On a wet afternoon in the Bronx, the Yankees lost their second straight game to the rival Red Sox in game two of the three-game set. C. C. Sabathia(5-6, 3.77 ERA) got the ball for New York, pitching amidst rumors that teams were inquiring about acquiring the big lefty via trade before the July 31st deadline. Getting recalled from Triple-A pawtucket, Eduardo Rodriguez got the call for the Sox and pitched phenomenally well this afternoon as he shut the door on any Yankee hopes of evening the series at one.
Although it took Sabathia 22 pitches to get through the first two frames, trouble came in the third inning as the Red Sox took the first lead of the game. Rookie Bryce Brentz led off the frame by reaching base on a throwing error by shortstop Gregorius. Mookie Betts hit a single to center and Dustin Pedroia walked for the second time, loading the bases with one out. Xander Bogarts then hit a sharp ground ball to short that was fielded by Gregorius who flipped it to Castro for one and on to Teixeira for an apparent inning ending double play. But the Bogarts call of "out" at first was overturned after a 59 second replay and the Brentz run that scored from third counted, 1-0 Boston.
Brett Gardner got that run back in the bottom of the frame for Sabathia and the Yanks when the 2015 All-Star smacked a Rodriguez fastball into the right-centerfield seats for his sixth longball of the year, tying the game at one.
Thirty pitches, two infield singles and a ground ball with eyes that led to the Red Sox retaking the lead in the top of the fourth. With one out, Bradley Jr. reached on an infield single to Gregorius and Brentz followed with a two out infield single to Headley. Sandy Leon then drove in the second Red Sox run of a game with a 96 hopper through the 5.5 hole that scored Bradley Jr. and gave the Red Sox a 2-1 lead.
More soft contact and Yankee errors led to Boston widening their lead and knocking C.C. out of the ballgame. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Aaron Hill led off the sixth with back-to-back soft singles, with the letter an infield single that resulted in a throwing error by third-baseman Chase Headley that advanced Bradley Jr. to third and Hill to second base. For the second straight game, a Yankee starter served up a homer to a Red Sox nine-hole hitting Red Sox backstop. Today's blast was the hardest hit ball off of C.C. all afternoon, a Sandy Leon three-run shot that extended the Sox lead to 5-1. Sabathia was pulled after he allowed a single to Mookie Betts, departing with a final line of 5.1 innings pitched, allowing five runs(four earned) on nine hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
In the eighth, Chase Headley hit his eighth homer of the season , a solo shot that made it a 5-2 game. Although Headley's shot pulled the Yankees back to within striking distance, his valiant attempts went for not as the Yankees were unable to put any more runs on the board, resulting in a final score of 5-2.
The third and final game of the series can be seen on ESPN tomorrow night, with first pit scheduled for 8:05 PM ET.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
What the World Was Like the Last Time the Yankees Finished with a Losing Record
The New York Yankees have not had a losing season since the 1992 Yankees that put up a 76-86 record. All signs point to the possibility of 2016 being a losing season, especially if the team decided to sell at this year’s August 1st trading deadline, so I thought for no other reason than it would be fun to look back at what the world was like back in 1992.
Back in 1992 George Steinbrenner was the owner of the
Yankees (yet suspended from day-to-day operations), Buck Showalter was the
manager and Don Mattingly was the star player and the captain. Michael Kay was
in his first year on the radio beside John Sterling and Gene “Stick” Michael
was the team’s General Manager.
A gallon of gas cost $1.5 while a pound of bacon was just
$1.92. A new car would set you back $16,950 and a new house would cost you just
$122,500.00 based on your average salary of $30,030.00 annually.
The civil war in Somalia was in full effect and the United
States were acting as humanitarians.
Ross Perot ran as an independent against Bill Clinton and
incumbent President George Bush subsequently dividing the Republican Party and
handing the election to Clinton.
John Gotti, mafia boss, sentenced to life in prison for
murder and racketeering.
The first McDonalds in China opened in Beijing.
Microsoft released Windows 3.1 and Microsoft Works while
AT&T released a video telephone for the low, low price of $1,499. Nicotine
patches were developed and introduced while the space shuttle Endeavour made a
successful maiden voyage.
