Saturday, August 11, 2018

Andújar, Stanton Go Boom as Yanks Win! 

Miguel Andujar’s Home was difference as the Yanks beat the Rangers 5-3, on a wet Saturday afternoon. The rain did not keep the fans away as there was a reported 45,933 in attendance. Not bad seeing as the stadium holds 47,422. Dellin Betances picked up the Win pitching 1 1/3 of a inning, with 2Ks to go along with zeros. Starter Lance Lynn was okay today 5.0IP with 3 Walks, 5 hits, and 8 Ks. Chapman picked up his 30th save, 1 walk 1 hit and 2Ks. Greg Bird doubled twice, and Stanton blasted his 29th HR of the season. I for one am thrilled to have Stanton on this team, and knew he would get out of the funk he was in earlier this year. Giancarlo’s HR produced his 75th RBI. With 279 AVG 29 HRS and 75 RBI you can sign me up 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.  

The Yankees have rebounded nicely since being swept by the hated Red Sox. They took all 3 from the White Sox, and have grabbed 2 of 3 from Texas so far in this 4 game series. The series concludes tomorrow @ 1:05 PM ET C. C. Sabathia 6-4 3.49 ERA goes against Martin Perez 2-4 6.15 ERA. The Yanks however can not afford to take anyone lightly, and must play every game with passion and pride. That is if the still want to win the division.  

Let’s G⚾️Yankees!!

As always I can be reached at JamesCPalma@Yahoo.Com & now you can follow me on Twitter @JamesCPalmaIf you are reading on the MLB News App please be sure to check us out at TheGreedyPinstripes.Com 

Jacoby Ellsbury and the Yankees Literal Insurance Policy




The New York Yankees announces earlier this week that they would be without their center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury for the remainder of the 2018 season after the lefty tore his labrum in his left hip. Ellsbury, who has not played a game thus far this season, will miss the entire season and will miss the fifth year in his seven-year contract that the New York Yankees handed him worth $153 million when Robinson Cano jetted to the Seattle Mariners via free agency. With two years left on his contract you would think the Yankees would be wanting him to get back on the field as healthy and as soon as possible, well you would think that until you realized just what the team had to gain via the insurance policy that they took out on Ellsbury when they signed him to his monster contract.

Ellsbury is set to make $21 million in 2018 and will earn every dime of it despite not playing in a single inning for the Major League club this season. Luckily for the Yankees they took out an insurance policy that would reimburse the team $15,857,142.86 according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN and Forbes.com. Reportedly the Yankees signed a similar insurance policy on Ellsbury that the New York Mets took out on third baseman David Wright, a policy that cost the team $2 million but would pay up to 75% of his salary if he were physically unable to play on the field in any given season. The policy does not kick in until a player has missed at least 60 games in any given season.

Now while I am not a conspiracy theorist one has to wonder if either Ellsbury, the Yankees, or a combination of the two are really slowing down his recovery process and timetable. Ellsbury went down in spring training with an oblique injury and has seen various other, less serious, injuries keep him out of Major League action including, but not limited to, a hip issue that required a cortisone shot, plantar fasciitis, “back issues” and then ultimately the torn labrum in his hip that ended his season. Ellsbury never stood a chance this season, and it makes you wonder why when both he and the Yankees benefit from it, both financially and in the Yankees case with the all-important roster spot on the Major League team.

I am sure there are procedures and policies and such that prevent against what basically equates to insurance fraud, but damn things look a little fishy right now as we look back… right? Oh well, here’s to 2019 and a speedy recovery for Ellsbury… so the team can dump him and trade him before the season with any luck and a healthy bill of health. Here’s to hoping, and here’s to the eating of salaries.


Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers 8/11



And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers. In the third game of their four-game weekend set the Yankees will send Lance Lynn out to the mound to make his second start for New York while the Rangers will counter with Drew Hutchison. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and can be seen on the YES Network locally and MLB Network nationally. 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 Yankees all season long. Enjoy the game, get another victory, and go Yankees!!

