Wild Card Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins 10/3

Ladies and gentleman the playoffs are so close that I can almost taste it as Yankee Stadium is just about ready to play host to the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound tonight who will be making his first postseason start ever, minor league or Major Leagues, while the Twins counter with Ervin Santana. The game will be played at 8:00 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on ESPN.

Attention Yankees Fans: T-minus one hour until playoff time and I give you one hour to prepare for this challenge. I want Yankee stadium to be as loud as it’s ever been. Ever. Louder than Derek Jeter’s final game. Louder than the 2015 AL Wild Card Game against the Houston Astros. Ever. Get it done. Challenge accepted.

Here are a few key stats for tonight’s game, hence why I put this game thread up an hour before the actual game starts. There’s a lot of information in this post, you have an hour to cram. Good luck and Go Yankees!!!!!

Twins:

2B Brian Dozier (.269, 34 HRs, 93 RBIs, .853 OPS)

1B Joe Mauer (.305, 7, 71, team-leading 36 doubles, .384 OBP)

SS Jorge Polanco (.256, 13, 74)

LF Eddie Rosario (.290, 27, 78)

DH Miguel Sano (.264, 28, 77)

Kennys Vargas (.253, 11, 41)

Robbie Grossman (.246, 9, 45, .361 OBP)

3B Eduardo Escobar (.254, 21, 73)

CF Byron Buxton (.253, 16, 51, 150 Ks)

RF Max Kepler (.243, 19, 69)

C Jason Castro (.242, 10, 47)

Twins: RH Ervin Santana (16-8, 3.28 ERA, 167 Ks in 211 1/3 IP)

RH Matt Belisle (2-2, 4.03 ERA, 9/14 saves, .218 opponent batting average)

LH Taylor Rogers (7-3, 3.07, 49 Ks in 55 2/3 IP)

RH Trevor Hildenberger (3-3, 3.21, 44 Ks in 42 IP)

RH Alan Busenitz (1-1, 1.99, 23 Ks in 31 2/3 IP)

RH Jose Berrios (14-8, 3.89, 25 starts, 139 Ks in 145 2/3 IP)

RH Tyler Duffey (2-3, 4.94, 67 Ks in 71 IP)

LH Ryan Pressly (2-3, 4.70, 61 Ks in 61 1/3 IP)

Yankees:

LF Brett Gardner (.264, 21, 63, 96 runs, 23 SBs)

RF Aaron Judge (.284, 52, 114)

C Gary Sanchez (.278, 33, 90)

SS Didi Gregorius (.287, 25, 87)

DH Chase Headley (.273, 12, 61)

Matt Holliday (.231, 19, 64)

2B Starlin Castro (.300, 16, 63)

CF Jacoby Ellsbury (.264, 7, 39)

Aaron Hicks (.266, 15, 52)

3B Todd Frazier (.213, 27, 76)

1B Greg Bird (.190, 9, 28)

Yankees: RH Luis Severino (14-8, 2.98, 230 Ks in 193 1/3 IP)

LH Aroldis Chapman (4-3, 3.22, 22/27 saves in 52 games, 69 Ks in 50 1/3 IP)

RH Dellin Betances (3-6, 2.87, 10/13 saves in 66 games, 100 Ks in 50 2/3 IP)

RH David Robertson (9-2, 1.48, 14/16 saves in 61 games)

RH Chad Green (5-0, 1.83, 103 Ks in 69 IP)

RH Tommy Kahnle (2-4, 2.59, 96 Ks in 62 2/3 IP)

RH Adam Warren (3-2, 2.35 in 44 games)

LH Chasen Shreve (4-1, 3.77 in 44 games)

RH Bryan Mitchell (1-1, 5.79 in 20 games)

LH Jaime Garcia (5-10, 4.41 in 27 starts)

The Yankees have beat the Twins in 12 straights games in the postseason.

The Yankees are 89-33 against the Twins since the start of the 2002 season including the postseason.

The last four trips to the postseason for the Twins (2003, 2004, 2009 and 2010 ALDS) have ended at the hands of the New York Yankees.

