Thursday, August 27, 2015

The Quote That May Haunt Brian Cashman for the Rest of his Yankees Tenure


Let’s end the night with something to think about when you go to bed tonight, the one quote that may define and ultimately haunt the Yankees GM Brian Cashman for the remainder of his Yankees tenure. This quote came in the offseason when the Yankees were being second guessed about their free agent strategy and the decision to pass up the likes of David Robertson, Hanley Ramirez, James Shields, Pablo Sandoval and other big named free agents. Cashman may be hoping right about now, as the Blue Jays continue their aggressive play while the Yankees simply look tired out and ready for another winter of hibernation, that this quote could forever be forgotten and lost in the web that is the internet but I remember it and I remind you all of it today.

“Playoffs and then beyond,’’ GM Brian Cashman told The Post. “Be a good enough team to get to the playoffs, allow me to tweak in-season to make it good enough to win a World Series.’’

http://nypost.com/2015/03/09/what-must-go-right-for-yankees-to-hit-world-series-expectations/

Has Cashman lived up to this “promise” or did he let the team down? I’m truly asking because I know the responses will be a mixed bag of opinions. Some, including myself, are okay with the prospects being relied on more (although if you’re going all in on prospects where the hell is Robert Refsnyder?) while others are not. Leave your thoughts in the comments section or let us know on Twitter by following and tweeting @GreedyStripes.


Twitter Poll: CC Sabathia vs. Ivan Nova in the Race Towards Inefficiency


The New York Yankees rebounded nicely in their game yesterday afternoon with the Houston Astros but how could they not? After you allow 15 runs to a team the night before almost anything can be constituted as a bounce back. Ivan Nova started that game and looked strong and sharp until he allowed a triple that shouldn’t have been in my opinion that led to everything falling apart. With Nova now ineffective in multiple starts and CC Sabathia on the disabled list I truly wanted to know what you, the fan, thought the Yankees should do if and when CC comes back from the DL. Should the team insert CC into the rotation and go back to the six-man rotation idea? Should Nova be bounced to the bullpen in favor of CC? Should both go to the bullpen and Adam Warren or Bryan Mitchell get the chance to start? Be heard, it’s The Greedy Pinstripes Twitter Poll:







CC’s knee proved that it could not be counted on over the course of a season. With every opportunity the Yankees had they gave CC an extra day of rest and with every look of a big inning on the horizon manager Joe Girardi pulled Sabathia despite his pitch count or inning total. His knee was still drained twice already this season, as expected, and he was still placed on the DL with the same degenerative knee condition. CC cannot make 25 starts a season anymore because his knee cannot handle it. I hate to say it, I like CC and his teammate and fiery competitor attitude that he brings to the table but reality is reality. Sabathia and the Yankees have already said the only remedy to this knee injury is to stop pitching. That’s not really an option in New York, especially with that remaining contract that will likely go through the 2017 season as his vesting option triggers, so why not limit him and get some value out of him as a LOOGY?

You know the splits that he has against left-handed batters and right-handed batters, it’s not pretty, so pull a move that the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants would pull and move him to the bullpen despite his former status or contract. He’s open for it and it is what’s best for the team.


To be involved in our next twitter poll head over and give @GreedyStripes a follow. Thank you. 

Roster Manipulation the New Meta?


Have the New York Yankees found the new meta in Major League Baseball and are they leading the way in progressiveness in the game? Well I wouldn't go that far but the team is taking every advantage they can get when it comes to roster manipulation and they are seemingly benefiting from it.

The Yankees have had a revolving door and a shuttle bus running back and forth from Scranton, Pennsylvania to the Bronx, New York this season. The Yankees have had a total of 106 options, recalls, designations for assignment and contract selections at the time of this writing and have already used 51 different players. The Yankees bullpen has seen the biggest influx of new faces as the team continually maxes a guy out and sends him down for a fresh arm the next day, evident by the 22 different relief pitchers that have came out of the Yankees bullpen this season and the 15 players who have made their Major League debuts with the team.

