TGP Awards: Best Yankees Game In 2016

The New York Yankees, like many teams this season, played in 162 long and grueling games this season so that gives you 162 opportunities to name the best game of the season. It’s easy to narrow it down, take the Yankees losses away and you have cut the field down by almost half, and I finally decided on a singular game to win the award. Was it the Andrew Miller strikeout of David Ortiz with the bases loaded causing the retiring slugger to throw one of the biggest hissy fits in all of Major League Baseball history? Was it the debut games for Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge when they went back-to-back with home runs to begin their careers? Or was it the Mark Teixeira walk-off (first walk-off hit in the regular season of his MLB career mind you) grand slam game from September?

Of course it was Mark Teixeira’s walk off grand slam, how could it not be? For Teixeira to do something he has never done in his MLB career for the first time just four games before his retirement ceremony is something special. To do it in the Bronx and against the Boston Red Sox in dramatic fashion makes it that much more awesome but the icing on the cake was the hands up in the air while Brett Gardner dumped purple Gatorade over his head. That, my friends, makes for a classic.

Congratulations to Teixeira on the home run, the award and an amazing MLB career. 

TGP Awards: Best Yankees Pitcher of 2016

The New York Yankees had a whole lot of pitching come through the Bronx in 2016 whether it be in the starting rotation or in the bullpen but throughout the entire season they had one man that stood above the rest. No, not literally, because if it were literally then you would know that Dellin Betances won the award but figuratively. Instead I’m talking about the player who stood above the rest in the clubhouse, statistically and as a leader of the staff. Masahiro Tanaka, come on down.

Tanaka was the leader of the staff for the Yankees, hands down in my opinion, but he also is at least in the discussions for the American League Cy Young Award, again in my opinion, for 2016. Tanaka was the third most valuable pitcher in the American League according to his 5.4 WAR calculated by Baseball Reference while also posting an impressive 3.07 ERA and 1.077 WHIP in 31 starts.

At 27-years old Tanaka set a career high in the Major Leagues with 199.2 innings pitched and for much of the year he looked to get stronger and better as the season went on before a “slight, slight” strain of his forearm ended his season prematurely as he missed his final two starts.

Congratulations to Tanaka on the award and on the amazing 2016 season.

TGP Awards: Yankees Rookie of the Year for 2016

Ladies and gentleman we are back with the TGP Awards and I’m your host, Daniel Burch. We have a great show lined up for you today and have already given out a big award in the MVP Award. Yeah that might be a little bit backwards to give out a big award first but we like to grab your attention early and often, sue me. We continue this award show with the TGP Award for the Yankees Rookie of the Year Award in 2016. You know the nominees, now onto the winner.

Was it ever any question? Gary Sanchez! El Gary Sanchez. The Kraken. Gary Sanchez!

Gary Sanchez was the Yankees second most valuable position player in 2016 according to Baseball Reference and their WAR stat despite only playing in a third of the team’s games. Sanchez, at 23-years old mind you, finished the season with a .299/.376/.657 triple slash with 20 home runs and 42 RBI in just 229 plate appearances. Sanchez could win the MLB Rookie of the Year Award as well, that’s how good he was for the Yankees in a short spurt this season.

The Yankees went 31-25 with Sanchez in the lineup which roughly breaks out to a 91 win season if they kept up that pace all season long instead of the 84 wins the team was able to muster with and without him this season. I gave him considerable consideration for that reason alone for the team’s MVP Award but I couldn’t give it to him after just 56 games. I feel perfectly comfortable giving him the Rookie of the Year Award though and I did just that.

Congratulations to Gary on the award. We’ll be right back. 

TGP Awards: Yankees MVP for 2016

It’s that time of the year again ladies and gentleman where we give out maybe the most prestigious award in all of Major League Baseball. The TGP Awards. I’ve talked to, or maybe I didn’t, many former MVP Award winners and Cy Young Award winners and even Rookie of the Year Award winners and they’ve told me, or maybe they haven’t, that they would trade all those awards and accolades away for a TGP Award. You know how flattering and humbling that is to hear? So today we continue with the first of four awards we’re going to be giving away today, the Yankees MVP for 2016.

Yes, I’m crazy and I’m not afraid to admit it. Didi Gregorius is the team’s MVP this season and will bring home the TGP Award for Yankees MVP. Kind of crazy considering that Gary Sanchez put up such an impressive run in his 229 plate appearances but Didi was just the solid force that kept everything together all season long.

Didi hit at the top of the order, in the middle of the lineup and at the end of the manager’s lineup card and did so without a single audible complaint. Didi anchored the infield at the shortstop position and once again left us wondering who that Derek Jeter guy was for all those years making routine plays look spectacular only because of a lack of range and first step while producing a strong throwing arm. I may be exaggerating about the “Derek Jeter who” because Jeter was a once-in-a-lifetime type player for the Yankees but no one can deny just how hard it was to watch him defensively at times throughout his career.

Didi did it all this season and showed that the second half of the 2015 season was not simply a blip on the radar, it’s the norm and we all better get used to it. Congratulations to Didi on his stellar 2016 season and his TGP Award. Many more to come.

