Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 9/10

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays are back at it again today in the Bronx as these two teams face off for the third time in this four game set. What a series this has been already and it’s only going to get better, if that’s even possible, today with this intense pitching matchup. What can both Masahiro Tanaka for the Yankees and Chris Archer for the Rays to do top the heroics of Tyler Austin on Thursday night? Let’s find out.

Tanaka is making my argument for me that he should at least be in the discussion for the American League’s Cy Young Award race. As the season goes on Tanaka only looks like he is getting stronger which is evident by his 5-0 record and 2.08 ERA in his last six starts dating back to August 7^th. One of those starts includes a victory against these Rays despite giving up four runs in seven innings of work. In the start Tanaka struck out eight and walked none.

Archer is not having a great season by all accounts but he is still a talented player with a knack for beating the New York Yankees, 17 losses this season or not. Archer heads into the start tonight fresh off a no-decision in his last start against JA Happ and the Toronto Blue Jays, a start he left with the lead before the bullpen blew the lead.

The game will be played at 4:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. The Yankees have been playing playoff-type baseball for the better part of a month now and these kids the team has brought up haven’t seemed fazed at all. This is uber-impressive and it only gets more impressive with every win as they step one step closer to the postseason. Need a win. Get a win. I keep saying it but only because it keeps working. Superstitions and all. Go Yankees!

The Yankees Remaining Schedule & Playoff Chances After the Tampa Bay Series

The New York Yankees have made a whole lot of people eat crow and choke on their words, maybe no one more so than myself truth be told, in the second half of this season after a fire sale of sorts at the August 1^st trading deadline. The Yankees traded off their best hitter in Carlos Beltran, arguably their two best relievers in Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman and other veteran pieces like Ivan Nova yet the team only got better, not worse, after the sale. At one point this season right around the All-Star break I typed up a post looking at the Yankees schedule in the second half and I came to the conclusion that the Yankees were doomed for failure in the coming months. New York had series with the Baltimore Orioles, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Boston Red Sox looming and while I had them dead in the water they have come out swinging stronger than ever.

Now with the playoffs a real possibility, despite my previous predictions, the Yankees are sprinting towards the finish line and playing their best baseball of the season at the best possible time. That got me thinking, after this series with the Rays which on paper they should do well in what does the rest of the schedule look like?

9/12 – 9/4 vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (3)

9/15 – 9/18 @ Boston Red Sox (4)

9/20 – 9/22 @ Tampa Bay Rays (3)

9/23 – 9/26 @ Toronto Blue Jays (4)

9/27 – 9/29 vs. Boston Red Sox (3)

9/30 – 10/2 vs. Baltimore Orioles (3)

*Insert “So you’re saying there’s a chance” meme here*

I won’t be the ones to count them out. Not anymore. 

Weekly Prospects Check In: Jordan Foley

Jordan Foley is a name that many casual Yankees or casual prospect following fans probably don’t know or don’t know much about so that is why we are showcasing him here this morning. That is one of the ultimate goals with these posts you see, not only to check in with them and see who is hot and who is not but to also make these potential Yankees players a household name. Foley is currently down in High-A with the Tampa Yankees and he pitched in Game One and Game Three of the playoffs for them out of the bullpen in relief.

In the series that led to the Tampa Yankees winning the North Division crown Foley threw four innings allowing just one run while notching a save in the deciding game. Here is the rest of his stat line for the season that isn’t over yet as the Tampa Yankees now look to clinch the Florida State League championship:

Year	Age	Lev	W	L	ERA	G	GF	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2016	22	A+-AA	4	0	3.03	36	11	2	65.1	51	24	22	4	33	88	1.286	7.0	0.6	4.5	12.1
2016	22	A+	4	0	3.06	35	11	2	64.2	51	24	22	4	32	88	1.284	7.1	0.6	4.5	12.2
2016	22	AA	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	1.500	0.0	0.0	13.5	0.0

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/10: Griffith Stadium & Home Runs

There has not been much in the way of good history on this day in New York Yankees history unfortunately so this was a tough post to type out. I considered talking about the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim clinching the AL West earlier than any other team in the history of the division with a 4-2 victory over the Yankees in 2008 but decided against it later. I also considered talking about Pedro Martinez of the Boston Red Sox pitching a one hit complete game victory against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium while striking out 18 batters. In the contest on this day in 1999 Pedro extended his own record to 40 consecutive innings with at least one strikeout per inning. Finally I remembered this day in 1919 the Cleveland Indians Ray Caldwell no hit the Yankees after being released by the Boston Red Sox a mere two months previously.

