Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6/30

For the second time in as many nights the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will face off head-to-head inside Angels Stadium in Anaheim. The good news is this is the last time these two teams face off in the middle of the night for us East Coast dwellers while the bad news is this game seems like the stereotypical trap game for New York. The Yankees are sending Ivan Nova to the mound looking to build off a strong start last time out but the team faces off against Andrew Heaney in just his second start of the season as well. Either the Yankees will have a huge lead after the first few innings or the team will be calling the Angels starter Nolan Heaney, there will be no in-between unfortunately. Find out which scenario will come true at 10:05 on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees have one more game out west with this club before an off day on Thursday and before beginning a big weekend series with the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx this weekend. Get your Yankees tickets for that series by clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to grab your pair of seats without paying the bulky shipping costs or annoying fees that those other guys associate with their sale. If you can’t make it to the Bronx then that’s no problem at all, simply jump on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) and/or the comments section of the blog to interact with us during each and every Yankees game that doesn’t begin right at my bedtime and end just a couple hours before I have to be up and at work. J

I will stay up as long as my old bones will let me because I am excited to see how Nova bounces back in his second start. Go Nova and Go Yankees!

Cashman, Yankees plan to keep Sabathia in rotation

The big man can rest easy a little longer.

The Yankees have no plans to remove CC Sabathia from their rotation despite his recent struggles, general manager Brian Cashman said Tuesday.

"That's not something that we're considering at this moment," Cashman told ESPN New York. "We're going to continue to give him every opportunity to work through this for the foreseeable future."

Sabathia surrendered four earned runs over 7 1/3 innings in Monday night's loss to the Angels, dropping his record on the season to 3-8. The Yankees have now lost 10 of Sabathia's 16 starts this year, six of those defeats having come on the road.

Sabathia said he felt good after Monday's performance, however, focusing on what went well while acknowleding making mistakes.

"I just battled," Sabathia said. "I made some good pitches. I made some bad pitches. It's just part of it. But I'm battling, and I feel like I'm getting better."

Sabathia has indeed showed improvement of late, working 5+ innings and allowing no more than four earned runs in five of his last six outings. He's still not living up to his $142 million contract, but you can't deny he's keeping the Yankees in games.

And that might've been all it took to avoid a demotion to the bullpen, where New York probably doesn't need another southpaw.

"He's still competing and finding himself," Cashman said. "I think early on he had not the best of luck or run support."

While We Wait: Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees, Are Either One Happy?

Don't cry Cano, Jay-Z thought this was a great idea....

While we wait, are either Robinson Cano or the New York Yankees happy about their very public, and to some heartbreaking, split before the 2014 season? Read here while we wait for the Yankees and Angels game and click the link to give those guys a view, it’s a great article.

http://calltothepen.com/2015/06/25/robinson-cano-new-york-yankees-either-happy/

It has been almost two years since second baseman Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees decided to part ways and end their relationship. Cano bolted to the west coast to play with the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. The Yankees have had a series of second basemen since the departure of Cano.

Two years later, it’s hard to really signify who profited from the split?

Cano bolted for more money in Seattle. That evidence is staring right in the face of the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees and the 28 other Major League teams. Cano wanted “the money”.

Cano left for Seattle because he felt he was not profiting from his services at Yankee Stadium for the Bronx Bombers.

Next to future hall of famer shortstop Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano was just as recognized in New York. His face was all over the city on television as well as street signs.
Cano really excelled in New York at Yankee Stadium. He could hit homeruns with relative ease and was a constant threat in the lineup, as well as on the field with his smooth play at second base. Cano’s ‘sweet spot’ for hitting homeruns was right field in the Bronx.

In December, 2013 Cano signed a 10 year $240 million deal with the Seattle Mariners. In comparison, the New York Yankees offered a 7 year deal for $175 million. A longer deal and more money is what Cano opted for. Over the course of the 2014 season, Cano finished with 14 homeruns and 82 RBI’s, along with a .314 batting average. No one doubts his statistics accumulated since his debut with the Yankees in 2005. Cano’s a six time All-Star, five time Silver-Slugger Award winner, two time Gold-Glove winner and a World Series Champion in 2009 with the Yankees.