The plan, if that is the plan anyway, is working. The Yankees have been able to limit the exposure of their starting pitchers and have been able to keep them relatively healthy until recently with a reduced workload. The Yankees have been able to piece together games with the big names in their bullpen, Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Chasen Shreve and Justin Wilson specifically, and have filled in the blanks with the likes of Branden Pinder, Caleb Cotham, Nick Rumbelow, Nick Goody, Adam Warren, Esmil Rogers, Chris Capuano, Joel De La Cruz, Jose Ramirez, Jacob Lindgren, Bryan Mitchell, Chris Martin and a slew of other names that you are likely to know without me listing them. New York has kept everyone fresh and effective while continuing to stick around at the top of the American League East Division with the Toronto Blue Jays making this plan, roster manipulation or whatever you want to call it seemingly effective.

is this something we will see going forward in Major League Baseball as the emphasis on prospects in the league become more and more important? It could, and the Yankees did it first.

Did Andy Pettitte Set The Precedence for Alex Rodriguez?


The New York Yankees set a precedence this past weekend whether they intended to or not. Unless I am mistaken this is the first time that a team knowingly retired a number or honored a player that admitted to using any sort of PED's or steroids in the game's modern era. The Yankees not only honored Andy Pettitte with Andy Pettitte Day this weekend in the Bronx but the team also retired his #46 jersey ensuring that nobody would ever wear the number again as a Yankee. Pettitte, as we all know, admitted to using steroids to help rehab an injury earlier in his career. Did the Yankees potentially open the door for another great Yankees player, like him or not, to get his number #13 Yankees jersey retired?

The two cases are not an ideal comparison, Pettitte admitted it seemingly from Day One that he used and asked for forgiveness while Alex not only denied it once but he denied it and got caught with them twice. Andy never faced a steroid suspension and he never sued the MLB Players Association, his team doctor or his own cousin either while Rodriguez has burned every bridge from Miami to here dropping millions of dollars in legal fees and lawsuits along the way. If Andy has taught A Rod one thing though it's that it may never be too late for a player, especially in New York.

If Alex finishes his current contract without retiring he would finish with coincidentally 13 seasons as a member of the New York Yankees. During his tenure with the Yankees he led the team to a 2009 World Series Championship while exceeding a 52.0 fWAR along with a slew of crooked numbers in the Yankees record books. Currently, at the time of this writing, Rodriguez has 335 home runs as a Yankee and has passed the 400, 500 and 600 home run plateaus as a member of the Bronx Bombers. A Rod has won a pair of MVP Awards while playing his home games inside Yankee Stadium and has also surpassed the 1,000 RBI plateau with the team passing names like Berra, DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle along the way. In a word A Rod has been a living legend despite the steroid allegations.

Is it enough? Can the Yankees organization continue to rebuild that bridge with Alex and can Rodriguez continue to build that bridge back with his peers and his fans? If you disagree with the Yankees retiring the number I couldn't keep a straight face and tell you that you're wrong for that but for me personally it is something that should be done, eventually. The world hated Reggie Jackson and he did a hell of a lot less for the team in his short tenure, why not A Rod?

Yankees Off Day Walk Up Music Recommendation


The New York Yankees are off today for the first time in 16 days and will use the day off to make the couple hour trip south to face off against the Atlanta Braves. Every time the Yankees have had an off day this season we have brought you some sort of walk up music whether it be from the players or the normal music played inside Yankee Stadium and today will be no different. We have all but exhausted the Yankees offense and your 7th inning stretch traditions and such so today we move to the pitching. I found it interesting when I was looking that two different pitchers enter the game to the same music by good ole' Johnny Cash.

Both Nathan Eovaldi and closer Andrew Miller enter Yankee Stadium to Johnny Cash's classic "God's Gonna Cut You Down." That song is showcased above. Enjoy the song and enjoy the much needed off day Yankees family.

Quick Hit: Dustin Ackley Begins a Rehab Assignment Tonight!


The New York Yankees acquired seemingly a damaged product before the July 31st trading deadline when they sent Ramon Flores and Jose Ramirez to the Seattle Mariners for utility player Dustin Ackley. Ackley was expected to come in and essentially fill the role of Garrett Jones except with a few more positions in his back pocket. Just as soon as Yankees GM Brian Cashman began pushing the envelope for a change of scenery from Ackley the new Yankees bench piece was gone with a back injury. After just five days and three at bats, all outs, the Yankees were left scrambling trying to get Jones back as Ackley was added to the disabled list.

Ackley's lumbar strain was originally diagnosed as possibly season-ending but Ackley, like last night's starter Michael Pineda, worked his way back ahead of schedule and will began a rehab assignment tonight. Ackley is being assigned to the Double-A affiliate the Trenton Thunder. There is no timetable for how long he will need before returning to the Bronx and Yankee Stadium but it is not expected to be before rosters expand from 25 players to 40 players on September 1st.

