Friday, April 7, 2017

Bullpen Blows Ballgame In Baltimore, Yanks Fall 6-5

Tonight, the New York Yankees were in Camden Yards to face off against the division rival Baltimore Orioles in a three-game weekend set. Luis Severino took the mound for the Yankees tonight and pitched pretty well,but was really let down by the first poor bullpen outting of the season. Ubaldo Jiminez got the start for Baltimore and was hit hard early and often, leading to an early departure from the game. But, his offense rallied late and slugged their way to a come-from-behind win.

Jiminez struggled right out of the gate; throwing 30 pitches in the first inning as he gave up the early lead. Gardner led off the game with a single, advancing to second on a stolen base. After Gary Sanchez walked, Greg Bird went down on strikes as the first out of the inning. Since he didn't get a chance to celebrate the 44th anniversary of the designated hitter yesterday, DH Matt Holliday celebrated today with a line drive opposite field single that plated Gardner and gave the Yankees a one run lead.

But the O's were quick to respond as they went on to tie the game in the bottom of the first. Seth Smith started off the frame with a line-drive double to right field, scoring when the next batter Adam Jones squibbed a single just inside the first base bag. Like Jiminez, Severino also needed a lot of pitches(24) to get through the first.

 After both starters cruised through an easy second inning, the Yankees used the long ball to re-take the lead in the top of the third.  Brett Gardner started the rally with another single, advancing to second on a fielders choice by Gary Sanchez. After Gardner stole another base (third), Matt Holiday rocked a split finger fastball into the left field seat to put the Yankees up 3-1.

After being on the ropes all game long, Jiminez was finally knocked out of the game in the top of the fifth inning. Once again, Brett Gardner got to the righty; this time for a one out double, his third hit of the night. The next batter Gary Sanchez unloaded on a Jiminez fastball to the tune of a 400+ft homerun to left, extending the Yanks lead to four. Manager Buck Showalter popped right out of the dug out and pulled Jiminez for right-handed reliever Oliver Drake. Jiminez departed with a final line of 4.1 innings pitched, allowing five runs on seven hits while walking one and striking out five.

Severino cruised through innings two, three and four but was touched up in the bottom of the fifth. Jonathan Schoop started the fifth with a single, advancing to second on a rare Severino two out walk of Adam Jones. Manny Machado proceeded to drive in both runners by blasting a Severino fastball over the left-centerfield wall, pulling the O's back to within one at 5-4. Severino would get Chris Davis to ground out, but because of his high pitch count, was pulled to begin the sixth. The young rghty left the game with a final line of five innings pitched, allowing four runs on six hits with just the one free pass and six punchouts.

The Yankees bullpen finally allowed their first run of the season, which was all the more disappointing because it was at the expense of the lead. Tyler Clippard started the seventh by giving up a ground ball to Schoop that was errantly thrown by Headley to first, allowing Schoop to reach second base. After a JJ Hardy bunt advanced Schoop to third, Seth Smith hit his first Orioles homerun over the wall in right to put his guys up 6-5. After the Headley error, it looked like the air was taken right out of the Yankees dugout and were overmatched the rest of the ballgame.

Let's hope the offense keeps it rolling and the bullpen can put this one behind them as they take the field tomorrow at 4:05 PM for game two.














Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 4/7


Yankees family it is game time between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. Tonight marks the first time that these two teams match up in this very young season and the first of many head-to-head matchups between these two American League East rivals. The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound looking to start his season off better than he did last season while the Baltimore Orioles will counter with Ubaldo Jimenez. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV while the contest can also be heard on the radio with WFAN.


Follow along with us on Twitter by giving @GreedyStripes a follow. Go Yankees!

I’m Hungry: New Stadium Food at Yankee Stadium


So we covered some stadium food around the league already this winter including the tamale dog that the Texas Rangers organization will be rolling out this season but we have yet to touch on the new dishes that you can enjoy this season at Yankee Stadium. We right that wrong today as we take a look at the new stadium food that you can enjoy all year long in the Bronx. Take a look.

