Saturday, May 19, 2018

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Kansas City Royals 5/19



And just like that we have Saturday night baseball here inside Kauffman Stadium between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals. In the second game of this three-game weekend set the Yankees will send their ace Luis Severino to the mound to square off with the ace for the Royals in Danny Duffy. The game will be played at 7:15 pm ET inside Kauffman Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with the legendary duo of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Twitter, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season long. Enjoy the game, first place is ours, and go Yankees!!

False Start by the Pinstripers…

Photo Credit: TNS (John Sleezer)
Yanks fall to Royals…

My fear after nearly a week of no Yankees baseball is that they’d go ‘thud’ against one of the worst teams in the American League. Sadly, my fear became reality when the Yankees lost Friday night against the lowly Kansas City Royals, 5-2. It was a close game but, at least for me, it never felt like the Yankees were in it.  For Royals manager Ned Yost, it was his 1,100th career managerial victory.

Photo Credit: TNS (John Sleezer)
It’s been a tough week for the Yankees. They played their way to a 3-3 tie with the Washington Nationals through 5 1/2 innings on Tuesday, only to have the game suspended for rain. The rain wiped out the resumption of the suspended game and the regularly scheduled one the next day, leaving the Yankees to spend the night at Washington Dulles International Airport due to the unavailability of hotel accommodations.  They had an off day on Thursday but it didn’t help. There were no extra base hits to be found in Yankee bats last night. Eight singles equated to two runs and a loss. The legendary Jake Junis (who?) gets the win, and CC Sabathia gets saddled with his first loss of the young season.

When an uncharacteristic error was made by Gleyber Torres in the first inning which allowed the Royals to pick up the game’s first run, it felt like it was not going to be the Yankees’ night.  

Photo Credit: TNS (John Sleezer)
I guess if there was any solace about the loss, the Boston Red Sox lost too. Boston fell 7-4 to Alex Cobb and the Baltimore Orioles so the Red Sox and Yankees remain tied atop of the AL East standings. The Red Sox have two more wins than the Yankees (30 to 28), but the Yankees have the slight advantage in winning percentage (.683 to .667) thanks to two fewer losses (13 to 15). It would have been nice for the Yankees to have won to create a game advantage but today is a new day. On paper, Luis Severino (6-1, 2.14 ERA) versus Danny Duffy (1-5, 6.51 ERA) looks like a mismatch. Of course, those tend to be the ones we struggle with the most.

The Didi Gregorius for MVP talk has subsided with his 1-for-45 slide. Hopefully, he’ll rediscover his stroke while the team is in Kansas City. April’s Player of the Month has been MIA in May.

Photo Credit: New York Daily News (Howard Simmons)
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player on the DL incur so many consecutive injuries while out as Jacoby DL’s-bury. The latest ailment for Ellsbury seems to be a back injury. I’ve forgotten the original reason he was placed on the DL or the variety of injuries that have subsequently sidelined him. Maybe I am just looking forward to the day the Steinbrenner family says enough is enough and they pull the trigger to cut bait despite the cost. The guy is nearly untradeable (IDK, is that a word or was it just made up for Ellsbury?). At this point, even if the Yankees back up a Brink’s truck to haul oodles of cash to another team to take the disabled veteran, there would be no takers. The true travesty would be for Ellsbury to actually get healthy and take a 25-man roster spot from a more deserving player. I am ready for Ellsbury’s post-Yankees career.

Speaking of the DL, a good Yankees center fielder is lost until August. Top prospect Estevan Florial (technically, Gleyber Torres is the top prospect but since he’s in the Major Leagues to stay and will soon lose prospect status, Florial is the top prospect by default) will be out for a few months after it was determined that he’ll need surgery on his hamate bone (right hand, unlike the illustration below).  



Hopefully all goes well with Florial’s surgery and recovery and this is not a roadblock or delay for his eventual arrival in the Bronx within the next few years.

Another injured player made a triumphant return yesterday. Greg Bird, on rehab assignment with Double-A Trenton, homered off Bowie Baysox reliever Reid Love in the eighth inning of a 2-0 Thunder win. There’s no doubt Bird will soon be back with the big league club and he’ll be a welcome addition. With no offense to Tyler Austin or Neil Walker, I can’t wait to see Bird manning first base for the Bombers once again.  

Photo Credit: New York Post (Corey Sipkin)
Billy McKinney also had two hits for the Thunder as he works his way back too, but the roster crunch will send him to Scranton, PA when he is ready.

Given how long it has been since Dellin Betances last pitched, you just know that he is going to implode the next time out. Betances last threw an inning of relief in the 6-2 win over the Oakland A’s on May 13th. I always cringe whenever there are extended delays between appearances for Betances. 

In a non-baseball related topic, here is a shameless plug for a new TV series that will air on FX Network this fall, Mayans MC.


Mayans MC stars J.D. Pardo, Emilio Rivera and Edward James Olmos. The show was created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James, and is set in the post-Jax Teller Sons of Anarchy universe. The story focuses on the struggles of Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (Pardo), a prospect in the Mayan MC Santo Padre charter on the California/Mexico border.  According to the official storyline, EZ is the gift son of a proud Latino family, who American dream was snuffed out by cartel violence. Now, his need for vengeance drives him toward a life he never intended and can never escape. Rivera reprises his SOA role as Marcus Alvarez, the President of the Mayans MC Oakland charter and the MC’s National President. Olmos plays EZ’s father, Felipe Reyes.  Michael Irby is featured as Obispo “Bishop” Losa, President of the Santo Padre charter. I’ve been tracking this show for several years now and it is exciting that it will finally be part of the Fall TV lineup.  