You never want to wish an injury on anyone so I'm glad to be able to report this news this morning. Here's to hoping that Ackley can be the 2015 version of Jerry Hairston Jr. from 2009 and leap high in the sky after scoring a run that eventually led to a World Series victory.


Weekly Check In: Jeff Degano


The New York Yankees added a ton of talent to their minor league affiliates this month through the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft including two first round picks in Kyle Holder and James Kaprielian. The two first round picks have already made it to the New York-Penn League with the Staten Island Yankees and they joined another 2015 Draft pick by the Yankees, Jeff Degano.


Degano was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2015 Draft out of Indiana State. Here is the MLB.com Pipeline scouting report on Degano:

The redshirt junior works at 88-92 mph and can reach 95 with his fastball, which features some natural cutting life. He gets many of his strikeouts with his hard slurve, which he can run away from lefties and back-foot against righties … Degano has a decent changeup with some fade and will need to use it more as a starter in pro ball. He throws strikes but his command could use some refinement. Though he doesn’t have a true plus offering, he has the upside of a three-pitch starter with the fallback of becoming a situational lefty.
Year Lev W L ERA G IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9
2015 Rk-A- 0 4 4.50 8 16.0 19 10 8 1 6 14 1.562 10.7 0.6 3.4 7.9
2015 Rk 0 4 5.06 6 10.2 14 8 6 1 4 8 1.688 11.8 0.8 3.4 6.8
2015 A- 0 0 3.38 2 5.1 5 2 2 0 2 6 1.312 8.4 0.0 3.4 10.1

Trenton Thunder Playoff Tickets NOW ON SALE

Playoffs600x300


The Thunder, Double-A Affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced Wednesday morning that tickets for all 2015 potential playoff games are now on sale. The Thunder, with a record of 67-61, enter action Wednesday 2.0 games behind the Binghamton Mets for the second playoff spot in the East Divison standings.

Tickets may be reserved online by clicking here or by calling the Thunder Ticket Office at 609-394-3300 x 101.

Thunder full and half season ticket holders have until September 6 to claim their seats for the playoffs. Season ticket holders are encouraged to order their seats online but can also order in-person or by phone.

Tickets will be available to print-at-home or pick up at the Will Call window the day after the Thunder clinch their exact playoff spot. Fans will receive a refund for tickets to any home playoff games that are not played. Season ticket holders will receive a credit towards their 2016 season ticket package.

The Thunder last played postseason baseball in 2013 and went on to sweep the Binghamton Mets and the Harrisburg Senators on their way to their third EL Championship in franchise history.

EASTERN LEAGUE PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

The Eastern League playoff format is a two-round system of best three-out-of-five series. In the first round of Divisional Playoffs, the first and second place teams in each division play each other. The division winners then meet for the Eastern League Championship. Below (in bold) are the dates for potential Thunder Playoff Games (dates and times subject to change).

EASTERN DIVISION SERIES (ROUND 1)

Wednesday, September 9 (7pm): 1st Place @ 2nd Place
Thursday, September 10 (7pm): 1st Place @ 2nd Place
Friday, September 11: 2nd Place @ 1st Place
Saturday, September 12: 2nd Place @ 1st Place (If necessary)
Sunday, September 13: 2nd Place @ 1st Place (If necessary)

EASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (ROUND 2)

Tuesday, September 15 (7pm): West Division Champion @ Thunder
Wednesday, September 16 (7pm): West Division Champion @ Thunder
Thursday, September 17: Thunder @ West Division Champion
Friday, September 18: Thunder @ West Division Champion (If necessary)
Saturday, September 19: Thunder @ West Division Champion (If necessary)

ALL DATES AND TIMES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. VISIT TRENTONTHUNDER.COM FOR THE LATEST SCHEDULE

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/27: The First No-No In Yankee Stadium History


The Yankees made a day of it on this day in 1938 with a pair of historic milestones that happened on this day. First the Yankees All Star outfielder Joe DiMaggio would hit three consecutive triples in the first game of a double header with the Cleveland Indians. The Yankees would win Game 1 by the score of 8-7 but it was the second game that truly made history.

Monte Pearson became the first pitcher to ever throw a no hitter inside the House that Ruth Built. Pearson faces the minimum 27 batters thanks to a pair of double plays. The Yankees would sweep the double header and win the game 13-0 over the Indians for the Yankees 10th consecutive victory.