Much more went on during the year 1992 but I mainly hit the
high points to give you an idea of what was going on during that eventful year
that last saw the Yankees with a losing season. Maybe we won’t have to write
about this for another 14-15 years.
Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox 7/16
We’re back in the Bronx and back inside Yankee Stadium for the second of a three-game weekend set between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. After facing a tough knuckle ball pitcher in Steven Wright last night and with a tough lefty looming in the distance tomorrow in David Price this may be as close to a must-win for the Yankees as possible. No pressure as the Yankees send CC Sabathia to the mound this afternoon looking for that victory while the Red Sox counter with Eduardo Rodriguez. The game will be played at 4:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, Fox Sports One and MLB TV.
Tomorrow night’s game is in primetime on ESPN so be sure to
check that our either in person or from your living room as Masahiro Tanaka
squares off with David Price in the Bronx. If you choose to see this stellar
pitching matchup live click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to
secure your seats now without paying those annoying shipping costs and bulky
fees. What you see is what you pay with our friends Ticket Monster which is
much like our friends over at BreakingT who brought us all the Jacoby Ellsbury
milk carton shirt we currently have for sale under the TGP T-Shirts section of
the blog. Be sure to check out both sections and support the blog.
Follow along during this game and every game this season
either on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes or by “liking” us on Facebook. We
are on a mission to put the social back into social media and we love
interacting with you so check us out. Also check out CC and company because
this game is just about ready to kick off. Go Yankees, smack those Red Sox.
Boycott the Yankees: Why the Business Side of the Yankees Needs to Pay Attention
Boycott the Yankees. This is a movement that many of us have wanted to do or want to do and many of us may or may not have even realized it yet. I interact with so many people on a day-to-day basis either on Twitter, Facebook, face-to-face, email, comments on the blog and other forms of social media and I know the Yankees fan as a whole is frustrated. Many of us want to do something whether we say we do out loud or not and many of us just simply don’t know where to start. I include myself in this equation because I have been very vocal about “hitting the Yankees in the wallet” and doing something about this current regime of Hal Steinbrenner, Randy Levine and Brian Cashman (among others obviously) but saying it is one thing, doing it is another. That’s where Mike DeLucia comes in, the author of the book Boycott the Yankees, comes in. To organize all our thoughts and begin a movement to take our team and our stadium back.
If you’re still on the fence about the movement then here is
an example of what we, as fans, are talking about. Earlier in the week we
learned the real reason behind the decisiveness whether to sell, buy or stay
still at this year’s trading deadline. It’s not because the upper management
and front office believes the team can compete or can’t compete, no, they are
more worried about the business side of it. Now sure baseball is a business
first and foremost but to some that’s all it is, a business. To most of us and
to the ones that matter, you know the ones pouring our money into the business,
it’s much, much more than that. It’s a passion.
According to this same ESPN report, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, Brian Cashman wants to sell off assets and jump start
the rebuilding process while others (*cough* Hal Steinbrenner and Randy Levine
*cough*) do not. Those “others” don’t want to trade because it would make the
team better they just want to continue to milk the fans for profits and money.
Simple as that. Fans won’t come to see this team nearly as often (and
attendance is once again way down in 2016) if some of Carlos Beltran, CC
Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Pineda, Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett
Gardner, Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Aroldis Chapman, Ivan Nova, Mark
Teixeira and others aren’t there. That’s why the team isn’t sure about selling
or not, not because they think this team can win.
Money should not dictate playing time on this roster and
money should not dictate the decisions that are made concerning the roster
personnel either to a certain extent. This team has made money hand-over-first
for far too long and they made that money at the expense of the fans and at the
expense of what truly matters, winning. This team is going nowhere this year nor
is it likely going anywhere next year when their aging players are one year
older either so do the smart thing, and the business thing, and think about the
long term. Sell now, don’t hold onto something for too long and then get stuck
with it like you always do.
Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox 7/16
The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are back at it again this afternoon in the Bronx with the second in a three-game weekend set between the two AL East rivals. In the second matchup the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound hoping for a return to his early season form while the Red Sox will counter with Eduardo Rodriguez. Rivalry renewed ladies and gentleman!
