Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Yanks Double Up Angels, 12-6

     On a beautiful night in the Bronx, the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim took the field to battle in game three of the four game series. Amidst trade rumors circulating, and if you ask me, would be the dumbest move the Yanks could make, Nathan Eovaldi(6-2, 4.09 ERA) took the ball for New York. A combination of the second fastest average fastball in baseball behind the Mets Noah Syndergaard at 98.2 mph and an excellent splitter have vaulted Nasty Nate to the top of the rotation. The Angels countered with the struggling right-handed Jared Weaver, who owns a 5+ ERA mostly because he has allowed a team high 14 home runs. Both Eovaldi and Weaver would  serve up the long ball tonight in this back-and-forth contest.
     The Angels made Eovaldi work hard to get out of the first inning. After allowing a one out ground rule double to Kole Calhoun, Mike Trout ripped a single that scored Calhoun and gave the Angels an early 1-0 lead. Eovaldi would get out of that inning but would have to throw 21 pitches to do it. But, the Bombers were quick to respond against the lousy Weaver. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the bottom of the first with a double and tied the game when Brett Gardner followed up with a double of his own, Alex Rodriguez then gave the Yankees the lead when he smoked a single into centerfield that scored Gardner, 2-1 Yankees.
    The Halos would keep the pressure on as they took the lead back in the top of the second. Rafael Ortega started the frame by doubling to left. Then, the former Yankee who is having a hell of a series, Gregorio Petit launched a two run homerun over the fence in left field, 3-2 Angels. Eovaldi was again bitten by the homerun ball in the top of the third when he allowed a solo shot to first baseman Jeffrey Marte, 4-2. New York would get one back in the bottom of the inning when Jacoby Ellsbury hit the 15th homerun off of Jered Weaver this season, an upper deck shot to right that pulled the Yankees to within one.
    The Yanks would come back to tie the game and would do so in rather peculiar fashion. In the bottom of the fourth, after Chris Parmalee is recorded his first hit as a Yankee, Jacoby Ellsbury reached with two outs on a catcher's interference call. Ellsbury has reached base on catcher's interference calls six times this season, three more would be a Major League record. And because the Yankees were able to keep the inning alive due to the error, Brett Gardner lined a single between the third baseman and shortstop that scored Parmalee from second. The Angels would again take the lead in the top of the fifth when Albert Pujols singled in Mike Trout, who had doubled to lead off the frame.
     Nathan Eovaldi's rough night would come to an end when he was lifted in the top of the sixth inning. He did not have command of his stuff tonight and left with a final line of 5.1 innings pitched, allowing five runs on ten hits while striking out four. Nate's early exit opened the door for Anthony Swarzak to make his Yankee debut. And the rookie delivered by getting superstar mike Trout to ground out to end the inning.
     The Yankees would get Eovaldi off the hook for the loss when they tied the game in the bottom of the sixth as Chris Parmalee launched a solo homerun off of Weaver, tying the game at five. Weaver would be lifted from the game when he walked Ellsbury with one out. Jose Alvarez, weavers replacement, would give the lead back to New York as he allowed back to back hits to Brett Gardner and Carlos Beltran, with the latter being a double that scored Ellsbury and put the Pinstripers ahead by one. Alvarez would be lifted for Aaron Bedrosian, who promptly allowed a single to Brian McCann that scored both Gardner and Beltran, making it an 8-5 ballgame. Greg Mahle replaced Bedrosian in the bottom of the seventh and served up another homerun to Parmalee, this a two run shot with Gregorius on base, 10-5. And then, after allowing Gardner to get on base for the fourth time in the game, Mahle gave up his second two run shot of the frame to Carlos Beltran that put New York up 12-5.
     The Angels would add one more in the top of the ninth, leading to a final score of 12-6 New York. Look for the Yankees to lock down the four-game series sweep tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM ET.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6/8


The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are set to face off in the Bronx tonight for the third time in their four game set this week. HOPE Week is in full effect and the Yankees are continuing their attempt and climb back into the race in the AL East Division. Tonight the man donned with the task of getting the Yankees out of this funk is Nathan Eovaldi who has not lost a start in over two months while the Angels counter with a man who has had a problem pitching to the Yankees in the past in Jered Weaver. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees home stand is almost over and so is HOPE Week so if you want to see the team before they head out onto the road again click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog. Also if you want to interact with us or follow along as we live tweet every Yankees game this season you can follow us on Twitter by giving @GreedyStripes a follow or you can find us on Facebook.


Eovaldi vs. Weaver. This should be fun (unless you’re batting inside the stadium tonight). Go Yankees!

Live Game Updates: Angels at Yankees - 6/8

7:23 p.m., Mid 1st: Mike Trout puts the Angels on top early with an RBI single. It's 1-0 Los Angeles with the Yankees coming to bat.

