Friday, June 15, 2018

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 6/15



And just like that it is game time here once again in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. In the second start of a four-game Father’s Day weekend set the Yankees will rookie pitcher Jonathan Loaisiga to the mound to make his MLB debut against a former member of the Yankees in Nathan Eovaldi. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11. 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 John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season long. Enjoy the game, get Johnny Lasagna a victory, and go Yankees!!

Meet a Prospect: Connor Van Hoose



Another round and another college right-handed starting pitcher for the New York Yankees. I have to admit that it is an interesting strategy the Yankees have been working with the last two MLB Drafts. Stockpile the system with experienced right-handed arms that can be groomed quickly either to help out at the Major League level or to use as trade bait in potential trades. The latest arm to join the organization was that of Connor Van Hoose who the organization selected with their 8th round pick, 247th overall. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Connor Van Hoose Edition.

Van Hoose stands 6’1” and weighs in at 175 lbs. which projects him to be more like Luis Severino, size wise anyway, than the power forwards and linebackers the team had selected in the previous rounds before him. Van Hoose came from Bucknell University where he took home Patriot League Pitcher of the Year honors here in 2018. Van Hoose posted an 8-4 record with a 2.36 ERA during the regular season only to turn it on for conference play posting a dominating 6-1 record with a miniscule 0.57 ERA.

Van Hoose has a fastball that touches 88-89 MPH and a curveball that sits around 75 MPH or so. The right-hander also uses a low 80-MPH changeup to keep batters off balance and from sitting on his fastball. Here is what the Bucknell University athletics page had to say about Van Hoose since Baseball America did not have him ranked prior to the draft:

“TURNED IN ONE OF THE FINEST SEASONS IN BUCKNELL BASEBALL HISTORY … PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE YEAR AND FIRST TEAM ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE SELECTON … BECAME THE FIRST BUCKNELL STARTING PITCHER IN THE PATRIOT LEAGUE ERA TO BE A TWO-TIME FIRST TEAM HONOREE … TWO-TIME PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE WEEK … ON APR. 21 VS. LEHIGH PITCHED THE FIFTH NO-HITTER IN BUCKNELL HISTORY … NAMED NCBWA NATIONAL PITCHER OF THE WEEK FOLLOWING THAT PERFORMANCE … MADE 12 STARTS AND WENT 8-4 WITH A 2.36 ERA … IN PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAY WENT 6-1 WITH A MINISCULE 0.57 ERA, WHILE HOLDING OPPOSING HITTERS TO A .151 AVERAGE … IN HIS SEVEN STARTS IN PL PLAY, ALLOWED ONLY 24 HITS, AND 22 WERE SINGLES … FOR THE FULL SEASON, STRUCK OUT 108 BATTERS, THIRD-MOST IN SCHOOL HISTORY AND THE MOST SINCE DON RICHARDS IN THE MID-1950S … OPPONENTS HIT ONLY .201 AGAINST HIM WITH ONLY 12 EXTRA-BASE HITS … LED THE NATION WITH SIX COMPLETE GAMES.”


Connor has already signed with the organization, so welcome to the family and congratulations! Unfortunately, Van Hoose does not have a known Twitter account at this time… or maybe he is smarter than us all (aside from Anthony Seigler who also does not have one).

The Rise and Fall of the Valkyries… Chapter 4




Chapter 4       See the Light



FEMALE VOICE: “Hey Nacho, this is Light checking in.”

MALE VOICE: “What’s the situation like over there?”

 FEMALE VOICE: “We’re good. No one saw, and to the best of my knowledge no one suspects a thing.”

MALE VOICE: “Wow, after all this time we are finally going to infiltrate the Valks.”

FEMALE VOICE: “We will, you’re welcome by the way.”

MALE VOICE: “Thank you, Light. This won’t be forgotten.”



Dan’s eyes lit up. “Light?” Dan meant to think this to himself, but he said it out loud instead, a little louder than he expected to or wanted to. Thankfully he was not heard, although the glow from his wide eyes were big enough to give away his position at this point. Dan got himself together as Light and Nacho wrapped up their conversation and he prepared for what was next. Would Light come his way? Would Dan be in for a fight? Or would the young woman who garnered all the attention of every Valkyrie in the Land of Bartow simply fade away into the darkness? Dan wouldn’t have to wait long for his answer as Light hung up the phone and scurried away in the opposite direction towards the Valkyries Compound.

