Tuesday, December 22, 2015

New Amenities Coming To Yankee Stadium?

I have been to 15 MLB stadiums so far, and all have different amenities for keeping game attendees entertained. The Mets, for example, have a bunch of activities in centerfield including dunk an opposing fan and whiffle ball in centerfield. The Diamondbacks have a pool, and the Rays have a ray touch tank. The Yankees only have 3 "entertainment" areas that don't cost extra, Monument Park, The Yankee Museum and a pitching mound. On occasion the Yankees partner with a sponsor for special promotions such as the "Say Goodbye to Mariano Rivera Booth."


The Arizona Diamondbacks Pool

Yesterday I received an interesting email from the Yankees with the invitation to take a survey regarding my experiences as a season ticket holder at Yankee Stadium. The point of the survey seemed to be gathering information on increasing entertainment value of fans and game attendees.

The Yankees survey focused on two entertainment types. "In Stadium Family Entertainment Zones" and "In-Stadium Social Gathering Spaces

 In-Stadium Family Entertainment Zones are described as "A number of Major League Baseball stadiums also include a variety of family entertainment zones located throughout the concourses and in the outfield. In stadium family entertainment zones are to be open to all fans regardless of seat location, and generally include activities such as a batting cage, pitching mound, home run derby, jungle gym, and other such interactive games."

In-Stadium Social Gathering Spaces are described as "Popular general fan enhancements have also included the addition of a variety of new social gathering spaces located throughout stadium concourses. In-stadium social gathering spaces are open to all fans regardless of seat location, and provide areas for fans to congregate and socialize before and during the game. In-stadium social gathering spaces generally offer high-top tables and other standing-room-only spaces (including a fire pit area), as well as TV monitors and areas for fans to purchase general stadium food and beverage options.

The Yankees seem to be ready to move on three potential entertainment enhancements.

  • Stadium Terrace - The In-Stadium Social Gathering Spaces. They mention the fire pit area again, they must really want a fire pit.
  • Loge & Group Party Areas - Accommodates 4-8 people in prime seating locations these areas. Think of this as a smaller luxury suite with drinks, catering, TV and more.
  • Centerfield Lounge - This appears to be an expansion of the seats that are above the Mohegan Sun Sports Bar in centerfield. The description mentions areas to "mingle and network", a "chef-inspired menu featuring locally-sourced ingredients" and "in-seat technology" amongst other amenities like TV.
They better put these far away from any A-Bombs and Tex-Messages

All these entertainment areas seem to be catering to the casual fan as an alternative to the traditional game atmosphere.

What do you think of the Yankee Stadium and the Yankees possibly adding more entertainment areas? If you have any questions about the survey, feel free to tweet me @EliotRants.

Help Wanted: Writers Needed


We here at The Greedy Pinstripes are always looking for new and interesting ideas and opinions to bring to our readers because I know you get tired of hearing from me over and over day after day. It’s that time of the year again when we cast a net out to see if anyone is interested in writing for the blog. Unfortunately it’s not a paying gig, I wish it was truly, and no experience is necessarily needed but it does help. Get your start with us, continue your career path with us and work with us by joining the Greedy Pinstripes family.


Contact us on Twitter by tweeting @greedystripes or shoot us an email at the greedy pinstripes at gmail to apply. Please include any samples or links to samples of your work with your submission to speed up the process for us all. Thank you all!





Daniel Burch

Introduction to Accountability: Part One


I want to start this off with a little disclaimer. I’m not bitter, I’m not whining and I’m far from angry or upset about this. I merely just want this exposed for what it is because things will never change if we keep it bottled up and we don’t talk about it. I want to change the world, that’s why I got into blogging. I wanted to be not only different and unique but maybe a little special. Whether that came with fame and fortune and recognition didn’t concern me, I am and will always be happy with a small group of dedicated readers, followers, supporters, fans and most importantly friends. This is a battle I know I’m not going to win but I’m willing to fight the good fight anyway. That’s what makes me, me.