Ervin Santana is a career 6-10 with a 5.66 ERA in 20 career starts against the Yankees.

New York has the AL’s best home record in 2017 going 51-30 inside Yankee Stadium this season. The Twins were 44-37 on the road here in 2017.

Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and enjoy the game. Need a win, get a playoff win and let’s get headed out to Cleveland to take on those Wahoo’s. Go Yankees!!!

Prediction: The Yankees #TAKE17 with a 9-2 victory. 

Wild Card Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins 10/3

Ladies and gentleman it is playoff time between the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. This is the American League Wild Card Playoff Game and it happens tonight in the Bronx inside Yankee Stadium. The last four times the Minnesota Twins have made the postseason they have faced off with the New York Yankees and the last four times their season has ended at the hands of the Bronx Bombers so here’s to an even five in a row here tonight in the Bronx. The Yankees will send the young right arm of Luis Severino to the mound tonight looking to make it five-straight playoff series victories for the Yankees while the Minnesota Twins will counter with their ace Ervin Santana. Two aces squaring off head-to-head is a fun thing in the regular season to watch but it’s an every night occurrence here in October. THIS IS PLAYOFF BASEBALL.

Severino will make his playoff debut tonight for the Yankees, and that’s for any level and not just at the MLB level. Severino finished the 2017 season strong with a 9-2 record and a 2.28 ERA after the All-Star Break including one start against the Minnesota Twins where the right-hander allowed three runs on five hits in just three innings of work. Severino should be and will have to be much better tonight in the Bronx.

Santana on the other hand will be making his ninth career postseason appearance at the Major League level and his third start in an AL Wild Card Game. Santana also finished the 2017 season strong with a 3.31 ERA in six September starts including one loss to the Yankees in late September.

The game will be played at 8:00 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on ESPN. The winner of tonight’s contest travels to Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Indians while the loser goes home to play golf for the remainder of the winter. I hate golf, but I love winning. It’s all part of being greedy so… need a win…. Get a playoff win. Go Yankees!

Quick Hit: 2017 Fantasy Baseball Awards

The 2017 season is coming to a close and the 2017 fantasy season has all but concluded here so let’s take a look at who won you your respective leagues and who will be taking home the 2017 Fantasy Baseball major awards.

If you drafted Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton this season you were probably very happy with your pick. Why? Chicks, and fantasy owners, dig the long ball and both players have surpassed 50 home runs this season for their respective teams. One of these two have to win the Fantasy MVP and I think, all bias aside, that Judge has to ultimately take home the award. Judge hits home runs, sure, but he also takes his walks and has a great on-base percentage and RBI total. Sure, Judge is going to strikeout a lot but like in the game and in Fantasy Baseball an out is an out no matter how you record it. Cody Bellinger and Elvis Andrus should also get at least some consideration after strong fantasy seasons.

It is easy to load up your pitching staff with Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale or other perennial All-Star pitchers but it is usually those diamond in the rough type guys that wins you your league and three names in particular stood out for me this season in fantasy. Alex Wood of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Luis Severino of the New York Yankees and Ervin Santana of the Minnesota Twins. Where would the Twins be without Santana this season? Not in the AL Wild Card Game, you can bet that, and the same may be said for the Yankees and their sudden emerging ace Severino. Wood though may have shocked the world with his start to the 2017 season heading into the All-Star break with an 11-0 record. Wood is now an MLB 15-game winner with a sub-3.00 ERA and a miniscule WHIP making him an absolute steal for any owner that drafted him or picked him up via trade or off of waivers.

The final award we will hand out for Fantasy Baseball this season will be the Rookie of the Year. I am going to cheat a little bit and I am going to leave Judge off the list since I already handed him the MVP award and instead take the time to honor and showcase the season that Whit Merrifield had for the Kansas City Royals. No one knew the name Merrifield before Raul Mondesi Jr. began the 2017 season with a  .114 batting average as the team’s starting second baseman pushing the team to call up Merrifield from Triple-A. Merrifield has done nothing but impress since his late April call up stealing over 30 bases and pushing 20 home runs and 80 RBI keeping the Royals in the playoff chase all season long.

