Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers 8/1


The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers are ready to kick off the month of August the only way these two teams know how, by playing baseball. Tonight the Bronx will play host to the Yankees and their starter CC Sabathia as well as the Detroit Tigers and their starter Anibal Sanchez. This should be a fun one to watch so let’s get to it. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast.

Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes a follow and enjoy the game. Go Yankees!





Meet a Prospect Special Edition: Jaime Garcia


Over the weekend and before the July 31st trading deadline the New York Yankees went a long way into solidifying their starting rotation for the second half push and the postseason by acquiring left-handed starter Jaime Garcia from the Minnesota Twins. With a veteran lefty with postseason experience now on the roster, thus giving the Yankees options with the recently demoted Caleb Smith and pitchers like Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery who may face inning workload concerns, now may be the best time to get to know Garcia, so let’s do it. This is Meet a Prospect: The Jaime Garcia Special Edition.

Jaime Omar Garcia was born on July 8, 1986 in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico as the second of three children to a father of the same name, Jaime Garcia Sr. Garcia was raised between the border of Reynosa, Mexico and McCallen, Texas and attended Sharyland High School in Mission, Texas where the lefty caught the attention of the Baltimore Orioles who drafted him in the 30th round of the 2004 MLB First Year Players Draft. The Orioles chose not to sign Garcia back in 2004 which left Garcia available to be drafted again in 2005. This time the St. Louis Cardinals came calling in the 22nd round of the 2005 Draft thanks to scout Joe Almaraz. Almaraz was a scout with the Orioles in 2004 and a scout that wanted to sign Garcia before the team opted not to due to a poorly translated test. Almaraz moved on to the Cardinals organization in 2005 and he finally got his man.

Garcia toiled around in the Cardinals minor league system before getting the call up on July 11, 2008 where he made his MLB debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Garcia pitched two innings of relief giving up just one hit, walking one and striking out two. That was the best moment Garcia would have in 2008 though as the left-hander underwent Tommy John surgery after the 2008 season. Garcia missed most of the 2009 season after the surgery before coming back in the minor leagues in mid-September of 2009.

Garcia was deemed healthy for the 2010 season and made the team as the Cardinals fifth starter out of spring training camp. Garcia made the most of the opportunity pitching his way to third in the NL Rookie of the Year Voting after posting a 13-8 record with an ERA of 2.70 in his first full season with St. Louis. Garcia continued to anchor the Cardinals starting rotation all the way to the World Series when the Cardinals and the Texas Rangers faced off head-to-head in 2011. Garcia started Game 2 of that World Series becoming only the second ever Mexican-born pitcher to start a World Series game and the first since Fernando Valenzuela did so back in 1981. The Cardinals ended up beating the Rangers in seven games to claim the franchise’s 11th World Series title overall and Garcia’s first as a professional baseball player.

Garcia rode that high of winning a World Series into the 2012 season but after just 20 starts the left-hander was shut down due to shoulder discomfort. Without Garcia the Cardinals still reached the NLCS losing to the eventual World Series Champions in the San Francisco Giants. Garcia returned for the 2013 season but after posting a 5-2 record and a 3.58 ERA the lefty underwent shoulder surgery that once again ended his season on May 17. Garcia worked his way back with hopes of pitching again in 2014 but before he could make it back to the Major Leagues he developed shoulder bursitis which kept him on the shelf until May 18, 2014. Garcia pitched for the Cardinals until July 5 of that season before needing another left-shoulder surgery to correct his thoracic outlet syndrome. For the second consecutive season Garcia was limited to under 10 starts for St. Louis.

Garcia, the ever-resilient one, returned to the mound in May of 2015 for the Cardinals but by July was back on the disabled list again, this time for a groin injury that he sustained while running the bases against the Miami Marlins. Garcia returned just in time to throw a combined no-hitter on July 23 while on a rehab assignment with the Peoria Chiefs before also allowing Ichiro’s 4,191st professional hit tying him with Ty Cobb. Garcia pitched well down the stretch though pitching nine quality starts in his last 10 starts and proving his health which allowed the Cardinals to exercise his team option for the 2016 season worth $11.5 million.

