Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 5/24


The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are set to face off for the first time in a big three game set between the two clubs. You want to know the best part about the whole ordeal and this series? The Yankees miss David Price entirely as long as the probable pitchers do not change, that alone is a win for New York. Who will be making the start tonight for Toronto though will be a tough knuckleball pitcher in RA Dickey while the Yankees send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to oppose him. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

To see any of these games live this week head on over and click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog. That link will redirect you to our friends over at Ticket Monster who offer the same Yankees Tickets those “premium” box holders have for a fraction of the price. A fraction of the price that does not include any fees or shipping costs! Also be sure to head on over to Twitter to give us a follow and follow along during each and every game this season. Our Twitter handle is @GreedyStripes. Hope to see you there.


Nathan Eovaldi is ready to continue “eovolving” so I’m going to get off here and go watch. Go Yankees!

Jose Bautista Gets Knocked Out… Again


Because why not, right? I mean I know I showed this once on the blog already and I am on the borderline of being childish and petty… but okay. Rougned Odors knocks Jose Bautista the hell out… again! Hopefully the Yankees do this to RA Dickey tonight. Enjoy this one last time.

To be honest I just didn't have anything to put here so I figured let's run with it. :) 

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings


The New York Yankees week did not start off the way anyone would have liked. After two straight losses in the desert to the Arizona Diamondbacks the Yankees turned it on winning the finale of the series and all four in Oakland to close out the week on a five-game winning streak. Was it enough to be this week’s biggest rise and just how much will the Yankees improve in this week’s rankings after the dominance against the Athletics? Keep reading.

I won’t keep you waiting long the New York Yankees finished the week at the #21 position which is one spot higher than they were this time last week. Good job Yankees family! The rest of the American League East remained competitive this week as well with the Baltimore Orioles finishing with the #4 position while the Boston Red Sox were in the #3 position when the week came to a close. The Tampa Bay Rays currently occupy third place in the AL East Division and occupy the #19 position in these rankings while the Toronto Blue Jays finished the week ranked #17 overall by the USA Today.

The biggest rise of the week, or the team that basically did the best and moved up the most to simplify the term, went to the San Francisco Giants who rose three spots from the #12 position to the #9 position. Meanwhile the biggest fall of the week unfortunately went to the Los Angeles Dodgers who fell five spots from the #9 position all the way down to the #14 position. The top five teams in the league according to the rankings are the Chicago Cubs, the Washington Nationals, the Boston Red Sox, the Baltimore Orioles and the Seattle Mariners. The bottom five teams no one wants to be unfortunately are the #26 Oakland Athletics, the #27 Milwaukee Brewers, the #28 Cincinnati Reds, the #29 Atlanta Braves and you guessed it, the #30 Minnesota Twins.


We’re basically a week away from June baseball. Things are heating up around the league and every game is beginning to mean more and more to these clubs listed here today. The Wild Card chases should go down to the wire again this season and the August 1st trade deadline should be fun. I can’t wait and if you can’t either then stay tuned to these rankings and posts here on the blog each and every week. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 5/24


The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays has become quite the little rivalry over the past two or three seasons with the Blue Jays rise to the top of the American League East but things are a little different this time around. Toronto is struggling, which granted so is New York for the most part, and these two teams face off head-to-head tonight occupying the bottom two spots in the American League East division. It’s not too early nor is it too late to make a run but one has to start distancing themselves from the other for this to happen and that can happen tonight. In the pitching matchup the Yankees will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to face off with the Blue Jays starter RA Dickey.

Eovaldi has been getting better and better while getting stronger and stronger with each start this season much like he finished the 2015 campaign. In his last start Eovaldi was the stopper ending the Yankees two-game losing streak with six innings of one-run ball in Arizona against the Diamondbacks as the right-hander picked up his third consecutive win.

Dickey was not sharp in his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays and will look to continue with his string of mediocrity tonight in the Bronx. In that start Dickey allowed five runs, four of them earned, on eight hits including three home runs in a 6-3 loss to Tampa. Dickey is prone to the home run ball and he’s facing the Bronx Bombers tonight, sounds like a good recipe for a Yankees win.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside of Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. The Yankees have a plan and they need to stick to it tonight. Timely hitting, get an early lead, get into the bullpen and shut it down. With the off day yesterday all arms should be on deck for tonight’s matchup and oh, did I mention Alex Rodriguez comes back tonight? No I didn’t but now I did. Enter A Rod! Go Yankees!!


Yankees Statistical Leaders Through 43 Games


Offense


Games Played:
Carlos Beltran - 43


At Bats:
Starlin Castro - 163


Runs Scored:
Brett Gardner - 23


Hits:
Starlin Castro - 45


Doubles:
Carlos Beltran - 12



Home Runs:
Carlos Beltran - 9



RBI:
Carlos Beltran - 27
 



AVG:

Qualifying: Starlin Castro - .276
Non Qualifying: Robert Refsnyder .333






Pitching


GS:
Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka - 9 each


AP:
Dellin Betances - 21



Wins:
Nathan Eovaldi - 4



Losses:
Luis Severino - 6



ERA:

Bullpen: Andrew Miller - 0.96

Rotation: Masahiro Tanaka - 3.24



K's:

Rotation: Michael Pineda - 56

Bullpen: Dellin Betances - 40

Weekly Check In: Nick Swisher


The Nick Swisher train has come and gone Yankees fans and we are left with the former shell of a player from 2009 that many of us only heard about from others. Now we’re seeing it after a red hot start and a shot in the arm after signing a minor league deal here with the organization. Now we’re seeing the Swisher that can barely lug around due to his knees to play first base let alone the outfield and now we’re seeing the Swisher that has no lift in his swing. We’re seeing the .220 hitter that Cleveland dumped and Atlanta released.

We’ve seen the best of Nick Swisher. In a pinch maybe he gets a second wind if he gets called up and has a two or three week run like he did to begin the Triple-A season but I’m not counting on it. I’m truly disappointed. I was one of the biggest fans rooting on Swisher while many told me he was done and I refused to believe it. If you look at his stats lately… I believe it.

It’s still early and I’m loyal and optimistic to a fault….. so prove me wrong. Go on a tear and get that call up.

Year Age Lg G PA R H 2B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2016 35 AAA 30 125 8 30 4 4 13 0 4 30 .252 .272 .387 .659

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/24: Bernie Williams Day 2015


On this day in 2015 the New York Yankees honored former center fielder Bernie Williams with Bernie Williams Day at Yankee Stadium.


Also on this day in 1986 a drunk Billy Martin was fired as the co-host on Saturday Night Live after slurring his lines during a skit. The former Yankee manager sets fire to his dressing room at the end of show, the season finale for SNL.


Also on this day in 1956 Mickey Mantle went off at the plate going 505 with an intentional walk in an 11-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Mantle would hit a home run and four singles in the game to go with his walk.


Finally on this day in 1936 the Yankees Tony Lazzeri becomes the first player in major league history to hit two grand slams in the same game when the Yankees beat up on the A's 25-2. The future Hall of Famer also established a new American League record in the game with 11 RBI's.