Sunday, July 13, 2014

Whitley's One Bad Innings Costs Yankees Big in Rain-Shortened Loss to Orioles

While Chase Whitley is undeniably a good pitcher, it seems obvious now that no, he isn't somebody the Yankees can rely on. 

The 25 year old prospect, 4-2 with a 4.94 ERA entering tonight, simply isn't one who can last deep into games, something the Yanks' could really use nowadays with their worn out bullpen. 

For example, in this evening's finale in Baltimore, Whitley lasted just 3 2/3 innings, surrendering three earned runs as the Orioles won pretty easily 3-1.

To start off the contest, Bombers Center Fielder Brett Gardner did take O's Starter Kevin Gausman (5 IP, 1 ER) deep to right, although from then on the Pinstripes struggled to do anything, collecting just three singles while never reaching second to put an unfair pressure on Whitley.

Now in his first three frames of work, #39 did look decently sharp, striking out four (three swinging) while allowing just two hits.

However, in the bottom of the fourth all of that effort was wasted, with Whitley walking Nelson Cruz to start the at-bat before giving up a two-run home run to the sub .200 hitting Chris Davis, followed shortly by another RBI Single from Johnathan Schoop to give Baltimore an advantage.

Immediately after that hit from Schoop, the Yanks' rookie was replaced by David Huff, who finally recorded the last out of the frame, an endeavor that wouldn't end up proving relevant due to New York going down 1-2-3 in their half of the fifth.

Unbeknownst to the Yankees at the time, that turn, which included routine putouts of Ichiro Suzuki, Kelly Johnson, and Yangervis Solarte, would be their last of the night, as rain during the Orioles' next frame ended things after the minimum five innings, with a 2-hour, 20-minute delay only pushing back the inevitable.  

The Daily Dozen - July 13, 2014

THE DAILY (HALF) DOZEN
(Twelve  Six Takeaways from Tonight's Game - July 13th, 2014 Edition)

1. Nothing excites fans more than catching a HR ball.  Well tonight, Mr. Gardner's leadoff home run in the 1st went to one of The Greedy Pinstripes followers as reported on Twitter.

Matt Kirwin @MattKirwin23 was wearing an "Evil Empire" shirt and was seen celebrating on the live ESPN broadcast of the game seen below:
Matt is the guy with his first raised sorta like Jeter after winning a World Series.
Congrats Matt and to all of our followers out there we are working on "Greedy Pinstripes" shirts so that the next time this happens we'll get some publicity.

2. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.  Trust me, I know this firsthand...if anyone has seen pictures of my wife, they know what I'm talking about.  Anywho...Brian McCann came into the game batting .359 in the last 9 games.  And then he gets a bloop single between Machado and Pearce in the 2nd.  Too bad the Curse of the Bronx Bombless doesn't let Yankees score after the 1st inning!

3. Chris Davis has fallen off a cliff.  Well that is until he plays the Yankees of course.  Chris hit .310 last season with 53 home runs and 138 RBI.  Coming into tonight's game Davis was blasting a .197 average with 14 home runs and 46 RBI.  With his go ahead home run blast to left field tonight he has safely arrived at the "almost" Mendoza Line of .199.  Way to go Chris!  Being a career .258 hitter he was bound for a stat correction.  Maybe his arms are fatigued from hitting all of those homers last year?
"Man....I suck this year! Except against the Yankees..."
4. There were many comparisons made between Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken, Jr. tonight as is mandated in any ESPN broadcast between the Yankees and Orioles.  Here are some similarities:  Jeter and Ripken played SS, they both played for only 1 team in their Hall of Fame careers.  Well...that's about all the similarities.  They aren't even close to the same player and have/had vastly different abilities let alone the # of rings each has.  Maybe Jeter can let Cal borrow a few?  The one thing that I would like to see end up the same is to have Jeter win the All-Star Game MVP like Cal did in 2001.  You know, when A-Rod convinced him to take over at SS (wow, the foreshadowing for A-Rod there, huh?) and then Cal hit that amazing home run?  Come on Jeets!
"Move on over...I got third base...for the rest of my career...man I hate Jeter,
but maybe he'll give me one of those gift baskets..." Source: Fox Sports
5. Does anyone else miss Buck Showalter?  Is it just me?  The guy creates a winning atmosphere everywhere he goes and just manages better than say..."The Binder".  His first year as a manager, which was with the New York Yankees in 1992, he had a 76-86 record.  The next year the Yanks turned it all around to start one of the most amazing runs ever in the history of baseball.  Since 1993, the Yankees haven't had a losing record.  1993 saw a 88-74 season.  The 1994 strike-shortened season had the Yankees sitting comfortably in 1st with a 70-43 record (a .619 winning % for those scoring at home).  He then returned the Yankees to the postseason for the first time in my lifetime in 1995 as the first-ever Wildcard, along with the help of DONNIE BASEBALL, in which all of the future Yankees success arguably built upon.  In his career he was 313-268 with New York (.539), 250-236 with Arizona (.514), 319-329 with Texas (.492 mostly due to the fact that they had A-Rod and not much else), and 332-304 with Baltimore.   In every case, he took over a crappy team and built them into winners.

6. Putting Chase Whitley out there every 5 days is not the answer.  Putting Jeff Francis out there every 5 days is not the answer.  Putting...well, you get my drift...

---DELAYED GAME = CANNOT STAY UP---GOOD NIGHT!

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Orioles 7/13


Welcome to tonight's open thread and game thread for the contest between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. This game will be played tonight as a part of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and will be played at 8:05 pm ET. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound in the final game before the All Star Break and will face off with the Orioles Kevin Gausman. John Kruk = mute button.