According to the USA Today here are the Top 15 players for your 2018 Draft. Yes, it’s early but it’s never too early for some to start preparing for next season. Enjoy.

1.     OF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
2. 2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
3. 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
4. OF Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies
5. 3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies
6. SS Trea Turner, Washington Nationals
7. OF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
8. SP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
9. OF Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
10. SP Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
11. OF Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox
12. 3B Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
13. 1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
14. 3B Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays
15. SS Carlos Correa, Houston Astros

The Minnesota Twins vs. the New York Yankees: 2017 Edition

The American League Wild Card Round of the 2017 MLB playoffs is all but set as the New York Yankees will play host to the Minnesota Twins in a one-game playoffs. Winner takes all and gets the consolation prize of facing off with the Cleveland Indians, the best team in baseball right now, while the loser goes home to pick up the pieces and begin work on their 2018 rosters. You can’t predict baseball and anything can happen in a one-game playoff scenario but that shouldn’t stop us from taking a look at what each team has done this season against one-another, especially the starting pitchers for each respective side Luis Severino and Ervin Santana. While these stats and this analysis won’t tell the story on what will happen next Tuesday in the Bronx it might at least give us an idea if the past is any indicator of the future.

The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins have faced off six times this season with the Yankees winning four of those six including sweeping all three at Yankee Stadium recently in impressive fashion. Here are all the particulars on those games:

Team Game-by-Game Schedule

Gm#	Date	Tm		Opp	W/L	R	RA	Win	Loss	Save	Attendance
91	Monday, Jul 17	NYY	@	MIN	L	2	4	Rogers	Smith	Kintzler	27,566
92	Tuesday, Jul 18	NYY	@	MIN	W	6	3	Shreve	Colon	Chapman	33,114
93	Wednesday, Jul 19	NYY	@	MIN	L	1	6	Berrios	Montgomery		33,380
150	Monday, Sep 18	NYY		MIN	W	2	1	Robertson	Santana	Chapman	30,425
151	Tuesday, Sep 19	NYY		MIN	W	5	2	Sabathia	Berrios	Chapman	30,218
152	Wednesday, Sep 20	NYY		MIN	W	11	3	Shreve	Colon		30,099

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

The presumed starting pitchers for the contest will be Luis Severino for the Yankees and Ervin Santana for the Twins. Let’s take a quick moment to check in with what each team has done against the other this season as well as how these pitchers have fared against the other team’s respective offense throughout their careers.

Severino vs. Minnesota in 2017

2017 Pitching Gamelog

Rk	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
30	Sep 20	NYY	MIN	W,11-3	3.0	5	3	3	1	3	0	3.03

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Severino vs. Minnesota Batters Career

Santana vs. New York in 2017

2017 Pitching Gamelog

Rk	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
31	Sep 18	MIN	NYY	L,1-2	5.2	7	2	2	1	3	1	3.34

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Santana vs. Yankees Batters Career

The New York Yankees have had the Minnesota Twins number more times than not here in 2017 as well as during the Yankees recent string of success but all of that and $15 bucks will buy you a beer at Yankee Stadium next Tuesday in the playoff game. You can’t predict baseball, you just can’t, but hopefully these numbers will bring a little less doubt as to what to expect next Tuesday here in the Bronx. Or maybe they will just mean that I was crazy for even discussing them when we talk again next Wednesday morning after the AL Wild Card Playoff Round. Stay tuned.

Pitcher vs. team stats via ESPN.com. Head-to-head matchups and team stats via Baseball Reference. Big shout outs to those guys for making posts like this for the little bloggers possible. Thank you from TGP!!

The Missile is Back!...

Credit:  Kathy Willens-Associated Press

Yankees 2, Twins 1...

The game had many stars...Jaime Garcia, Aaron Judge, David Robertson, Todd Frazier, but it was Aroldis Chapman who brought home the victory with his 5-out save that included working out of a one-out bases loaded jam in the top of the 8th inning as the Yankees held off the Minnesota Twins.