7:32 p.m., End 1st: Yankees strike back in their first plate appearance. Brett Gardner and Alex Rodriguez log a pair of RBI hits and the Yankees have a 2-1 lead after the opening frame.

7:45 p.m., Mid 2nd: Another lead change. Former Yankee Gregorio Petit again burns his former team, crushing a hanging breaking ball to left for a two-run home run. It's 3-2 Angels. 

8:02 p.m., Mid 3rd: Jefry Marte adds to the Angels' lead with a solo shot in the third. It's fair to say Nathan Eovaldi has not had his best stuff tonight.

8:13 p.m., End 3rd: Jacoby Ellsbury pulls the Yankees back to within one with a solo blast of its own. Now to see if Eovaldi can throw a shutdown inning in the fourth.

9:13 p.m., End 4th: That's two RBI tonight for Gardner. He brings home Chris Parmelee with a single to left and we're all tied at four heading into the fifth.

8:46 p.m., Mid 5th: For the second time tonight, the Yankees erase a deficit only to have the Angels re-take the lead in the next inning. This time the culprit is Albert Pujols, who doubles off the left-field wall to give the visitors a 5-4 edge in the fifth.

9:29 p.m., End 6th: Yankees break through big time with a four-spot in the sixth. After Parmelee of all people ties it with a solo shot off Jered Weaver, Carlos Beltran puts the Yanks in the driver's seat with an RBI double and Brian McCann adds on with a two-run single the other way. Looks like the Yankees could be on their way to a third straight win.

9:53 p.m., End 7th: Well, this one's pretty much over. Parmelee and Beltran both connect on two-run shots in the seventh as the Yankees extend their lead to 12-5. 

10:28 p.m., Mid 9th: That's your ballgame. Trout leads off the ninth with a solo shot off Nick Goody, but that's where the Angels' comeback stalls. Final score: Yankees 12, Angels 6.

Riverdogs Press Release: Jeff Hendrix SAL Player of the Week

RiverDogs Center Fielder Hendrix Named SAL Player of the Week
Speedy Outfielder Has Torn Up the Competition after stint on the DL



CHARLESTON, SC – The South Atlantic League has announced that RiverDogs outfielder Jeff Hendrix has been named the SAL Player of the Week for the week of May 30-June 5. The Corvallis, OR native batted .625/.667/.750 in six games over the past week, going 15-for-24 while adding three doubles and five RBIs to garner the league’s weekly accolades.

Hendrix’s huge week at the plate was highlighted by a career 5-for-5 night while driving in three key runs to help the RiverDogs snap out of a four game losing streak in a 7-5 comeback win over Greenville on June 1.

After coming off the disabled list on May 28 after a seven day stint off the active roster, Hendrix has been a different hitter at the plate, going 16-for-27 (.593) to bump his batting average up 65 points to a.272, the highest it’s been since the third day of the season. The 22-year old left handed bat has posted a .370 on-base percentage while slugging .352 on the season with one home run and 16 RBI as the RiverDogs’ main leadoff hitter.

Along with his production at the plate, Hendrix has been phenomenal in center field, appearing in 42 games in the field without committing an error.

The Oregon State product was originally selected by the New York Yankees in the 4th round of the 2015 draft after three years with his hometown Beavers where he garnered Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honors in each of his last two seasons in Corvallis.

Hendrix spent his rookie campaign with Short Season Staten Island where he hit .229/.332/.586 with 14 RBIs in 65 games with the Baby Bombers while ranking fifth in the New York-Penn League in runs scored (42).

It is the first league weekly honors for Hendrix in his career, and the second Player/Pitcher of the Week award issued to a Charleston player this season after LHP Nestor Cortes was named the SAL Pitcher of the Week for the week of May 16-22.

The first-place RiverDogs (32-22) will start a brief three-game road stint against the Rome Braves (22-33) starting on Monday night at 7:05pm, before returning to Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park for a seven-game homestand against the Asheville Tourists and Augusta GreenJackets, the two teams locked in second place, 4.5 games behind first-place Charleston in the Southern Division.

Ticket information for the RiverDogs’ homestand can be secured by contacting the box office at (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or online atwww.riverdogs.com. Those that can’t make it to the park can follow every pitch of the RiverDogs season on WTMA 1250 AM and streaming online at riverdogs.com.

Chance Adams Added to Tampa Yankees FSL All-Star Team

RHP Chance Adams Added to FSL All-Star Team
TAMPA, FL. - The Florida State League announced today that Tampa Yankees RHP Chance Adams has been added to the North Division All-Star Team. The 54th All-Star Game will be played at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers, Saturday, June 18, 2016 at 7:05 p.m.