Garcia pitched his seventh and final season with the Cardinals in 2016 before the Atlanta Braves acquired him in a trade with the Cardinals for Chris Ellis, John Gant and Luke Dykstra. Garcia made 18 starts for the Braves posting a 4-7 record and a 4.30 ERA in 113 innings before the Braves traded the lefty to the Minnesota Twins along with Anthony Recker for prospect Huascar Ynoa. Garcia made one whole start for the Twins giving up three runs in 6.2 innings pitched against the Oakland Athletics before once again being shipped out in a trade, this time to the New York Yankees along with cash considerations for prospects Zack Littell and Dietrich Enns. Minnesota will be paying all of Garcia’s $12 million salary for the remainder of the 2017 season aside from a pro-rated league minimum that the Yankees are on the hook for. Garcia will be a free agent at season’s end.

Garcia is here to not only fill innings for the Yankees but to take some pressure and innings off the young arms of Jordan Montgomery and Luis Severino. Garcia was a relatively minor acquisition in terms of prospects and the deal not only got the Yankees a proven and postseason tested arm but it also cleared a 40 man roster spot for the club. Welcome to the club Jaime and more importantly, welcome to the family!


Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers 8/1


Good afternoon Yankees family and welcome to August baseball as the New York Yankees remain home to play host to the Detroit Tigers in the second of their three-game set this week in the Bronx. In the middle game of the series the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound while the Tigers will counter with Anibal Sanchez. Fun, fun, fun. Let’s get to it.




Sabathia was not effective in his last start against the Tampa Bay Rays although the Yankees were able to pull out a win regardless. In the start Sabathia lasted just 4.1 innings allowing four earned runs which is not exactly what you want. Sabathia did notch his 2,800th career strikeout in the start though if you’re looking for a silver lining.




Sanchez was in the midst of a Cinderella type season in 2017 before the last 15.1 innings pitched came up from behind and slapped him in the face. During that span Sanchez has allowed 12 runs on 24 hits covering three starts including his last start against the Kansas City Royals who collected nine hits off the right-hander in just 3.2 innings pitched.




The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along with the game in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast featuring Mr. and Ms. Baseball, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Enjoy the game and as always, go Yankees!!!


There's No Doubt About This Trade

The majority of Yankees fans and members of the media like the trade for Sonny Gray for the Yankees. That's not to say they don't like the deal for Oakland, but who cares about them? Am I right? You're here for the New York freakin' Yankees.


As I was saying, most people not only like that Gray is a Yankee, but they like the way he became a Yankee. If you've been locked in a cellar for the past 20 hours, let me catch you up to speed...

The Yankees and Athletics agreed to a trade yesterday that sent Sonny Gray to New York, while sending prospects Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler, and James Kaprielian to Oakland.

First thing's first, acquiring Sonny Gray is a good thing for the Yankees. Since his MLB debut in 2013 (he's still just 27 years old, by the way), Sonny has started 112 games, putting up an ERA of 3.42 and WHIP of 1.200. He's averaged just under three walks every nine innings, while striking out a little under eight batters per nine. By the way, those numbers include his injury riddled 2016, in which he had career worsts in all four of those statistics.

That injury history refers to Sonny going on the disabled list last May due to a strained right trapezius muscle, and then again in August due to a strained right forearm. Sadly that wasn't it as Gray missed all of April this season due to a strained right shoulder (he was not put on the disabled list, but instead assigned to the minors for rehabilitation).

So acquiring Gray does not come without some risk, especially since all of those injuries involve his throwing arm. Thankfully, he's proven that as long as he's healthy he's a starter that you can run out there every five days and feel good about your chances of winning. Which is something this year's team needs in order to win the American League East, and do a little more damage in the postseason.

Another good thing is that Sonny is just an arbitration eligible player, and will not be a free agent until after the 2019 season. Fangraphs values Gray at $17.7 million so far this season, but he will make just $3.575 million. That's a gigantic return on investment. And while Sonny will surely get a raise next year, it will go a long way into the team finally reaching it's goal of getting under the Luxury Tax threshold.

There's no doubt that it's a good to great thing bringing Mr. Gray on board. However, when valuing his acquisition, you must also look at what it cost to get him.

"This total could hurt."

