Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 8/9

Another afternoon and another afternoon baseball game in the Bronx as the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays finish off their huge three game series this weekend inside Yankee Stadium. The pitching has been strong and the balls flying over the fence have accounted for many of the runs in the series with more of the same expected in the finale this afternoon. The Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound, the team's ace that is becoming more and more home run prone as a member of the Yankees, to face off with the Blue Jay's starter Marco Estrada. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees are off tomorrow and head out on the road on Tuesday to Cleveland before making a trip to Toronto for next weekend's huge series. This gives you another week to click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and another week to have your tickets in hand when the team returns home to the Bronx. Until then head over to Twitter and give @GreedyStripes a follow to root for the home team while they play out on the road.

Tanaka is ready to take the mound and Troy Tulowitzki is ready to step into the batters box so let's get to it. Go Yankees!

Jose Reyes to the Yankees?

When the Toronto Blue Jays and the Colorado Rockies hooked up for a trade before the July 31st trading deadline the entire market and leagues were turned on their heads. LaTroy Hawkins and Troy Tulowitzki went to the Toronto Blue Jays in the deal while Jose Reyes and a stable of prospects went back to Colorado in the deal. After the shock and awe wore off that the face of the Rockies franchise was finally traded the focus turned to the fact that this deal really made little to no sense for Colorado. Trading Tulowitzki was one thing, trading him for Reyes was another thing unless the Rockies planned on flipping Reyes.

While Colorado never really gained any traction on any trade involving Reyes there were many, including CBS Sports own Jon Heyman, that believed the New York Yankees may get involved. Would that make sense for a team that desperately needed an upgrade at second base and would the financial burdens be worth it when it was all said an done?

Reyes is owed the remainder of his $22 million contract in 2015, $22 million in 2016, $22 million in 2017 and has a $22 million team option in 2018 along with a $4 million buyout. Reyes is on a steep decline as a shortstop and may benefit from a move to second base that requires less range and less of a throwing arm. That gaudy contract is not worth even a Gold Glove defender at second base without a steep upgrade offensively, and that is not Reyes unless the Yankees have a time machine that can turn back the clock to around the 2011season.

It wouldn't make sense for Colorado to eat the contract because the point of the deal was pinching pennies, and the team saved $50 million worth with the deal despite the huge contract for Reyes, leaving the Yankees and Rockies as less than ideal trade partners. Reyes to the Yankees would have beat Stephen Drew or Brendan Ryan any day in 2015 but it would be just another deal that blocked Robert Refsnyder and that, in my opinion, is not an option.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 8/9

The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays will finish off their three game series this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Many thought we would see a lot of 10-9 type games in this series but the first game of the series actually went into extra innings tied at one run apiece. The second game showcased David Price in his first start against the Yankees in a Blue Jays uniform and today looks like another great pitching, not offensive, matchup. The Yankees will send their ace Masahiro Tanaka to the mound to face off with Marco Estrada. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

• Tanaka has become home run prone, I asked if he was during the 2014 campaign and that has been cemented in my eyes in 2015. Tanaka has already allowed more home runs this season than he has in 2014, granted the UCL injury limited his time in 2014, but he has still pitched well enough to win. Tanaka is giving up solo home runs and not three run shots leading him to pick up the win in four of his last five starts. 

• Estrada has been a big part of the Blue Jays recent string of success as the right-hander has allowed just two earned runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts with the team. Estrada has won each of his last two starts and looks to win a third straight this afternoon in the Bronx. 

New York desperately needs another win here, every game they can put between them and the rest of the American League East is truly needed. Even if the Yankees got swept in this series I would still be able to say I was confident in this team, because I am personally, but the players confidence would truly take a step forward with another big win this afternoon with their ace on the mound. Let's hope they get this win. Go Yankees!

Quick Hit: Good Problems & Pitching Logjams

The New York Yankees are in the middle of a dog fight in the American League East division with the revamped Toronto Blue Jays. What once was thought of as a given, the fact that the team would run away with this division, is now the farthest thing from that with 11 games remaining head-to-head including this afternoon's game and the lead in the division for New York dwindling. The great news for New York is that reinforcements are on the way, they just have to hold on for a little bit longer.

The Yankees may have a bit of a logjam in the starting rotation in September when Michael Pineda returns off the disabled list, which is the best problem to have in the Major Leagues. Adding Pineda back into the fold with Masahiro Tanaka, Luis Severino, Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova who has pitched better than his record would suggest and CC Sabathia who takes one step forward and two steps back would give the Yankees a strong rotation overall. Not only is that rotation one not to be messed with in September but it would be one to be feared in October.

It's the best problem to have, the team just has to hold on until Pineda gets back.

Weekly Check In: Tyler Wade

This spot here on this early Sunday morning has been reserved for Luis Severino ever since we started this series earlier this season. The good and the bad of it is that with every check in Severino had been better and better which earned him a promotion to Major League Baseball. Severino will now spend the rest of his season in the starting rotation for the Yankees without an innings limit. The bad news for us is we had to scramble and find a new prospect to fill the spot here. Enter Tyler Wade.

Wade was one of the two Yankees shortstops to get a promotion this week, the other being Jorge Mateo who joined the Tampa Yankees. The open slot in Tampa was left behind by Wade who got the call to Double-A with the Trenton Thunder.Wade is seemingly leading the way for the Yankees with their shortstop depth and could become the poster child for the organizational depth if Mateo takes a step back at all during his career.

Welcome to the fold Mr. Wade and welcome to the Thunder.