Setting Our Sights for the Wild Card...

Photo Credit: AP (Julie Jacobson)
Sadly, Boston shows no signs of slowing down…

Just when you think you might be able to trust Masahiro Tanaka, you can’t. Since his return from the disabled list in early July, Tanaka had given up no more than three runs in any start and had only allowed a grand total of six runs in five starts. Yet, on Friday night, he was hammered for six runs including three home runs in the Yankees’ 12-7 loss to the Texas Rangers. When you score seven runs against losing teams, you should win games, not lose them.

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox overcame an 8-3 deficit to crush the Baltimore Orioles, 19-12.  Boston, 82-35, is on pace to match the Yankees’ historic 1998 season when they won 114 games in the regular season. At their current winning percentage, the Red Sox project to 113 wins. This is not 1978 and the Red Sox are not going to collapse.  

Photo Credit: AP (Patrick Semansky)
With Boston's nine game lead in the AL East, the Yankees are headed for the one-and-out Wild Card playoff game. At the moment, their only competition for the Wild Card is the resurgent Oakland A’s and the Seattle Mariners. The A’s are only 4 1/2 games behind the Yankees, while the Mariners sit 6 games back.

Oakland has been very aggressive in rebuilding their bullpen in recent weeks. Their closer, former Washington National Blake Treinen, has had a breakout season. He currently has 29 saves to go with a 0.93 ERA in 48 games.  Behind Treinen, the A’s have added former New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia, former Yankees/Nationals reliever Shaun Kelley, and former Minnesota Twins closer Fernando Rodney. For the starting rotation, they’ve added former Detroit Tigers starter Mike Fiers, a target Yankee fans love to hate. None of the names shake fear but it shows the A’s are serious about their Wild Card run. There’s no question they have the talent to beat the Yankees in a one-game do-or-die playoff game.

I wish I could say that I am not worried like The Greedy Pinstripes’ Daniel Burch can, but I am worried. Sorry Daniel. We knew in the off-season the Yankees needed to add a quality starting pitcher and it didn’t happen. So, the team had to scramble in July to add Lance Lynn and J.A. Happ. Both guys have done fine jobs but neither is going to make a difference when the chips are on the line. When Aaron Judge was lost with the minor bone fracture, it was evident the Yankees needed to add a short-term bat for the outfield. But instead, the decision was made to roll with one of the few healthy outfielders in the system, journeyman Shane Robinson. The Yankees could have easily added a guy like former Yankee Curtis Granderson who would have filled a valuable void. His bat likes Yankee Stadium and has the track record to show it. He may not be the player he was during his Yankee days thanks to the terminal affliction known as aging but he is more than capable of giving the Yankees a supportive bat and a valuable bench player when Judge returns.  

The Mariners strengthened their bullpen with the addition of Adam Warren, a guy the Yankees certainly could have used the last couple of games. Warren was the winning pitcher in the M’s 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros last night. The Mariners also benefit from the return of Robinson Cano in a few days. Cano may not be eligible for the post-season but he’ll certainly help the Mariners make the push for October. He’s a valuable late season addition for Seattle. We’ll see if there is rust to shake off but I suspect that Cano will be ready to go.

Photo Credit:  The Herald, Everett, WA (Kevin Clark)
Please do not get me wrong. I like the 2018 New York Yankees. No one expected a historic season from the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees, despite their struggles, have won more games in Major League Baseball than any team other than the Red Sox and the Houston Astros. It is very possible they’ll go into a potential Wild Card game with over 100 wins. My only concern is that GM Brian Cashman could have done a better job (if that is possible). Everyone is so quick to give him credit for his genius but standing back, he’s had his share of misses. I like manager Aaron Boone but there’s no question we’ve paid a price for his inexperience.  