I touched on this Friday, where I pointed out that the outfield for the future is set, and then some. Clint Frazier and Aaron Judge have the corner spots locked down for at least another five years. Center field is a bit of a question, but not in a bad way. I'd like to see Brian Cashman find a way to move him, but Jacoby Ellsbury can play CF, and is signed through 2020. Brett Gardner's contract runs through next season. And Aaron Hicks, who is not too far from returning from the disabled list, won't be a free agent until after the 2019 season. And that doesn't include the fact that I really want the Yankees to sign Bryce Harper when he becomes a free agent after next season (unfortunately, Bryce hasn't played CF since 2015, but we'll figure that out once he's signed).

Oh, and the Yankees still have Estevan Florial, who is probably two or three years away from being MLB-ready. Not to mention Billy McKinney, who has been hitting really well since getting promoted to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

So the losses of Mateo and Fowler should not lead to any trouble at all.

Now for the starting rotation of the future, which has at least one question, making the loss of possible future starter James Kaprielian hurt a bit.

Gray won't be a free agent until after the 2019 season, while Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery won't be a free agent until after the 2022 season. After that the team may have Masahiro Tanaka through 2020 if he doesn't opt out of his contract after the season (I could see the Yanks re-signing him even if he does opt out). That leaves one more spot for 2018, which could be filled by CC Sabathia (he's been mentioned as a candidate for a one year deal for 2018). If not CC, then there's Chance Adams, who's been killing it at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Or even Domingo Acevedo, who was a beast for Trenton, and will join Scranton/Wilkes-Barre here soon. Then there's Justus Sheffield, who is not far from the Majors as he's spent all of 2017 at AA Trenton. A little further down the line is highly regarded pitching prospect Albert Abreu. That's still a ton of depth.

So the Yankees improved their chances of winning this year, helped solidify the rotation for the next two years, still have a great shot at getting under the Luxury Tax threshold next season, and are left with a number of options to fill their roster from within for years to come.

Yes, losing any good prospect hurts, especially when it's three at once. I wasn't sold on Mateo continuing to dominate, but I liked the guy and thought he could be an option for the team in a few years. Even though he's constantly hurt, Kaprielian still has a high ceiling, so he could hurt us as early as next season. And then there's Fowler, who despite having suffered a serious knee injury leading to surgery, could be a solid piece for the Oakland A's next year and beyond. So I don't want you to think I'm disregarding those three... not at all.

But when you look at the whole of the deal, there's no doubt in my mind that the Yankees did the right thing here. So while you're entitled to your opinions...

Winning On A Sonny Day...

Credit:  Kathy Willens-AP
Yankees 7, Tigers 3...

Despite a few unintentional plunkings, the Yankees emerged victorious over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.  A critical error by Ian Kinsler of the Tigers opened the door for runs in the fourth inning, and Aaron Judge later added to his collection of home runs.  

Let's start first with Luis Severino.  He didn't have his best stuff but he battled.  That's the sign of a very good pitcher.  Sevy threw nearly 30 pitches in the first inning which showed that he probably would not have length in the game.  After striking out the first two Tigers batters in the first inning, the Tigers loaded the bases when Justin Upton singled, Miguel Cabrera walked, and Nicholas Castanellos singled.  Fortunately, Sevy got out of the inning when Victor Martinez struck out swinging at a pitch below the strike zone.  

Credit:  Kathy Willens-AP
Detroit's Mikie Mahtook suffered his first hit by pitch leading off the second inning.  Sevy's pitch got away from him and hit Mahtook between the numbers.  Sevy retired the next three batters to get out of the inning.

The Tigers scored first in the top of the 4th inning.  Mikie Mahtook singled to left with two outs, and advanced to second when Clint Frazier overran the ball for an error.  James McCann doubled to right (just beyond a diving Aaron Judge), scoring Mahtook for the early 1-0 lead.  The Yankees came right back in the bottom of the inning.  After Aaron Judge walked, Gary Sanchez hit a grounder to second baseman Ian Kinsler which he mishandled.  Both runners were safe at first and second.  Matt Holliday walked to load the bases for Chase Headley.  Headley took advantage of the situation with a double to the right center wall, splitting the outfielders.  Both Judge and Sanchez scored, while Holliday moved to third.  Todd Frazier followed with a single to right, scoring Holliday and Headley.  The Yankees had taken a 4-1 lead that would not be relinquished.  