Year	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	A+-AA	101	431	51	104	11	2	29	31	40	68	.274	.343	.345	.687
2015	A+	98	418	51	103	11	2	28	31	39	65	.280	.349	.353	.702
2015	AA	3	13	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	3	.083	.154	.083	.237

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day in New York Yankees History 8/9: Five Grand Slams

Never in the history of Major League Baseball have five grand slams been hit in the same day across the league until 1999. Five different men hit grand slams on this day to establish a new major league record including the Cardinals Fernando Tatis, the Expos Jose Vidro, the Marlins Mike Lowell, the Mariners Jay Buhner, and the Yankees Bernie Williams.

In an interesting side not Lowell, Williams, and Buhner were all former Columbus Clippers players. One player who never played for the Columbus Clippers was Paul O'Neill. That is relevant today because today is Paul O'Neill Day at Yankee Stadium so be sure to watch today for that.

The Chase Utley Rant You Should Have Known Was Coming

You guys know me by now, I love to rant and rave about my favorite baseball team the New York Yankees. I truly think I would be an asset to the front office and I believe I do a decent job in player evaluations for someone with two kids, a wife, two jobs and a blog (i.e. a guy too busy to read as many scouting reports or see as many games as I'd like to). The fact that the New York Yankees are interested in second baseman Chase Utley makes me not only question my own intelligence, because honestly I don't see why they would be, but it also makes me question my fandom because it continues to block my favorite prospect Robert Refsnyder.

Utley has been on the disabled list with an ankle injury that will likely keep him from reaching 500 plate appearances in 2015. That milestone is important because there is a vesting option written into Utley's contract for the 2016 season based on plate appearances. With Utley not reaching the milestone he is essentially a month and a half rental for any team that acquires him, why would New York though?

Eventually this little mini hot streak for Brendan Ryan and Stephen Drew is going to subside and they are going to come back down to Earth, why would you throw a monkey wrench into the middle of that during the hot streak for both players? Also this team is built on versatility and defensive consistency, neither of which Utley is at this point in his career.

Where is Jose Pirela? Where is Refsnyder? Could either of them do better then this stat line for Utley? In a word.... likely.

Year	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
2015	65	249	218	18	39	7	4	25	3	21	32	.179	.257	.275	.532	48

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Yet Another Pete Rose Bombshell

No man was more excited about the retirement of former Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig more than Pete Rose. Rose has been banned from Major League Baseball after betting on baseball as a manager of the Cincinnati Reds and also as a player for the same club. Rose almost immediately asked that new Commissioner of Major League Baseball Rob Manfred to review his application for reinstatement and a face-to-face meeting. The deck was already stacked against Rose after the initial investigation into his gambling problem but now it's not just the jokers being removed from the deck for Rose, it's the aces too.

Major League Baseball's all-time hit king has been accused of committing statutory rape not only as a player but also as a member for the Reds. Wow, how the mighty have fallen. Former Rose associate Michael Bertolini admitted to "running down young girls" for Rose in Spring Training as young as 12-14 years old. Rose obviously denied the allegations almost immediately but this has to be the straw that breaks the camels back for his application and potential reinstatement into the league, doesn't it?

In a July 13th interview with WCHE the man who investigated Rose originally, John Dowd, broke the news of these allegations. Here is the exact quote and HERE is the link to the interview:

Q: Do you find Pete a likable person? Did you see the window inside his soul?

Dowd: "Ah, no. I don't. I've been asked that question whether he had any moral bearings at all and the answer is no. There's a lot of other activity. ... Michael Bertolini told us that not only did he run bets, but he ran young girls for him down in spring training. Ages 12-14. Isn't that lovely? So that's statutory rape every time you do that. So he's just not the kind of person that I find very attractive. He's a street guy.

"Did I get along with him? Yes. If I'd had gotten him alone do I think could have brought him around? Yes. He knew we had him. When I played the tapes for him and also showed him the betting slips and fingerprints, he turned green and gray. I mean, I thought he was going to go over in that disposition I took of him. He knew he was a goner. And then he chisels. He gets this book and defrauds the publisher a million bucks. The guy only sold 40,000 copies, so he lost a million. He says, 'I wanna come clean.' He didn't come clean."

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 8/8

The New York Yankees and the new-look Toronto Blue Jays will face off this afternoon in the second of a three game set this weekend at Yankee Stadium. Pitching is expected to be at a minimum anytime these two teams face off head-to-head although today’s pitching matchup may be the exception to the rule. The Yankees will send Ivan Nova to the mound looking to build off a great start after fighting tired arm while the Blue Jays will send their newest assassin David Price to the mound to oppose him. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees have one more afternoon game tomorrow before and off day and the beginning of a road trip giving you just one more opportunity to click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and one more chance to see the team live before they leave the Bronx. If you can’t make it live or you’re looking for someone to interact with while the team is out on the road head on over to Twitter and give @GreedyStripes a follow. We’re around for just about each and every Yankees game every season.

Nova is ready to mow down some Blue Jays while the bats are ready to feast on David Price once again in 2015. Let’s watch, Go Yankees!

VIDEO: Watch Yasiel Sierra's Highlight Video

Last week we brought to you the fact that the New York Yankees were interested in right-handed pitcher Yasiel Sierra. Sierra is the latest Cuban born player to defect from his native country in search of a contract with a Major League team and is probably the best pitcher in the pool right now. When we brought you this post we noted that not much was known about Sierra and that we would bring you more when more was available. Well, more is available on Sierra.

Ben Badler of Baseball America released a highlight video of the best Cuban pitching prospect to emerge during this year's international signing period and we bring you that video today. Just as a reminder Sierra would not count against a team's international signing period cap meaning the restrictions placed on the Yankees for blowing past their cap last signing period would not stop the team from acquiring his services. Sierra is a true free agent at this point.

Be sure to click the link SEEN HERE to read what Badler has to say about Sierra and watch the video while giving him the click and the view that he deserves for this free write up. Enjoy.