Instead I decided to keep my Wednesday morning positive and I instead focused on this day in 1950 when Joe DiMaggio became the first major league hitter to hit three home runs in Washington's Griffith Stadium. The Yankees would beat the Senators 8-1 while DiMaggio hit a trio of home runs for the third time in his career. Whether it be a coincidence or whether the dimensions at Yankee Stadium played into it but DiMaggio had three separate road games with three home runs and never had such a game at Yankee Stadium.

Yanks Outlast Rays, Mother Nature, Win 7-5

On a very wet night in the Bronx, the Yankees beat the Rays to improve to 10 games over .500  for the first time this season. Although Michael Pineda got the start for New York tonight, the big righty did not go deep enough into the game to recieve a decision. Getting the ball and the loss for Tampa Bay was the rookie Blake Snell, who fell to 5-8 with his subpar performance tonight against one of the hottest teams in baseball.

The Yankees were quick to jump on young Snell as they hit the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning. Jacoby Ellsbury led off the frame with an opposite field single and scored when the next batter Rob Refsnyder drilled a double into the left-center field gap, giving the Bombers an early first inning one run lead.

Snell's struggles continued in the bottom of the third: as the Yankees poured it on, knocking the young lefty out of the ballgame. Gary Sanchez absolutely obliterated a Snell fastball to dead center, sending the ball into Monument Park to put the Yanks up by two. Mark Teixeira followed with a double, advancing to third on a Didi Gregorius ground out. During Chase Headley's at bat, Snell chucked a wild pitch that enabled Teixeira to score from third to make it a 3-0 game. Headley ended up with a single to right, forcing manager Kevin Cash to pull his rookie out of the game.

Pineda was cruising through the first three frames, but it was the top of the fourth that the Rays got to Big Mike. With one out, Pineda served up back-to-back solo shots to Logan Morrison and Steven Souza Jr., pulling the Rays to within one.

In the bottom of the fourth, Rob Refsnyder hit a two-out single before the rains came. After about a 20 minute delay, the Rays put Kevin Jepsen in to attempt to keep the game at a one run deficit. Jepsen proceeded to allow a single to Sanchez and a walk to Starlin Castro to load the bases for Teixeira. And Big Tex delivered in a big way as he smacked the 11th grand slam of his career, a paint-scraper that bounced off the top of the wall and into the seats to extend the Yankee lead to five.

Although he had a five run lead. Pineda continued to nibble at the strike zone, which ultimately led to his departure from the game. With one out, Pineda served up a walk to Logan Forsythe and a hard hit single to Kevin Kiermaier. After a ground out by Evan Longoria, originally called a double play but was overturned, Girardi pulled a disgruntled Pineda for Chasen Shreve.

Shreve got out of the fifth unscored upon, but he did give up a run in the top of the sixth as Tampa tried to claw their way back into the game. Logan Morrison started the sixth with a double, coming around to score when the next batter Souza lofted a single to right that made it a four run game. After a strikeout of Corey Dickerson, Shreve was pulled for Adam Warren, who proceeded to cough up an RBI single to the light-hitting Bobby Wilson that made it 7-4 Yankees. Warren did get Forsythe out on strikes, preventing any further damage.

There would go on to be two more rain delays, with the latter being the most significant. While Betances was on the mound with two on and one out in the top of the ninth, the skies opened up yet again to force the tarps on the field for a third time. After a 50 minute delay this time, the 6'8" closer came back out to give up another run but ended up closing out a very long night with an enormous win that pulled the Pinstripers to within ONE game of the second Wild Card spot.