The Yankees added a run in the fifth inning when Aaron Judge muscled his 34th home run into the left center stands.  

Luis Severino did not return for the 6th inning and was replaced by Tommy Kahnle.  Sevy had thrown 116 pitches by the time he struck out Victor Martinez in the top of the 5th.  But by completing at least 5 innings, Sevy (8-4) would be the eventual winner.  His final line:  5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 SO. It was his second shortest start of the year.  Kahnle didn't fare so well but he did limit the damage.  The top of the 6th started with a high fastball that curved inside, striking the side of Mikie Mahtook's batting helmet.  It was a very scary moment but Mahtook jumped up quickly and visibly voiced his displeasure.  I was very glad to see that Mahtook was not hurt on the play.  James McCann followed Mahtook and hit an infield grounder to third for a hit.  Mahtook moved to second.  Kahnle was able to retire the next two batters, but then Jim Adduci singled to left to score Mahtook.  5-2, Yankees.

In the bottom of the 7th, Tigers starter Michael Fulmer hit Jacoby Ellsbury in the butt leading off the 7th inning.  "It stinks for Ells," Manager Joe Girardi said after the game, "It stinks for everyone involved. But I kind of expected it to come."  Ellsbury shook it off and promptly stole second.  Clint Frazier tripled to left to score Ellsbury.  

Credit:  Charles Wenzelberg-New York Post
Following a walk to Aaron Judge, Fulmer was pulled in favor of Alex Wilson.  Wilson allowed a sacrifice fly to Gary Sanchez as the Yankees increased their lead to 7-2 before striking out the next two batters to get out of the inning.

Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder made it a little too interesting in the top of the 9th inning.  Holder had entered the game to start the 8th, allowing only a meaningless single while striking out two of the four batters he faced.  The 9th didn't go quite so well.  After striking out Justin Upton to start the inning, both Miguel Cabrera and Nicholas Castanellos singled.  Holder hit Victor Martinez with a pitch to load the bases.  End of game for Holder; enter Aroldis Chapman.  Mikie Mahtook hit into a force out at second to erase Martinez, but Cabrera scored.  7-3, Yankees.  Chapman then struck out James McCann with runners at the corners to end the game, picking up his 13th save.  A little too much drama at the end, but the end result worked.  The Yankees win!

Credit:  Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
The Yankees (57-47) maintained their half game lead over the Boston Red Sox in the AL East with the win.  The Red Sox easily defeated the Yankees' next opponent, the Cleveland Indians, 6-2.  The Tampa Bay Rays were pummeled by the Houston Astros, 14-7, to fall 4 1/2 games off the pace.  The Baltimore Orioles won their third game in a row and sit 6 1/2 games back.  

Chase Headley is hot.  He was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI's and a run scored.  He is batting .383 since the All-Star break (23-for-60). Matt Holliday is not.  He was 0-for-3, with three strikeouts although he did score a run when he walked in the 4th inning.

Deadline Day Recap...

Sonny Skies in the Bronx!  There will be no Gray Matter left hanging in the Bay as the Yankees finally consummated the long awaited deal to bring Sonny Gray to New York.  GM Brian Cashman was successful in retaining top OF prospect Estevan Florial but it cost 2B/SS/CF Jorge Mateo, OF Dustin Fowler, and RHP James Kaprielian.  Fowler is out for the season due to the horrific knee injury suffered in Chicago when he made his MLB debut for the Yanks, and Kaprielian is recovering from Tommy John surgery.  I hate to see all three go but at the end of the day, the Yankees are better today than they were yesterday with a young, controllable starter that will be in Pinstripes beyond this year.  


All things considered, not losing Florial in the trade has to be a win even if it cost the team Fowler and Kaprielian in addition to Mateo.  The stars seem to be aligning for the potential future free agent signings of OF Bryce Harper and/or 3B Manny Machado.  No word yet when Gray will make his Yankees debut, but his turn in the rotation had originally been scheduled for last Sunday and then pushed to Monday (which was obviously postponed due to the trade) so he's ready.  Based on Manager Joe Girardi's words, it sounds as though we'll see both Gray and Garcia when the team travels to Cleveland later this week.  

The Yankees also picked up $1.5 million international bonus slot money in the A's deal.  