With all that said I want to touch on the news yesterday that Mike Leake had signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. Ken Rosenthal and Chris Cotillo were given the credit for breaking the story naturally but that’s not how it happened. See above, this was my tweet almost a full week before the Cotillo tweet was made. I said that, per my source, Mike Leake would sign with the St. Louis Cardinals for five years before Christmas. On December 22, 2015 Leake signs with the Cardinals on five-years with the money details left pending. In a world where getting it first matters more than getting it right I had it first AND I had it right, again I may add… remember when I had Curtis Granderson going to the Mets before Joel Sherman… long before Joel Sherman, and once again I get nothing.

Again, I’m not mad and I don’t necessarily need the credit. I didn’t start blogging to become an insider and I don’t need the credit of everyone knowing I had it first. Everyone who matters knows I had it first, everyone that matters to me anyway.


I appreciate everyone who has had my back along the way and everyone who had my back on Twitter yesterday. It did not go unnoticed and it is appreciated. Thank you. 

Every Significant Brian Cashman Trade…. Ever


We did this last year so I thought it would be worth it to do it again with a bit of an updated list for the Brian Cashman lovers and haters alike. How has he done? I will reserve my judgement this time around, I got killed on the last one although it did kick start our comments section... ah what the hell I can take it. Blue equals a win, red equals a push and black equals a loss IN MY OPINION.

February 6, 1998 traded Cristian Guzman, Eric Milton, Brian Buchanan and Danny Mota to the Minnesota Twins for Chuck Knoblauch

§ February 1, 1999 traded Mike Lowell to the Florida Marlins for Ed Yarnall, Todd Noeland Mark J. Johnson

§ February 18, 1999 traded Homer Bush, David Wells and Graeme Lloyd to the Toronto Blue Jays for Roger Clemens

§ December 22, 1999 traded Hideki Irabu to the Montreal Expos for Ted Lilly, Jake Westbrook and Christian Parker


§ June 29, 2000 traded Ricky Ledee, Jake Westbrook and Zach Day to the Cleveland Indians for David Justice

§ July 12, 2000 traded Ed Yarnall, Drew Henson, Jackson Melian and Brian Reith to the Cincinnati Reds for Denny Neagle and Mike Frank


§ March 21, 2001 traded Wily Mo Pena to the Cincinnati Reds for Drew Henson and Michael Coleman

§ December 7, 2001 traded David Justice to the New York Mets for Robin Ventura

§ July 1, 2002 traded Scott Wiggins to the Toronto Blue Jays for Raul Mondesi

§ July 5, 2002 in a 3 team trade sent Ted Lilly, Jason Arnold and John-Ford Griffin to the Oakland Athletics for Jeff Weaver from the Detroit Tigers

§ June 6, 2003 traded Marcus Thames to the Detroit Tigers for Ruben Sierra

§ July 16, 2003 traded Jason Anderson, Ryan Bicondoa and Anderson Garcia to the New York Mets for Armando Benitez

§ July 29, 2003 traded Raul Mondesi to the Arizona Diamondbacks for David Dellucci, Bret Prinz and Jon-Mark Sprowl

§ July 31, 2003 traded Brandon Claussen and Charlie Manning to the Cincinnati Reds for Aaron Boone

§ July 31, 2003 traded Robin Ventura to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Scott Proctor and Bubba Crosby

§ August 6, 2003 traded Armando Benitez to the Seattle Mariners for Jeff Nelson

§ December 13, 2003 traded Jeff Weaver, Yhency Brazoban and Brandon Weeden to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Kevin Brown

§ December 16, 2003 traded Nick Johnson, Juan Rivera and Randy Choate to the Montreal Expos for Javier Vazquez

§ February 16, 2004 traded Alfonso Soriano and Joaquin Arias to the Texas Rangers for Alex Rodriguez

§ May 15, 2004 traded Brian Myrow to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tanyon Sturtze

§ December 3, 2004 traded Kenny Lofton to the Philadelphia Phillies for Felix Rodriguez

§ December 3, 2004 traded Felix Heredia to the New York Mets for Mike Stanton

§ January 11, 2005 traded Javier Vazquez, Brad Halsey and Dioner Navarro to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Randy Johnson

