Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox 8/5


It is that time again as it’s time for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox to face off for the second time head-to-head this week in the Bronx. The Yankees came into the first game of the series last night fresh off an impressive ten game road trip and look to keep the winning ways going tonight inside Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound tonight in his Major League debut to face off with Steven Wakefield Wright for the Red Sox. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN’s Wednesday Night Baseball and MLB TV.

The Yankees have one more contest with Boston tomorrow in the Bronx before welcoming David Price, Troy Tulowitzki and the rest of the new-look Toronto Blue Jays to Yankee Stadium for a weekend set. By clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog you can see any and all of those games live while still having a bit of money left in your pockets through our partnership with Ticket Monster. If you can’t make it live then that’s not a problem, simply jump on Twitter and give @GreedyStripes a follow to root for the home team all season long.


Severino is ready for his debut and so am I so let’s get to it. Go Yankees!

Managing the Yankees Can Take Its Toll


Joe Girardi has been the manager of the New York Yankees since the 2008 season and boy what a ride it has been. Girardi went from snapping a streak of 13 consecutive seasons of making the playoffs in 2008, to World Series champions in 2009, to rough losses in the ALCS in 2010 and 2012, to missing the playoffs in consecutive years in 2013 and 2014 till today. Currently the Yankees have a comfortable lead in the American League East Division and look well on their way to at least contending for a Wild Card playoff spot in 2015 but you wouldn’t know it if you looked at Girardi today.


On the left is a picture of Girardi when he first agreed to be the manager of the Yankees and on the right is a picture taken sometime before the 2015 season. Wow, what a difference. You see a lot of these before and after type pictures used with the President of the United States but maybe managing the New York Yankees is just as stressful, if not more, than governing over the free world. 

Twitter Poll: Yankees Made Right Decision Not Getting TJS for Tanaka


Yesterday here on the blog I was very emphatic when I said that the New York Yankees made the right decision to forego Tommy John surgery with Masahiro Tanaka and take the advice of five different doctors that suggested a rest and rehab program. This has been going on for more than a calendar year now and the reviews on the decision have been mixed to say the least. There are the pro-surgery crowds and then there is the crowd that trusts the doctor’s decision, which camp are you in? Sounds like the perfect time for a Twitter Poll.





While many fans blame every ball he throws, home run he allows or loss he accumulates on the fact that Tanaka’s elbow is not healthy and he should have had the surgery rather than considering the distinct possibility that maybe Tanaka was not as advertised I still remain adamant that the non-surgery was the best option for Tanaka. I am very much against undergoing a career altering or potentially career ending surgery if at all possible. If some guy working a drive thru wedding window in Las Vegas said to rest and rehab Tanaka’s elbow then I’d be skeptical but it was five doctors including the Yankees team doctor and the man that has seen more ulnar collateral ligaments than Ron Jeremy has seen female anatomies Dr. James Andrews.

This is not a debate that is going to be won or loss. If Tanaka pitches the rest of his career without issue but doesn’t win 20 games every single season and a Cy Young there will be some out there that say he should have had the surgery. If he blows out his elbow tomorrow there will be the “I told you so” type fans running amok while the rest call for Brian Cashman’s head. There will be no winner, only losers. To be involved in our next Twitter Poll head over to the app and give @GreedyStripes a follow. Once you’re following be on the lookout for our next Twitter Poll tweet, we will not use your responses without informing you first.


Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox 8/5


The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will play in the second game of their three game set this week in a very big contest for the Yankees. The game is not big for New York because of what it means in the standings or what could potentially be on the line in the contest, it is important because the team’s top prospect Luis Severino is making his Major League debut tonight inside Yankee Stadium. Severino was a perfect 7-0 at Triple-A before getting the call to replace Michael Pineda in the rotation. Opposing Severino will be Steven Wright for the Red Sox. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN’s Wednesday Night Baseball and MLB TV.

  • Severino will be making his Major League debut tonight for the Yankees after going 7-0 with a 1.91 ERA in Triple-A with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Severino was ranked either 1 or 1A in every Top Prospects list for the Yankees prior to the season after he impressed many with his stuff, composure and ability to attack hitters fearlessly when he was with the team during Spring Training.


  • Wright, a knuckleball pitcher for the Red Sox, is fresh off his best outing of the season when he dueled head-to-head with Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox. Wright gave up just two runs in seven innings while collecting eight strikeouts in the victory for Boston. If it’s high, let it fly. If it’s low, let it go.


The Yankees stood pat at the July 31st trading deadline due in part to the fact that the team did not want to give up top prospects like Severino in any of their deals. Cashman just bet the house on the farm and then went all in when Pineda was added to the disabled list so a lot is riding on this decision. Those results and outcomes start tonight as the fearless, and who some are already calling the savior, Severino begins his Major League career tonight in the Bronx. Go Yankees!


Meet a Prospect: Luis Severino


Luis Severino was ranked either 1st or 2nd (more like 1 or 1A) on every Top Yankees Prospects list not made out by Keith Law before the season and after the draft and will be making the big step to the Major Leagues tonight in the Bronx. Much like another fellow Yankees farm hand, Robert Refsnyder, Severino will be making his Major League debut against the Boston Red Sox this season. All eyes will be on Severino as he comes up to the majors looking to be the Yankees saving grace in the pitching staff as he essentially replaces Michael Pineda. Before Severino throws his first pitch and throws six shutout innings tonight against the Red Sox we may as well meet him first so let’s Meet a Prospect, Luis Severino.