Yankee Stadium is bringing in Mighty Quinn’s BBQ, Bareburger and Lobel’s to go along with their six new social gatherings that were renovated into the stadium this winter. Those menus can be found online but they are pretty well known in the area so I doubt you will need to. You know what these big “star” vendors bring to the table each and every day, literally.


New York also has the Yankee Dinger which is basically a grilled slider topped with shaved white onions, pickles, American cheese and yellow mustard on a steamed potato bun as well as their classic French Dip sandwich which consists of shaved prime rib, caramelized onions and melted Swiss cheese on a Semolina roll dipped in French onion soup. I just gained three pounds just thinking about that sandwich. If you’re looking for gluten free options you can find those at Melissa’ Farmers Market but my personal preference would be Chinese bao which is filled with pork belly, prime rib or buffalo cauliflower which can be found on the Toyota Terrace. I have a weakness for pork belly.

It’s hard to turn down The Mutz though which is a concession sandwich shop whose specialty sandwich consists of stuffed chunks of mozzarella tossed with mixed vegetables. Because vegetables are good for you and all.


So much good food and so much to see inside Yankee Stadium this season… where to begin? 

First It’s His Hair, Now It’s His Number?


Come on people… it’s time to get a grip here. Here’s a quick hit and a bit of a rant because the talk regarding Clint Frazier, one of the Yankees top prospects in their farm system, has been borderline ridiculous. First it was his hair, which I believe was within the Yankees team policy although I am not 100% sure because this wasn’t as big of an issue to me as it was to others apparently, and now it is supposedly because of the fact that he asked to wear the legendary Mickey Mantle’s #7 jersey? Come on now people… if you’re going to just flat out make stuff up because your journalist and writing skills are that bad and you need something to write about at least make it conceivable and believable… please? And thank you.

Now before everyone starts jumping down my throat let me start by saying that I am not talking about WFAN’s Suzyn Waldman. Waldman is not a journalist, she is the Yankees radio broadcaster, and she simply reiterated what he had heard supposedly. Now either she completely made this up and I am totally off base his by sticking up for her or she really heard it from a poor old soul that already had his article typed up and was waiting for her to go on with Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts before he hit submit on his dashboard. Either way it’s sad and it’s the entire reason I got into this whole blogging and news reporting thing, to be different. To go against the grain. I would ask for the #7 jersey because that’s just how I am but Frazier didn’t.

Why would he? Was he somehow unaware that the number was retired? Unlikely. Some may not know that the Yankees retired #8 jersey twice and they may not know who it belongs to but even the most casual of baseball fans knows who Mickey freaking Mantle is. Come on now. You guys are better than that and the season has started so you should have plenty of recycled crap to talk about that will garner you more views than you deserve so how about you just stick to that and leave Frazier alone for once.


Thanks. Rant over. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 4/7


Ladies and gentleman welcome to the weekend and welcome to Baltimore as the New York Yankees begin a three-game weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles tonight inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards. The Yankees stumbled a bit out of the gate against the Tampa Bay Rays losing two-of-three to their division rival but with an off day yesterday and three potential big guns in their starting rotation going this weekend for the Bronx Bombers it could be time to turn it around for New York. It is always fun when these two teams get together, especially when the Yankees win because Buck Showalter’s blood pressure visibly goes up which is always great, and this weekend should be no exception. Now about those pitching matchups…




The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound looking to improve on a disaster of a season as a starter in 2016. Severino posted an 0-8 record with an 8.50 ERA in 11 starts last season although he did find himself and his secondary pitches in the bullpen which should help his confidence entering this season for New York.


The Orioles will send Ubaldo Jimenez to oppose Severino on the mound tonight in Baltimore as he also makes his first start of the young season. Ubaldo was pushed back by manager Buck Showalter because the Orioles manager believed the lefty matched up better with the Yankees than the Orioles first opponent of the season in the Toronto Blue Jays.