Sabathia’s last three starts left something to be desired
for both the big lefty and the Yankees but overall CC had been one of the
Yankees best starters in the first half. CC will look to improve on his
mediocre career record against the Boston Red Sox this afternoon though after
posting just a 12-12 record with a 4.47 ERA in 32 career starts.
Rodriguez will be called up from Triple-A before tonight’s
contest to be inserted back into the rotation for the second half. The
left-hander has done well against the Yankees in four career starts posting a
3-1 record with a 2.22 ERA which may explain some of the thought process behind
calling him up now rather than later.
The game will be played at 4:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium
and can be seen on the YES Network, Fox Sports One and MLB TV. The Yankees
second half schedule as we touched on yesterday is brutal and it’s only going
to get worse after Boston leaves town tomorrow night. The good news for New
York is that many of these games are on the road and/or on the east coast but
the bad news is this team, at least on paper, could be gearing up for an
absolutely rough month of July. Stay tuned to see if what this team looks like
on paper matches what they actually look like on the field. Regardless I’m
still rooting for my boys in pinstripes like I always do. Go Yankees.
Yankees Trade Partners: The Cleveland Indians
The duo of Randy Levine and Hal Steinbrenner may not want to be sellers at this year’s August 1st trading deadline but I like to consider myself a realistic fan (emphasis on the word fan and not words such as insider, expert or journalist) so I am already preparing for at least a few trades to be made this summer. Looking around the Yankees have a lot of talent they can trade and looking even deeper there are a lot of teams that could benefit from one or multiple players currently employed by the pinstripes including the team the Yankees just beat up on before the All-Star break, the Cleveland Indians.
Two of the names thrown around most often in Yankees-related
trade rumors are Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman and some of the major
players said to be interested in their services include the Chicago Cubs, the
Washington Nationals, the Texas Rangers, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San
Francisco Giants but one team I consider to be a sleeper for one or both of
them is the Cleveland Indians. Buster Olney reiterated these same sentiments in
a recent tweet which I used as inspiration for this post.
The Indians are in first place and running away with the
division but their closer Cody Allen is one of only a few bright spots in that
Cleveland bullpen. The Cleveland bullpen does not miss bats and seemingly make
every game interesting, that would certainly change with either Chapman, Miller
or both in their bullpen. The best part about it, at least for the Yankees
anyway, is that Cleveland has the young talent and MLB ready talent to not only
pull off a trade for one or the other but could probably put together a deal to
acquire both if so motivated.
Before the 2016 season began the Indians farm system was
ranked 6th overall by Minor League Ball, 16th by Baseball
America and 15th by Baseball Prospectus. That is after you consider
the promotions of Francisco Lindor and others to the show which means there is
still top talent there and the team is young enough on the field in their core
where they could be willing and able to trade some of their top talent now to
fill in the gaps. Who would that include? Your guess is as good as mine but it’s
worth keeping a keen eye on as we inch closer to the trading deadline at the
end of this month.
Weekly Prospects Check In: Domingo Acevedo
Domingo Acevedo, the huge right-handed pitcher down in the Yankees system that throws 103 MPH and draws comparisons to Dellin Betances in his early 20’s. This kid has all the makings of being something special and unlike another talented Yankees prospect this kid is being moved up through the system with aggression. It seems like the Yankees finally realized they needed to build their own team from within and it seems, as an outsider anyway, that Acevedo is seemingly the future of that mindset alongside others.
So here are Mr. Acevedo’s stats for the week:
This Day in New York Yankees History 7/16: Exit Sandman
Also on this day in 2010 the Yankees and their fans honored the late Bob Sheppard in the Yankees first home game since his passing. The players wore patches on their left sleeve of their uniforms to pay tribute and no public address announcements were made in the empty Yankees booth.
Also on this day in 2006 Mariano Rivera notched his 400th career save becoming only the fourth major league pitcher to reach the milestone. The Yankees would beat the Chicago White Sox 6-4.
Finally the Yankees made a couple of not so notable trade acquisitions on this day in 2003 when they acquired Armando Benitez from the New York Mets and in 2005 when they acquired 39 year old left hander Al Leiter from the Florida Marlins. Benitez was quickly shipped to Seattle in less than a week and Leiter immediately held the Boston Red Sox to just one run and three hits in his first start in pinstripes.
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