Tuesday, April 21, 2015

The Sometimes Daily Dozen: April 20th Edition

The Daily Dozen: April 20, 2015 Edition

Okay...so I must say...blogging about the Yankees is much harder with 4 kids than it was with 3...so you will have to excuse me if this section of TGP doesn't appear each and every day.  I've been pretty busy at work lately so I haven't had much time outside of work / family to b-log much.

Twelve Takeaways and Summations from The Last Week Ending with Last Night's Game:

1. When did A-Rod become All-Powerful Again?  When I last saw the stats Alex was sitting on 656 home runs and barely making an impact on the scoreboard.  His line leading up to last night's game with the Tigers was as follows:

.316 AVG / 10 R / 12 H / 3 2B / 4 HR / 11 RBI / 27 TB / 9 BB / 16 SO / .568 OBP / .711 SLG / 1.279 OPS

Those are pratically MVP numbers if translated over a 162-game season (using 12x the numbers)

.316 AVG / 120 R / 144 H / 36 2B / 48 HR / 132 RBI / 324 TB / 108 BB / 192 SO

Obviously that isn't going to hold up but even if he gets HALF of that wouldn't you be satisfied?  The only thing that worries me are the strikeouts...the minute he starts to wear down that number may actually INCREASE.

Would you be satisfied with the following:

.280 AVG / 70 R / 75 H / 20 2B / 24 HR / 75 RBI ????  He's likely to get something around there.

2. Sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays.  Is Tampa changing their names back to Devil Rays?  Now without Joe Madden they don't seem to be as fearsome anymore.  Let's hope the Yankees go 18-0 against them.  They may need it to make the playoffs.
The Real Reason I Haven't Been Around #Superstition
3. The Yankees have 7 stolen bases as a team in 13 games.  So much for SMALL BALL, ehh?  I would think Jacoby Ellsbury would have 7 SBs by now just by himself.  Instead he only has 2 to go along with his 3 CS...ouch.

4. Is Mark Teixeira back?  Last night against the Tigers he had a solo HR to put the Yankees up 1-0.  It was a bomb...a Teixxx-rated Message if you will.  This is the bat that the Yanks desperately need to back up A-Rod and make a bridge to McCann and Beltran if they ever start heating up.  Not to mention Headley.

5. Now...to mention Headley.  His defense at 3rd base isn't quite Jose Iglesias' level, but he has been spectacular in his own right.  As long as his glove stays hot at the hot corner, A-Rod can maintain his focus on batting and being the best DH he can be.

6. Gardner and Ellsbury's Defense.  Did anyone actually watch the defense played by both the Yankees and Tigers last night?  I saw a tweet from someone that went something like:

71% of the Earth is covered by water....the other 29% is covered by Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury.

7.  Error Omissions.  In the first 8 games the Yankees had 11 errors as a team.  In the 5 games since...they have ZERO.  Too bad they are 3-2 in those games, but the games lost were by a 7-5 and 2-1 score.  Without stellar defense it could've been very bad.

8. Miguel Cabrera, the Double Play King.  In years past, the Yankees would have been better to just walk Miggy.  However, in last night's game, he GIDP'd twice in a row!  He'll probably hit 3 HRs tonight to make up for it though.

9. 4 of the 7 Yankees losses are by 2 runs or less.  It is imperative that the defense stays like it has the past 5 games and that the bullpen is lights out, because the Yankees are sure to be in a plethora of 1 and 2-run games this season.  For the record, New York is 4-4 in 1 or 2 run games thus far.  This needs to be a 60% win record for them to have a shot at the playoffs.
Schedule from ESPN.com
10. Joe Girardi is THE BINDER.  I know that his binder probably told him to intentionally walk Victor Martinez last night in the 7th inning.  But didn't your gut tell you that C.C. should have pitched to him?  Instead the baseball gods bit the Yankees in the arse by J.D. Martinez singling to score Davis and then Cespedes who was previously 0 for 6 against C.C. knocking in the eventual game winner into short center to the great arm of Ellsbury.  TRUST MY INSTINCTS GIRARDI!!!!

11. Ex-Yankees....ARRRGGHH.  In the category of "I can't stand when ex-Yankees come back to haunt us" of COURSE Joba Chamberlain comes into the game all beardlike in the top of the 8th inning to induce Ellsbury of all people into a double play to end the inning.  Can I get a fly ball to the outfield Mr. Ellsbury, please!  I think Joba should be forced to enter every game by bouncing out of the bullpen from a trampoline.