The Yankees have a mission to rebuild the Baltimore Orioles' pitching staff.  After sending pitchers Richard Bleier and Matt Wotherspoon to the O's earlier this year, the Yankees sent RHP Yefry Ramirez to the O's for international bonus pool money prior to the Sonny Gray acquisition.  

The day's action opened three spots on the 40-man roster (those held by Jorge Mateo, Dustin Fowler and Yefry Ramirez).  One will be taken by Sonny Gray, while another will go to Jaime Garcia.  

A very productive day for GM Brian Cashman... 

Odds & Ends...

A couple of quick notes about new Yankees lefty Jaime Garcia.  I thought Garcia was in Oakland, CA with the Minnesota Twins when it was announced that he had been traded to the Yankees.  He was actually home in Atlanta packing his bags when news of the trade was officially announced after catching a red-eye flight on Saturday night. Twins manager Paul Molitor had a great line about Garcia, "Unless we bring him back, he'll go down as one of the few undefeated pitchers in Twins history".  Garcia, with the Twins for only 6 days, won his only start on Friday night.  It is amazing to think that the Minnesota Twins are paying the freight on Garcia's salary, with the Yankees only responsible for the prorated share of the league minimum.  Hal Steinbrenner must have been giddy about dollar savings on the deal.

RHP Jonathan Holder has been recalled from Triple A prior to Monday's game to fill the spot vacated by RHP Luis Cessa when he was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this weekend. Holder and 1B Garrett Cooper were both optioned to SWB after the game, presumably to make room for Sonny Gray and Jaime Garcia.  Garcia is scheduled to join the Yankees today.

I am anxious to see what numbers Gray and Garcia will wear.  Both pitchers have worn #54 and we know that one is already taken.  Garcia wore #24 for 6 days in Minnesota, but that one's already spoken for too.  

Have a great Tuesday!  New faces all around...David Robertson is already an old-timer once again.  Let's Go Yankees!

Who Should Pass Through Waivers, Who Would Be Claimed & Who Isn’t Worth the Trouble?


So now you know how the August waiver trade system works but do you know who the Yankees could conceivably trade, move through waivers and who the team needs to just keep safe at home? Just in case you don’t I have compiled a hypothetical list from the Yankees current 25-man roster breaking down who could and should be passed through waivers with the hopes and possibilities of trading them, who would  likely be claimed if placed on waivers and who isn’t even worth the paperwork to put on waivers for various reasons. Emphasis on the word hypothetical, people.

Can and likely will pass through waivers:

Matt Holliday
Chase Headley
Jacoby Ellsbury
CC Sabathia
Masahiro Tanaka
Jaime Garcia
Starlin Castro (on disabled list but I included him anyway even though he isn’t active)
Todd Frazier
Aroldis Chapman
Adam Warren
David Robertson
Ronald Torreyes
Austin Romine / Kyle Higashioka
Chasen Shreve
Garrett Cooper


Likely to be claimed if placed on waivers:

Didi Gregorius
Jordan Montgomery
Brett Gardner
Dellin Betances
Tommy Kahnle
Chad Green
Tyler Wade


Don’t waste your time placing them on waivers:

Gary Sanchez
Aaron Judge
Luis Severino
Clint Frazier


Remember that teams pass players through waivers all throughout the month whether they have any intention of moving them or not. It’s more of a procedural thing than anything else. Also keep in mind that just because a team claims a player on waivers, and you won’t always hear about it either, it doesn’t mean they have any interest in acquiring them or that they will acquire them. The Red Sox will claim players to keep them away the Yankees. The Yankees will claim players to keep them from the Astros. So on and so forth. It’s just the way this whole month goes. It gets really complicated and really watered down with the news in my opinion but deals do get done during this month. You will just have to stay tuned to see if any get done this month for the New York Yankees.


Prepare the Cashman! Thoughts, comments and opinions below in the comments section. Thanks!

So it Seems Trading Just Got a Whole Lot More Complicated


So the July 31st trading deadline has come and gone and so it seems that trading just got a whole lot more complicated here in Major League Baseball. For those who don’t know or don’t fully understand the waiver-wire trade deadline that happens from August 1 – August 31 I will try and give you the Readers Digest version of things. Here is the explanation according to Wikipedia:

“Any player under contract may be placed on waivers ("waived") at any time. After MLB's August 1 at 4 pm trade deadline and through to the end of the season, a team must place a player on waivers if that player is to be traded.

