The Daily HALF Dozen - July 21, 2014

THE DAILY  1/2 DOZEN
(Twelve Six Takeaways from Tonight's Game - July 21st, 2014)

1. Shane Greene couldn't get past the 6th inning tonight.  It was bound to happen at some point because this season doesn't appear to have storybook endings.  He gave up 4 earned runs in 5-2/3 innings to "bloat" his ERA to 2.79 and had three errors.  Lucky for him, none of those errors cost him a run.  But one by Roberts in 3rd did to temporarily tie the game at 1 apiece.  He got the first two outs in the 6th and then couldn't get anyone else out giving up a single, walk, and game-tying single.  Of course he then got "Thorntoned" out of 2 more runs.

He may be a spy...just saying... (Source: CBS Sports)

2. Texas came into this game losing 16 of 18 games.  Of course the worst team in baseball would double up the Yankees by the time I got home from softball and mowed the lawn.  No 2-1 lead is ever safe with the Bronx Bombless!

3. Kelly Johnson proved tonight that Mark Teixeira has definitely won Derek Jeter two Gold Gloves.  Johnson pulled his foot on a low throw from Jeter in the 7th inning that Teix would have easily had.

4. FIVE ERRORS!?!  You have got to be freaking kidding me.  The Yankees had as many errors as hits.  The last time they had this many errors was on 7-7-07.  Not a very lucky number for them if you ask me.

Tell him what he's won Bob!  Another loss to a Cellar Dweller!

5. Jacoby Ellsbury continues on his latest tear.  With a 2 for 4 performance tonight including his 8th home run, the center fielder for the Yanks got his average up to .291 and knocked in his 46th RBI.  These aren't world-beater numbers but on an anemic offense like this one, they sure look it.  He also now has a .777 OPS (wait...there's that 777 again...) surpassing Gardner (.768) and Teixeira (.773) for the team lead.  I would sure love to see someone be in the .900 range...wouldn't you? Like an Adrian Beltre sort of player?

"You there! Brian Cashman! Bring me to the Bronx!"

6. Mikolas had a 10.05 ERA coming into the game.  He left with a 7.48 after only allowing 4 hits in 7-1/3 innings.  The Yankees have ALWAYS had problems with pitchers like this.  It's like a switch goes off in crappy pitchers' minds that says..."Hey! You're in Yankee Stadium...time to show up today!"

"Hi...my name is Miles Mikolas...I love long walks on the beach,
jazz music, and eating truffles by candlelight..."

Open Game Thread 7/21: Yankees vs. Rangers

Welcome to tonight's open game thread for the game between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers. Yankee Stadium will host the Rangers for the next four games. Tonight we will see Shane Greene look to continue his stellar start to his starting career as he will face off with Miles Mikolas for the Rangers. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN Monday Night Baseball, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Just as a reminder tonight is Derek Jeter figurine giveaway day at Yankee Stadium so get your Yankees tickets for tonight's game or any game this season home or away. You can also follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes or you can find us on Facebook by searching for The Greedy Pinstripes. We always have conversations, articles, and posts going up on both to keep the conversation going.

It's an open thread so talk about whatever you like, especially if it's Yankees related. Visit the comments section of this post or any post on the site to chat with other Yankees fans. Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your evening. Go Yankees!

Shane Greene Dominating To Start His Career

As many of you already know I am a big fan of Shane Greene and what he has done as a starter for the New York Yankees. I'm drinking the kool-aid, I'm buying the T-shirts, and I'm driving the bandwagon bus. Who could blame me? Look at his first two starts to his major league career. He faces a roughed up and hurt Texas Rangers team tonight so no one should think anything different will occur tonight. Go Yankees!

Teixeira Likely To Miss The Rangers Series w/ Injury

Mark Teixeira is likely to miss the next three to four games, or basically the entire upcoming series with the Texas Rangers, with a mild lower lat strain. Teixeira had an MRI today and is listed as day to day with the lower back strain. Teix has been fighting back pain since the series last month with the Oakland Athletics but apparently the pain got worse and now he will sit out close to a week.

Hopefully this is a couple day thing and Teix can be back in action against the Toronto Blue Jays later in the week.