His second year of the 10 year deal in Seattle is not going well. Cano has 3 homeruns, 23 RBI’s and 68 hits. Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia and Cano were considered two of the best second basemen in the American League just a short while ago. Now the game has evolved. There are other second basemen in the American League who have better statistics than Cano. Fellow second basemen, Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve and Cleveland Indians’ Jason Kipnis appear to be taking the league by storm. Pedroia and Cano appear to be showing signs of decline in their play.

The New York Yankees have not found their replacement for Cano. In 2014, they had an assortment of players manning the vacated position. Brian Roberts, Stephen Drew, Kelly Johnson, Martin Prado and Brendan Ryan were called upon to be the man playing second base role over the course of last season. The Yankees could never really get comfortable and relaxed with their future star since the loss of Cano. The honor, this season, appears to fall upon Jose Pirela and newly acquired shortstop – sometimes used at second base – Didi Gregorius.

Gregorius was acquired by the Yankees as the heir apparent replacement for their long-time captain Derek Jeter, in a three team trade with the Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks and the Yankees. It could be argued that since the retirement of Jeter and the free agent departure of Cano, the Yankees are scrambling for both shortstop and second base. The inexperience or pressure of playing for the pinstripes is getting to the men responsible for replacing Jeter and Cano.

In 2014, the New York Yankees finished the season with a record of 84-78 and 12 games behind the Baltimore Orioles. Making the playoffs is essential each season in the Big Apple. Failure is not an option if you are wearing Yankees’ pinstripes. They barely held onto second place in the American League East as they won one single game more than the third place Toronto Blue Jays.

Year one with Cano in Mariner colors, the Seattle Mariners finished slightly better with a record of 87-75. However, they finished in third place, behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Oakland Athletics. Bringing in Cano did not elevate the team into the playoffs. During the same off-season the Seattle Mariners and former manager Eric Wedge decided to cut ties from one another. The team went out and hired former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon.

In the 2015 season, the Yankees have won 39 of their first 72 games. The Seattle Mariners have only won 33 of their 72 games. Yes, while it is true that it is a long season and anything can happen, neither team has skyrocketed. The Yankees are 2 games behind the injury ravaged and small market Tampa Bay Rays. The Mariners are 8 ½ games behind the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Just as in fractured marriages, divorces hurt! Kids can be affected and can bruise the future of a family. In this case, both Cano and the New York Yankees decided to end their time together but in year two of their separation it would clearly be apparent that neither party is happy.

Time to Call the Marlins GM Dan Jennings?

The Miami Marlins have not lived up to expectations this season despite signing Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich to major extensions while signing or acquiring Dan Haren, Dee Gordon, Ichiro Suzuki, David Phelps, Martin Prado, Mat Latos and a slew of other pieces leading many to wonder if a fire sale is in order once again in Miami. On Sunday I posted an article labeled “Bring Me Martin Prado” asking the New York Yankees to re-acquire their second baseman from the second half of 2014 while taking advantage of the Marlins while they are down. Are there any other players besides Prado that may interest the Yankees if Marlins GM Dan Jennings decides to sell this July?

Before we get too ahead of ourselves let’s remember that Stanton broke the hamate bone in his hand over the weekend and may be out at least six weeks or longer which could potentially bury this team in the playoff races and National League East Division. While I don’t expect Miami to flat out start selling every piece they have they could move, as I stated on Sunday in my Prado piece, players that are set to hit free agency before the 2016 season anyway.

We went over Prado Sunday and I don’t think I need to beat that dead horse any longer, if Prado is healthy and proves he is healthy before the trade deadline he could be moved and would be a welcomed addition to the team’s struggling infield. New York needs more than infield help though and could look at some of Miami’s pitching. I am reluctant to include Haren since he is so reluctant to pitch outside of the Southern California area but he has been Miami’s best pitcher and eventually came around to pitching for the Marlins, maybe a playoff race could keep him quiet and happy for two or three more months? If not Haren would you bank on Latos and his 3.62 FIP and ignore his 5.49 ERA and -0.6 WAR in hopes of another Brandon McCarthy resurgence?