These two teams will face off in game three tomorrow, probably extremely tired, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 PM/EST.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 9/9

Here we go ladies and gentleman as the New York Yankees remain home in the Bronx to play host to the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a four game set this week and weekend. In the second game of this series the Yankees will send Big Mike Michael Pineda to the mound to square off against Blake Snell for the Rays. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

You have just two more chances this weekend to see the Rays and the Yankees in the Bronx including tomorrow’s contest with Masahiro Tanaka taking on Chris Archer. To see that game or any game live this season click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog. If you can’t make it live then you can always following along during the game with us by liking our page on Facebook or by giving our twitter handle @GreedyStripes a follow. Do it!

Pineda vs. Snell. Need a win. Get a win. Go Yankees!

Weekly Prospects Check In: Jorge Mateo

We couldn’t let a week go by without checking in with one of the Yankees top prospects, Jorge Mateo. Now we have been focusing on the Yankees minor league affiliates who are in the playoffs right now and Mateo, along with Gleyber Torres right next to him, are fighting for the championship as we speak down in Tampa. Can Mateo and Torres lead the team to a championship? We’ll have to stay tuned for that.

Until that question can be answered here is Mateo’s stat line for the 2016 regular season. Please call him up to Double-A Trenton next season. Please!

Year	Age	Tm	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	21	Tampa	113	507	65	118	16	8	47	36	33	108	.254	.306	.379	.685

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

With September Call Ups It’s Not Too Late to Win Your Fantasy League

The calendar says September which means time is running out both on the 2016 regular season and in your fantasy league which ends a bit before the regular season does. Things may look grim for some teams right now and they may look equally as grim in your fantasy league but have no fear, September call ups are here. What does that mean for you? Well it’s simple, all 30 MLB teams went from having 25 players at their disposal to having 40 options now giving you more opportunities to mix and match. Need stolen bases? Well teams like the Yankees have players like Eric Young Jr. whose sole purpose on the roster is to steal bases and pinch run. Need home runs? Pick up a guy like Aaron Judge who should hit plenty with more than a few strikeouts thrown in the middle. These are just two of many examples of how September call ups can aid you in pushing and potentially winning your fantasy league this season. It’s not too late but it’s getting late, early.

Need Power?

Randal Grichuk had a productive August and it should continue in September for the power hitting Red Birds. Ryan Schimpf has also handled hitting in Petco Park well and has put up impressive power numbers as a second baseman. He, like Aaron Judge, will strikeout a ton though so it’s a double-edged sword.

Need Stolen Bases?

Take your pick. Keon Broxton of Milwaukee steals a ton of bases and gets on base at a .360 OBP clip while Ender Inciarte is a contact hitter with a lot of speed for Atlanta. Nick Franklin of the Tampa Bay Rays is doing enough to remain in the conversation while the Yankees should give Eric Young Jr. plenty of base stealing opportunities with Brian McCann and others in the lineup.

Need Veteran Pitching?

Ivan Nova has been terrific for the Pittsburgh Pirates posting a 2.87 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. Where was this guy when he was with the Yankees? Alex Cobb is also back and will be making his second start in almost two years tonight for the Rays.

Need Rookies?

Byron Buxton has been disappointing to date in his MLB career but he has impressed since his latest call up. Yoan Moncada has impressed as well and should play every day for the remainder on the season. Moncada will strikeout a lot but he adds a lot to almost every other category.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 9/9

Here we are again ladies and gentleman in the Bronx ready to welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to town for the second game of their four game set. The Yankees are still riding high off their sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays earlier in the week and have found a new-found second win in both the 2^nd Wild Card and AL East Division playoff races. That only continues if they beat the teams they are supposed to beat including these pesky and spoiler-ready Tampa Rays. In the contest tonight the Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound looking to start a streak of success and lead the Yankees to the postseason while the Rays will counter with Blake Snell.