Yankees Game Preview: 7/21 vs. Texas Rangers

The New York Yankees look to keep the line moving tonight as they host the Texas Rangers for the first of a four game set to start the week at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will start the series off by sending Shane Greene to the mound to face off with the Ranges Miles Mikolas. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN on Monday Night Baseball, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Greene has made two starts in his major league career and has definitely put his name on the map for the Yankees brass and their fans. Last time out Greene threw 7.1 scoreless innings against the first place Baltimore Orioles. Greene only allowed four hits and two walks and struck out nine batters in the Yankees 3-0 victory.

Mikolas is making his fourth major league start of his career but has had a different go of it then Greene has so far. Mikolas is 0-2 with a 10.05 ERA to start his career after losing to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim last time out. Mikolas started the season at Triple-A as a relief pitcher before being converted into a starting pitcher out of necessity for Texas.

Get your Yankees tickets for tonight's game and get in on the Derek Jeter figurine giveaway tonight at Yankee Stadium. Get your Yankees tickets all season long right here on the blog without the annoying shipping costs or bulky hidden fees.

Go Yankees!!

McCarthy Thanking Cutter For Recent Success

When Brandon McCarthy was in Arizona this season, he was told not to throw his cutter.

The Diamondbacks, thinking his sinker would help him more, were convinced he couldn't use the pitch effectively, possibly causing him to struggle the way he did. 

Fortunetaly, though, when McCarthy arrived in the Bronx the Yankees loved the potential it carried, encouraging him to hurl it more often in hopes it'd turn his year around. 

And, well, so far it has.

“I feel like myself again," McCarthy recently said, via the NYDN's John Harper. "The (Diamondbacks) didn’t want me throwing (the cutter) anymore. They wanted more sinkers away, but I feel like I need that pitch to be successful. The Yankees came to me right away and said, ‘We need to bring the cutter back into play.’ They obviously looked back and saw, ‘when he’s good he was throwing cutters. When he’s not, he wasn’t.’ I was glad to hear it because I was going to tell them that anyway."

In his first two starts with the Bombers against the Indians and Reds, the 31-year-old has surrendered just two earned runs in 12 2/3 innings, helping him put together a 1.42 ERA.

No, that doesn't guarantee any future dominance, although it is undeniably contributive, something the Yanks really need right now from their rotation.

ICYMI: Yankees Draft Signing Updates

The deadline has come and past for teams to sign their draft picks from the 2014 MLB First Year Player's Draft and the Yankees signed a ton of talent this year. The Yankees signed each of their Top 15 draft picks, although they did miss out on Mariano Rivera Jr. this time around. Either way here is a quick recap in case you missed it late last week and over the weekend.

If there is no assignment then the player did not sign. Really disappointing that the Yankees didn't go after much high upside high school talent in this draft. What's more disappointing is that while high school pitcher Austin DeCarr signed other notable players like Garrett Cave, Will Toffey, Christopher Hudgins, Will Gaddis, Cameron Warren, and Madison Stokes did not sign.

Here's the complete list:

