Saturday, September 13, 2014

Bullpen Escapes Multiple Jams to Help Yankees Sneak Past Orioles

Shane Greene threw 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball and Brian McCann hit his nineteenth home run of the season today as the Yankees bounced back nicely from yesterday's doubleheader sweep to beat the Orioles, 3-2, in game three at Camden Yards. 

In this one's top of the first, strangely, the inconsistent Yanks' offense went down on just five pitches, a frustrating inconvenience that appeared to make them in for a long day.

Instead, though, a few timely hits in the top of the second off Miguel Gonzalez (6 IP, 3 ER) eventually led them to victory, with the aforementioned homer by McCann starting, but not ending, the scoring.

Because after McCann went deep, surprisingly, Mark Teixeira worked a walk and the red-hot Chris Young doubled him to third, setting up a clutch RBI Single by Antoan Richardson and an intelligent double-steal that plated Young.

No, from that point on the Yanks' bats didn't continue to threaten, but due to the solid performance of the recently-lousy Greene in which nine O's struck out and a trio of escape acts by Josh Outman, Shawn Kelley, and David Robertson in the last three frames New York found a way to retain their lead, a fortunate happening that brought them to within 4 1/2 of the second wild card spot.

Chris Young Back In the Bronx for 2015


We started the day off with the TGP Daily Poll asking fans if they thought the New York Yankees would bring back Chris Young for the 2015 season and I stated that I thought they would. I am not one to simply put my opinion out there and call it a day without explaining myself (thoroughly most of the time) so here goes nothing. Here is why I believe the Yankees will bring back Chris Young in 2015 in some way, shape, or form.

Young was designated for assignment by the New York Mets after a disappointing tenure with the club and quickly signed a minor league deal with the Yankees. Young played and bided his time in Triple-A until September call ups and finally got a shot to play in the Bronx with the Yankees. To say the least Young has made the most of the opportunity. Young has continued to come through hitting for power and extra base hits as well as clutch and timely hits. The New York stage doesn't seem to bother Young one bit, and that is something you cannot associate a stat to.

New York lacks any true right handed power in their outfield this season and isn't likely to have any next season either with Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Brett Gardner roaming around out there. The Yankees did start this season with Alfonso Soriano but he quickly crashed and burned and was designated for assignment himself so Young would essentially be the 2015 version of the 2014 Soriano if he were brought up. Beltran will have to rotate in and out of right field and the DH spot so there should be plenty of opportunities for Young to get at bats. Young is a former center fielder and could conceivably play all three outfield positions much like Ellsbury and Gardner giving him some versatility as well.

If the Yankees were to bring Young back for the 2015 season it would either have to be on a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training or a heavy incentive laden contract. Young signed for $7.25 million last offseason with the Mets and isn't likely to take a huge pay cut from that to play for the Yankees this winter. If the Yankees could guarantee him $4 million or less and let him earn the rest I could see the team going in that direction.


Is it something I personally would necessarily do? Probably not truth be told, but I think it makes a lot of sense to do it for the Yankees. 

Headley "Fortunate" HPB Didn't Cause Serious Injury

Yankeees Third Basemen Chase Headley claimed he is "fortunate" nothing too serious came of his recent HBP to the face. 

The incident, which took place in the ninth inning of Thursday night's win over the Rays, left Headley on the ground gripping his mouth, apparently in extreme pain.

“Talking to the doctors, to be hit direct with that hard of a fastball, there’s really no reason that I should be as good as I am,” Headley said. “I’m fortunate, blessed."

Due to the wound, which has kept him out since it happened, the Yanks' defensive stud had to get a few stitches in his chin, although again, that seems to be a fair trade for his health.

"I’m sore, but it could have been much worse," Headley said.

If all continues to go nicely over the next couple days, #12 should return to the field later this week. No exact date has been set yet, but still, just the fact that that's the case is probably good enough, as this kind of situation usually doesn't turn out well for the hitter.