It’s hard to bank on Miami really trading many, if any, of their players at this year’s trading deadline. The team has already expressed an interest in re-signing Ichiro to a deal for 2016 as he continues his march towards 3,000 hits making a deal for him unlikely while the team obviously does not want to trade away a player to make Stanton or Yelich disgruntled players. Jennings and owner Jeffrey Loria’s hands seem tied at this point so it seems like Haren, Prado, Latos or bust in a deal involving Miami and New York this July.

This May Be the Year We See Brandon Phillips in Pinstripes

Ever since Robinson Cano left the New York Yankees for greener pastures, and uniforms, the New York Yankees have had a revolving door and gaping hole at the second base position. Many names have been mentioned as potential replacements for Cano including the Cincinnati Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips. Despite his declining defense and troubling offensive stats the Reds tried to pry Brett Gardner from New York in a trade in December of 2013 and that sort of trade may be proposed again except this time the Yankees may accept.

I am of the same mindset of Robert Refsnyder is lately, he’s not getting called up so why even give a crap. New York has proven this time and time again with the signing of Stephen Drew and the unwillingness to even give Refsnyder a shot. So if the team won’t call up Refsnyder and won’t give Jose Pirela a legitimate shot to work out the kinks then will that push the Yankees into the trade market?

Phillips looks a bit more attractive now than he did back in the winter of 2013 mainly because years and salary have come off his contract. New York was wise to keep Gardner then and would immediately hang up on the rebuilding Reds GM now if Gardner’s name were muttered. This time around Phillips would be more of a salary dump, Phillips is owed $34 million until 2017, and would cost the Yankees less in the terms of prospects and players. Honestly it may cost the Yankees Refsnyder, and I would seriously consider my place as a fan of this team if that were to happen, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. I would rather see Refsnyder get a shot with Cincinnati’s big league club then to see him rot in Triple-A here only to be seen on our weekly prospects check ins. So is the curse of being a New York Yankees prospect I guess.

Phillips just turned 34 years old on Sunday and is currently slashing .290/.324/.371 with four home runs, 28 RBI and 11 steals in a hitting friendly ballpark in Cincinnati. Phillips is sporting a .316 BABIP, which is far above his career .293 BABIP, so a regression seems imminent for Phillips but I don’t think he’ll fall so far that we jokingly make comments about moving and renaming the Mendoza Line after him. Even if he does regress he can be better than Drew and force Drew to where he belongs, the bench, while still handing the club above-average defense, speed and stolen bases. Phillips may not lead the team to October baseball and the World Series alone but he would make many fans, including myself, worry far less about the future of the second base position. 

The Unpopular Bullpen/Rotation Decision

"Is there anybody up there in the stands that can make this decision for me?"

Last night the Yankees announced that Nathan Eovaldi will start on Wednesday, which pretty much means Adam Warren is going to the bullpen. That news also means that CC Sabathia will remain in the starting rotation.

And while that's not a surprise since 1. Sabathia is the highest paid player (not just pitcher) on the team and 2. Warren was quite successful coming as a reliever last season, it's still disappointing.

Even if he were to remain in the rotation Adam Warren is not going to get any Cy Young Award votes at the end of the season. However, his ERA of 3.59 is a heck of a lot better than Sabathia's 5.59. For those of you that are correctly pointing out that ERA is not the best stat for comparing pitchers, I'll also show you that opposing hitters are batting .238 against Warren and .294 against Sabathia.

However, it's clear to anybody that's been watching the Yankees this season that Adam Warren gives the team a better chance to win. And with the AL East turning into a four-team race, every win and loss is important.

"Yeah, those stats aren't pretty."

But before going off in the comments, keep a few things in mind...

1. You can't put all the blame on Joe Girardi here. Joe is not the one that signed Sabathia to that extension (side note... if CC hadn't opted out this would be the final year of his initial 7 year deal). Brian Cashman and Co. put this team together, and Girardi has to manage it. And managing a team, especially the New York Yankees, is more than making lineups and pitching changes. CC Sabathia is a leader in the locker room, and not long ago was the ace of the rotation. The Yankees, and their fans, are big on history.