Round	Player	School	Assignment
2 (55)	LHP Jacob Lindgren	Mississippi State (Jr.)	Charleston(Low-A)
3 (91)	RHP Austin DeCarr	Salisbury School (CT) (HS)	GCL (Rk)
4 (122)	LHP Jordan Montgomery	South Carolina (Jr.)	GCL (Rk)
5 (152)	RHP Jordan Foley	Central Michigan (Jr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
6 (182)	RHP Jonathan Holder	Mississippi State (Jr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
7 (212)	CF Mark Payton	Texas (Sr.)	Charleston(Low-A)
8 (242)	1B Connor Spencer	California - Irvine (Jr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
9 (272)	SS Vince Conde	Vanderbilt (TN) (Jr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
10 (302)	2B Ty McFarland	James Madison University (VA) (Sr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
11 (332)	RHP Matthew Borens	Eastern Illinois (Jr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
12 (362)	1B Chris Gittens	Grayson County College (TX) (J2)	GCL (Rk)
13 (392)	1B Bo Thompson	The Citadel (SC) (Jr.)	GCL (Rk)
14 (422)	RHP Sean Carley	West Virginia (Sr.)	GCL (Rk)
15 (452)	LHP Andrew Chin	Boston College (Jr.)	TBD
16 (482)	LHP Derek Callahan	Gonzaga (WA) (Jr.)	GCL (Rk)
17 (512)	RHP Garrett Cave	South Sumter HS (FL)	--
18 (542)	LHP Justin Kamplain	Alabama (Jr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
19 (572)	RHP Joe Harvey	Pittsburgh (Sr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
20 (602)	RHP Corey Holmes	Concordia (TX) (Sr.)	GCL (Rk)
21 (632)	LHP Porter Clayton	Oregon (So.)	--
22 (662)	RHP Jake Kelzer	Indiana (So.)	--
23 (692)	3B Will Toffey	Salisbury School (CT) (HS)	--
24 (722)	CF Dominic Jose	Stanford (Jr.)	GCL (Rk)
25 (752)	RHP Dylan Barrow	Tampa (Jr.)	--
26 (782)	C Collin Slaybaugh	Washington State (Sr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
27 (812)	OF Griff Gordon	Jacksonville State (AL) (Sr.)	GCL (Rk)
28 (842)	RHP Lee Casas	USC (Sr.)	GCL (Rk)
29 (872)	RHP Mariano Rivera	Iona (NY) (Jr.)	--
30 (902)	RHP Jorge Perez	Grand Canyon University (Jr.)	--
31 (932)	CF Devyn Bolasky	California - Riverside (Jr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
32 (962)	RHP Jordan Ramsey	UNC - Wilmington (Jr.)	–
33 (992)	RHP David Graybill	Arizona State (So.)	--
34 (1,022)	RHP Matt Wotherspoon	Pittsburgh (Sr.)	Staten Island(SS-A)
35 (1,052)	C Christopher Hudgins	Valhalla HS (CA)	--
36 (1,082)	RHP Will Gaddis	Brentwood HS (TN)	--
37 (1,112)	1B Ryan Lindemuth	William and Mary (VA) (Sr.)	GCL (Rk)
38 (1,142)	RHP Andre Del Bosque	Houston - Victoria (TX) (Sr.)	GCL (Rk)
39 (1,172)	1B Cameron Warren	Carl Albert HS (OK)	--
40 (1,202)	SS Madison Stokes	A.C. Flora HS (SC)	--

All of a Sudden The Yankees Need an Outfielder

Going into the 2014 season the New York Yankees had too many outfielders and not enough positions to accommodate. Here we are at the end of July in the same season and the Yankees don't have enough outfielders to make a real run at a division title or a Wild Card. You really can't predict baseball Suzyn.

The Yankees started the season essentially with Brett Gardner as their left fielder, Jacoby Ellsbury manning center, Carlos Beltran as your right fielder, Alfonso Soriano as your full time designated hitter, and Ichiro Suzuki on the bench. Three months later you still have your mainstays in Gardner and Ellsbury but a bone spur has Beltran limited to DH only starts, Soriano is not on the team anymore, and Ichiro is essentially your every day right fielder.

The problem is Ichiro is a singles only hitter and has been exposed lately as an every day player. The Yankees don't seem comfortable with Beltran in the outfield at all this season and Ichiro is not going to cut it everyday, the Yankees need an outfielder. Since the Yankees won't call up Robert Refnsnyder and seem unwilling to call up Zoilo Almonte, Adonis Garcia, or Jose Pirela New York may instead turn their attention to the Texas Rangers Alex Rios.

Rios, at the time of writing this, is batting .302/.330/.405 with only four home runs and 16 stolen bases. Rios defense has actually been better than Ichiro's this season and his right handed bat would compliment the lineup well. The biggest issue is a six team no trade clause that is written into Rios' contract that includes the Yankees. Rios is in the last year of a monster deal but there is a team option for the 2015 season worth $13.5 million with a $1 million buyout.

The Yankees and the Rangers start a four game series tonight in Yankee Stadium and will play seven times before the trading deadline which is a perfect showcase for Rios and the Yankees. Will the Yankees make it happen? Stay tuned...

Quick Hit: Derek Jeter Day Prices Soar!

If you don't have your tickets for Sep 7 (Derek Jeter Day) get them here while they are still affordable lol http://t.co/g9wvaMQ2En
— Greedy Pinstripes (@GreedyStripes) July 18, 2014

Late Friday the New York Yankees announced that Derek Jeter Day would be held at Yankee Stadium on September 7. The Yankees will be facing the Kansas City Royals on this Sunday afternoon. September 7th is not on the day we all believed would be the day Jeter was honored, we all speculated that September 21st would be the day the Yankees said goodbye to Jeter and thanked him for his services. It made sense, September 21st is a game against the Toronto Blue Jays and it was Derek Jeter figurine giveaway day at the stadium (changed to collectible Beanie Buddy night) but we all got fooled.

The last time I checked on Yankees tickets for September 7 they were going for around $139 bucks through our friends at Ticket Monster. At last check these tickets were nearing $500 a seat or more in some places after the announcement. I sent out the tweet to buy now before the prices sky rocketed and boy I wasn't kidding.

