Yankees Off Night Open Thread

The day has come and gone and now we are here left in the darkness with no Yankees game to speak of and nothing to do. I don’t know about you but as a father of two with a full time job, a wife and this blog I take full advantage of these off days by going to sleep! So I’m off to sleep soon enough, truth be told not really I’ll probably do something until 11:00 pm and regret it in the morning, but not before I leave you with an open thread for the night and a musical recommendation out of my own personal music collections first.

The name of the song is Famous by Kanye West. I really need to find some new music so if you have any suggestions leave them below in the comments section or tweet them to me on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and/or @DanielBurch. I feel like I am becoming what I used to make fun of, an old person who only listens to what they liked back in High School and that doesn’t recognize or like the new stuff. Help!

Goodnight Yankees family! We’re back at it again tomorrow. 

Update on the Yankees “Scranton Shuttle”

Here is the latest happenings with the New York Yankees and the Scranton Shuttle. Check back next off day for another update and be sure to check out our post from earlier in the week describing how the Scranton Shuttle is not as empty as we all may think. Enjoy the off day Yankees family!

4/15/16:

Yankees option RHP Luis Cessa to Triple-A. Yankees call up LHP Tyler Olson.

4/16/16:

Yankees option LHP Tyler Olson to Triple-A. Yankees call up RHP Branden Pinder.

4/22/16:

Branden Pinder placed on the 15 day DL with an elbow strain that would eventually lead to Tommy John surgery. Nick Goody has been called up in his place.

Yankee Stadium Off Day Walk Up Music Recommendation

The New York Yankees are off today as they travel back to the East Coast from Texas but unfortunately they aren’t headed home to the Bronx and Yankee Stadium but are instead headed to Boston and Fenway Park. While things would be better if the team were headed back to New York we can still pretend like we are there with this Yankee Stadium off day walk up music recommendation.

For the past couple of seasons now we have gone over and showcased the walk up music for members of the New York Yankees when they walk up to the plate or enter the game out of the bullpen and this year will be no different. With today’s showcase we will focus on an integral part to the Yankees success this far this season, the seemingly rejuvenated Carlos Beltran.

I don’t know if it’s the upbeat and fast tempo music he walks up to if he’s found the fountain of youth but him and his knees have looked great this far this season. It’s a great sign going forward for the Yankees. Anyway, here is his walk up song Echa Pa'lla by Pitbull.

Enjoy and we’ll be back to all business tomorrow!

The Yankees Offense vs. the Red Sox Pitching This Weekend

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are set to face off head-to-head in a three-game series this weekend inside Fenway Park so we are going to use today's off day to prepare. Like most games in series between these two teams it all comes down to the pitching so I wanted to take a quick minute to see what the Yankees have done against the three starting pitchers that they will see this weekend in Boston.

Henry Owens:

Rick Porcello:

David Price:

All stats and images courtesy of ESPN.com

Luis Severino & His Hypothetical Leash

The New York Yankees have a history, at least during my lifetime, of having an obvious bias against and preference towards veteran players over young guys and prospects. Say what you will about the Core Four coming through the minor league system or the flood of young guys that came up in 2005 but on the grand scheme of things the Yankees prefer the veterans. It was the veterans getting hurt in 2005 that forced the hand of Brian Cashman that brought us Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner and Chien-Ming Wang. With another possible youth movement headed towards the Bronx and with their poster child and leader Luis Severino struggling out of the gates this season you have to wonder what it means and how long Severino’s leash will be this season. 

Severino has struggled this season and you have to wonder just how much more patience the Yankees have in them. The starting rotation as a whole is struggling and there is just one man in it with a minor league option left and that’s Severino. Now I am a huge believer that you have to let a young guy figure it out in the Major Leagues but this is not my opinion that I think the Yankees will send Severino down or should send Severino down I’m only using history and common sense as a way to figure this thing out. Ivan Nova is pitching well in the bullpen and he’s in a contract year while Severino is struggling with minor league options remaining, it seems like a no brainer if you’re trying to compete in 2016 like the team says they are.

There is nothing to say that Severino couldn’t go down to Triple-A and figure it out for a few starts before coming back in late May or June. There’s no shame in it either. I don’t think it should come to that though and here’s why. If you watch the games and not just read the box score the next day you will see that Severino shakes off Brian McCann far too much. Now there is believing in your stuff and there is being foolish and the difference is probably about as big as an inch. If you believe in your stuff and you win with it, great, but when you shake off a veteran catcher known for calling great games and get hit hard like he did on Tuesday night you have to think that the problem is not with Severino’s stuff but with his head.

Someone needs to sit down with Severino and tell him to not only trust the stuff and the work ethic that got him to the Bronx but to trust his catcher as well. If he can’t trust his catcher then he will likely be sent down for a few weeks to send a message and open some eyes that this is the way it needs to be. If that doesn’t fix it then the leash may get shorter and shorter as the Yankees have never shown much patience with their young prospects, especially their pitchers. 

Weekly Check In: Aaron Judge

The New York Yankees have a gluttony of outfield options and prospects on their roster right now and in their minor leagues but none of them stand ahead of the class like Aaron Judge. I mean that figuratively and I mean that literally. Judge is easily the top outfield prospect and he’s also probably playing center if the Yankees ever decide to put together a pick-up basketball game or team. The dude is huge and he is intimidating at the plate and has put to bed any rumors thus far that he cannot handle Triple-A pitching or the Major Leagues.