I am anxious for the returns of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge, but the Yankees need to take care of business now. August is filled with losing teams on the schedule. The Yankees have the potential to have a very successful month despite starting it with a four-game sweep by the Red Sox but they can’t let 52 win teams like the Rangers crush them. Rookie Ronald Guzman looks like the greatest player who ever lived when he feasts on Yankees pitching, having accumulated six home runs already this season. Half of his season total are against the Pinstripers. He was the first rookie to hit three home runs in a game last night against the Yankees. That’s covering many years and players and is the strongest rookie performance against the Yankees since the A’s Reggie Jackson slugged six homers against his future team in 1968. This cannot happen if the Yankees expect to be successful. Ronald Guzman is no Reggie Jackson and the rest of the American League knows it. Apparently, the Yankees pitching staff didn’t get the memo.  To digress slightly, why is A.J. Cole on the MLB roster and Justus Sheffield is not?  Time to add Top Sheff to the 40-man and open a spot on the active roster by punting Cole.  

It sounds like we can add Neil Walker to the list of wounded. After last night’s game, Aaron Boone said that Walker tweaked his neck and was dealing with illness. I had wondered why he wasn’t in the lineup or why he wasn’t used to pinch hit but that explains it. As Joe Girardi would say, it’s not what you want. Fortunately, Walker is penciled into today’s lineup (outfield, no less) so hopefully his physical ailments were minor.  

I could care less if Jacoby Ellsbury is going to miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery for a torn hip labrum. I had not counted on the player and did not want to see his return potentially cost another player a valuable roster spot. As much as I would love for the Yankees to cut bait, the truth is they won’t as long as they can collect insurance on his salary. I get it. I am just ready for the day when the Yankees can finally give him his walking papers.  

I was very glad to hear that YES Network analyst Ken Singleton will return for another season after he had announced that 2018 would be his last. There is something so calming and reassuring about Singleton’s voice and his stories are so great to listen to. I’ve long been amazed that a former Yankees enemy (courtesy of his days in Baltimore) could excel calling Yankee games with no bitterness or regret.  He has exuded class and professionalism from the start and I’m glad he’ll be back in 2019 even if he will be carrying a much lighter load. In a season that has seen Michael Kay’s stock drop and Ryan Ruocco’s elevate, Singleton was been a voice of consistency.  

I was sorry to see Phil Hughes designated for assignment yesterday by the San Diego Padres. I had hoped the former Yankee would fare better in his native sunny Southern California but it was not meant to be. I’ve always liked the guy and I am hopeful that he can find a good home to make a difference even if it is in relief. I don’t really see a fit with the Yankees, but there are plenty of teams in need of help. I am not ready to see the end of Hughes career so hopefully this is just the next chapter in his book.  

I’ll be headed to see Manny Machado and the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Colorado Rockies on Sunday at Coors Field in Denver. It should be a fun game. Former Yankee Rich Hill will get the start for the Dodgers. I was in LA last weekend and didn’t get the chance to see the Dodgers play the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium so this is a good consolation prize. Manny remains a guy that I’d love to see the Yankees pursue in the off-season (dump Greg Bird and move Miguel Andujar to first to open third for Machado) and I’ll certainly be cheering for him on Sunday. 

Well, time for my voice of pessimism to close. Time for a new Yankees winning streak to start. Can we get another quality start from Lance Lynn? We’ll find out in a few hours. In Rangers starter Drew Hutchison’s last game, he gave up six runs in three innings to the Baltimore Orioles. We can do better.  

Go Yankees!

New York Yankees & MLB Players Weekend Nicknames



MLB Players Weekend is this weekend across Major League Baseball which will include more than a few little changes and perks for players and for fans alike. The most notable change is baseball’s change of jersey’s and the inclusion of nicknames on the back, or in the case of the Yankees pinstripes… having names on the back at all. Here is a list of all the nicknames that can be found on the back of the New York Yankees this weekend during MLB Players Weekend.