Luis Severino was born on February 20, 1994 in Sabana de la Mar, Dominican Republic where he grew up idolizing former Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano and the New York Yankees. Severino signed as an amateur free agent in 2012 after agreeing to a signing bonus worth $225, 000. Severino was just 17 years old at the time and could throw his fastball at just 91 MPH, the Yankees saw something in that to justify the signing and it worked out for New York almost immediately.

Severino began in the Dominican Summer League that season and immediately posted a 4-2 record with a 1.68 ERA while striking out 45 batters in 64.1 innings. Severino was back with the Yankees DSL team in 2013 before being promoted all the way to the Charleston Riverdogs. At Charleston Severino found himself and his fastball as he pumped up the heat to 97 MPH while posting a 4-2 record with a 2.45 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 44 innings. Severino began the 2014 season as the Yankees ninth best prospect back at Charleston before quickly earning a promotion to the Tampa Yankees. Tampa would not be his last stop of the season though as he also made the 2014 All-Star Futures Game and earned a promotion to the Double-A Trenton Thunder.

In 2014 Severino pitched for three teams and combined for a 6-5 record and a 2.46 ERA with 127 strikeouts to just 27 walks in 113 innings pitched. Severino’s strong season had him ranked as the best prospect in all of the Yankees farm system and 23rd best out of all minor league players according to Baseball America. Severino began the 2015 season by throwing just 38 innings for the Thunder before earning the promotion to Scranton Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees Triple-A affiliate. At the time of Severino’s promotion to the Bronx the young right-hander had a perfect 7-0 record with the RailRiders with a 1.91 ERA in 11 starts. Severino was deemed untouchable at the July 31st trading deadline and the Yankees stood pat at the trading deadline with the intention of calling up their top pitching prospect.


Severino is the future and the future is tonight in the Bronx and inside Yankee Stadium. Severino will not be on any kind of innings limit or pitch counts so he can show the world just how fearless everyone who knows him already knows that he is. We wish Severino nothing but the best of luck tonight and going forward in his career and I think I speak for everyone when I welcome him to the Yankees family with open arms. You’ve earned this Severino, now make the best of it! Go Yankees and Go Severino!

TGP Daily Poll: Nail in Boston’s Coffin


The New York Yankees have a very important week this week as the team plays host to the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox at home. New York will put the final nail in the coffin this week for Boston as they take the series from the Red Sox.


Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Greg Bird


Greg Bird is perfectly in line for a potential 2016 call up to the Major Leagues after earning a promotion to Triple-A earlier in the season. The Yankees plan for Bird, and the reason they made him untouchable at this season’s July 31st trade deadline, seems obvious. Right around the time the mega-contract that Mark Teixeira signed before the 2009 season runs out Bird would presumably be ready to step into his shoes at first base and would have had a cup of coffee or two in the bigs.

New York and their fans have been spoiled with big defensive-minded first baseman over their years, see Don Mattingly, Tino Martinez, Jason Giambi who wasn’t winning any Gold Gloves but held his own, and Teixeira, and while Bird doesn’t exactly fit that mold yet I think he’s a work in progress. Bird was drafted as a catcher and bounced around at positions before settling in at first base so he still has the potential to be a great first baseman in the Bronx.

Bird was deemed untouchable by Brian Cashman for a reason and sooner rather than later we’re all going to see that reasoning unfold before our eyes.


YearLevGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015AA-AAA74321397521104213451.267.355.448.804
2015AA4921229471662912430.258.358.445.804
2015AAA251091028541301021.283.349.455.803

Sneak Preview: Luis Severino Pitching


As we all know Luis Severino is making his Major League debut with the New York Yankees tonight. Before the Yankees top pitching prospect takes the mound for some to see for the first time I thought it would be good to give everyone a bit of a sneak preview. Severino was in the MLB All-Star Futures Games back in 2014 and even faced the Texas Rangers top prospect Joey Gallo in the inning. I won't give anything away, you're going to have to watch it. Enjoy. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 8/5: Black Eyes & Biogenesis



On this day in 2013 Major League Baseball was dealt another bad hand and another black eye as we all watched the Biogenesis scandal unravel before our eyes. On this day Major League Baseball released the names of the 13 players that had been suspended for their involvement with the anti-aging clinic. The Yankees Alex Rodriguez was suspended for 211 regular season games while Francisco Cervelli of the Yankees was suspended for 50 games.

Also on this day in 2007 Mike Mussina won his 246th career game making him the winningest pitcher in major league history without a 20 win season. Mussina would finally reach the 20 win plateau in his final season in 2008 when he finished with a 20-9 record.

Finally on this day in 1983 the Yankees manager Billy Martin was suspended for two games after calling umpire Dale Ford a "stone liar" after the July 31st extra inning victory over the Chicago White Sox. This marks the second time this season that Martin was disciplined by the league due to abuse of umpires.