Judge has come out of the gates hitting well and hitting well even when the box scores don’t always reflect it. I’ve read numerous reports from Donnie Collins and others that he altered his stance a little and it’s showing great dividends. He is getting to balls inside a little better thus far this season and he is also laying off the breaking stuff that hampered his development a bit last season. Judge made the adjustments he needed to in order to compete at the next level and beyond and no one is happier than the New York Yankees organization.

One day, and it may be one day soon, the Judge will be unleashed on the rest of the league and we will be able to look back at posts like this and posts from others who doubted his ability in the top minor league stop before the show and laugh. Well I’ll laugh because I had him making it all along. 

Year	Age	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	24	AAA	17	77	8	20	4	2	9	1	4	23	.282	.312	.423	.734

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day in New York Yankees History 4/28: Yogi Berra Fired, Billy Martin Hired (Again)

On this day in 1985 Yogi Berra was fired as manager of the New York Yankees after starting the season 6-10. Billy Martin is hired to replace Berra who would be managing the Yankees for his fourth time. Berra vows to never return to Yankee Stadium for as long as George Steinbrenner is the owner of the team and he didn't for 14 years. Eventually Berra and Steinbrenner reconciled and Berra is now a mainstay at Yankee Stadium and in spring training camps.

Yanks Fall to Rangers, 3-2

     A night after the Yankees were blown out in Arlington, they sent C.C. Sabathia to the mound to try to take the rubber game of the three game series. The Rangers send lefty Martin Perez to the mound to oppose New York, bringing along with him his 11/13 strike out to walk ratio. Texas has lost all four starts made by the Venezuelan this season. If the Pinstripers were to win their second consecutive series, they would need to continue Perez's dubious streak of losses. and, would need a quality outing by their big left-hander.
    Both southpaws cruised through the first inning. In the top of the second, Starlin Castro finally got a hit with two outs and a runner in scoring position, something that has eluded the Yanks altogether too frequently the season. Castro lined a single into left, scoring Teixeira from third, 1-0. However, Texas would quickly answer in the bottom of the inning. After Sabathia allowed base hits to Ryan Rua and Rougned Odor, first baseman Hanser Alberto squibbed the ball back to the mound, where C.C. threw over to first while Rua broke for the plate and scored from third. Ultimately, the inning would be over when catcher Brian McCann threw out Odor attempting to take third. Then, in the bottom of the third,  Sabathia led off the inning walking Brian Holiday, who eventually scored on a two-out base hit by slugger Adrian Beltre, pushing the score to 2-1, Rangers.
     In the fourth, amidst a chorus of boos, Alex Rodriguez hit only the fourth homerun off a left-handed pitcher by a Yankee this season, sending the ball into the left field stands, tying the game at two. On the other side of the ball, the bugaboo for C.C. Sabathia all season has been his inability to get through the line up a third time. Tonight, in the sixth, going through the lineup for the third time, Sabathia walked the sixth hitter in the lineup, Odor, and then gave up yet another two-out RBI hit, this time a triple, off the bat of shortstop Elvis Andrus, giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead, where it would stay the rest of the night. All told, Sabathia did end up with a quality start, throwing six innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out five. However, the inability of the Yankees to put together a big inning, or even to score more than two runs, made Sabathia's outing all for not.
     One of a few positives that can be taken away from tonight's game is that Alex Rodriguez end of the night with three hits, including a homerun. Having began the series with an injury, hopefully tonight's performance is a preview of things to come for the 40-year-old. Another positive to be taken away from tonight is that the bullpen continues to pitch exceptionally well, allowing zero runs yet again.
     New York is off tomorrow night, but will begin a very important series in Fenway, against our rival Red Sox, beginning on Friday at 7:05 PM ET.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Texas Rangers 4/27

The New York Yankees have two tasks today and the good news for New York is that one tasks pretty much coincides with the other. The first task being achieving a victory against the Texas Rangers tonight inside Globe Life Park in Arlington and the second being not looking ahead to a large series with the Boston Red Sox that is looming this weekend. This has trap game written all over it, especially with the off day tomorrow, so hopefully the Yankees keep their foot on the gas and get another win to put in the win column. Donned with the task of getting the victory is the Yankees 5^th starter CC Sabathia while the Rangers send Martin Perez to the mound to oppose him. The game will be played at 8:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN and MLB TV.

The Yankees have an off day tomorrow before heading to Boston to face off with the Red Sox inside of Fenway Park. The Yankees won’t see home for almost another week which gives you plenty of time to click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and to get your Yankees tickets in hands when the team returns home to Yankee Stadium. Until then though you can just live tweet the game with us on Twitter by giving @GreedyStripes, it’s almost like being there.

One more game in the heat in Texas and we head back to the north east where Mother Nature is not done playing her usual tricks. One day it’s warm, another day’s it’s freezing. Nothing cures this more than a win though so let’s get one. Go Yankees!

They Are Finally Updated!

I wanted to apologize for not having the Roster and Payroll pages updated. I would like to say that I have a good excuse for not having it done, but the truth is I'm just a neglectful idiot.

Anyway, those pages are finally up to date, and I'm going to try and keep them that way.

Thanks,
Bryan