The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV and can also be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN. For the first time this season, because I’m a slacker and I’ve been busy as hell, Go Yankees!!!! 

How Early is Too Early to Discuss Locking Up Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez?


You know not too long ago the New York Yankees just flat out refused to negotiate with a player that was currently under contract. That probably came back to bite them in the butt more than once because it meant there would be no extensions happening whether they were deserved or not. The team finally broke this unwritten rule with Brett Gardner a couple seasons ago which means, in theory, they will do it again for others which begs the question…. When will the New York Yankees look to extend Greg Bird and Gary Sanchez and how early is too early to even be having this discussion?

Many teams take these chances on locking up their young players early and like anything else sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. The Cleveland Indians just did it with Jose Ramirez, the St. Louis Cardinals did it with Stephen Piscotty, the Texas Rangers did it with Rougned Odor, the Pittsburgh Pirates try to do it with every player they bring up including Starlin Marte and the Tampa Bay Rays made this mainstream by doing it with young players like Evan Longoria. The Yankees have yet to really jump on that bandwagon but they have two prime candidates finally that will make the team at least consider it in Gary Sanchez and Greg Bird.

Sanchez used up his rookie season in 2016 while Bird enters his second season with the club after missing the 2016 season with a shoulder injury. Neither have really done much to warrant being locked up on a long term deal, especially for a team like the New York Yankees who have a literal ton of money coming off their books after this season. The Yankees can afford to take their time for at least the 2017 season if not the 2018 season with these two before making a decision on buying out their arbitration years and a few years of free agency if possible. Now for a player like Didi Gregorius on the other hand, a young player who is set to reach free agency after the 2019 season, has done enough for this discussion to be had within the Yankees front office.

So for now the Yankees need to wait before locking up Sanchez and Bird. If anything the team needs to keep the fact that the luxury tax is calculated by the average annual value of the contract and extending them now would be significant in terms of the team getting under that threshold or not. The argument against Didi getting extended could be made for that reason as well as the team would need to spend every day of a single season under the cap, the 2018 season seems to be the target year, to reset the tax penalties. The Yankees could always extend Didi and maybe even Sanchez and Bird during the 2019 season after they sign Manny Machado and Bryce Harper while bringing home yet another World Series Championship.


Hey, a man can dream can’t he?

Derek Jeter the Potential Owner!


Major League Baseball, are you ready for the return (potentially) of the great Derek Jeter to the game? No the Yankees shortstop is not returning to the field as a player but the future Hall of Fame player is trying to get back into the game in another way, as an owner. The Miami Marlins are reportedly up for bid and Derek and his wife Hannah are one of three potential bidders for the franchise.

Jeter, who is represented by Gregory Fleming in the potential transaction, is joined by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and a group of businessmen from Goldman Sachs as potential buyers for the franchise.

Jeffrey Loria bought the team back in 2002 for a whopping $158 million and the potential price tag for Mr. Jeter or Mr. Bush could go anywhere from an estimated $800,000 to $1.6 billion. Loria is putting the team up for sale after reports came out that stated he may be nominated by President Trump to become ambassador for the United States to France.


You know what I am going to say to the potential return of Derek Jeter to the sport and game we all love. Yes please. I’m rooting for you Jeter! Good luck. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 4/7: Forbes Rates the Yankees

On this day in 2010 Forbes estimated the value of the New York Yankees to be worth approximately $1.6 billion, nearly twice as much as any other Major League franchise. The Yankees were reigning World Series champions and recently moved into a new ballpark and were using a new found $441 million in revenue after adjustments were made for its payment to baseball's revenue sharing program and the costs of financing Yankee Stadium III.

Also in case you were wondering the Tampa Bay Devil Rays retired former Yankee and Red Sox Wade Boggs #12 uniform number on this day in 2000. Boggs got his 3,000th hit in Tampa Bay and hit the first home run in the franchise's history.