(Quotes via The LoHud Yankees Blog)

9/13 Game Thread vs. Baltimore Orioles


Here we go again with another open thread for a game between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. This afternoon the Yankees play the dreaded Saturday afternoon game on FOX against the Orioles in Camden Yards and Oriole Park. New York will send Shane Greene to the mound to face off with the Orioles Miguel Gonzalez. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on FOX and heard on the radio with WFAN.

Get your Yankees tickets here for Derek Jeter’s final home stand of his career at Yankee Stadium. Also be sure to follow us on twitter by following @GreedyStripes where I have been known to predict a winning lottery number or two and also like our page on Facebook by searching for The Greedy Pinstripes.


It’s an open thread and I am at work on a Saturday so keep me company in the comments section of the site. Enjoy the game Yankees family and as always, Go Yankees!

The Sad Truth About Me And The 2014 Yankees

I have to give major props to my cohorts here at The Greedy Pinstripes. In the 36+ years that I've been alive the Yankees have had plenty of bad seasons. For example, from 1990 through 1992 the Yankees finished the seasons 21, 20, and 20 games out of first place (keep in mind that there were only two divisions, the east and west, at the time). But 2014 has been the most trying Yankee season for me.

Sadly, there are a lot of people that would rather watch this show for three hours straight than any Yankees game from 2014.

At their current rate, the Yankees could finish with their worst record in 22 years, and if it wasn't for some great pitching this year, things could be even worse (while their true winning percentage is .514, their Pythagorean winning percentage is .477).

They're doing this with the oldest average age of their hitters ever (32.7, actually tied with the 2012 team). When your offense was the biggest problem this season, that is definitely not what you want to see.

Alex Rodriguez is signed for three more years. Not only has he only played 44 games the past two years, but he'll turn 40 in July, and I'm not confident he'd be much better than a replacement level player when he does return.

To further add to the contract situation, Mark Teixeira is signed for two more years, Brian McCann has four more years remaining on his deal, CC Sabathia has at least two more seasons to go, Carlos Beltran has two more years left, and Jacoby Ellsbury has at least six more years on his contract. As a matter of fact Jacoby is the only player among them that I'm the least bit okay with (although I think McCann is going to bounce back and have a nice season in 2015).

While I don't have any real problem with Brian Cashman, I'm not sure he's the guy to guide the team from here on out. Cashman has been able to spend big money to build teams, but the best players are no longer reaching free agency due to teams being more willing to sign players to extensions. And face it... the Yankees haven't had to build their team from within since the Core Four were in the minors, which was before Cashman took over the GM role. I'm not saying Brian can't do it, and will continue to trade away young stars like Aaron Judge, but the past shows otherwise.

However, regardless of those things, I am looking forward to 2015 and the future. And here's why...

  1. I talked about teams signing players to extensions, and the Yankees did just that with Brett Gardner... a guy that's outperformed his salary by a lot the past two years. Let's hope they continue to do so.
  2. The team defense has gotten a lot better. Ellsbury and Gardner alone could make for an above average outfield defense, but add in an adequate right fielder and the outfield looks excellent. Brian McCann is a really good catcher, the team could very well bring back a great third baseman in Chase Headley, and Martin Prado is not only a good fielder but is very versatile as well.
  3. As much as I love Derek Jeter, you can't deny that his defense and hitting (particularly in the #2 spot on the order) has hurt the team. Along with the Captain, the Yankees no longer have to worry about aging legends.
  4. The team does have prospects that could be key contributors in the future, such as Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, and Gary Sanchez, Not to mention younger players like Dellin Betances and Masahiro Tanaka who are already doing great in the majors.
  5. Whether it's in free agency or on the international market, the team still has the ability to spend. It may not have worked out for the 2014 team, but having deep pockets can still come in handy.

So while you don't see much of me these days, that's going to change.

This guy could very well be part of the biggest story this offseason.

9/13 Game Preview vs. Baltimore Orioles


The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles will play their third game in less than 24 hours this afternoon as the two teams match up again this afternoon in Camden Yards. These same two teams had a double header yesterday and will go for a third time in their four game set this weekend. This afternoon the Yankees will send Shane Greene to the mound to face off with the Orioles Miguel Gonzalez. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on FOX and heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Greene is coming off a start in which he did not allow an earned run in the contest and still took the loss against the Kansas City Royals. Greene threw five innings and allowed five hits but the Yankees committed two errors, one from Greene, which shut the door on the team that afternoon. 

