Saturday, May 23, 2015
Saturday Night Open Thread
The Yankees game for the day is in the books as the grounds
crew and personnel at Yankee Stadium prepare for Bernie Williams Day tomorrow
night in the Bronx. I am preparing for that myself right here on the blog so
tonight I leave you with a Saturday night open thread to discuss anything you
guys want. Bernie Williams Day, the NBA playoffs, the fact that you’re still
mad about the Draft Lottery, whatever you want. Have fun with it and enjoy.
Manfred Thinks New York Shouldn’t Pay A-Rod
The New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez has an unlikely
admirer in Robert Manfred, new Commissioner of Major League Baseball, but that
doesn’t mean that he necessarily thinks the Yankees should pay him his $6
million bonus. Alex has a clause written into a marketing contract that states
that the team owes him $6 million for certain home run plateaus including tying
Willie Mays like he did in Fenway Park last month. The Yankees stated before
the home run happened that they would fight the $6 million bonus and refuse to
pay it and Manfred has been quoted as saying that he thinks the Yankees have
grounds not to pay Mr. Rodriguez.
The marketing deal that the team and Rodriguez agreed to in
December of 2007 was a separate deal aside from his 10 year deal worth $275
million. With that in mind Manfred was quoted as saying “The Yankees have a
well-founded legal position.” We all know why the Yankees are fighting it, the
steroid suspension, the black eye to the team, the fact that the home run is no
longer marketable in their eyes, etc. The Yankees had 30 days to pay Rodriguez
for the milestone home run and when they don’t Rodriguez will have to file a
grievance against the team. Rodriguez has been told he will have the backing of
the Major League Baseball Players Association if and when he does file the suit
which bodes well for his however slim chances.
Rodriguez is batting .246 with 10 home runs and 22 RBI
entering the weekend series with the Rangers doing a great job re-entering a
difficult situation with his teammates and the fan. The man deserves his money,
pay him. You’re only making yourself and the team look bad Mr. Steinbrenner.
Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers 5/23
It feels like we just got done doing one of these and here
we are again a mere 16 hours later doing another as it’s game time between the
New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers. This marks the second time this weekend
and the second time in this three game set that these two teams will go
head-to-head in the Bronx. This afternoon CC Sabathia is on the mound for the
Yankees facing off against the Rangers starter Nick Martinez. The game will be
played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on MLB Network, WPIX Channel 11 and MLB
TV.
Tomorrow night is the big ceremony for Bernie Williams Day where he will receive a plaque in Monument Park and his #51 jersey retired. Believe it or not there are still tickets available and we need as many fans as possible to be there because I have said it once and I will say it again, suits don’t cheer. If you can’t make it then that’s fine just join us Twitter (@GreedyStripes) or in the comments section to cheer on Bernie from afar.
It’s a beautiful afternoon in the Bronx and the ball should
be flying out of right field today and frankly I’m looking forward to it. Go
Yankees!
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My Plan for the Return of Masahiro Tanaka
Masahiro Tanaka threw three scoreless innings in a rehab
start Thursday night with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and will likely
need two more starts before returning to the major league rotation. The Yankees
rotation currently sports Adam Warren, Chris Capuano, Michael Pineda, Nathan
Eovaldi and today’s starter CC Sabathia leaving what could become a very hard
decision for manager Joe Girardi to make when the young Japanese RHP comes
back. The good news for Girardi and his binder is I, as always, have a plan.
The Yankees bullpen outside of Dellin Betances and Andrew
Miller has not been the strength that the team expected it to be coming into
the season, not yet anyway. With the injury to Chris Martin and the inability
to get batters out by David Carpenter the team’s biggest strength has turned
into a major weakness thus far this season. Although Warren has pitched better
of late in the rotation and much better than Capuano did in his debut in 2015,
I know all about the one start sample size but after 2014 I just plain ole’ do
not like Capuano, Warren would be the better option for the bullpen. Warren has
closed games out on New York as recently as last year and can pitch in the 7th,
8th or 9th inning for New York. With his right arm
already being stretched out the team could conceivably use him for multiple
innings like they do with Miller and Betances taking some of the burden off the
other relievers, namely Justin Wilson, Carpenter and Chasen Shreve.