Dan, after standing their frozen for what felt like forever, gathered himself and hurried inside. Dan knew he had to call Poke and tell him exactly what he had overheard so he barged into his home, turned on the lamp next to his big leather recliner and took his cellphone out of his pocket.

RING. RING. RING.

Dan called Poke but, as per usual, all he got was a voicemail. Poke never answered his phone, it was like he was stuck in the era where screening your phone calls was still necessary even though caller ID had been around for decades now. Poke usually called Dan back immediately though, so Dan left a brief and “business as usual” type voicemail for Poke. “Hey Poke, it’s Dan. Give me a call when you get a minute, I forgot to tell you something at work today and it is kind of important. It is about…” Dan hesitated as he thought of a lie that wouldn’t raise suspicion if anyone else was on the non-secured line listening. Dan thought quickly and continued, “my vacation next week with the kiddos. I may need some more time off than I initially planned. Call me back, thanks.” Dan hung up the phone and wondered if he was being too obvious with his reasoning on the phone. Dan hadn’t taken a vacation since joining the Valkyries Council. Actually, Dan could never think of a true vacation that he ever took in his life thanks to the resistance fighters, money, and the fact that he was truly just a workaholic. See, Dan was born into the resistance, many had tried, and many had failed to take down the Valkyries regime in the Land of Bartow after they took down Scopely, the previous regime to run Bartow, so while he had never seen any fighting firsthand he and his parents always thought it best to stay away from the hot zones. That meant staying inside those walls that had been breached just a few hours earlier. Anyone who knew Dan knew that he wasn’t taking a vacation, especially when someone just came over the wall and especially with the Valkyries on high alert, but Dan quickly put that thought out of his head. He immediately dismissed the notion and knew that no one who knew Dan would be listening in on his conversation, so he picked up the phone and called Jessica, Poke’s assistant, to try and tell her what he had just heard outside his home.

RING, RING, RING.

No answer. Now, unlike Poke it was weird for Jessica to not answer her phone, so Dan hung up without leaving a message. He didn’t want to take a chance on leaving a message on her phone for anyone else to intercept, plus he didn’t really want to bother her. She was just an assistant after all, what could she even do with the information that he had anyway? Dan thought about calling Poke back, but he knew had to call Shane to ask about his kids first. They all had to be worried, about the alarms and about Dan getting home so late from work because of them. Dan pulled his phone and began looking up Shane’s number but before he could get the number dialed Evan and Hayden came barging in the door, surprising Dan.

“Hey Dad!” said Hayden as he entered the door while Evan, the “teenager before his time” just smiled and immediately went into his bedroom. Evan was the older brother, much taller than Hayden, who had dark brown hair that lay flat on his forehead with deep, brown eyes and a dark complexion. Evan was stout in nature and he never knew his own strength while Hayden was more like a string bean, tall, skinny and lanky. Hayden also had deep brown eyes, but he had more of a reddish tint to his hair, not quite a ginger but not a blonde or brunette either. “Hey boys, how was your day?” Dan said, not that he really had to ask. Everyone heard the alarms, and everyone was personally told about the curfew, so the kids knew something was up, but in true teenager fashion Evan responded with the generic “it was fine, Dad” response before entering his room and slamming the door behind him. Hayden, on the other hand, was more curious and asked his father what had happened today in Bartow to cause such a stir. Dan simply responded as “business as usual” as he could by saying “Oh it’s nothing, son. There was a bird that tripped one of the sensors they think as it came flying over the wall, so they were just being cautious. You know how they are around here.” Dan tried to sound as reassuring and dismissive of Hayden’s worries as he could, and it seemingly worked as Hayden simply responded “Okay, Dad” and went on about his business playing with his toys in the living room.

