Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays 5/13


For the third time this week and for the 10th time already this season it’s game time between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. For the sixth time already this season Tropicana Field will play host to these two teams going head-to-head and for the third time we will see Adam Warren facing the Rays and Nathan Karns facing the Yankees. The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV but if it’s anything like the last two games both pitchers will get a no-decision and the Yankees will win so….

The Yankees have one more game inside Tropicana Field before traveling to Kansas City to take on the Kansas City Royals. After the Royals series the team returns home to the Bronx and Yankee Stadium so have you have plenty of time to get your tickets ordered and in hand before the team comes home. All you have to do is click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to get your Yankees tickets cheaper than anywhere else using your Greedy Pinstripes discount on top of our already cheap ticket prices through Ticket Monster. If you can’t make it then join us in the comments section of the site and on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) where we are always on keeping the conversation going.


Jacoby Ellsbury is stepping up to the plate and Karns is taking the mound so that will be enough out of me for the night, go Yankees!

Thanks to Tom Brady MLB Has To Watch Its Balls


Thanks to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots everyone around Major League Baseball now feels compelled to watch their balls. Major League Baseball has upped their security for its game balls this season in the wake of Deflate Gate. Let the jokes begin.

Starting this season an MLB representative watches the baseballs while a clubhouse assistant carries them from the umpires’ room to the playing field. If the supply of balls runs low an MLB security guard is now sent to retrieve more balls from the umpires’ room instead of clubhouse personnel. MLB is saying the changes in policy were discussed before the AFC Championship game this season but honestly I’m not buying the huge coincidence personally.


What can you do to a ball? The umpire is going to see scuffs and will notice a difference if the ball is dunked in water or altered. MLB is now telling teams what temperature they should set their thermostats at when storing the balls and is telling the teams how much humidity can be around the balls. All because some douche bag deflated them and won a game he was going to win anyway and then a Super Bowl. Whatever. 

USA Today’s Weekly Power Rankings


USA Today has once again released their weekly power rankings which included a ton of moving parts this week from a flurry of teams. While the St. Louis Cardinals remain atop Major League Baseball and the Philadelphia Phillies remain the cellar dwellers of the league there has been a ton of change across the board, unless of course you’re the New York Yankees.

First and foremost the Top 5 consists of, in order, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Kansas City Royals, the Detroit Tigers and the Houston Astros. Despite the Yankees continued winning this season the team has not gotten above the 6th spot that it currently resides at followed by the New York Mets, the Washington Nationals, the San Diego Padres and the Tampa Bay Rays that round out the Top 10.

The American League East is wrapped up with the Toronto Blue Jays being ranked 11th, the Baltimore Orioles coming in at the #20 spot and the Boston Red Sox finishing at #22. The Red Sox were the biggest fallers this week falling nine spots while the Minnesota Twins were the largest climbers when the team climbed eight spots to the lucky #13 position.

The final five positions in the rankings belong to, again in order, the Oakland Athletics, the Colorado Rockies, the Cleveland Indians, the Milwaukee Brewers and the aforementioned Philadelphia Phillies. New York doesn’t have to ever climb higher than 6th as long as they stay away from these five teams and in first place in the American League East division.


Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays 5/13


For the third time this week and for the 10th time already this season the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays face off head-to-head. The Yankees have been called “Daddy” by the Rays all year long as the team has dominated the season series against Tampa Bay, a trend that hopefully continues tonight inside Tropicana Field. On the mound for the Yankees is Adam Warren who will be facing off with a familiar foe in Nathan Karns for the Rays. The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

  • Warren took a no-decision in his last start against the Baltimore Orioles when he allowed seven hits and two runs in 4.2 innings. Warren is already facing off against the Rays for the third time this season and has taken two more no-decisions in 9.2 IP allowing five earned runs this far this season.


  • Karns is facing off against the New York Yankees for the third time already this season in less than 35 games and has surprisingly pitched well against the Bronx Bombers. His wins and loss record doesn’t necessarily reflect how well he has pitched this season posting a 0-0 record with a 2.79 ERA against New York.



The Yankees have one more game in the Eastern Time zone before traveling to Kansas City to take on a tough Kansas City Royals squad in the Central Time zone. I definitely do not like the 8:05 pm ET starts and I especially don’t enjoy the 10:05 pm ET starts, I need my beauty sleep. Anyway, go Yankees!

April Carlos Beltran or May Carlos Beltran


Let’s just cut to the chase, during the month of April Carlos Beltran was absolutely horrible. He looked done and many, including myself, called for him to be simply released or benched for the rest of the season. Then the calendar changed to May and Beltran is an entirely new hitter at the plate and even hit a home run in back to back games on Sunday and Monday giving the Yankees some signs of life and hope for this season. You have to remember that Beltran changed a lot of his approach last season to be able to stay in the lineup and to be able to take at bats with his bone spur problem. Along the lines Beltran presumably picked up more than a few bad habits that he is now trying to break in live action MLB games rather than in the spring or in the minor leagues. With Chris Young playing so well his playing time has also been cut dramatically further complicating the problem but with Beltran’s recent hot streak it begs the question, is this the Beltran we will see for the remainder of the season or will the team ride this hot streak out before he turns back into a .200 hitter?

This sounds like all the makings of a Twitter poll, doesn’t it? Here are your responses:








Honestly I think Beltran will be fine as long as Young continues to hit well. Will Beltran be the guy the Yankees signed after leading the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series? Probably not, but he can be better than he was in April of this season and can be better than he was in all of 2014. I truly believe that, stay tuned.


To be involved in our next Twitter poll head over and give @GreedyStripes a follow and watch out for our next tweet. I will always inform you that we may or may not use your answers in our next blog post. 

TGP Daily Poll: CC Sabathia Starts a Winning Streak


CC Sabathia got his first win of the season thanks in large part to finally receiving some run support from the Yankees on Monday night. CC will start a winning streak and get the win in his next start as well against the Kansas City Royals.



Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com


Weekly Check In: Greg Bird


Greg Bird was placed on the disabled list this week with a shoulder issue that will keep him out of the lineup for at least two weeks if all goes according to plan. The good news for the Yankees was the problem was not in his back that has bothered him for much of his career but the bad news is the development for Bird seemed to be getting back on track recently before the injury. We may have to replace Bird in this post temporarily next week but this week we’ll go ahead and take a look at what Bird has accomplished this season before the injury:


YearLevGPARH2B3BHRRBIBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015AA251111421903121416.226.351.419.771
Get well soon Greg!

This Day in New York Yankees History 5/13: The Rays are Finally Good!


On this day in 2008 the Boston Red Sox lost and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Yankees 2-1 in 11 innings to put the Rays in sole possession of first place for the first time in their franchise's history. Tampa would be seven games over the .500 mark (23-16) which is also a mark that had never been accomplished in the 11 years of the Rays existence.

Also on this day in 1985 the New York Yankees rally to beat the Minnesota Twins 9-8 after trailing the Twins 8-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Don Mattingly hit a ninth inning three run walk off home run at Yankee Stadium with two outs to cap the victory.

Also on this day in 1955 for the first time in his career Mickey Mantle hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game. Mantle finished the game with three home runs total, two from the left side, and drove in all five runs in a 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.


Finally on this day in 1929 a game was played for the first time in major league history where both teams wore numbers on the back of their uniforms. The Indians hosted the New York Yankees in League Park in Cleveland and would mark numerals becoming a permanent fixture on the back of the uniforms.