2. I talked about this before, but it's as true now as then. Between 2013 and 2014 Warren threw 155.2 innings. So far this season he's at 82.2 innings, and at that pace would eclipse 175 this year. No way would that happen. Workload concern has become an issue, as well it should.

3. The Yankees have wanted a right-handed reliever to add to their plethora of lefties, and they have it in Warren. Perhaps that 3.59 ERA isn't as valuable in the bullpen, but having somebody else in the bullpen you can rely on is definitely a good thing.

4. Since debuting in 2001, Sabathia has never made an appearance out of the bullpen. So there's no reason to believe he would be effective in that role now. In fact, I'd go as far as to say he would be a waste of a bullpen spot. Getting ready out of the 'pen is vastly different than getting ready to start a game. Relievers will get up and throw a dozen or so pitches in the 'pen, come out and throw a few more warm-up pitches on the mound, and then go at it. And sometimes they'll do so with men already on base. The mentality of a reliever is so different that I don't think CC could do it. Especially considering he has zero experience with it.

Like the Giants did with Tim Lincecum, there may very well come a time when Sabathia relieves games more than starts them. Unfortunately that time is not now.

I can't tell if he's thinking about pitching or eating my soul.

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6/30

The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will face off in their second game of their three game series to start the week in Angels Stadium. The Yankees will get their second look at the recently activated Ivan Nova tonight as he makes his second start since Tommy John surgery against Andrew Heaney for the Angels. The game will be played at 10:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

• Nova made his first start since undergoing ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery, commonly known as Tommy John surgery, five days ago and he returned to the Bronx in style. Nova threw 6.2 scoreless innings of three-hit ball against Cole Hamels and the Philadelphia Phillies leading the Yankees to a victory. Nova walked two batters and had one strikeout in his 92 pitch afternoon that resulted in his first victory of the 2015 season.

• Heaney will also be making just his second start of the 2015 season tonight in Anaheim after holding the Houston Astros to just one run on four hits in six innings of work in his first start. The Astros have a tough offense that gave the Yankees pitchers fits for four games so this may be another tough head-to-head matchup for Nova and the Yankees tonight.

The Yankees play an afternoon game of sort’s tomorrow afternoon in Anaheim as they have a 4:05 pm local start and your normal run of the mill 7:05 pm ET start over here on the East Coast, boy I can’t wait for that. First things first though the team needs to win today before they start thinking about tomorrow. No worries though I believe Mr. Nova is up to the task. Go Yankees!

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings

Another week and another set of Major League Baseball power rankings from the USA Today. Last week the Yankees came in as the 7^th best team in baseball and did not do much to improve on that this week. The team split four games with the Houston Astros and dropped two games to the worst team in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies, which will likely drop their rankings a bit. How far will the Yankees fall? Will the Cardinals keep their strangle hold on the list? Will the Phillies climb out of the cellar with two victories over the Yankees? You’ll just have to keep reading to find out.

Like we always do we will begin the week with some positivity by showcasing the biggest rise of the week, the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles rose six spots to climb all the way to the #8 position. The Baseball God’s giveth and the Baseball God’s taketh away and they took away three positions from the Tampa Bay Rays making them the biggest fall of the week. As far as the New York Yankees go the team came in ranked 10 which is a three spot fall from last week’s position.

To round out the American League East you have the Tampa Bay Rays at the 9th position while the Toronto Blue Jays came in at the 12th position. The Baltimore Orioles are climbing in the American League East and they are climbing in the rankings at the 8th while the Boston Red Sox are bringing up the rear in the 25th position.

The Top Five teams in the rankings are the St. Louis Cardinals, the Kansas City Royals, the Houston Astros, the Washington Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The five worst teams in the rankings in descending order are the 26^th ranked Colorado Rockies, the 27^th ranked Miami Marlins, the 28^th ranked Chicago White Sox, the 29^th ranked Philadelphia Phillies and the 30^th ranked Milwaukee Brewers.