I've not been a very big fan of Jaime Garcia but he delivered on Monday night.  In a game that looked like a mismatch on paper (Garcia against 15-game winner Ervin Santana), Garcia was just a tad bit better on this night. It was evident that he brought his "A" game when he struck out the side in the first inning to start the game against his former team of 6 days in July.

Credit:  Kathy Willens-Associated Press

Aaron Judge gave Garcia an early lead when he belted his 44th homer of the year, a solo shot to right. It was Judge's 97th RBI of the season.

The Twins tied the game in the top of the 5th inning. Eddie Rosario led off with a single to second on a ball that was deflected off the glove of  a diving Didi Gregorius into shallow right field. Eduardo Escobar singled to right, but Aaron Judge's slight bobble of the ball (ruled an error) allowed Rosario the time he needed to race around to third base. Robbie Grossman hit a grounder to third. Todd Frazier fielded and threw to second for the force out on Escobar but Rosario scored and the game was tied.

Garcia was able to get the first two outs in the top of the 6th, but when he gave up Joe Mauer's single to right, his day was done. David Robertson, ready and waiting, came in and struck out Byron Buxton to end the Twins' side of the inning.  

Garcia probably wished that he could have gotten Mauer out because the Yankees scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 6th inning. Chase Headley singled to center on a ball that was deflected off the glove of second baseman Brian Dozier with one out.  Starlin Castro singled to left, with Headley moving to second. With Jacoby Ellsbury at the plate, a wild pitch by Ervin Santana allowed the runners to move up to second and third.  Ellsbury was then intentionally walked to load the bases. Todd Frazier's sacrifice fly to center scored Headley and the Yankees had a 2-1 lead.

The Twins made a pitching change and brought in Trevor Hildenberger who retired Greg Bird on a ground out at first so the Yankees were unable to push any further runs across.

Dellin Betances replaced the highly effective David Robertson to start the 8th inning and the drama began. He hit the first batter, Robbie Grossman, with a pitch to the hip. Zach Granite pinch hit for Jason Castro and moved Grossman to second with a sacrifice bunt. Max Kepler pinch hit for Ehire Adrianza and drew a walk on four successive pitches. After pitching coach Larry Rothschild visited the mound, Betances threw a wild pitch that advanced the runners to second and third. Larry, your talk didn't work! Betances proceeded to walk Brian Dozier, after almost striking him out on a foul tip that Gary Sanchez was unable to catch earlier in the at-bat, and the bases were full with only one out. Finally, Joe Girardi realized that it was not Dellin's night and mercifully made the call for Aroldis Chapman.  

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill-NY Post

Chapman proceeded to strike out the dangerous Joe Mauer on three pitches and got Byron Buxton to jump on the first pitch for a fly out to right to end the threat. Chapman had averted disaster in shutting down the Twins on four pitches. Whew!  No wait, a BIG WHEW!  

Credit:  Kathy Willens-Associated Press

Chapman easily retired the Twins in the top of the 9th, with the radar gun reaching 104 mph. His swinging strikeout of Eduardo Escobar ended the game. The Yankees win!

The Yankees (83-67) were unable to make up any ground on the Red Sox.  Boston, despite falling behind by five runs early, overcame the Baltimore Orioles in extra innings, winning 10-8. So, the Yankees remain three games behind the Sox. The Yankees increased their Wild Card lead over the Twins to five games.  

I will continue to be critical of Jaime Garcia because I am not a fan of his, but for this game, he pitched well enough to win. 5 2/3 innings, four hits, one run (no earned runs), and nine strikeouts on 85 pitches. An incredible stat, for him, was no walks given his propensity for free passes. David Robertson (9-2), the winner, has the most wins of any reliever. I love his 'Andrew Miller' like attitude (willingness to pitch anywhere, any time). Aroldis Chapman was clearly the game's MVP for his clean-up of the mess created by Dellin Betances. Even better is that he only threw 16 pitches for the five-out save, his 19th, so he'll be ready to go again tonight. Chapman pitching at the top of his game is crucial for October success.