Gonzalez is coming off a start in which he held the Boston Red Sox scoreless for 6.1 IP in a victory on Monday. Gonzalez has allowed two or fewer runs in nine of his last ten starts. 



Go Yankees!!

My 2014 IBWAA Awards Ballot


As you guys know, or maybe you don't and you're hearing this for the first time, I became a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America this season and as a lifetime member of the IBWAA I get to vote on all the major awards. This month all IBWAA members are sending in their ballots for the American League and National League MVP award, Cy Young award, Rookie of the Year award, Manager of the Year award, and Best Reliever award. I finished my ballot this week and I wanted to share it with the readers. Agree? Disagree? Let me know why or why not.

AL MVP:

Mike Trout
Victor Martinez
Robinson Cano
Adrian Beltre
Jose Abreu
Alex Gordon
Josh Donaldson
Nelson Cruz
Felix Hernandez
Adam Jones

NL MVP:

Giancarlo Stanton
Jonathan Lucroy
Andrew McCutchen
Clayton Kershaw
Yasiel Puig
Anthony Rendon
Carlos Gomez
Matt Adams
Josh Harrison
Dee Gordon

AL Cy Young:

Felix Hernandez
Max Scherzer
Corey Kluber
James Shields
Garrett Richards

NL Cy Young:

Clayton Kershaw
Johnny Cueto
Adam Wainwright
Madison Bumgarner
Lance Lynn

AL ROY:

Jose Dariel Abreu
Dellin Betances
Masahiro Tanaka

NL ROY:

David Peralta
Jacob deGrom
Billy Hamilton

AL Manager:

Mike Scoscia
Ned Yost
Joe Girardi

NL Manager:

Matt Williams
Mike Matheny
Clint Hurdle

AL Reliever:

Dellin Betances
Greg Holland
Zach Britton

NL Reliever:

Craig Kimbrel
Trevor Rosenthal
Francisco Rodriguez

TGP Daily Poll: The Yankees Will Bring Back Chris Young in 2015


Chris Young has been stellar since coming over on a minor league deal from the New York Mets to the New York Yankees. Young has killed left handed pitching and helped put to bed the myth that right handed hitters struggle to hit home runs on a consistent basis in Yankee Stadium. Young is fresh off breaking the Rays Alex Cobb’s no hitter bid in the bottom of the 8th inning Thursday night and then hitting the game winning walk off home run in that same game in the bottom of the 9th and it got me thinking, will the Yankees bring him back in 2015?

New York has Ichiro presumably retiring or leaving via free agency and while they have Carlos Beltran they have no other right handed power bat in the outfield. I say the Yankees will bring him back on a minor league deal or smaller incentive laden contract. What say you?


Vote in our poll of the day!

Every Pitch of Mariano Rivera's Final Game


The quality is kind of crappy and so is the angle but it definitely gives you the fans perspective of this day. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/13: There Is Crying In Baseball


There is no need for a catchy introduction into this one, on this day in 2013 the great Mariano Rivera stepped on the mound for the final time of his career and for once crying WAS allowed in Major League Baseball. With two outs in the ninth inning Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter went out onto the field at Yankee Stadium to take Rivera out of the game in front of the sold out crowd at Yankee Stadium. Needless to say Rivera was speechless and cried into the shoulder of Pettitte before walking out to a standing ovation from the Yankee faithful. 

Also on this day in Mariano Rivera history in 2011 Mo notched his 600th save of his illustrious career. The 41 year old closer would creep to just one save shy of tying Trevor Hoffman's major league record for saves in a career and would become only the second closer to ever reach 600 saves in his career. 

Finally on this day in 1978 the New York Yankees took sole possession of first place for the first time that season when they beat the Detroit Tigers 7-3 in Tiger Stadium. On July 19 of this year the Yankees trailed the Boston Red Sox by 14 games in the American League East division. The fairy tale season ended with a World Series championship in New York.