The rankings are what they are at this point in the season. Teams will have their highs and their lows but you are no longer seeing the 10 or so spot rises and falls anymore as the sample size of the MLB season has taken over. Teams will go hot and teams will go cold but these are your best teams and your worst teams as it stands right now. The July 31^st trading deadline is looming though and will throw this whole scenario out of whack, so stay tuned. 

TGP Daily Poll: First Place Yankees

With the team’s loss to the Houston Astros on Sunday the team fell to third place, an unfamiliar feeling for this team, behind the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays. By next Monday, 7/6, the Yankees will be back in first place.

Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge has been in Triple-A for only a couple of weeks now but has already acclimated to his new surroundings, his new teammates and new opposing pitchers. Judge is already hitting bombs down in Scranton with the RailRiders and was rewarded late last week with an invitation to the All-Star Game Futures Game to be played in Cincinnati next month along with former Double-A Trenton teammate Gary Sanchez.

Could Judge be a legitimate September call up, or earlier, prospect and could he be the Yankees full time right fielder as soon as 2016? It’s hard to say but the Yankees are being awfully aggressive with their college drafted outfielder and all signs seems at least be pointing that way. Before you get too excited though remember Robert Refsnyder’s rise through the system after being drafted out of the University of Arizona and see how long he sits in Triple-A despite an obvious and glaring need in the Bronx. It is all about tempering expectations with this team and their prospects.

Year	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AA-AAA	69	305	37	74	16	3	13	48	1	28	76	.274	.344	.500	.844
2015	AA	63	280	36	71	16	3	12	44	1	24	70	.284	.350	.516	.866
2015	AAA	6	25	1	3	0	0	1	4	0	4	6	.150	.280	.300	.580

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/30: Yankees Pull a Kansas City in All-Star Game

Finally, on this day in 2002 the Yankees became the first team in the American League since the 1956 Chicago White Sox to have four infielders and a catcher on the All Star roster. Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, and Jorge Posada were voted in by the fans and Derek Jeter and Robin Ventura were chosen by the AL manager Joe Torre.

Also on this day in 1961 Whitey Ford became the first American League pitcher to win eight games in one month. Ford would throw a complete game win over the Washington Senators as the Yankees would win 5-1. This would be the Yankees 22nd team victory in June, a great month.

Cy Young showed why Major League Baseball would soon name their prestigious pitchers award after him, well that and leading the majors in wins and losses in his career, on this day in 1908 as Young no-hit the Highlanders 8-0. The 41 year old Red Sox pitcher would pitch his third no hitter of his career against the team that would soon be the New York Yankees.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6/29

The Yankees are finally out of Houston and have arrived in Anaheim ready to begin their three game series with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Yankees have an off day in sight on Thursday and a big series looming with the team they are chasing in the American League East, the Tampa Bay Rays, so let's hope they don't get caught looking ahead in this series. Tonight this series begins with CC Sabathia facing off with CJ Wilson for the Yankees. The game will be played at 10:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

After tonight you have three more days including the off day to get your Yankees tickets for the big series with the Rays this weekend. Click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to get those tickets through our friends at Ticket Monster, it supports the blog and gets you in the door for cheap. If you can't make it live then that's not a big problem, simply jump on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) or the comments section of the blog to interact with us during each and every Yankees game.

That's enough rambling out of me it's this guy's bedtime, I'll try and stay up as much as I can though, so I leave you with a "Go Yankees" and a goodnight!

While We Wait: The Legacy of Determination

The Legacy of Determination: Chris Scandaglia’s fight against ALS

The original post can be seen HERE

Baseball has always been a game of passion and hard work. On the field, players defy the human imagination with their feats of glory. However on the field accomplishments can only go so far. Life off the field brings about greater challenges and often even greater outcomes.


Chris Scandaglia of Staten Island is one of the great human beings whose work off the field is greater than the mind can comprehend. Scandaglia, an insurance professional for Allstate, has dedicated the better part of eight years to charity work. The charity he fights for is ALS, (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) commonly known to the world as Lou Gehrig’s disease. However to Scandaglia, the disease is commonly known as the illness that took his grandfather’s life nearly 23 years ago.