Tampa Yankees Infielders Miguel Andujar, Jorge Mateo and Outfielder Mark Payton were originally selected to represent the Tampa Yankees for the North Division Team.

RHP Chance Adams has pitched 52.2 innings over 11 starts and has struck out 63 batters. He was selected by the Yankees in the 5th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Dallas Baptist University.

3B Miguel Andujar has a .943 fielding percentage over 43 games. He's hit eight doubles, one triple and nine homeruns with 37 RBI. He was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 7/2/11. Andujar was selected to the 2015 FSL North Division All-Star team and won the home run derby.

SS Jorge Mateo is batting .296 (59-199) with five doubles, eight triples and five homeruns with 32 RBI and 17 stolen bases. He was signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on 8/6/10 and is currently the Yankees No.1 prospect per Baseball America.

OF Mark Payton was batting .309 in 24 games with the T-Yanks before being promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder on 5/18/16. He was selected by the Yankees in the 7th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft.

The Tampa Yankees are the Single-A Advanced affiliate of the New York Yankees. For more information on the Tampa Yankees visit www.tybaseball.com or call (813) 673-3055. For more information regarding the 2015 Florida State League All-Star Game please visitwww.fslbaseball.com.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6/8


The New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim face off tonight in the third of a big four game set this week at the Bronx with yet another good pitching matchup. The Yankees fans wait every fifth day to see tonight’s starter take the mound and tonight the wait is over as New York sends Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to face off with the Angels ace Jered Weaver. I see a lot of broken bats, a lot of frustration and a lot of strikeouts tonight between those two.

Eovaldi did see a five-start winning streak snapped in his last start against the Baltimore Orioles but the Yankees stud right-handed still has an eight-start unbeaten streak to protect tonight in the Bronx. In his last start Eovaldi allowed five runs to score in 5.1 innings of work but was fortunate enough to take a no-decision and not a loss.

Weaver heads into his start tonight fresh off a start against the Pittsburgh Pirates in his last start where he only allowed two runs in six innings of work. In the start Weaver gave up six hits and allowed just one walk to qualify for his sixth quality start of the season. Weaver has not had great success against the Yankees though posting a 5.83 ERA in 15 career starts against them.


The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. One more game after tonight’s contest between these two clubs and Mike Trout can take his big bat and stingy glove elsewhere to torment another team. Thank goodness. Let’s get out of here with another big win. Go Yankees!

Is Mark Teixiera Being Selfish?

So Mark Teixiera is going to do everything he can to avoid surgery on his knee. It would actually be a debridement procedure to remove damaged cartilage, the same procedure he had done to his other knee after the 2007 season.

You might be thinking "Mark should have the surgery, as he played in 157 games the following season and was awesome", however I would like to point out that Tex was just 27 years old then, and certainly not the same player then as he is now.

At first I was upset about this news, as it initially came off as selfish. My thought being that the only reason he's opting not to have the procedure is to improve his numbers for his impending free agency. After all, if you were a MLB General Manager, would you be rushing to sign a 37 year old that would not only be coming off of major knee surgery, but who also just had the worst offensive season of his career?

However, after taking a moment to think about it, Mark is not somebody that I believe would knowingly hurt the Yankees. I have not read one bad word about Teixeira, as he seems to be well respected and liked among everybody in the organization. Honestly, seeing him go will be a little sad, as I have a lot of good memories... on and off the field... of the guy.

Regardless of those memories, though, I'd like to see the Yankees move on from veterans such as Tex, Carlos Beltran, Alex Rodriguez, etc. Things have to evolve, and they can't when roster space, along with a truckload of money, is tied up like that. The Yankees have to see what their options are for the future. For example, can Rob Refsnyder handle first base regularly? Or can they at least give Ref more MLB at bats and see if he fits in anywhere on the team in the future?

Perhaps re-signing Teixeira for next season, in order to ease Greg Bird back into action, would be an okay scenario. I'm sure Greg could learn a thing or two from Mark about playing defense at first base. But things have to change... that's for sure.

Hypothetical Look at the 25 Man Roster After an July Fire Sale


Let’s say the New York Yankees continue to lose more than they win. Let’s say that for the first time since 1989 when the Yankees sent Rickey Henderson to the Oakland Athletics that New York would be sellers at the trading deadline. Let’s say Hal Steinbrenner and Brian Cashman finally commit to a full blown rebuild and get real with the fans on their expectations for not only the rest of the 2016 season but the 2017 season as well. Let’s say that the Yankees get real and have a fire sale, what would the roster look like when they got done?

This is all hypothetical obviously as I don’t expect most of these players to be traded, if any at all, but let’s have some fun with it. Let’s assume that Brett Gardner, Carlos Beltran, Michael Pineda, Nathan Eovaldi, Aroldis Chapman, Ivan Nova and Andrew Miller are all traded away this summer. What would the Yankees have left to build around not only this season but next season as well?