See the game live or grab a pair of tickets for when the Yankees return home after the break to host the high powered Cincinnati Reds. You can also follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes or search for us on Facebook by searching The Greedy Pinstripes to interact with myself and our crew here at TGP.

It's an open thread and the last one for a few days so take advantage and light up the comments section. Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your evening. Go Yankees!

Yankees Option Miller and Daley To Triple-A


The New York Yankees designated both Matt Daley and Jim Miller for assignment this week and both have cleared waivers. Both players have been assigned to Triple-A with the Scranton Wilkes Barre RailRiders. I believe both players can accept their outright options or they can elect free agency but don't quote me on it.

Whitley Not Convinced Tanaka Can Be Replaced in the Yankees' Rotation

After watching Hiroki Kuroda, Shane Greene, and David Phelps throw quality starts in the last three games, some Yankees fans are convinced that the six-week loss of Masahiro Tanaka won't end the season after all. 

The aforementioned trio, two of which weren't in the rotation when the year began, have each been great for the Bombers over the last month, giving what is likely a minority group hope that 2014 won't be a forgettable campaign after all. 

Be that as it may, Tanaka's fill-in, Chase Whitley, doesn't agree with their newfound belief, telling the NYDN's Anthony McCarron yesterday that nobody, including himself, can replace the team's ace.

"No one is going to plug that hole," Whitley said. "He's the best in the league, you know? I just hope to go out and pitch. Just pitch and see what happens."

Hopefully when the Yanks' rookie takes the mound against the Orioles tonight he'll do more than just pitch, as the contest is a series-decider.

Still, considering that it's also the Pinstripes' last before the All-Star Break a five-inning outing of no more two allowed runs would likely be enough to get the W, something the club really needs right now, especially since the second-wild-card-spot-holding Mariners fell to the A's earlier this afternoon. 

Orioles Good Or Does Everyone Else Suck?


I'm going with the latter on this meme... It's more like the AL Least this season. I'm not complaining though because it's keeping the Yankees in the division race and in the hunt for the postseason.

Yankees Game Preview vs. Baltimore Orioles 7/13


The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles will play in the final game before the All Star Break tonight and all I have to say is thank goodness for that, damn I need a break. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound in the mid-season finale to face off with the Orioles Kevin Gausman. The game will be played at 8:05 pm ET and can be seen on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Whitley is making his first start in a few weeks after seemingly hitting a wall with his innings. Whitley is making his first start to replace Masahiro Tanaka in the Yankees rotation and they are big shoes to fill.

Gausman has had an up and down season and hopefully it goes back down in the last start before the All Star Break. Gausman is fresh back from the minor leagues to make this start for the Yankees in Camden Yards.

See the Yankees live before the All Star break by getting your tickets for Yankee Stadium South right here on the blog through Ticket Monster. We offer tickets with no fees and zero shipping costs to see the Yankees live before it's too late to matter this season.

Go Yankees!

Bryan Mitchell Up, Zoilo Almonte Down


The New York Yankees have brought up a fresh arm for tonight with Bryan Mitchell. Zoilo Almonte was sent down to make room for Mitchell on the 25 man roster. The Yankees don't expect many innings out of Whitley tonight so calling up Mitchell makes sense, maybe they catch lightning in a bottle like they did with Shane Greene. Zoilo was going down anyway to make room for Carlos Beltran when he gets off the 7 day DL so no big deal here. Carry on.

Can't Predict Baseball: Pair Of Three Home Run Games


As Yankee fans we all remember the day that Reggie Jackson earned his pinstripes and had a three home run game in the clinching game of the World Series. Reggie's streak was albeit more impressive then this pair of Yankees three home run games because they were on three consecutive pitches but three home runs in a game is three home runs in a game regardless and very impressive.

On this day in 1973 Bobby Murcer hits three home runs off Gene Garber to account for all five of the Yankees runs in a 5-0 victory over the Kansas City Royals. This game was played on Friday the 13th at Yankee Stadium as it took only one hour and 51 minutes to play.

The other Yankee to hit three home runs on this day was Joe DiMaggio in 1940 in a double header against the St. Louis Browns. DiMaggio drove in nine runs as the Yankees sweep the Browns by the scores of 10-4 and 12-6.

You can't predict baseball unless your facing the Bronx Bombers.


Yankees Lose Robert Coello To The Baltimore Orioles


The New York Yankees designated Robert Coello for assignment last week and have since lost the right handed starting pitcher to the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles signed Coello to a minor league deal yesterday to add the 29 year old into the rotation and the fold. Coello has posted a 1.69 ERA in 32 innings for the Scranton Wilkes Barre RailRiders this season. Coello has not enjoyed the same results in the majors though and has a career 5.90 ERA in parts of three seasons in the show.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/13 Yankees Retire Two More Numbers

Brandon McCarthy, one of the newest Yankees acquisitions, made the joke that the Yankees should just issue him a number rather than him trying to pick one since so many numbers are retired. Well on this day in 1984 the Yankees retired two more numbers as Roger Maris's #9 jersey and Elston Howard's #32 were enshrined in Yankee history forever. Plaques were also put up in their honor to pay tribute to the two Yankees players.

Also on this day in 1960 Yankee Stadium held the second All Star Game in three days as the game marked the return of Willie Mays to New York. The San Francisco Giants superstar would go 3-4 with a home run and single off the Yankees Whitey Ford to lead the National League to a 6-0 victory.