Even the cheapest seats in the house were around $15 bucks and now sit well over $200. You have to figure with this being the first day of the NFL season that the market will adjust itself. When it does come to us HERE on the blog to get all your Derek Jeter Day and Yankees tickets needs. We don't charge fees and we don't charge you shipping, the way it should be. 

The Daily Dozen - July 20, 2014

THE DAILY DOZEN
(Twelve Takeaways from Today's Game - July 20th, 2014)

1. It was Military Appreciation Day.  I'm glad that the Yankees show appreciation to those that have protected our way of life for so long.  The uniforms were pretty cool with the camouflaged numbers and interlocking NY on the front...although they were pretty hard to see ;)

Where did he go? (Credit: Jim McIsaac / Newsday)

2. Billy Hamilton had 155 stolen bases in one season.  Of course he recorded those steals in the Minor Leagues, which is a record.  It's kind of hard to get stolen bases when you can't get on base.  He was 1 for 12 in the series against the Yankees with 5 strikeouts.

3. Hiroki Kuroda started out strong today by striking out the side.  This is a great sign going into this stretch run towards the playoffs as last season he was 0-6 in the last 8 starts.  Of course he only allowed 1 run (unearned thanks to Brian Roberts' stunning defense) and STILL didn't get the win.

4. Johnny Cueto looks a bit like the Predator.  He also threw 112 pitches in 5 innings as opposed to Kuroda's economical 99 in 6-2/3.

"I will defeat you and rip your spine out Yankees..."

5. Ramon Santiago has an 8-game winning streak.  That's there for any Reds fans reading this since that's about the only thing they can hang their hat on after the sweep by the former .500 ballclub known as the New York Yankees.

6. What a great play by Jacoby Ellsbury in the 2nd Inning!  He also batted 4 for 4 with 2 stolen bases, a walk, and of course the winning run on that bloop single to end the game.  While Gardner was likely the first half MVP for the Bronx Bombers, Jacoby looks like an early candidate for the season MVP.  Of course McCann still has some time to prove himself as well.

Ellsbury was magnificent at the plate today.  (Credit: Jim McIssac / Newsday)

7. Brian Roberts made his 9th error of the season.  That ties him for the Major League lead for 2nd basemen.  I guess that would be okay if he were batting .345 with 20 home runs, but alas...he is not as he sits at .245.

8. Derek Jeter now has 3,412 hits.  If you stacked up 3,412 baseballs on top of each other they would sit as high as the TransAmerica Pyramid in San Francisco.

853 feet tall to be exact!

9. Mark Teixeira left 8 men on base.  That's usually a LOB number expected for an entire team in a game, not just one guy...not good.  If you were to stack the men he left on base on top of each other standing, they would have reached nearly 50 feet above home plate!

10. Todd Frazier finally got his home run in Yankee Stadium.  Furthermore, it was Betances' first home run given up all season.

11. Aroldis Chapman has probably the worst pick-off move to first base in baseball.  How else can you explain Ellsbury getting to 2nd base so easily in the 9th inning, which ultimately was the difference in the game.  One other stat about Chapman is that he has now struck out a batter in 42 consecutive games, which is a MLB record for relievers.  Congrats Aroldis...now take your loss and go home!

Throwing Heat doesn't always = Wins...

12. The Yankees finished Interleague play with a 13-7 record and have now increased the playoff odds to 26.5% up from 17% prior to the Indians series.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/21: "How Could You Have Traded Buhner For Ken Phelps?"

How many milestones and special moments have we seen as fans of the New York Yankees? It seems like every year I am writing a "potential milestones" post for the blog naming All Star and sure fire Hall of Fame players and their accomplishments. It's a gift and a curse but anyway we were all treated to this exact thing on this day in 2006 with Alex Rodriguez. The 30 year old Rodriguez would hit a home run in the third inning giving him his 2,000th hit of his career. A Rod also became the youngest player to reach 450 home runs.

Anyone ever watch Seinfeld? Dumb question, I know, but do you guys remember when George Costanza asked about the extremely one sided deal by saying "How could you have traded Buhner for Ken Phelps?". Well that came from this day in 1988 when the Yankees traded Jay Buhner and minor league prospect Rich Balabon with a player to be named later (Troy Evers) to the Seattle Mariners for 33 year old Ken Phelps. The rest is history.