§ March 29, 2005 traded Bret Prinz to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Wil Nieves

§ July 2, 2005 traded Paul Quantrill to the San Diego Padres for Darrell May and Tim Redding

§ July 28, 2005 traded Ramon Ramirez and Eduardo Sierra to the Colorado Rockies for Shawn Chacon

§ August 27, 2005 traded Justin Berg to the Chicago Cubs for Matt Lawton

§ November 16, 2005 traded Ben Julianel to the Florida Marlins for Ron Villone

§ December 8, 2005 traded Tony Womack to the Cincinnati Reds for Benjamin Himes and Kevin Howard

§ July 26, 2006 traded Hector Made to the Philadelphia Phillies for Sal Fasano

§ July 30, 2006 traded Matt Smith, C.J. Henry, Jesus Sanchez and Carlos Monasterios to the Philadelphia Phillies for Bobby Abreu

§ July 31, 2006 traded Shawn Chacon to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Craig Wilson

§ November 12, 2006 traded Jaret Wright to the Baltimore Orioles for Chris Britton

§ January 9, 2007 traded Randy Johnson to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Luis Vizcaino, Steven Jackson, Ross Ohlendorf and Alberto Gonzalez

§ July 21, 2007 traded Jeff Kennard to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Jose Molina

§ July 31, 2007 traded Scott Proctor to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Wilson Betemit

§ November 10, 2007 traded Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers for Humberto Sanchez, Anthony Claggett and Kevin Whelan

§ December 4, 2007 traded Tyler Clippard to the Washington Nationals for Jonathan Albaladejo

§ July 26, 2008 traded Jeff Karstens, Daniel McCutchen, Ross Ohlendorf and Jose Tabata to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Damaso Marte and Xavier Nady

§ July 30, 2008 traded Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers for Ivan Rodriguez

§ July 30, 2008 traded LaTroy Hawkins to the Houston Astros for Matt Cusick

§ July 31, 2008 traded Alberto Gonzalez to the Washington Nationals for Jhonny Nunez

§ November 13, 2008 traded Wilson Betemit, Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez to the Chicago White Sox for Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Texeira

§ February 4, 2009 traded Chase Wright to the Milwaukee Brewers for Eric Fryer

§ May 16, 2009 traded Eric Hacker to PIT N for Romulo Sanchez

§ June 30, 2009 traded Casey Erickson and Eric Fryer to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Eric Hinske

§ July 31, 2009 traded Chase Weems to the Cincinnati Reds for Jerry Hairston

§ December 7, 2009 traded Brian Bruney to the Washington Nationals for Jamie Hoffmann

§ December 8, 2009 traded Phil Coke, Austin Jackson and Ian Kennedy to the Detroit Tigers for Curtis Granderson

§ December 22, 2009 traded Melky Cabrera, Mike Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino to the Atlanta Braves for Boone Logan and Javier Vazquez

§ January 26, 2010 traded Mitch Hilligoss to the Texas Rangers for Greg Golson

§ July 30, 2010 traded Zach McAllister to the Cleveland Indians for Austin Kearns

§ July 31, 2010 traded Mark Melancon and Jimmy Paredes to the Houston Astros for Lance Berkman

§ July 31, 2010 traded Matt Cusick and Andrew Shive to the Cleveland Indians for Kerry Wood

§ November 18, 2010 traded Juan Miranda to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Scott Allen

§ March 25, 2011 traded Sergio Mitre to the Milwaukee Brewers for Chris Dickerson

§ January 23, 2012 traded Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi to the Seattle Mariners for Jose Campos and Michael Pineda

§ February 19, 2012 traded A.J. Burnett to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Exicardo Cayones and Diego Moreno

§ April 4, 2012 traded George Kontos to the San Francisco Giants for Chris Stewart

§ July 23, 2012 traded Danny Farquhar and D.J. Mitchell to the Seattle Mariners for Ichiro Suzuki

§ July 31, 2012 traded Chad Qualls to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Casey McGehee