Nice win, guys!  

Odds & Ends...

MLB.com has released its revised list of Top 100 Prospects and the great Gleyber Torres is #1! Of course, we already knew that and anxiously await his arrival in the Bronx in 2018.

Other notable Yankees and former Yankees include: 23) Clint Frazier; 41) Blake Rutherford (White Sox); 55) Chance Adams; 70) Dustin Fowler (Athletics); 82) Estevan Florial; 84) Justus Sheffield; and 96) Miguel Andujar. Proving that we drafted the wrong son of Dante Bichette Sr, Toronto's Bo Bichette came in at #26. His brother, Dante Jr, has been a disappointment in the Yankees organization and probably will not return. The Yankees took Dante Jr with their first pick (a compensatory pick, #51) in 2011. It was the same year they drafted Greg Bird, Jake Cave and Jon Gray (who didn't sign and was later drafted by the Colorado Rockies).   

Have a great Tuesday! Let's put away those pesky Twins for the series win! Go Yankees!

My Thoughts on Masahiro Tanaka, Opt-Out Clauses and Conflicting Reports

Holy conflicting reports Batman. At the beginning of the day yesterday I read that if Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka opted out of his contract after the 2017 season that the New York Yankees would not pursue him only to read a complete 180 by the time I went to bed. One news publication has it that the Yankees won’t pursue and another, albeit by citing Randy Levine of all people as their source, says the Yankees haven’t made that decision and never said they wouldn’t pursue the Japanese-born right-hander. So which is it? Here are my thoughts on the matter.

Tanaka signed a huge deal worth $155 million when he came to the United States from Japan that included the opt-out clause after the 2017 season as a safety net for Tanaka. No one knew if Tanaka would like playing in New York or if he would rather play on the West Coast like many Japanese-born players do since it is closer to their homes in Japan so the Yankees gave him the opt-out clause that likely sealed the deal for his decision to come here. In Tanaka’s first season after signing the monster deal the righty suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow that would normally require a season-ending and potentially career threatening Tommy John surgery. The Yankees, under the advice of many doctors and specialists including Dr. James Andrews, decided a rest and rehab program would be the best route to handle it and the team and Tanaka did just that despite varying degrees of criticism.

To date, and I am knocking on wood as I type this, Tanaka’s elbow has been fine and the diagnosis from the doctors looks to be a good one but as we all know pitchers are fragile in nature. Any pitcher at any time could suffer a torn UCL and require Tommy John surgery without any signs or warnings, see the very durable Bronson Arroyo as a prime example of this, so it makes sense that the Yankees may be weary and decide to let his “ticking time bomb” of an elbow be someone else’s problem if he opts out but I still don’t buy it.

After the season Michael Pineda is already coming off the books and so is CC Sabathia so losing Tanaka as well would leave the Yankees with exactly zero reliable starting pitchers for the 2018 season. Zero. James Kaprielian cannot be relied upon as he is already battling a second round of elbow concerns this season after missing most of last season with the same injury, Luis Severino has been inconsistent as a starter at best as has Chad Green and Luis Cessa, and as much as I love them as a fan Jordan Montgomery, Bryan Mitchell and Chance Adams have yet to prove themselves at the Major League level just yet. Granted they haven’t been given a huge shot, or no shot at all in the cases of Montgomery and Adams, but they wouldn’t give even me the warm and fuzzy feeling if all three of them started out next season in the Yankees starting rotation. I’m sorry but it’s the truth.

The free agent market looks barren at best for starting pitchers next season, especially considering that the Yankees plan on getting under the luxury tax threshold after this season, and the trade market requires prospects that the Yankees and Brian Cashman just don’t seem willing to part with at this time. It’s a bit of a Catch 22. Do you save money by using your farm system at the Major League level only to get under the cap and blow everyone out of the water for the likes of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado or do you trade those prospects for proven, and more expensive, pieces like Jose Quintana and continue to rebuild while also trying to win? Honestly I’m glad I’m not the one making those decisions because I don’t truly know what I would do.