Dan was ready to relax so he sat down in his big leather recliner and tried to watch some television. Nothing was on, nothing was ever on according to Dan, so instead Dan opened up his laptop and did what he intended to do at work today before all hell broke loose on the Land of Bartow, spy and gather intelligence on Defiance. Dan had no idea where to begin, there were literally thousands of messages to sift through, so he began with the only bit of information that he had. The only two names that ever came out of Defiance that he had ever heard, Nacho and Light.

Dan did a general search for the name “Light” and was bombarded with instances of the word “light” as well as her name “Light” used in the chats. “This is going to take me all night” thought Dan as he looked through the first few to see if he could quickly differentiate the use of the word “light” from the name “Light.” He had little success. Dan, possibly coming down from the adrenaline rush and the subsequent caffeine binge that followed that day, started to feel his eyes get heavy as he stared into his computer screen. Dan tried to fight his bodies cries for sleep and continued looking at the various ways this pocket of resistance used such a simple word before losing his battle within himself, finding sleep. Dan found sleep right there in his recliner in his living room, his laptop in his lap and all the answers he seeks possibly staring him right in the face. The answers he seeks, but the answers that he may never find.

After what feels like a blink of an eye Dan wakes up to what he believes to be a rustling at his window. Dan jumps up but quickly remembers the laptop he fell asleep with in his lap. As he reaches down to grab the laptop before it hits the ground and before running to investigate he realizes that the laptop is gone! “Where is my laptop?” Dan thinks to himself out loud, now perplexed at the situation and wondering if this is a dream. Evan comes out of his room, presumably to use the bathroom or eat because that is the only reason any teenager comes out of their room and stops at the sight of his father just standing there in the middle of their living room. “Dad are you ok?” Evan asks his father. “I… I don’t know” answers Dan, still confused and admittedly half asleep. “Did you borrow my laptop again?” asked Dan to which Evan replied with a simple shake of the head, no. “What the hell is going on here?” Dan thought to himself, once again, out loud and to no one in particular. “I’m not dreaming, someone stole my damn laptop!” Dan screamed as he finally came to the realization that this was really happening. Dan knew he had to call Poke and report the abduction of his laptop, so they could wipe it clean, but before reaching into his pocket for his cell phone he remembered the noise at his window. Dan quickly ran outside to see if the assailant was still around and to see if he or she could be followed but he was not in luck. The thief was gone and so was the laptop. So was the entrance into the Death Room and so was the information that he had worked months to acquire. Gone, poof…. Just like that, in the blink of an eye. In the course of a fifteen-minute nap. Gone.

Dan slowly reached down into his pocket hoping that his cellphone had not been stolen as well. Thankfully it hadn’t, and he began to dial Poke’s number again, but quickly before Poke could answer Dan hung up. Dan was one to always doubt himself and he was doing so again when he hung up the phone. Had he been too obvious in his voicemail to Poke? Had the wrong person been listening and it tipped them off that Dan was onto something? Why hadn’t Poke called him back? Or Jessica even? She ALWAYS answered her phone and when she didn’t she ALWAYS called you back. Something was up, something was fishy, and Dan knew it had to do with Light and her rappelling over the wall and into the Valkyries compound. Dan no longer knew who to trust, where he was safe and what he could do so he came back inside his house and began to devise a plan that only he could. Dan was going to disappear, and he knew just where he was going to disappear to. Dan, running quickly into his room, yelled at his boys to head over to Shane’s house and that they would be spending the night over there. “Boys I need you to go back over to Shane’s tonight. Work stuff. Tell him I am sorry and that I will make it up to him.” Dan thought he heard affirmation from his boys and continued to pack his things so that he could disappear. Dan was heading to the Valkyries underground compound that was located in the basement of the main compound building, a place he knew he could be safe and a place where he knew he could speak securely until everyone figured out just what the hell was going on. Dan packed the last of his things and went out into his living room to find that his boys had not gone to Shane’s house like he requested. No, they were sitting in his living room tied up by three unknown and unwelcomed militants who had knives to their throats.

“Sit down Dan” one of the militants said in a snide voice “We have a lot to talk about.”