§ March 26, 2013 traded Exicardo Cayones and Kramer Sneed to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Vernon Wells

§ July 26, 2013 traded Corey Black to the Chicago Cubs for Alfonso Soriano

§ July 6, 2014 traded Vidal Nuno to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Brandon McCarthy

§ July 22, 2014 traded Rafael De Paula and Yangervis Solarte to the San Diego Padres for Chase Headley


§ July 31, 2014 traded Kelly Johnson to the Boston Red Sox for Stephen Drew

§ July 31, 2014 traded Peter O’Brien to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Martin Prado

§ December 5, 2014 traded Shane Greene to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Didi Gregorius


§ December 19, 2014 traded Martin Prado and David Phelps to Miami Marlins for Nate Eovaldi, Domingo German and Garrett Jones





2015 Traded incomplete but listed for your reference:

Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan to the Chicago Cubs for Starlin Castro (really on the fence about this one. On paper it could be a win only because of the lack of quality, or close to it, starting second baseman opposed to the lack of #3 starters that can also be relievers, Trade still seems redundant to me though so it could be a loss)

John Ryan Murphy to Minnesota for Aaron Hicks (bench guy for bench guy but Hicks has more upside so push, but possible win)

Jose Pirela to the San Diego Padres for Ronald Herrera (a push at worst, a win at best)

Justin Wilson to Detroit for Luis Cessa and Chad Green (likely a loss)

Yankees Edition:What I Want for Christmas, The Bullpen


To say that the bullpen was decimated by the recent trades done by Brian Cashman would likely be an extreme exaggeration but one must remember, I am a Yankees fan through and through. I am not paid by the Yankees, hell I'm not paid for my writing whatsoever, and this is a fan blog. Not a blog run by an insider or expert. I get emotional, I get worked up and sometimes I react from my heart and not my head. Sue me. I think many will agree though that regardless of their affiliations, jobs or fandom they will agree that the Yankees bullpen took a hit with the losses of Adam Warren and Justin Wilson. Maybe a bullpen arm or two will be under the Yankees tree this holiday season? One can hope so here are a couple suggestions.

First and foremost, and we've already covered this on the blog once so we won't spend too much time here, the Yankees can easily replace Justin Wilson. Antonio Bastardo is a Wilson clone in almost every sense of the word. He's 30-years old and he strikes out a ton of guys, although he does struggle with command from time to time. The redundancy here though is that New York didn't get anything special for Wilson via the trade and they sold it as a money saving, eventually, move. Why would they go out and sign a more expensive arm off the free agent market? They probably wouldn't truth be told but he would make sense for the team regardless.

Another arm I like, and I believe he is a bit underrated, is the right arm of Tommy Hunter. Hunter, for Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles pitcher, has been delegated to the bullpen the last three seasons but made 20 starts as recently as the 2012 season. He didn't pitch great in Chicago, truth be told, but the sample size was small being in just 19 games. Hunter is AL East tested and proven and is a true power arm at just 30-years old. He could handle the 6th or 7th inning for the Yankees with ease and likely step into the rotation for two weeks to a month at a time if an injury were to occur.

I know these weren't the big names you all expected when you decided to give this a read but there just aren't that many game changing relief pitchers on the market right now. The Yankees will have to either fill the needs from within with another revolving door or the team is going to have to be smart about it, they absolutely cannot simply throw money at the issue this time around.

Santa, your move.

Yankees Edition:What I Want for Christmas, The Offense


The starting pitching list is officially in Santa's hands and he's passed it down to his elves and workers but I'm not done. This is the Greedy Pinstripes, not the happy with whatever or the frugal pinstripes. We, the fans, now have the starting pitcher we need on the way but the offense could use another punch in the arm. In my personal opinion relying on Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez to replicate their 2015 seasons would be foolish for New York. The problem is where would they play a new player? It almost has to be the outfield, doesn't it?