I have been on board with trading for Quintana all winter long and I won’t back away from that for obvious reasons. He’s been great, he is still young and his contract is extremely cheap for what you would get back from the lefty. The Yankees need to do it now though because he will only get more expensive, prospects wise, as the year goes on. If they are truly worried about Tanaka opting out then they need to pounce on Plan B now, to improve the team and to show Tanaka that they are serious about moving on if he decides to opt-out and hold the opt-out over the teams head for more money.

Ultimately I think I would bring Tanaka back because not every pitcher and player is made for New York but Tanaka has shown that he is. You can’t really put a number on that in my opinion. Sure there are concerns with his elbow but using history as an indicator of the future you could conceivably say that about any and all pitchers that the Yankees throw out there on a day-to-day basis. Some pitchers have never required Tommy John surgery after partial tears of their UCL like Tanaka (Felix Hernandez and Ervin Santana) while some pitched for what seems like forever (Adam Wainwright) before the problem popped up again so who really knows? The human body is an amazing, and yet very unpredictable, thing. It truly is.

The Yankees Decision to Forego Tommy John Surgery w/ Masahiro Tanaka. Good Idea or Bad Idea?

When the New York Yankees decided to sign Masahiro Tanaka out of Japan a couple years back I doubt there were many Yankees fans that were happier than I was. I loved the idea of not only getting greedy and getting the top pitching arm on the free agent market but I also loved the fact that he was young, dominant and from Japan. See the Yankees had seemingly shied away from Japanese pitchers after the Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa debacles and for them to jump back into the pool and jump in face first into the deep end made me happy. So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I learned that Tanaka had a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right throwing elbow, usually a diagnosis like this is followed by the need for Tommy John surgery, and you can imagine how cautiously optimistic, yet extremely skeptical, I was when the team announced they would try a rest and rehab program rather than going under the knife. We are now almost two full seasons removed from that decision giving us enough of a sample size to determine whether the Yankees made the right choice avoiding the knife or if they should have went ahead and got the surgery done. 

I will preface any talk of Tanaka with the fact that every elbow is different, every tear is different and every injury is different. I only use comparisons in this post to show a similarity and possibility that the decision to not undergo surgery could have been the right one. With that said I just want to remind everyone that Ervin Santana had a similar diagnosis and has never required the surgery, the same can be said for the Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez who also pitches with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. One pitcher who eventually had the surgery, but it wasn’t until years later, was Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals so it’s not like the Yankees just flew by the seat of their pants on this decision, especially considering five doctors including the team doctor and Tommy John specialist Dr. James Andrews suggested the rehab program. 

All that and a buck buys you a coke if Tanaka doesn’t pitch well but thankfully for the Yankees he has done just that. Heading into his start today Tanaka has posted the following stat line in his Major League career via Baseball Reference: 

Year	Age	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2015	26	12	7	3.51	24	24	1	154.0	126	66	60	25	27	139	114	3.98	0.994	7.4	1.5	1.6	8.1
2016	27	8	4	3.32	23	23	0	146.1	136	61	54	14	27	120	127	3.33	1.114	8.4	0.9	1.7	7.4

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Do those stats look like the stats of a pitcher who is holding back and nursing an injury to his elbow? If so can you imagine how good he would be if he had undergone the surgery? Which I will also warn you of the fact that no surgery is 100%, see Ryan Madson as a recent example of pitchers who struggle for years to come back from what many fans think is a routine surgery. Every elbow is different, every ligament is different and every injury is different. The rehab program will work for some, and in my opinion has worked for Tanaka, but for others it won’t. That’s life and that’s baseball but I think, for now anyway, we can finally put the rest the debate of whether the Yankees made the right decision or not skipping the surgery. It looks like they did make the right decision and the team, and Tanaka himself, are benefiting from it. 

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins 6/25

I know I’ve said it time and time again but that’s only because I truly mean it. There is nothing better than Saturday afternoon baseball in the Bronx. It’s the definition of American to me but that may be bias since I was born there and has been a Yankees fan my entire life. So today we watch as the Yankees send the rejuvenated Michael Pineda to the mound looking for another solid start since a slight mechanical adjustment to his arm slot was made while the Twins will counter with Ervin Santana. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the WPIX Channel 11 locally, MLB Network nationally and of course MLB TV wherever you are.

