Friday, March 13, 2015

Recap: Yankees 5, Red Sox 3

Adam Warren threw three innings of two-run ball and Jonathan Galvez connected on a clutch three-run triple Friday night as the Yankees topped the Red Sox, 5-3, in their lone visit to JetBlue Park this spring. 

Warren's Solid Performance: Though he probably wasn't as sharp in this one as he had been his last two times out, Warren did hold the Red Sox to just two earned runs on four hits -- helping him earn his first win of the preseason. Striking out two and walking one on the evening, Warren managed to retire eight of the 13 Red Sox he faced, surrendering just three singles, a double and an HBP. 

Galvez Comes Up Big: With the bases loaded and two outs in the Yankees' half of the fourth, Galvez laced a game-changing three-bagger off Dalier Hinojosa to put New York on top, erasing in a heartbeat a 2-0 Red Sox lead. On the play, interestingly, Boston outfielder Daniel Nava actually had the ball in his glove before dropping it on a collision with the wall in foul territory -- allowing Garrett Jones, Brian McCann and Rob Refsnyder all to cross home after each had reached with a single. 

Shreve Stymies Sox: Left-handed pitching prospect Chasen Shreve has been showing improvement throughout the first few weeks of camp -- a process he continued notably in the fourth and fifth. With the exception of a Xander Bogaerts walk, Shreve was perfect during his stint on the hill, collecting his only strikeout in the fourth when Mike Napoli went down swinging.

Williams' Insurance: The Yankees and Red Sox succumbed to an offensive drought after the aforementioned knock by Galvez, but the Yanks' bats proved they still had some production left in them in the top of the seventh. Following a pair of hits by Galvez and Aaron Judge, the Yankees plated two more on ground-rule double by Mason Williams -- extending their lead to a comfortable 5-2 going into the last two frames.

Lindgren's Save: Yankees bullpen candidate Jacob Lindgren didn't seem to have great control when he pitched this contest's ninth inning, but the youngster still found a way to maintain the Pinstripes' advantage in the end. Besides walking two to put the tying run on first, Lindgren struck out the side with some help from his slider -- fanning Christian Vasquez on one for the third and final out after falling behind in the count 3-2. 

Next Up: The Yankees will split the squad Saturday when they host the Tigers at 1:05 p.m. ET and visit the Blue Jays at 1:07 p.m. ET, the first meetings they will have this preseason with both clubs. Michael Pineda is expected to get the nod against Detroit and Esmil Rogers Toronto -- with Alex Rodriguez also set to make the trip to Dunedin. 

Spring Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 3/13


For the second time in less than a week the New York Yankees will face off against the Boston Red Sox in a Grapefruit League game. The Yankees will act as the road team in this contest this time around with the last game coming in George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa. The Yankees lost the game 10-6 on Wednesday but Alex Rodriguez did hit his first spring home run in the contest so there’s always that.


This time around Adam Warren will be on the mound for the Yankees and will be facing off with the Red Sox starter Rick Porcello. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on MLB Network and NESN. 

Quick Hit: Reporter Has Been Following Ichiro for 14 Seasons


Former New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners player Ichiro Suzuki left for greener pastures, and stadiums, to play with the Miami Marlins in 2015. The Marlins flew all the way out to Japan to his introductory news conference which really impressed their new fourth outfielder and this week we learned of another humbling experience that Suzuki has been presented with. Apparently a reporter, Nobuyuki Kobayashi, has been following, monitoring and documenting ever move Ichiro has made for the last 14 years.

Kobayashi has been following Ichiro since he came into the league in 2001 and has documented his every move while working for Daily Sports, a Japanese newspaper. Believe it or not Kobayashi is not the only reporter that has borderline stalked the former All Star since 2001, Keizo Konishi of the Kyodo News has also been there since Day One.

I’m not sure how I feel about this, especially since he is now and has been a part time player, but it has to be a humbling experience for Ichiro and definitely an honor that he has earned with his time in the United States and in Japan. Hopefully Konishi and Kobayashi have plenty to write about this season, next and however long he decides to keep going as he continues to run down 3,000 hits in the major leagues.


Ichiro, we’re rooting for you no matter what uniform you have on. 

Fantasy Baseball: Stroman out, Hutchison In


Your fantasy baseball drafts are probably right around the corner so here is a little bit of a catch me up for you guys last minute. I will focus on the Toronto Blue Jays a little in this post because they lost one of their more promising arms in Marcus Stroman this season due to Tommy John surgery. It will be a collective team effort to replace what the young right hander brought to the table but as far as fantasy is concerned I think the pitcher with the most to gain is Drew Hutchison.

