsh Hunter to name a few have never been named a Yankees captain. It is also interesting to point out that Babe Ruth has only been a captain for a single season in 1922. George Steinbrenner kind of watered down the whole prestige behind being the Yankees captain when he handed the honor out six times in his tenure as Yankees owner but Derek Jeter is doing his best to make the best of the situation and bring the prestige back to the most honored spot in all of baseball, the captain of the New York Yankees.

Red Sox 1B Napoli Called Tanaka an "Idiot" After Hitting Home Run Yesterday

After hitting the game-winning home run in last night's top of the ninth, Red Sox First Basemen Mike Napoli could be heard saying "what an idiot" in reference to Yankees Starter Masahiro Tanaka, the NYDN's John Harper reports. 

In his two at-bats prior to the go-ahead shot, Napoli had struck out on Tanaka's signature splitter, making the fact that the latter went with his fastball on the 1-2 pitch strange.

Still, insulting a guy who'd got the better of you multiple times is something that doesn't sit well with many Yankee fans, forcing Napoli to release this statement after the contest.

"Nothing towards him," Napoli said to the aforementioned Harper. "I thought he would throw me a splitter in the dirt."

While that excuse does seem to work, Tanaka supporters everywhere are probably not going to buy it, as Napoli is obviously a Red Sock.

Because of that, this event looks like it will revive this rivalry in 2014, and definitely make tonight's rubber game much more interesting, even if it doesn't involve the Bombers' ace.

In case you don't already know, this evening's matchup won't begin until 8:05 pm ET, due to it being nationally televised on ESPN. 

Was There A Curse Of The Yankees Captains?

Kid Elberfeld served as the Yankees captain in 1906 and kept the title until the 1909 season was over with the Highlanders. Kid was nicknamed The Tabasco Kid because of his fiery temper and actions both verbally and physically on the field with the umpires. One time while in the minor leagues Kid threw a ball of mud into an umpires open mouth and later in the Major Leagues he assaulted an umpire physically and had to be removed by the police. This was not a stat that was kept up with back in the early 1900's but most historians say that Elberfeld was thrown out of more games than anyone else in his era. Elberfeld managed the Highlanders in 1908 and finished with the worst record in the league with a 27-71 record. 


Hal Chase was considered to be the first official Yankees/Highlanders captain when he was named the captain in 1910 and kept the title until 1912. Hal was considered to be the best defensive first baseman in all of baseball and even drew rave reviews from the likes of Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson during his playing career for his glove. Hal's legacy is extremely tainted though with rumors of him betting on baseball games and suspicion in throwing baseball games and purposely losing. This kind of stuff is why we will never see guys like Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson in the MLB Hall of Fame but somehow Hal not only got away with it but is still a member of the hall.


Frank Chance was only the Yankees captain for one season, the 1913 season, and it did not exactly go as planned. The Cubs released him and negotiated to get him on the Yankees after multiple surgeries to remove blood clots in his brain that were caused by being hit in the head by pitches in the 1912 season. The Yankees signed him to a three year deal in 1913 and never played more than 12 games in a single season for the Yankees. The Yankees spent much of the 1913 season in last place but a late season push, including a win in the next to the last game, had the Yankees finish 7th in that season. Not exactly as planned for Frank and the Yankees. 


Lou Gehrig was named the Yankees captain in 1935 and would remain the captain until he retired in the 1939 season due to a disease which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Lou retired at the young age of 36 so who would know how much more revered he would be had he been able to see the latter years of his 30's in baseball. The Iron Horse played in 2,130 consecutive games which was not surpassed until Cal Ripken Jr. passed it in 1995, a mere 56 years later. Gehrig finished with great stats in his career but was absolutely decimated by ALS. Lou would retire from baseball in the 1939 season at the age of 36 stating that he was "The Luckiest Man On The Face Of The Earth" and would die only two years later in 1941 at the age of 38. 


Thurman Munson was named the Yankees captain in 1976 and kept the title until 1979. The Yankees would lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in 1976 but would win back to back World Series in 1977 and 1978 behind the bat of Reggie Jackson. The Yankees would not make an appearance in the 1979 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Baltimore Orioles but what else happened in 1979 would hurt the Yankees and Munson more. Munson owned his own plane and was taking flying lessons because he got so homesick and wanted to be able to go to Cleveland to his family whenever he wanted. Thurman was practicing taking off and crashed his plane on August 2, 1979 and died.


Don Mattingly was named the Yankees captain in 1991 and would keep the title until he retired after the 1995 season. The Yankees were generally a terrible team when Don Mattingly was on the team only making the playoffs once in his tenure in 1995. A strike shortened 1994 season would have probably seen the Yankees in the playoffs as well but we will never know but the greed of the MLB Players Association is a discussion for another day. Mattingly injured his back in 1987 though and was never the same after that season and would prematurely end his career after allegedly horse playing with teammate Bob Shirley.


Derek Jeter has five World Series rings,a Rookie of the Year award, 13 All Star Game appearances, a World Series MVP award, has gotten an MVP vote in 12 seasons and finished as high as 2nd place in 2006, has five each of Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger awards, and would have earned $261,159,364 in his baseball career before any kind of endorsements and such by the time his current contract is up after the 2014 season. On top of all of that Derek Jeter has a pretty impressive spread of women to boast about as well, seen HERE on the Yankees Wives & Girlfriends section of the site, so yeah who am I kidding? What curse? If there was one Mr. Derek Sanderson Jeter definitely broke that. 

Jacob Lindrgen & Austin DeCarr Debuted Last Night


The New York Yankees top two picks in the 2014 MLB draft debuted last night for the GCL Yankees. Jacob Lindgren was the Yankees top overall pick and was drafted in the second round and Austin DeCarr was taken out of High School in the third round, the Yankees second pick.

Both were in action for the rookie league GCL Yankees and made their professional debuts. Lindgren threw an inning and allowed two hits while striking out two and getting a ground ball for the third out. DeCarr also went an inning and allowed one hit with a walk, a strikeout, and a ground ball that looks like a double play if the box score is correct.

Neither did much more than get their feet wet last night but you have to start somewhere, the rest is downhill from here for these two bright spots in the Yankees draft. FYI Jonathan Holder, Lindgren's former teammate, allowed six hits and four runs in 1.2 innings in the same game walking one and striking out three in his second professional game. Get 'em next time kid!

Quick Hit: Getting Back On Track


I want to start this day off by sincerely apologizing to our readers and our friends, work has been killing me this week and taking up much of the time I have allotted for this blog. We have been doing inventory at work which means all hands are on deck, whether you work the production lines, work in the office like myself, or clean the toilets, you're doing inventory and helping reconcile the inventory. Anyway after a few consecutive 11+ hour days and the rest of my day spent sleeping and spending time with my babies I have neglected you guys, and I apologize.

Inventory is done, I am as well rested as a guy can be with two kids (one of them being a seven month old),p and I am ready to get caught up and get back on track. Be sure to check in for tonight's ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, I plan on live tweeting the game.

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/29


On this day in 1941 Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees played in a double header with the Washington Senators. The wins and losses didn't matter as much as the fact that DiMaggio tied and then broke the American League record for consecutive games with a hit, previously held by George Sisler with 41 straight games with a hit. DiMaggio had a seventh inning single off Walt Masteron to break the tie with Sisler.

On this day in 2000 the New York Yankees tried multiple times to bolster their offense in trades and failed to get Juan Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa before settling for David Justice from the Cleveland Indians for Ricky Ledee and two players to be named later. That trade kind of worked, no?