To see the finale between these two clubs tomorrow in the Bronx or any of the series with Cole Hamels and the Texas Rangers click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to secure your seat now. Show up to the Cathedral in the Bronx in style by clicking the TGP T-Shirts link also at the top of the blog to grab one of our Jacoby Ellsbury milk carton shirt or any other great shirt currently being sold by our partners and friends at BreakingT.

Follow along during this game and every game this season with us by either liking us on Facebook or by following @GreedyStripes on Twitter. Pineda is ready and so is the Yankees offense so let’s get to it. Go Yankees!

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins 6/25

The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins face off again this afternoon in the Bronx in the usual day game after a night game the MLB scheduler’s love to pull on the weekend. Either way we should see some Yankees regulars sit today to make room for the bench guys, Robert Refsnyder is possible and maybe even a Ronald Torreyes sighting?, although with the off days on Monday and Thursday who knows what Joe Girardi will do. One thing we do know for sure is the pitching matchup this afternoon as the New York Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound to square off against Ervin Santana for the Twins for the second time in a week.

Pineda lasted just 5.1 innings in his last start against these Twins but he made short work of them tying his season high in strikeouts with nine. Pineda did allow four runs, three of them earned, and six hits while taking a no decision but the Yankees did win the game 7-6.

Santana’s last start came against this same Yankees team where he delivered a victory, the only victory in the four game series for Minnesota. This was just Santana’s second victory of the season. Santana allowed three runs in 7.1 innings in the victory against the Yankees last Sunday.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11, MLB Network and MLB TV. Santana handed the Yankees their only loss in the last series between these two clubs so here’s to hoping that history does not repeat itself this afternoon and that lightning does not strike twice. It’s almost comical for Yankees fans to beat up on the Twins at this point so even in a down year where I want to see the rebuilding process jumpstarted with a few trades by the Yankees I’d still like to see a win this afternoon in the Bronx. Go Yankees!

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins 6/19

Here we are again one more time and for the last time as the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins finish off their four game set this weekend in Minnesota. The battle of two of the worst offenses in all of the American League has been fun and I always personally enjoy seeing Joe Mauer and Eduardo Nunez but I'll personally be glad when the Yankees return home on Tuesday to the Bronx. One thing at a time though as we have this game to get on with as the New York Yankees send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to face off against Ervin Santana. The game will be played at 2:10 pm ET inside Target Field and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees return home to the Bronx on Tuesday so click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to visit Ticket Monster and secure your premium seats now. Also be sure to have the right gear on in case the YES Network cameras catch you by clicking the TGP T-Shirts link also on the top of the blog. Until then root for the home team from afar and interact with us by either liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes.

Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Eovaldi? Stay tuned. Go Yankees!

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins 6/19

Here we are once again with quite a bit on the line this afternoon for the New York Yankees. The Yankees will head back to Target Field one more time this afternoon to take on the Minnesota Twins in the finale of their four-game set. In the finale the Yankees will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound looking to harness some of that magic he had during the month of May while the Twins will counter with their best pitcher this season in Ervin Santana.

Eovaldi was absolutely unhittable in May but June has not been good to him and neither has his splitter. Eovaldi had a nine-start unbeaten streak broken last time out after he gave up six runs in four innings and the Yankees righty will look to start another streak this afternoon inside Target Field.


Santana has not been sharp in his last four starts giving up five or more runs in three of those starts including his last start against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Santana has lost five straight decisions leaving Twins manager Paul Molitor scratching his head for much of this season.


The game will be played at 2:10 pm ET inside Target Field and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. The Yankees are off tomorrow before heading back to New York and the Bronx so this game has all the makings of a trap game. If New York gets caught looking ahead to hosting the Colorado Rockies they will get mowed down by a good pitcher like Santana so let's hope this veteran team can keep their head in the game and get another victory. Go Yankees!