The outfield market still looks appealing with a lot of talent out there. One of the more underrated outfield bats out there is still available as well in Justin Upton. Truth be told Upton is probably a better all-around player than Jason Heyward if you leave out the advanced defensive metrics and is not getting nearly the attention he deserves. If the Yankees jump on it now they may be able to show Upton the attention he deserves without having to give up the monetary "attention" that many originally though Upton would command.

Upton is a Top 5 left fielder in all of Major League Baseball, defensive metrics or not, and would be an immediate upgrade over the Top 10 left fielder the Yankees already have in Brett Gardner. Whether the Yankees trade Gardner or shift him (or Upton preferably due to arm strength) to right field and trade Carlos Beltran, that's for Brian Cashman to decide, but Upton makes this offense exponentially better and he's one of the few left on the market that would.

It's unlikely, or nearly impossible, for Upton to join the Yankees this season. I know this. This is also the time to dream and reach for the stars and I am. Upton hitting third in front of Jacoby Ellsbury and Starlin Castro with Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez, Brian McCann, Chase Headley and one of Brett Gardner or Carlos Beltran hitting behind him makes this lineup one of the best in the league.

Make it happen Santa, I mean Cash.

Yankees Edition:What I Want for Christmas, Starting Pitching


It's almost Christmas Day people, get excited. While many are scrambling to get their shopping completed, their presents wrapped and their plans and work week's done I am just over here scouring the free agent market wondering what I would want for Christmas if I were the New York Yankees. The Yankees presumably are interested in many starting pitchers and some have even gone as far to say that the team with six starting pitching options already "needs" another pitcher. Since it's the holiday season and it's time to reach for the stars I'm going for it with this Christmas list I'm sending to Santa this year.

The starting pitching market is absolutely stacked so take your pick. Ian Kennedy, Wei-Yin Chen, Doug Fister, Scott Kazmir, Kenta Maeda was available through the posting system, Henderson Alvarez before the Oakland A's snatched him up, Cliff Lee, Mark Buehrle, Yovani Gallardo, Kyle Kendrick, Mike Minor and a slew of others but one guy is probably better than them all, and younger than most of them too. Mike Leake

Leake is a 28-year old starting pitcher that pitched for the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds last season. He's not the ace the Yankees "need" but he is a durable arm that can give you 200 innings every single season. Leake was traded mid-season 2015 meaning he is not attached to any draft pick compensation making all the more attractive, even more so than Chen who recently announced he wanted $100 million or Gallardo who in my opinion is just average.

Leake  has posted a 3.0, 1.5 and 2.9 WAR in each of his last three seasons respectively and would be an obvious upgrade over Ivan Nova, CC Sabathia or maybe even Michael Pineda who battles with consistency year in and year out. If I'm the Yankees I'm asking for Leake or a Leake clone. Young, durable, a pitcher that allows the team to keep the 20th overall Draft pick and a pitcher that can make the team better.

Santa, make it happen dude.

Yankees Make Three Changes to Spring Training Schedule


Picture courtesy of Yankees.com

The three changes are as follows according to Yankees.com:



The club's March 28 game will now be at 6:35 p.m. ET at George M. Steinbrenner Field against the Tigers, while the Yanks' March 30 contest will be at 1:05 p.m. in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., against the Braves.

The Yankees will have a split squad on March 29, with one group hosting the Pirates and the other traveling to Clearwater to face the Phillies. Both games will be at 1:05 p.m.

How I Woke Up to Elf on a Shelf Today...


This Day in New York Yankees History 12/22: Javier Vazquez... Again


On this day in 2009 the World Series champions acquired Javier Vazquez from the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Melky Cabrera. The last time we saw Vazquez in Yankees pinstripes he was giving up that grand slam to Boston Red Sox Johnny Damon in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS.

Also on this day in 2008 the New York Yankees signed Chien Ming Wang to a one year deal worth $5 million to avoid arbitration. The 28 year old right hander had missed half the season after an injury running the bases in Houston ended his season.

Finally on this day in 1982 Lee Mazzilli was traded for the third time this season as the Yankees trade the first basemen and outfielder to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Tim Burke and three minor league players. Mazzilli was acquired in New York that August for Bucky Dent from the Texas Rangers.