Friday, October 5, 2018

ALDS Game One Thread: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox



And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The American League Division Series officially begins tonight. In the opener of the best-of-five series the Yankees will send JA Happ to the mound to face off with the Red Sox ace, Chris Sale. The game will be played at 7:32 pm ET (only in Boston could see such a weird start time, but okay) and can be seen on TBS. You can also follow along on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the New York Yankees for the remainder of the postseason. Enjoy the game, get to Sale early in the first, and go Yankees!!

The Red Sox Offense vs. JA Happ – Career



JA Happ was held back from the AL Wild Card Game specifically to pitch against the Boston Red Sox twice in a potential five-game series. Was that a wise choice? History would seem to indicate that it was, but will it mean anything in October? Stay tuned…


All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference.

The Yankees Offense vs. Chris Sale – Career



What have the New York Yankees done against tonight’s Boston starter, Chris Sale, throughout their careers? And does it mean anything for tonight? Only one way to find out, stay tuned…



All stats and imagery credit go to ESPN and Baseball Reference.

With All Due Respect, The Boston Red Sox Don’t Scare Me



I started a trend last offseason with my “Why I am Not Afraid of the (fill in the blank team name)” posts and that is a trend that I will continue this postseason as well. I beat a dead horse telling you why the Oakland Athletics did not scare me as long as the Wild Card Game was played in the Bronx and now I am back to tell you why, with all due respect of course to a team that won 108 games this season, the Boston Red Sox don’t scare me either.

The Boston Red Sox are a great team, don’t get me wrong, but so are the New York Yankees. Both teams are young, hungry and aggressive, but there are a few distinct differences that should, and ultimately will in my opinion, decide the winner of this short, five-game series. Pitching, pitching, and pitching.


The Boston Red Sox have a terrible bullpen. Let’s call a spade a spade. Even Jared Carrabis, the biggest douche bag homer that covers the Red Sox would say so. The Yankees, nine times out of ten anyway, do not. In fact, the Yankees bullpen is a strength that can put up six-or-seven innings worth of zeroes on any given night when they are on. The Yankees offense can, and has for that matter, feast off that bullpen if given the chance. That’s not to say that Boston and their prolific offense couldn’t do the same against the Yankees, because they can, and they have, but (homer alert? Maybe?) I personally trust the Yankees bullpen a lot more than I would trust Boston’s, whether I was a Yankees fan or not.


But what about the starters? On paper and without looking at the stats I would imagine that Baseball Reference would tell you that Boston has a better starting staff. Good for them, and good for the paper (digital or otherwise) that it’s written on. 162 games for nothing. I said it before the postseason began and I will say it again. Throw those stats out the window, this is October. Chris Sale has not faired well in the postseason, albeit in two ALDS appearances that both resulted in a loss, and David Price has probably been playing Fortnite all night long hoping that his carpal tunnel would return so that he wouldn’t have to pitch against the Yankees on Saturday night. It goes beyond the stats at this point, it has to be mental by now. Especially for Price. The bright lights begin to shine, you try to do a little too much, you make one mistake and boom, the game is blown open. Rick Porcello inside Yankee Stadium doesn’t worry me and having JA Happ pitching twice in this series gives me all the confidence that I need. Happ may not walk away with two victories, but I guarantee he will give the Yankees two opportunities to win before it is all said and done. Masahiro Tanaka should keep the Yankees in the game and give them a shot to win and so should the savvy veteran, CC Sabathia, at home in the Bronx. Oh, and not to mention that the Yankees still have their ace in reserves for Game Four in the Bronx regardless of what happens in Boston.

Both teams have great offenses and both teams can pitch well, you don’t win 100+ games in a season if you don’t, but I truly, truly think that the Red Sox are going to play with everything to lose, while the Yankees will play with everything to gain. When you play loose, you tend to win. When you play timidly or cautious, you make mistakes. It’s a fact. Especially in October. The Yankees got their jitters out of the way on Wednesday night as Luke Voit, Giancarlo Stanton, and others got their first playoff games out of the way. Now they can go back to business as usual and continue on to their path of the franchise’s 28th World Series Championship.