Hopefully today brings the more resilient Yankees team we are familiar with as they’ve shaken off the rust from the long delay between games. The Yankees have proven they can beat the best teams in the American League. Now, they just need to prove they can beat the worst ones.  


Go Yankees!

Quick Hit: Mark Teixeira Pulls Punches on Robinson Cano



Mark Teixeira spoke to Michael Kay this week and did an interview on the Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York and, of course, the conversation about Robinson Cano and his failed steroid test came up. In year’s past you would expect Mark to say all the right things, be supportive of a former teammate, etc. but that was definitely not the case this time around. Teixeira threw verbal blows at Cano during the interview and even went as far as to say that he was “not surprised” by the suspension handed down this week by Major League Baseball. Wow. You’re on the Mark, Teixeira.

Teixeira was quoted as saying the following in the interview:

“Robbie Cano’s assistant was on the list for Biogenesis. Of course, he had his assistant buy stuff for him. Alex Rodriguez got popped by Biogenesis and Melky (Cabrera) got popped. They’re his best friends. When someone gets lumped into that group, it’s because there’s evidence, there’s a paper trail, there’s a smoke trail.”

Wow. Shots fired. Teixeira was teammates with all three men when the team won their World Series Championship in 2009 and Teixeira specifically manned the right side of the infield with Cano for almost half a decade.

Teixeira continued:

“I don’t really want to go too much further, but I think a lot of people are kind of saying the same thing.”

There’s more to this story, but Teixeira is sticking to the players code. Kudos to him for that, but here’s to hoping he goes all Jose Canseco on us soon and writes a book or something. Have a great day, Mark.


Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Kansas City Royals 5/19



Good morning everyone and welcome to the official beginning of the weekend. No work for many today whatsoever, but the boys in their road gray uniforms will be back at it again with the second of a three-game weekend set with the Royals. In tonight’s battle of the aces the New York Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound to face off with a potential trade candidate for the Bombers in July, Kansas City’s left-handed starter Danny Duffy. Let’s get to it here in Kansas City.

Severino has not been beaten in six straight starts and will look to make it seven tonight in Kansas City. In his last start the Yankees right-hander allowed just one run on five hits in six innings of work in a victory. Since April 16, Severino is 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA covering six starts while holding opponent’s batting average to just .171.


Duffy on the other hand was not so sharp in his last start against the Cleveland Indians where he allowed nine runs on eight hits in just 3.1 innings pitched. The Royals lost 11-2 in the contest with Duffy taking the loss.

The game will be played at 7:15 pm ET inside Kauffman Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with the legendary duo of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Enjoy the game, watch Duffy audition for a rescue ticket out of Kauffman Stadium, and go Yankees!!

Hello… Mike Francesa Joins Twitter



Who needs a Yankees game today or a Royal Wedding when Mike Francesa of WFAN has joined Twitter and promised to use it this weekend? Nothing. Exactly.

Mike Francesa’s Twitter account is LIVE. Follow him @MikeFrancesa (how in the world was that tag not taken already?). This is surprising given the fact that Mike had often talked down about the possibility of joining Twitter with the rest of the world, but apparently a change of heart has been made. Or WFAN is making him, which wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

Mike told us he didn’t plan on responding to tweets that were sent his way though, which could be a good or a bad thing for him. Saying this out loud opens yourself up to flame wars, but at the same time it opens yourself up to criticism if you ever do respond. Whatever. I’m still going to have fun with it.

Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes. We may not talk like a moron and have zero baseball knowledge and credibility but at least we’ll answer you. Whether you’re a starting pitchah or not.

You can also follow the most amazing, beautiful and special woman in the world on Twitter as well, my Kari Ann. I loves you my baby girl and I hope you have the very best day.

This Day in New York Yankees History 5/19: Orioles and Yankees Brawl over Crack Jack’s?


On this day in 2004 the Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo announced that Cracker Jack, baseball's most famous snack for over 100 years, will not be sold at Yankee Stadium anymore. Instead the Yankees will sell Crunch 'n Munch, a change that the Yankee Stadium fans rejected, because it "tastes better." Long story short that didn't last long and you shouldn't mess with baseball history, especially Cracker Jacks.

Also on this day in 1998 the Orioles Armando Benitez nails the Yankees Tino Martinez between the shoulder blades with a pitch and starts a brawl between the two clubs. This came after Benitez gave up a three run home run to Bernie Williams in that eight inning. Graeme Lloyd raced onto the field from the Yankees bullpen and punched Benitez in the face and Alan Mills bloodied Darryl Strawberry's face after he ended up in the Baltimore dugout going after Benitez.


Finally on this day in 1929 a 17 year old college sophomore and a 60 year old truck driver are trampled to death with another 75 fans injured when a violent storm causes the overcapacity bleacher crowd to run for cover at Yankee Stadium. The stampede happened in "Ruthville" and the game would be called with the Yankees ahead of the Red Sox 3-0 at the end of four and a half innings, an official game.