12. The Great C.C. Even with the loss last night, I believe the consensus is that if Sabathia can pitch like that all season, the Yankees will do very well.  He pitched a complete game by the way only giving up those 2 runs in the 7th which were flukish at best.  For the record, C.C.'s line:

8.0 IP / 7 H / 2 R / 2 ER / 3 BB / 5 K / 98 pitches with 62 strikes.  He threw first pitch strikes to 20 of the 29 batters he faced.  That's the C.C. we know and love!

He lowered his season ERA to 4.35 but is 0-3.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers 4/21


Game time ladies and gentleman as the New York Yankees travel to Comerica Park to face off with the Detroit Tigers for the second of a four game set between the two teams. Last night we watched CC Sabathia and Alfredo Simon go at it and tonight we watch Nathan Eovaldi and Kyle Lobstein go head to head for their respected teams. The game will be played at 7:08 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees are close to returning home to Yankee Stadium to play host to the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Mets so be sure and have your tickets ready and in hand for that series. By clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog you can buy Yankees tickets without the annoying fees or shipping and handling costs through our partnership with Ticket Monster. If you’d rather stay at home and drink your own beer and eat your own hot dogs then jump on the blog and chat it up with us during the game on our comments section or head over to Twitter (@GreedyStripes) where we try and live tweet every single Yankees game.


That’s enough of me, I’ll let Mr. Eovaldi do the rest of the talking for me this evening. Go Yankees!

Chasen Shreve Up, Branden Pinder Down


Chasen Shreve has been called back to the big club for tonight's game after spending the last ten games down in the minor leagues. Branden Pinder has been sent back down to Triple-A to make room on the 25 man roster for Shreve. Shreve was sent to the minors after pitching over three innings of relief in the Yankees and Red Sox 19 inning affair.

Today was the first day the Yankees could call Shreve back up to the major leagues without an injury and the Yankees wasted no time in bringing back their lefty. Welcome back Chasen.

Hypothetical Yankees Team After 2016: Spending Spree


The New York Yankees and owner Hal Steinbrenner have already put the bug in the ear of Yankees GM Brian Cashman that the team would once again attempt to get under the luxury tax threshold either after the 2016 or 2017 season. Let’s have a little bit of fun here and pretend that the Yankees actually gets under the cap and still finds a way to have a bit of a spending spree. What would that team look like you ask?

Keep in mind that these rosters are for fun, I don't expect all these free agents to be signed. 

SP: Masahiro Tanaka
SP: Michael Pineda
SP: Nathan Eovaldi
SP: Luis Severino
SP: Stephen Strasburg

C: Brian McCann
1B: Adam Lind
2B: Robert Refsnyder
SS: Didi Gregorius
3B: Chase Headley
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury
RF: Carlos Gomez
DH: Jose Bautista

BN: Jose Pirela
BN: Gary Sanchez
BN: Alex Rodriguez
BN: Adrian Beltre


RP: Justin Wilson
RP: Adam Warren
RP: Aroldis Chapman
RP: Jacob Lindgren
RP: Greg Holland
RP: Dellin Betances

CP: Andrew Miller

Didi Gregorius Could Be the Next Tino Martinez


This post was influenced by the YES Network’s Michael Kay who felt compelled to go onto Twitter to defend Didi Gregorius. Kay was absolutely correct in everything he stated, and I helped him fight off the bandwagon fans on Twitter, and was utterly shocked that he had to defend Gregorius after what was then just nine games into the season. Kay did touch on something in just 140 characters that I wanted to touch on in many more and that is the fact that Yankees fans were ready to run Tino Martinez out of the Bronx after just a month of baseball too and now he has a plaque in Monument Park.

Tino , much like Gregorius, was given the almost impossible job of replacing a Yankees legend and a Yankees captain in Don Mattingly and came out of the gate struggling. We all remember the four World Series titles and the clutch October home runs but what many do not remember was how Martinez started out his Yankees tenure with a 3-24 drought without a home run until his 18th game of the season. Much like Martinez did Gregorius has come out of the gates slow in New York batting .152 before last night’s Tigers game and has struggled also on the base paths and in the field defensively. Gregorius has just one error on his record sheet this season but has been the recipient of at least three plays either in the field or on a throw that should have gone for an error.