You have to think the outfield would be some combination of Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury and top outfield prospect Aaron Judge with a Ben Gamel or equivalent (Jake Cave with the new found 40 man roster spot?) on the bench barring a return of an outfielder in any trade this summer.

The infield would stay the same for the most part with Robert Refsnyder taking a lot of reps at first base with Starlin Castro, Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley filling out the rest. If the Yankees could move Headley I think that they would but I can’t see a team that desperate for third base help that they would come to the Yankees before going elsewhere. Headley is still useful defensively but that back and bat just seem shot to me, I could be wrong. Ronald Torreyes would stay on the bench along with Austin Romine and Chris Parmelee while Brian McCann stays behind the dish. Trading McCann may be beneficial in the short term but you want a veteran presence who knows how to handle a staff catching during a rebuild or not.

Speaking of the pitching I can see the Yankees bringing James Kaprielian up to get his feet wet assuming he’s healthy and back from elbow inflammation. If not you would have to think trading that cast of characters above would net at least a starting pitcher or two that is MLB ready to plug in behind Masahiro Tanaka and Luis Severino. Unfortunately on the starters side the Yankees are still severely lacking in quality depth which may lead to Chad Green and Luis Cessa getting starts until Domingo Acevedo and others are ready.

In the bullpen, a bullpen that would be absolutely gutted by the way, you would have to think that Johnny Barbato comes back up to pitch some middle relief as well as Jacob Lindgren if he can ever get healthy again. The bullpen I don’t worry as much about though as the Yankees have this crazy tendency to produce solid bullpen arms year in and year on a consistent basis. Add to the fact that New York won’t have anything to play for and you have a wide open shot for any and all arms to prove themselves in the next coming years.

So there you have it. Out with the old and in with the new, and a lot of new it would be. This was nearly impossible to do accurately because no one knows what Cashman could bring back in any of these presumed trades but you would have to think the questions in depth at the starting pitching and first base positions would be solved with these trades. You would also have to think the Yankees would bring back a catcher in the deal as well to serve as insurance just in case Austin Romine or Gary Sanchez’s injuries are worse than we were led to believe. It would be a scary transition for many Yankees fans, especially myself, to see a fire sale but it would make the 2018 and 2019 Yankees so much more entertaining to watch. I’m torn whether to bite the bullet or not because I tend to hang onto hope for too long but I’m almost there this season.


Weekly Check In: Aaron Judge


Aaron Judge is beginning to worry the masses as we slowly enter June baseball in 2016. Judge was slow to master Triple-A pitching in 2015 and it has been much of the same in 2016. Judge came out of the gates on fire this season and a slight mechanical adjustment was to thank for it but since then Judge is back to hitting in the low .200’s with power but far too many strikeouts. The breaking stuff still fools Judge and the low and away stuff still tempts the Judge more than it should.


Frankly I am not personally worried, and I do understand that people have to write about it to get clicks and views, about Judge. We’ve seen many struggle at Triple-A and the minor leagues in general only to dominate MLB pitching. See Robinson Cano. When he struggles in the Bronx, that’s when I’ll worry. 

YearAgeLevGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
201624AAA5423824501272831961.235.303.390.692

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/8: Mickey Mantle Day & the 2015 MLB Draft


On this day in 2015 the New York Yankees and the rest of MLB took par in the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft. The Yankees had a pair of first round picks and took James Kaprielian, a RHP, and Kyle Holder, a shortstop.

Also on this day in 1969 the Yankees held Mickey Mantle Day at Yankee Stadium and retired the #7 uniform number in front of a crowd of 60,096. This would mark the first sellout for the Yankees at Yankee Stadium since the 1964 World Series. Mantle also received a plaque for Monument Park that Joe DiMaggio hung in center field right before Mantle reciprocates the gesture to the Yankee Clipper.


On this day in 1939 the New York Yankees really earned the Bronx Bomber nickname as they set a franchise record for home runs in a single game with eight against the Athletics. The mark the Yankees set will not be tied for 68 years as the Yankees beat the A's 22-3 on this day.


On this day in 1934 the Reds become the first team to travel in an airplane when the Cincinnati General Manager Larry MacPhail flew 19 of his players to Chicago to play the Chicago Cubs. In 1946 the New York Yankees will become the first team to fly on a regular basis using the "Yankee Mainliner" for team travel.


On this day in 1927 the New York Yankees Tony Lazzeri becomes the first Bronx Bomber to hit three home runs in one game. The last home run came in the ninth inning and tied what was a five run deficit for the Yankees at the hands of the White Sox. The Yankees would beat Chicago 12-11 in 11 innings.