Saturday, May 9, 2015

Saturday Night Open Thread


Hey guys look, I remembered the open thread for the week two weeks in a row, something must be wrong in the universe right now. Anyway it’s Saturday night and the Yankees game has already come to a close so let’s chat it up about anything you guys want to. Mother’s Day is tomorrow, what are you getting your mom, wife or significant other? NBA playoffs are going on with some Game Three matchups, who you got?


I took my boys fishing today and ran all my errands and did my grocery shopping so I could devote tomorrow to the wife so I’m beat but the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Making memories is all that matters, remember that. With that said I’ll leave the stage to you, have at it and enjoy. 

So You Need Power on Your Fantasy Team?


The biggest thing to have and the hardest thing to find recently in fantasy baseball is power and if you struck out with it in your draft have no fear because I think I have a few players that could put some pop into your lineup and save or pad your team this season. Some may be obvious and some may be a bit of a stretch but if you’re still reading this after reading just the headline it’s obvious you need some sort of advice and help and are likely to try anything if it works. With that said let’s take a look at a few players that could add some home runs to your totals and are likely on your waiver wire or the free agent market in your league.

Kyle Blanks of the Texas Rangers is a player I wanted the Yankees to pick up a couple seasons ago when they went from #TooManyDamnHRs to #CanWeScoreOneRun in a matter of months. Blanks is up with the Rangers right now while Mitch Moreland is injured and has shown tremendous power in his limited sample size. Blanks already has three home runs and a .719 slugging percentage in 32 at bats.

Logan Morrison of the Seattle Mariners is finally healthy and has hit .360 with three home runs, two doubles and a triple this week. Buy the hot start and sell high in June or July. Same can be said for the new Braves third baseman Kelly Johnson. Johnson has six home runs and 17 RBI this season in only 68 at bats replacing the injured Chris Johnson in Atlanta. Buy now, milk his production and sell him later as he can play three positions in fantasy baseball, third base, first base and now left field. One last hot hand right now is the Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner who hit three home runs in the span of four games. While Turner is only eligible at third base as far as fantasy goes he plays all over the diamond in Los Angeles giving Don Mattingly plenty of opportunities to give him at bats.


Carlos Perez is the new catcher in Los Angeles with the Angels right now and while it’s hard to project his MLB numbers his .361/.418/.714 in Triple-A is encouraging. Speaking of catchers hard to project Jarrod Saltalamacchia was recently picked up by the Arizona Diamondbacks and seems destined to get called up to the major leagues relatively soon looking to go from a pitching friendly Marlins Park to a more hitter friendly park in Arizona. The final player on the list is Astros outfielder Preston Tucker who is filling in for George Springer. Tucker hit 10 home runs with 32 RBI in 21 games in Triple-A and looks primed to hit more than a few out of Minute Maid Park this season.

Game Thread: Baltimore Orioles @ New York Yankees 5/9


For the third time this series it’s game time between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles inside the Yankee Stadium. We’ve been entertained by some good pitching matchups this series and should be in for another this afternoon when Chase Whitley takes the mound for the Yankees to face off with Wei-Yin Chen for the Orioles. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. The fans have been coming out in packs to see Alex Rodriguez’s home run chase and to see the Yankees beat up on the Orioles a little bit. Hopefully that continues this afternoon in the Bronx.

You only have one more shot to see the home team in the Bronx this weekend after this game so be sure to click our Yankees Tickets link on the top of the blog and grab a pair for tomorrow. If you can’t make it tomorrow then I would suggest getting a pair of tickets for the next Sunday home game when the Yankees honor Bernie Williams on Bernie Williams Day. If you can’t make it be sure to jump on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) and tweet with us during this and every single game.


It’s Saturday so let’s get this game out of the way, get another victory and enjoy the rest of our weekend, shall we? Get to work Whitley. Go Yankees!

Have You FORG1V3N?

Friday afternoon I asked our Twitter followers if based on the first month of the 2015 season they have been able to forgive Alex Rodriguez for his past transgressions. Alex has burned many bridges and has lost many friends along the way but it’s hard to argue that he finally gets it now, has finally matured and is willing to do whatever he can to not only help the team win but to win back some hearts and minds from his fans, former and current, in New York. Sometimes you need to hit rock bottom to see the error in your ways and to see what it is your doing and I don’t think anyone can argue that Alex has done just that this season. The Alex you see now is a shell of his former self and a humbled individual, no longer the Centaur and no longer the pre-Madonna.

This was the focus of my latest Twitter poll, have you forgiven Alex Rodriguez? The responses were the mixed bag that I expected it to be but they tone was generally what I conveyed above, help us win and win our hearts (at least temporarily). 










To be involved in our next Twitter poll for the blog be sure to jump on Twitter and give @GreedyStripes a follow. I will always let you know that I plan to use your responses in a blog post, no surprises. 

Game Preview: Baltimore Orioles @ New York Yankees 5/9


The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles are done with the games in prime time and will instead shift to a pair of day games to finish out their four game series in the Bronx. We all know how the ball jumps off the bats in the Bronx during the day so we should expect some runs to be scored this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon on Mother’s Day. First things first though as today the Yankees send Chase Whitley to the mound looking for his third consecutive quality start for New York to start his season while the Orioles counter with Wei-Yin Chen. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

  • Whitley has been absolutely dominant since returning to the major leagues this season and was at his best last time out against the Toronto Blue Jays. Whitley threw seven scoreless innings against Toronto on Monday before the bullpen blew the lead in a 3-1 loss for the team and a no decision for Whitley.


  • Chen pitched against the Tampa Bay Rays last time out and took a no decision despite pitching well enough to win. Chen allowed just two runs on seven hits against the second place Rays while walking two batters and striking out four in six innings of work.



The Yankees head right back out on the road after this series leaving the Eastern Time zone for the first time this season when they travel to Tampa Bay and then Kansas City. No better way to leave the Yankees family and their fans wanting more then to leave the Bronx with a series victory, let’s do it. Go Yankees!

TGP Daily Poll: Chris Davis Strikes Out 13 Times



Chris Davis has been a strikeout machine for the Baltimore Orioles this season and has already received a Golden Sombrero against New York on Thursday night. In the four game series Yankees pitchers will strike out Davis at least 13 times combined.


Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Luis Severino


The good news if you’re a Luis Severino fan is the New York Yankees, like almost every major league team, are guaranteed an injury or two over the course of the season. The bad news if you’re a Severino fan is that Chase Whitley has pitched tremendously, albeit in a small sample size, in relief of Masahiro Tanaka and Chris Capuano and Ivan Nova are close to returning from injuries blocking the way. Severino is still just in Double-A so it’s not like his development is being stunted by any means but it has been a long time, probably since Phil Hughes, since the Yankees and their fans had such a highly touted pitching prospect to root for in the minor leagues.


With numbers like these who could blame us?

YearLevWLERAGSIPHRERHRBBSOWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9
2015AA122.77526.02411818311.2318.30.32.810.7

This Day in New York Yankees History 5/9: Mariano Rivera & Franchise Records


On this day in 2002 Mariano Rivera notched his 225th save as a member of the New York Yankees setting a new franchise record. The previous record of 224 saves was set by Dave Righetti. The Yankees would win the game 3-1 in Tampa over the Rays.

On this day in 1999 Mike Stanton started his first Major League game after pitching in 552 relief appearances. Gary Lavelle had the record for most appearances without starting a game before Stanton shut out Seattle for four innings giving up two hits in a Yankee's 6-1 victory at Yankee Stadium.