I just have one more teaser chapter for you all, I don’t want to bore you guys and girls too much, so if the book has your attention head to the link below and pick up a copy. Thank you to you all for reading, whether you purchase or not.

https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Valkyries-events-Daniel/dp/1719011427/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528983664&sr=8-1&keywords=rise+and+fall+of+the+valkyries

Meet a Prospect: Daniel Bies



Another pick by the New York Yankees in the 2018 MLB Draft and another huge-framed, big-stature, experienced college right-handed starting pitcher for the farm system. Following a recent trend for the Yankees that dates back to the 2017 MLB Draft the Yankees are stockpiling experienced right-handed starters via the draft and the latest is Daniel Bies, a starter from the University of Gonzaga. Let’s meet him. This is Meet a Prospect: The Daniel Bies Edition.

Bies stands 6’8” and weighs in at 245 lbs. giving the Yankees another option for either their football or basketball team of pitchers the organization is seemingly putting together. Bies throws and bats right-handed and was the team’s 7th round selection this year in the draft, 217th overall.

In 16 starts as a red-shirt junior this season Bies posted a 7-4 record with a 2.49 ERA along with 125 strikeouts and just 25 walks in 112 innings of work. That’s all the Yankees need, another pitcher with nearly a 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings ratio.


Here is what Baseball America had to say about Bies before the Draft:

“ONE OF THE BIGGEST PITCHERS IN THE 2018 DRAFT CLASS, BIES IS A 6-FOOT-8, 245-POUND RIGHTHANDER WHO HAS A FASTBALL UP TO 94 MPH AND AN ABOVE-AVERAGE BREAKING BALL. BIES HAD TOMMY JOHN SURGERY IN HIGH SCHOOL AND REDSHIRTED DURING HIS FIRST YEAR WITH GONZAGA, BUT HE HAS IMPROVED EACH SEASON SINCE 2016. BIES HAS TURNED INTO AN ABOVE-AVERAGE STRIKE THROWER AFTER WALKING MORE THAN ONE BATTER PER INNING IN A SHORT 2016 SEASON AND THEN OVER FIVE BATTERS PER NINE INNINGS IN 2017. THIS SPRING, BIES HAS GONE RIGHT AFTER HITTERS WITH A SOLID-AVERAGE FASTBALL THAT PLAYS UP THANKS TO HIS SIZE AND THE PLANE HE’S ABLE TO GET ON THE BALL.”

Bies has already agreed to sign with the Yankees so congratulations to him and his family. Welcome to the organization and welcome to the family. You can follow Daniel on Twitter by following @DBies21, or you can follow this Daniel by following @GreedyStripes. Thank you!

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 6/15



Good morning Yankees family! The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will continue their four-game weekend set tonight with the second game of the series. In the start tonight the Yankees will send a young right-hander that has never made a start above Double-A named Jonathan Loaisiga to make his Major League debut while the Rays will counter with a familiar face for New York in Nathan Eovaldi. Let’s get to it here in the Bronx.

Loaisiga will make his MLB debut tonight after posting a 4.32 ERA in just six starts with the Double-A Trenton Thunder. Loaisiga was added to the team’s 40-man roster before the season giving him Rule 5 Draft protection due to his strikeout ability and his projections to be an MLB-caliber starting pitcher. Loaisiga has struck out 58 batters here thus far in 2018 to just four walks which is hopefully a trend that continues tonight inside Yankee Stadium.


Eovaldi, or “The Revolver” as Patrick Walsh of the site once donned him, has made three starts since coming off the disabled list after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Over that span Eovaldi is 0-2 with a 6.30 ERA, although he did show promise in his first start firing six innings of no-hit ball.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11. 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 John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.


Enjoy the game, holster that revolver, and go Yankees!!

“Fixing” the Yankees in Three Easy Steps


I had this post written and scheduled for tomorrow but since the Yankees hacked my account and jumped the gun with the demotion of Tyler Austin... let's just read it now and pretend that it was a premonition.



As silly as it sounds to talk about fixing one of the teams with the best record in all of Major League Baseball it would be foolish to think that the New York Yankees could not be better here in 2018. Looking up and down not only the lineup, but the entire roster, there is obvious needs for improvement in certain areas, three of which we will cover this morning here on this lovely Friday.