It’s convenient that this post comes just days after Hutchison pitched four shutout innings in his latest spring training start on the road against the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore had seven projected Opening Day starters on the team and Hutchison held the Orioles to only two hits and a walk while getting two strikeouts. It’s only been two starts and its only spring training but Hutchison has yet to allow an earned run this spring for the Blue Jays. It sounds to me like he may be ready to break out in a big way, especially considering the fact that this early in the spring a lot of the younger hitters are in camp and those hitters tend to be aggressive and more finely tuned since they played in Winter Ball, the Arizona Fall League and equivalents.


Hutchison went 11-13 with a 4.48 ERA last season but did strike out a batter an inning basically with a 3.91 FIP. Hutchison put more than his fair share on base last season but he stranded most of them helping his own cause and with youth on his side he has plenty of upside this season in fantasy and will likely not be picked in the first 8-10 rounds. Hutchison is 24 years old and may be a sleeper heading into the 2015 both for the Toronto Blue Jays and your fantasy team. 

Chris Capuano Out, Jacob Lindgren In?


Stay with me Yankees fans because if you're scoring at home this could potentially get really messy on the scorecard. So we already know that Chris Capuano is going to start the season on the disabled list after a Grade II strain of his right quad ended his start prematurely on Wednesday. While the debate goes on about who will win the fifth starter job, likely Adam Warren or Esmil Rogers at this point, I am not turning my focus to who will replace either one of those two in the bullpen. Could this injury potentially open the door for a Jacob Lindgren?

Lindgren has pitched well this spring and continues to earn the nickname "The Strikeout Factory" as his slider has been nothing less than impressive. Lindgren still has a lot that he can learn by starting the season in the minor leagues but he also has a lot he can learn by starting in the Yankees bullpen. Theoretically Lindgren would only be in the Yankees pen until Capuano returns and Warren/Rogers returns to their bullpen roles so a two or three week stint would not hurt his development in any way if he were to struggle but if he were to succeed... well the Yankees have the best bullpen in baseball and it's not even close.

Lindgren is the type of relief pitcher that Joe Girardi likes as he can pitch late in games, with runners on or to start a clean inning, can get left handed and right handed batters out and throws absolute gas on the mound. Personally I think Lindgren should have came up just to get his feet wet at the end of last season, the minor league playoffs were over and there was no good reason to at least not give him the Derek Jeter circa 1995 treatment, so you know I am beating the drum for him to be in the Bronx in 2015. The beat starts here...

Today’s Media is Why I Got into Blogging


Excuse me while I start the day off with a little bit of a rant. Sometimes, well generally, I just shrug off comments and articles that I consider to be “Bush League” or flat out idiotic because I know the game and I know the industry. People put stuff out there for the shock factor, to get people talking and more importantly to get people to read their stuff. I understand it and I can respect it to a certain extent but I don’t necessarily have to agree with it. Then there are times, like an article released yesterday labeled “Yankees in a bind without Capuano,” that really just grinds my gears. The Yankees aren’t in a bind whatsoever, they just got handed a chance to right a wrong and actually develop the young talent that they keep saying they are going to develop.

Without Capuano, who was barely mediocre in 2014 for New York, the Yankees can actually let a young guy develop and showcase his talents. The team may go through the growing pains like they did with Shane Greene in 2014 but they would likely come out better across 30-35 starts with Mitchell or even Adam Warren in the rotation. Anyone can see it, but that doesn’t garner views.


I don’t get it because when you read the title you think the Yankees are in a bind but when you read the article it is well written and lays out all the Yankees alternatives including Esmil Rogers. The article was well written but the title is deceiving. Why? You’re a great blogger I respect the hell out of you but you and I both know that you’re better than that. 

TGP Daily Poll: Esmil Rogers Will Win Yankees Fifth Starter Race



Chris Capuano will start the season on the disabled list for the New York Yankees and Esmil Rogers will take his place in the rotation.


Vote in our prediction poll on knoda.com

Predicting First Round of Spring Cuts


Any day now, honestly I don't know the exact date but I know it has to be soon, minor league spring training camps will start opening up which means a ton of Yankees prospects will leave camp and head there. I am going to take a snag at predicting those players right here, can I do it? Probably not. Let's try anyway, it's Friday the 13th, because we may get lucky.

Gary Sanchez
Cito Culver
Jake Cave
Tyler Wade
Taylor Dugas
Michael O'Neill
Jaron Long
Dante Bichette Jr.
Mark Montgomery
Zach Nuding


These players have no shot at making the team and can benefit more from consistent at bats than riding the Yankees crowded bench. It's in their best interests honestly so let's see if it happens or not.

This Day in New York Yankees History 3/13: Billy Crystal is a Yankee


On this day in 2008 actor Billy Crystal joined the ranks of Garth Brooks and Tom Selleck as celebrities to appear in an exhibition spring training game with the New York Yankees. Crystal struck out in the first inning as the Yankees lead off hitter after signing a one day contract with New York. Crystal would wear #60 since he would turn 60 years old on 3/14 2008.