Miguel Andujar: "PAPÁ"
Dellin Betances: "EL ACIDO"
Greg Bird: "BIRD"
Zach Britton: "ANGLADA"
Aroldis Chapman: "THE MISSILE"
A.J. Cole: "AJ"
Jacoby Ellsbury: "ELLSBURY"
Clint Frazier: "EL ROJO"
Brett Gardner: "GARDNER"
Sonny Gray: "PICKLES"
Didi Gregorius: "THE KNIGHT"
Chad Green: "GREENY"
J.A. Happ: "HAPPER"
Ben Heller: "HELLER"
Aaron Hicks: "HICKSIE"
Jonathan Holder: "HOLDY"
Aaron Judge: "JUDGE"
Lance Lynn: "MIA"
Jordan Montgomery: "MONTY"
David Robertson: "D-ROB"
Austin Romine: "RO"
CC Sabathia: "DUB"
Gary Sanchez: "KRAKEN"
Luis Severino: "SEVY"
Giancarlo Stanton: "G"
Masahiro Tanaka: "TANAKA TIME"
Gleyber Torres: "GT"
Luke Voit: "LOUIS"
Neil Walker: "WALKIE"


Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers 8/11



The New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers will continue their four-game weekend set this afternoon in the Bronx with the third game of the series. In the start this afternoon the Yankees will send out Lance Lynn to the mound to make his second start for the Yankees while the Rangers will counter with Drew Hutchison. Let’s get to it here in the Bronx.

Lynn impressed Yankees fans in his first start since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins, even if it was against a Triple-A offense in the Chicago White Sox. In the start Lynn went 7.1 innings pitched allowing just two hits while retiring 19 straight batters at one point in the contest. This was the first time all season that Lynn had pitched into the eight inning.


Hutchison will also be making just his second start of the season for his new team after making his first start for Texas last Sunday against the Seattle Mariners. Hutchison did not fare as well as Lynn did in debut allowing six runs in three innings in a 9-5 loss to Seattle.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and can be seen on the YES Network locally and MLB Network nationally. 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, anyone miss Sonny Gray yet? Nope, me either…, and go Yankees!!

Hello… And Don’t Sweat the Division



Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog, finally. Work has been insanely busy, but I have just one more week of training before I think I can call things back to “normal” around here, which in turn should return things back to normal here on the blog.

It seems like I missed a lot, some of it I hate to miss and some of it I am entirely okay with (the sweep at the hands of the Red Sox for instance), but at the end of the day I have come to one conclusion and one conclusion only. I am not going to sweat the division, and I’m not going to for a couple of reasons. One, the Yankees didn’t win the division last year and they, not the Red Sox, were one game from the World Series. Two, until someone a lot better at math tells me the Yankees don’t have a mathematical chance at winning the division… I still believe.

Including last night, the Yankees next 21 of 24 games are against teams with records under .500 with the three games not against teams under .500 with the Tampa Bay Rays who are hovering right at .500, which on paper should give the team a great chance at winning the vast majority of those. With the impending returns of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge for the stretch run as well as JA Happ coming off the disabled list to make his second start in Yankees pinstripes last night, I have to say I am confident that the team will at least not go down quietly and without a fight. It’s not over until we say it’s over, and even if it is… this team is built to win a one-game playoff series with Luis Severino on the mound, this offense, and that bullpen. Color me not worried.

And baby, it has been far too long since I have been able to scream to the masses my absolute adoration and love for you. I love you and you are my soulmate, I truly believe that. Stay well and stay mine.



This Day In New York Yankees History 8/11: Reggie Jackson Hits #400


Reggie Jackson was only a member of the New York Yankees for a short time but he made the most of his time in pinstripes and even got his number retired. Mr. October made a bit of history on this day in 1980 as he connected for his 400th home run of his career. Reggie hit the milestone home run off the White Sox pitcher Britt Burns. Jackson would finish his career with 563 home runs which was good for sixth all time when he retired in 1987.

Also on this day in 1973 the Yankees held Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium and the crowd was treated to a show. Mickey Mantle would hit a home run off his good friend Whitey Ford during the exhibition game a pitch after he hit one foul into the upper deck.