Alex Rodriguez , widow Joanna Chiarulli , baby Nicholas, Robinson Cano, and Chris (Courtesy of Chris Scandaglia)

“I was nine when it happened,” said Scandaglia, referring to his grandfather’s death on December 26th1990, the day after Christmas. “I looked up to my grandfather and always wanted to honor him. This charity is the perfect way I can honor his legacy.”


Scandaglia began the charity in 2006 after discussing with his boss at a previous job ways to improve sales.


“I suggested that for a month, we donate one dollar of every insurance quote made to raise money for ALS,” said Scandaglia. “My boss said go for it and we did it.”


Many of Scadaglia’s co-workers got involved that year and an ironic amount of money was donated.

“We earned $2130 in 2006, the same number as Lou Gehrig’s 2130 consecutive games played streak,” recalled Scandaglia.

From there the charity grew. Scandaglia wanted to do more for ALS research and came up with the idea to help families in need. In 2010, Scandaglia continued his work by holding a fundraiser dinner in honor of his grandfather. It was then he got the idea to make the dinner as popular as possible. He began to contact different agents, including those from the New York Yankees, to see if they would be willing to attend the dinner. As it turned out, the Yankees brought their 2009 World Series trophy to the event. However that wasn’t the only time the Yankees contributed to Scandaglia’s event.


“I made calls and ended up getting some great responses,” said Scandaglia. “Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano came to the dinner in 2012. It was an amazing experience I’ll never forget.”


How does someone get famous Yankees like Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano to attend a fundraiser? According to Scandaglia, it takes “a lot of hard work and patience.” Scandaglia said Alex Rodriguez wouldn’t attend at first under he convinced A-Rod’s agent that it would be a good PR move to come.


It doesn’t matter how Rodriguez got there. What matters is the hard work Scandaglia puts into this charity. He does it by himself every year with no help from anyone.


“Sometimes my family thinks I’m crazy for spending the amount of time I do on this event,” said Scandaglia. “I know it’s worth it. I’m doing something that helps a lot of people.”


In 2012, Scandaglia decided to raise money for a family who suffered due to ALS. He found out Joanna Chiarulli of New York had lost her husband to ALS and sought to dedicate his fundraiser dinner for them.


“In 2012, we raised $10,310 for Joanna and her six month old son Nicholas,” Scandaglia said with a lot of pride in his voice. “It made me happy that the fundraiser was able to help them.”

Genevieve Morton, model Bill Hill husband of ALS wife who died, Yankee Lyle Overbay, Kelly daughter ALS, Scott son, ALS, Chris Scandaglia last 3 on right NY Yankee players Boone Logan, David Phelps, Chris Stewart (Courtesy of Chris Scandaglia)

A good amount of Yankees came to the 2013 event, including Boone Logan, Lyle Overbay, David Phelps and Chris Stewart. The 2013 event was in honor of the Hill family. Bill Hill lost his wife to ALS in on December 29th 2012. Scandaglia was thrilled the 2013 event raised $4612 and hopes the 2014 event will go just as well. There is a special reason why Scandaglia has high hopes for the upcoming event.


“The event for 2014 will be held on May 25, my grandfather’s birthday.” said Scandaglia. “I picked the day to honor hm because he was the reason I started this charity in the first place.”


Long Island Baseball Magazine encourages all of it’s viewers to attend this year’s fundraiser dinner on May 25th 2014 at Da Noi restaurant in Manhattan. More details on the event will be posted on Long Island Baseball Magazine’s website. The cost of the event is $125, with all proceeds going to families who have suffered from ALS. Long Island Baseball Magazine thanks Chris Scandaglia for his efforts and hopes all of the New York community will attend and support this great cause!


For anyone who wants to attend the event or has questions on the event, please contact Chris Scandaglia at CSFGEHRIG@aol.com or on twitter @ChrisScandaglia

MLB Announces Changes to Home Run Derby

MLB.com press release:

The 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders, part of Gatorade All-Star Workout Day, will introduce a new streamlined format this July featuring brackets and timed rounds, Major League Baseball announced today. The 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders will be held on Monday, July 13th at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, home of the Cincinnati Reds, and broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com beginning at 8:00 p.m. (ET).