Martinez finished his first season with New York with a .296 batting average with 44 home runs and 141 RBI finishing second in the MVP vote for the American League with a World Series title to boot. That’s a far cry from 3-for-24. It’s also worth noting that Martinez was a veteran who was fresh off a playoff run with the Seattle Mariners just the season before where Gregorius is just 25 years old and on an Opening Day roster for the first time in his career. Mix that in with the fact that he’s playing shortstop on the biggest stage in the Major Leagues and he is replacing some guy named Derek Sanderson Jeter and you can imagine the amount of pressure he is putting on himself without the “Der-ek Jeter” chants. I said all that to say this, if Martinez can replace a Yankees legend and a Yankees captain then so can Didi. It may take Didi a little longer, and honestly he may not ultimately, but we should, as fans, at least give him a fair shot and more than two weeks’ worth of games before we run him out of town, don’t you think?

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers 4/21


The New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers will continue an important four game series tonight when the Yankees travel back to Comerica Park. It’s hard to say that a series is all that important this early in the season but this series could be the difference between the Yankees being in first place or last place potentially. With a strong couple of teams in the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox in front of New York every win, and ultimately every loss, is important for the Yankees right now. Tonight the Yankees will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to face off with the Tigers starter Kyle Lobstein. The game will be played at 7:08 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

  • Eovaldi has pitched effectively this season in his first two starts of the season but has not pitched well enough to secure a win for his Yankees team. Eovaldi did give up quite a few hits against the Baltimore Orioles, eight, but only allowed two runs while collecting nine strikeouts. Eovaldi threw 101 pitches in only five innings of work and will need to be more economical if he wants to get a win tonight against Detroit.


  • Lobstein is making just his second start of the season tonight in place of the injured Justin Verlander. Lobstein is coming off a start in which he gave up three runs in five innings on eight hits. Lobstein pitched well enough to get the decision against the Cleveland Indians in yet another victory for Detroit.



Hopefully New York saved some runs and some pitching from their big series sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend for this big series in Detroit. New York will face off against some tough competition in this four game series but if the Yankees don’t beat themselves I think they can be just fine. Only time will tell though as these two teams play the second game of the four game set tonight so as always, Go Yankees!

Hypothetical Yankees Team After 2016: Prospects


The New York Yankees and owner Hal Steinbrenner have already put the bug in the ear of Yankees GM Brian Cashman that the team would once again attempt to get under the luxury tax threshold either after the 2016 or 2017 season. Let’s have a little bit of fun here and pretend that the Yankees actually go from within to fill in most of the roster holes on the team to achieve this goal. What would the Yankees team look like in key positions with a prospect humpers (trademark pending) dream going out there on Opening Day 2017 for the New York Yankees?

SP: Masahiro Tanaka
SP: Michael Pineda
SP: Nathan Eovaldi
SP: Luis Severino
SP: CC Sabathia (assuming his shoulder holds up and his option triggers)

C: Brian McCann
1B: Greg Bird
2B: Robert Refsnyder
SS: Didi Gregorius
3B: Eric Jagielo
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury
RF: Aaron Judge
DH: Alex Rodriguez

BN: Jose Pirela
BN: Jorge Mateo
BN: Ramon Flores
BN: John Ryan Murphy


RP: Chase Whitley
RP: Justin Wilson
RP: David Carpenter
RP: Jacob Lindgren
RP: Adam Warren
RP: Dellin Betances

CP: Andrew Miller

TGP Daily Poll: Yankees Call up Chase Whitley This Week


There have been rumblings of the Yankees using a 6th starter this month to give the likes of Masahiro Tanaka and CC Sabathia an extra day of rest. That will happen next week against the Tampa Bay Rays when the team calls up Chase Whitley.


Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Jacob Lindgren


The MiLB seasons are well underway now with a couple weeks’ worth of games under their belts so after checking in on Luis Severino and Robert Refsnyder this week we will now check in on Jacob Lindgren. Lindgren was the Yankees first pick in the 2014 MLB First Year Players Draft and is already knocking on the door to the Yankees bullpen. How has he fared this season you ask? Well I’m glad that you did: 


AgeLevWLERAGSVIPHRHRBBSOWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9
22AAA012.45527.1640391.2277.40.03.711.0
2 Seasons222.2524332.01812016571.0625.10.04.516.0

This Day in New York Yankees History 4/21: Eddie Murray Passes Mickey Mantle


On this day in 1994 Eddie Murray knocked a home run from both sides of the plate in the Indians' 10-6 win over the Twins. Eddie Murray hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game for the eleventh time breaking the previous record set by Yankee legend Mickey Mantle in 1964.