Pineda has not won a start for the Yankees since August 5^th in a start at home against the Cleveland Indians. Now it’s been over a month since a victory but to get that victory Pineda will have to pitch better than he did last time he faced the Rays on July 31^st where he gave up five runs in six innings. Big Mike, please show your ugly head.

Snell on the other hand was fantastic in his last start against the Toronto Blue Jays lasting six innings while allowing just one run against an awesome offense. Snell became the first left-handed starter to hold the Blue Jays without an extra-base hit since May 26^th of this season in that start. The Yankees have plenty of right-handed power now though so I don’t expect the same success tonight in the Bronx.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. Need a win. Get a win. I know I keep saying it but as I keep saying it the Yankees keep getting a win when they need it most so who am I to argue with the Baseball Gods? I’m not that stupid nor am I ignorant. Go Yankees!

Masahiro Tanaka, Sabermetrics and the AL Cy Young Award

When you think of the Top 5 candidates for the American League Cy Young Award in 2016 who immediately comes to mind? Anyone’s Top 5 is probably pretty arguable, some will have this pitcher and others will have that pitcher, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there isn’t too many people out there who would have the Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka in their Top 5. Now I can only use my Top 5 as an indicator of whether Tanaka should be in the AL Cy Young Award discussion but I am going to do just that if possible by comparing some key sabermetric stats of the Top 5 and Tanaka himself. Is it a perfect analysis? Of course not but the committee who votes on this award has proven in the past that they take sabermetrics into account and it’s not just about wins and losses anymore, ask Felix Hernandez, and we all should too. So here we go.

My Top 5 in the running for the AL Cy Young Award in no particular order is Zach Britton of the Baltimore Orioles, Jose Quintana of the Chicago White Sox and Cole Hamels of the Texas Rangers, Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox and Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians with an honorable mention for Steven Wright of the Boston Red Sox, Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox, JA Happ for the Toronto Blue Jays and David Price of the Boston Red Sox. Yes I know, I didn’t make it easy on myself including a relief pitcher but without a clear-cut winner or favorite here Britton may actually run away with the award. If Tanaka doesn’t win it first.

WAR:

Britton – 3.3 (in just over 50 innings)

Quintana – 4.5

Hamels – 5.0

Tanaka – 4.7

Porcello – 4.2

Kluber – 5.8

VALUE:

Britton – $15.3 MILLION

Quintana – $36.9 MILLION

Hamels – $20.4 MILLION

Tanaka – $37.9 MILLION

Porcello – $31.8 MILLION

Kluber - $37.8 MILLION

RA9:

Britton – 1.15

Quintana – 3.23

Hamels – 3.61

Tanaka – 3.46

Porcello – 3.57

Kluber – 3.45

WHIP:

Britton – 0.800

Quintana – 1.125

Hamels – 1.305

Tanaka – 1.082

Porcello – 1.023

Kluber – 1.044

FIP:

Britton – 2.01

Quintana – 3.42

Hamels – 4.02

Tanaka – 3.26

Porcello – 3.52

Kluber – 3.19

ERA+:

Britton – 687 (not a typo)

Quintana – 129

Hamels – 141

Tanaka – 141

Porcello - 143

Kluber - 150

Based on these stats Tanaka is an extreme long shot at winning the AL Cy Young Award but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he should be. He’s done more with less in terms of offense, especially in the first half of the season, he faces some of the best competition in the American League (it looks likely that the AL East could send three teams to the postseason in 2016) and he pitches in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in all of Major League Baseball. The problem with the AL Cy Young Award voting and sabermetrics is we have yet to see any sort of consistency in the voting and in the criteria for voting which complicates things a ton. Will Tanaka win it? It depends who is looking at what stat at what time, what they had for breakfast and which way the wind is blowing I guess because I have no idea. I do know one thing though, Tanaka should at least be in the discussions for the award when it’s decided on and handed out this winter.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference except “VALUE” which is courtesy of Fangraphs.