Leaving Capuano in the rotation may hurt a bit but a
rotation of Tanaka and Capuano with Warren in the bullpen is better overall
then a rotation of Tanaka and Warren with Capuano in the bullpen. Now a
rotation of Tanaka and Warren with Jacob Lindgren in the bullpen would be ideal
but I am trying to remain realistic here and remember who we are dealing with
here. Either way though in two more rehab starts, the health of the remaining
Yankees starters pending of course, it looks like the best bet is to move Warren
back to the bullpen and keep Capuano in the rotation as the 5th
starter.
Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers 5/23
The New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers are back at it
again in the Bronx this afternoon after playing a night game last night. With
the day game after the night game you can expect manager Joe Girardi to give a
couple of his regulars a day off or at least a half a day with the DH position
so we may see Garrett Jones and too much of Stephen Drew this afternoon. On the
mound for the Yankees will be CC Sabathia who will look to start a winning
streak against the Rangers Nick Martinez. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET
and can be seen on MLB Network, WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV.
- Sabathia is looking for his third straight win on the season this afternoon after winning each of his last two decisions. CC has allowed five runs on 12 hits in 14 IP in those victories walking just two batters and striking out 14 leaving many to believe that CC has finally figured out how to pitch and not just throw. CC owns a career 11-3 record with a 4.45 ERA against the Texas Rangers in his career but has not faced the team from Arlington since the 2012 season.
- Martinez has enjoyed a strong May thus far posting a 1-0 record with a 3.68 ERA in four starts and has also enjoyed a strong road record this season posting a 1-0 record with a 1.52 ERA on the road, both of which are bad signs for the Yankees this afternoon. Martinez faced New York twice in 2014 and posted a 0-1 record with a 4.91 ERA against the Bronx Bombers which is a great sign for New York. Which Martinez will show up this afternoon in the Bronx? Stay tuned.
New York almost has a full day off after this contest as the
team does not play again until 8:00 pm ET tomorrow as a part of ESPN’s Sunday
Night Baseball. Frankly I cannot wait to sit on my couch and blow through 85%
of my cell phone battery tweeting John Kruk to #ShutTheKrukUp I don’t know
about you. Go Yankees!
TGP Daily Poll: Yankees Hit Three Home Runs
The Yankees are playing in the Bronx on a Saturday afternoon against a less than stellar starting pitcher for the Rangers. Sounds like a Bronx Bombers kind of day to me as the Yankees will hit at least three home runs in the contest.
Vote in our poll on Knoda.com
Weekly Check In: Jorge Mateo
Jorge Mateo’s pace and attack on Billy Hamilton’s stolen
base record for a single season seems to have slowed down a bit in recent weeks
leaving many to wonder if the record is safe for another season. Either way,
stolen base record or not, Mateo is still a top Yankees prospect and the top
Yankees shortstop prospect in the system with an exciting set of tools to look
forward to. How many stolen bases did Mateo get this week? Has the bat come
around whatsoever? Let’s take a look:
Year | Lev | G | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | A | 37 | 157 | 16 | 35 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 29 | 7 | 12 | 31 | .250 | .307 | .321 | .629 |
This Day in New York Yankees History 5/23: David Wells First Start Since Perfection
On this day in 1998 the Yankees David Wells extended his
American League record for consecutive outs to 38 when the Red Sox leadoff
hitter Darren Lewis grounded out to start the game. Wells was coming off his
perfect game in his previous start and retired the last ten batters he faced in
Kansas City in the start before setting history.
Also on this day in 1962 the Yankees Joe Peptione hit two
home runs in the same inning to become the second player in Yankees history to
do so. The Yankees scored nine times in the eighth inning and would beat Kansas
City 13-7. Joe DiMaggio became the first Yankee to do it as a rookie in 1936.
Finally on this day in 1948 the Yankees Joe DiMaggio would
hit three consecutive home runs with the first two coming off the Indians Bob
Feller. The Yankees would beat the Indians 6-5 on this day behind DiMaggio's
offensive outburst.
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