The eight-player contest will be conducted as a single-elimination tournament in which the loser of each bracket is immediately eliminated. Brackets in the first round will be seeded based on 2015 home run totals through July 7th, with ties broken by awarding the higher seed to the batter with more home runs hit since June 15th. If a tie remains, a coin flip will determine the higher seed. In each matchup, the higher seed will hit second.

During each of the three rounds, each batter will have five minutes to hit as many home runs as possible, and any swings that do not result in a home run will not be counted. Timers will count down from five minutes beginning with the release of the first pitch, and any home run hit after the timer reaches one minute remaining will stop the timer immediately when the ball lands in home run territory. The timer will not start again until the batter hits a ball that does not land in home run territory, or swings and misses at a pitch.

Batters may be awarded bonus time during their turn based on the length of their home runs hit. If a batter hits two home runs during a turn that each equal or exceed 420 feet, one minute of bonus time will be added. If one home run during a turn equals or exceeds 475 feet, 30 seconds of bonus time will be added. It is possible for a batter to earn a total bonus of one minute and 30 seconds. All distances will be measured using MLB Advanced Media’s Statcast system.

The batter with the most home runs hit in each matchup will advance to the next round (or win the Derby, if in the third round). Ties in any round will be broken by a 90-second swing-off with no stoppage of time or additional time added. If the batters remain tied after the 90-second swing-off, they will engage in successive three-swing swing-offs until there is a winner. Once the second batter in any matchup hits one more home run than the first batter, the second batter will be declared the winner of the matchup and will not attempt to hit any additional home runs. In addition, each batter will be entitled to one “time out” per round.

In addition to coverage on ESPN and MLB.com, the 2015 Gillette Home Run Derby presented by Head & Shoulders will be broadcast live on ESPN HD, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN and ESPN Radio in the U.S. as well as ESPN International. Participants for the Home Run Derby will be announced at a later date. For more information, please visit www.allstargame.com.

Bracket Format:

• Single-elimination tournament in which loser of each bracket is immediately eliminated.

• Seeding based on 2015 home run totals through July 7th, with ties broken by awarding the higher seed to the batter with more home runs hit since June 15th. Any tie thereafter will be broken by a coin flip.

• In each bracket, the higher seed will hit second.

Round		Round 2		Round 3
Player 1
		Player 1/8
Player 8
				Winner Rd. 2
Player 4
		Player 4/5
Player 5
					2015 Home Run Derby Champion
Player 2
		Player 2/7
Player 7
				Winner Rd. 2
Player 3
		Player 3/6
Player 6								\

Timing:

• Five minutes per batter, per round.  Timers start with release of the first pitch.
• Any home runs hit during the final minute of each turn will stop the timer immediately; timer will not start again until batter hits a ball that is not a home run, or swings and misses at a pitch.

Bonus Time:

• One minute of bonus time awarded for two home runs that each equal or exceed 420 feet.
• Thirty seconds of bonus time awarded for one home run that equals or exceeds 475 feet.
• Both bonuses can be earned by hitting two home runs that equal or exceed 420 feet with one of them reaching 475 feet, resulting in a total bonus of one minute and thirty seconds.
• Distances will be tracked and posted using MLB Advanced Media’s Statcast.

Home Runs in a Given Round	Distance(s) (ft)	Bonus Period
0-1	474  or less	0:00
1	475+	0:30
2+	420-474	1:00
2+	420-474 & 475+; or both 475+	1:30

Scoring/Advancement:

• Batter with most home runs hit in each matchup will advance to next round.
• Ties in any round broken by 90-second swing-off with no stoppage of time or additional time added; if a tie remain after the swing-off, batters will engage in successive three-swing swing-offs until there is a winner.
• Once the second batter hits more than the first batter in any matchup, he will be declared winner and not attempt to hit additional home runs.
• Each batter entitled to one 45-second “time out” per round.