With all due respect to Boston, your Red Sox don’t scare me much. Yankees in five is my prediction, and I only say five games because the Red Sox clinched the division on Yankee Stadium turf, so I would love to end their season inside Fenway Park.

Yankees in five. Go Yankees!!

ALDS Game One Preview: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox



The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will kick off the American League Division Series tonight inside historic Fenway Park. The Boston Red Sox won a whopping 108 games here in 2018 while the New York Yankees finished with 100 victories on the nose which should make for an intense five-game matchup. In the opener of the series the Yankees will send JA Happ to the mound looking to once again neutralize the Red Sox while Boston will counter with their ace, Chris Sale. It’s the playoffs, baby, so let’s get to it here in chowdah town.


Happ was held back from the American League Wild Card Game because of the possibility of him pitching against the Boston Red Sox twice in a potential five-game series. Manager Aaron Boone went with the long game strategy with his decision to pitch Luis Severino on Wednesday night and thus far it has worked according to plan. The first of Happ’s two potential ALDS matchups with the Red Sox comes tonight inside Fenway Park.


Sale was great against the Yankees in two starts this season against New York allowing just one run with 19 strikeouts in a combined 13 innings pitched. That was the regular season though and all that, plus about $15, will get you inside Fenway Park tonight is a beer to wash away your sorrows. Sale has pitched twice in the ALDS as a member of the Red Sox and has lost each of those games last season against the Houston Astros.


The game will be played at 7:32 pm ET inside Fenway Park and can be seen on TBS. You can also follow along with the game on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Please, for the love of God and everything that is holy, do NOT let Dennis Eckersley and that same crew that announced the AL Wild Card Game to announce tonight. Please, I beg.


Enjoy the game, remember that Chris Sale has a career 8.38 ERA and that Mookie Betts has just as many postseason RBI as you or I do, and go Yankees!!

Hello… WE GOT BOSTON!



Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. Unless you have been living under a rock you know that the New York Yankees defeated the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night in the Bronx to advance to the American League Division Series. Throughout the game I counted down the remaining outs in the game by saying “ X OUTS TILL BOSTON!” Well, 27 outs later and WE GOT BOSTON! The American League Division Series begins tonight inside Fenway Park in not only the fiercest rivalry in all of Major League Baseball history, but also in a matchup that puts a pair of 100-game winners head-to-head in a five-game series. I’m confident, I’m excited, and I’m ready. Let’s do this.

And baby, thank you for everything you are and for being you. Not many would stick by my side while I jump up and down at an Aaron Judge home run and not many would let me smack their butt every time Luis Severino struck out a batter, but you did… because you’re you, and I love you for it. Thank you, my good luck charm!

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/5: Billy Ball & The World Series



On this day in 1980 the New York Yankees broke the American League regular season attendance record of the time by passing the 1948 Indians with their 2,627,417 fans through the gates.


Also on this day in 1963 Mickey Mantle tied Babe Ruth's home run record in the World Series when the Mick blasted his 15th fall classic home run of his career. This homer would tie the score in game four against Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers but it would not be enough as Los Angeles would sweep the Yankees for the title.


Also on this day in 1960 Roger Maris became the seventh player in Major League history to hit a home run in his first World Series at bat.


Also on this day in 1957 in the first World Series game to ever be played in Milwaukee the Yankees rookie short stop Tony Kubek became the second rookie ever to hit two home runs in a World Series game. Kubek would join Charlie Keller who also hit two in the 1939 World Series.


Also on this day in 1953 the Yankees would win their fifth consecutive World Series title in dramatic fashion as Billy Martin would get a walk off hit against the Dodgers. Martin would be named the World Series MVP as he collected 12 hits in the series.


Also on this day in 1951 Mickey Mantle's season ended in game two of the World Series as he injured his knee when his cleat got caught in a drainage cap at Yankees Stadium, really? The injury was initially blamed on Joe DiMaggio as he called off Mantle at the last second on a fly ball off of Willie Mays bat causing the 19 year old rookie to stop awkwardly.


Finally on this day in 1949 Tommy Henrich hit the first walk off home run in the history of the World Series when he led off the bottom of the 9th with a homer off of the Dodgers Don Newcombe. Allie Reynolds would get the complete game victory and manager Casey Stengel would get his first post season victory of his career.