If a player is waived, any team may claim him. If more than one team claims the player from waivers, the team with the weakest record in the player's league gets preference. If no team in the player's league claims him, the claiming team with the weakest record in the other league gets preference. In the first month of the season, preference is determined using the previous year's standings.
If a team claims a player off waivers and has a viable claim as described above, his current team (the "waiving team") may choose one of the following options:

·         arrange a trade with the claiming team for that player within two business days of the claim; or
·         rescind the request and keep the player on its major league roster, effectively canceling the waiver; or
·         do nothing and allow the claiming team to assume the player's existing contract, pay the waiving team a waiver fee, and place the player on its active major league roster.

If a player is claimed and the waiving team exercises its rescission option, the waiving team may not use the option again for that player in that season—a subsequent waiver would be irrevocable with a claiming team getting the player essentially for nothing. If no team claims a player off waivers after three business days, the player has cleared waivers and may be assigned to a minor league team, traded (to any team), or released outright.

The waiver "wire" is a secret within the personnel of the Major League Baseball clubs; no official announcement of a waiver is made until a transaction actually occurs, although information sometimes leaks out. Players are often waived during the post-July "waiver-required" trading period for teams to gauge trade interest in a particular player. Usually, when the player is claimed, the waiving team will rescind the waiver to avoid losing the player unless a trade can be worked out with the claiming team.

The National League (NL) was the first of the two major leagues to adopt the trade deadline rule in 1917. Originally it was enforced after June 15, but was later changed as the result of a new collective bargaining agreement. For many years, players could not be traded from one league to another without being waived by all of the teams in the trading team's league. Then an inter-league trading period was established, centered on the winter baseball meetings in December. Later, there were two "inter-league" trading periods each year, one from after the World Series until mid-December and the second from a week before spring training began until March 15. So intent were leagues on keeping their stars from being moved from one league to the other, that then–National League President Warren Giles threatened to keep NL clubs from trading major stars to the American League after the deal that sent Frank Robinson from Cincinnati to Baltimore.”

Confused yet? Basically all that is saying is that if a team wants to trade a player to any team of their choosing they have to first pass them through waivers. If the player passes through waivers he can be traded to all 29 other MLB teams. If he is claimed on waivers he can be pulled back once and then put back on waivers, although the second time around the player who was placed on waivers cannot be pulled back and will have to be traded. The first time around teams will claim any and all players if they feel like they can help or if they feel like they can block another team from getting them. It’s a cat and mouse game and honestly not much tends to go on here. There have been a few notable August trades though and we will cover those throughout the course of the month I’m sure.


So now you’re all caught up. Have a great Tuesday everyone! Especially you my Kari Ann. You have the very best Tuesday. I love you. HEY YOU!

This Day in New York Yankees History 8/1: Trade Deadline Special 2016



Last year the July 31st trade deadline moved to August 1st because July 31st fell on a Sunday. Weird, I know. Carry on.

It is no secret that over the years it has come across, maybe just to New York fans, that Bud Selig did not like the Yankees. It seems like every major change to Major League Baseball, international signing caps, draft caps, the luxury tax, etc., has been specifically aimed at the Yankees in an effort to keep the team down. This was no different on this day in 2002 when George Steinbrenner called out MLB on a fishy kind of one sided trade that helped out the rival Boston Red Sox. It all started when the MLB owned Montreal Expos traded away Cliff Floyd (.275 with 21 home runs and 61 RBI) to the Red Sox for two minor league pitchers from Korea Seung Song and Sun-Woo Kim. Obviously everyone involved denied the allegations but at least Selig didn't exactly nix the deal for "baseball reasons."


Also on this day in 1975 the Yankees hired Billy Martin to be their manager for the first of five times. Martin replaced Bill Virdon after he never won a game at Yankee Stadium since New York was playing their home games at Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was being renovated.



Finally on this day in 1941 the Yankees held Ladies Night at Yankee Stadium and were entertained by a Lefty Gomez shutout. This shutout makes today's list because Gomez set a new major league record with 11 walks in the Yankees 9-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. Gomez improved his record to 10-3 and the Yankees won the game.