Enter Clint Frazier, Exit AJ Cole

Yes, the Yankees would have five outfielders. Yes, the Yankees would be down a pitcher. What’s the difference in having five outfielders with a DH slot available when you have two left-handed first basemen also clogging up the roster? More on that later. Letting Clint Frazier rot in Triple-A while Aaron Hicks and others struggle just seems more counter-productive to me than anything. Don’t wait for an injury, send down the pitcher that never sees the mound anyway and bring up one of the best and hottest hitters the team has down in Scranton. Seems like a no-brainer to me. Designate AJ Cole for assignment, more on that later as well.

Enter Brandon Drury, Exit Tyler Austin

I alluded to this earlier, but why does the team have two first baseman only type players on the roster at once? I understand there was a point where Tyler Austin earned his spot and made it to where the team couldn’t send him down, but we live in the now and the now states that Austin should go down for another hot and ready hitter down in Scranton. Brandon Drury is learning and playing first base down in Triple-A and would bring a right-handed compliment platoon bat for Greg Bird while also being available to play multiple other positions including third base and the middle infield.

Enter Justus Sheffield

The Yankees will have to add Justus Sheffield to the 40-man roster after this season anyway to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, why not just give him the spot now when the team designates AJ Cole for assignment? That way you can have him starting if and when an injury occurs and not a Double-A pitcher who has never seen Triple-A, let alone the Major League level, before last night. Again, no-brainer here people.

Three simple tasks that make the Yankees better in the “now” and in the future. The Wild Card should not be an option for this team here in 2018, and it won’t be if these moves are made now. Get it done, Cashman.

Hello… Father’s Day Weekend



Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. Happy Father’s Day weekend to you all. Father’s Day is a special weekend for me for obvious reasons. I have two children of my own from my previous marriage, Evan and Hayden, but now I have two more amazing children as Kari and I blend our families together to become one. I love our big, happy family and I love being able to be a father and a father figure in all four of our kid’s lives.

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there, all the grandfathers out there, all the uncles stepping up to the plate and being fathers, and to the mothers who have to be both. You all are much appreciated, and this weekend is for you all. Enjoy it!

And Kari, I love you. Always have, and I always will. To the mailbox and back.

Nathan Eovaldi’s Highlights as a Yankee



Nathan Eovaldi was acquired by the New York Yankees in a five-player deal with the Miami Marlins that saw Eovaldi, Garrett Jones and Domingo German come to the Bronx for right-handed pitcher David Phelps and third baseman Martin Prado. This deal was considered to be one of the few “losses” in a trade in recent years for Brian Cashman as Eovaldi made 48 starts for the Yankees in two seasons. Eovaldi posted a 4.45 ERA in 279 innings of work before having to undergo Tommy John surgery. Eovaldi was subsequently released by the team and snatched up by the Tampa Bay Rays who have rehabbed him back to the Major League level. That return to the MLB level continues tonight in the Bronx as he takes the mound against the Yankees with his new team, let’s take a look at the high spots for Eovaldi inside a Yankees uniform.

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/15: Yankee Stadium III

On this day in 2005 George Steinbrenner, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor George Pataki, and team officials announce plans for the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The Yankees will finance the $800 million stadium which will be built north of the current stadium in Macombs Dam Park. The new stadium is announced to mirror the old stadium and will seat 51,800 fans.


Also on this day in 1976 the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles completed a ten player trade in which both teams swapped four pitchers and a catcher each. The Yankees acquire pitchers Ken Holtzman, Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Grant Jackson, and catcher Elrod Hendricks. The Orioles acquire pitchers Tippy Martinez, Rudy May, Scott McGregor, Dave Pagan, and catcher Rick Dempsey.


Finally on this day in 1958 the Kansas City Athletics send Woodie Held and Vic Power to the Cleveland Indians for Dick Tomanek, Preston Ward, and Roger Maris. This is significant because Kansas City and owner Arnold Johnson was warned by American League president Will Harridge that they could not send any players, especially Maris, to the Yankees for at least 18 months. The Indians would later trade Maris to the Yankees which made everyone think the deal was a prelude to the deal.