MLB Postseason Schedule for 10/16

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians will take their first day off the American League Championship series as the home teams shifts while the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs get caught up in the National League Championship Series. Today Game Two of the NLCS happens in Wrigley Field with the Cubs playing host to Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Enjoy the game and enjoy whats left of your weekend.

Los Angeles Dodgers @ Chicago Cubs (Game 2) inside Wrigley Field at 8:08 pm ET on FS1

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/16: Aaron Bleeping Boone

Watch the entire Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS right here for free on the blog. 

The most hated and closely played rivalry in Major League Baseball history is between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. This rivalry was never stronger, at least during my years of being a fan, then in the early and mid-2000’s. On this day in 2003 the Yankees and the Red Sox played Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. After the Yankees came storming back late in the game off Pedro Martinez Aaron Boone came to bat in the bottom of the 11th inning to face Tim Wakefield. On the first pitch he saw the Yankee third baseman slammed a home run down the left field line helping the Yankees capture their 39th American League pennant of the franchise’s history and yet another decisive blow to the Red Sox.


Speaking of the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry in the postseason and Pedro Martinez it was on this day in 1999 when Martinez faced off with the Yankees ace Roger Clemens in the ALCS. This was touted as one of the best pitching matchups of all time on paper but that did not translate onto the field. Clemens did not last three innings in the contest as the Red Sox blew out the Yankees 13-1.



Also on this day in 1962 the Yankees beat the San Francisco Giants in Candlestick Park in Game 7 of the World Series to capture the team’s 20th World Series Championship. The Giants threatened late before Willie McCovey lined out to the Yankees Bobby Richardson as New York won the game 1-0.


It is also worth mentioning that the New York Post sucks... sucked back in 2003 and it sucks now.

As we remember Aaron Boone hit that dramatic walk off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox in 2004 to cap off an improbable comeback for the New York Yankees. The NY Post didn’t share the same enthusiasm and confidence as the team apparently as the newspaper released early editions of the paper claiming that the Yankees had fallen to the Red Sox in Game 7. The game was over shortly after 11:00 pm… whatever.

Yankees Postseason History Recap: Mickey…. Mantle

Now here’s one I didn’t see live and in person, the game was Game 7 of the 1952 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Vin Scully was working for the Dodgers then and Mickey Mantle was hitting for the Yankees and that’s exactly what he did in this deciding game.

In the Top of the 6^th inning with the score tied at 2-2 the Yankees center fielder stepped up to the plate to face the Dodgers Joe Black. Mantle proceeded to hit an eventual game-winning home run to right-center field against Black and later added insult to injury with an RBI single in the seventh inning to give the Yankees their fourth straight World Series ring.

This was also the second consecutive World Series victory over the Dodgers which never hurt since they were both native New York teams.

Article Revisit: Bring me Tyler Clippard

Hey, sometimes I get them right. It just takes a bit longer than I expected. This was written one-year ago today and in the article I asked for Tyler Clippard, the same pitcher that Brian Cashman acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks this summer in a trade. Enjoy the article and tell me who else you want me to write an article about so when Cashman eventually gets around to reading the blog he can make my words come true and leave them below in the comments section. Thank you.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE SEEN HERE

The New York Yankees may or may not be in on a right-handed relief pitcher this coming offseason as the team continues their goal towards building a super bullpen. As of right now I am banking on Adam Warren somehow working his way into the 2016 starting rotation leaving a large gaping hole in the Yankees bullpen, especially from the right side of the pitching rubber. Darren O'Day would be nice, albeit expensive, but would a familiar face for the Yankees be even better? Remember the Yankees once traded away their former top pitching prospect for a relief pitcher named Jonathan Albaladejo in 2007, that man's name was Tyler Clippard.

Clippard has had success both in the American League and the National League as the 7th inning guy, the 8th inning guy and most notably in the closer position. Clippard has pitched with the New York Yankees, the Washington Nationals, the Oakland Athletics and the New York Mets thus proving he is suited just as well in either league and seemingly suited for a big market like New York during a pennant chase and a playoff series. Clippard is legit and would not be attached to any sort of draft pick compensation after being traded before the July 31st trade deadline.

I'm not quite sure what Clippard would want in terms of a contract but if he was willing to come to New York for three years and an average annual value of $10 million I sign him every day of the week. If Clippard wants to sign a two-year deal to be off the books after 2017 just in time for the luxury tax plan to come to fruition for a higher AAV then I am okay with that too. Clippard allows the team to move Adam Warren to the starting rotation and completely locks down the back end of the bullpen from the 5th or 6th inning on. He's that good and he makes the bullpen that good.

Bring me T-Clip so I can go back to 2005 when I was quite possibly Clippard's biggest fan.

My Predictions for the 2016 NLDS

Ladies and gentleman the National League Division series have been decided and only two teams stand in the way of one another fighting for one final position. The World Series. Who will take it home? Will it be the Chicago Cubs who will finally reverse the Curse of the Billy Goat and win their first World Series in over 100 years or will it be the Los Angeles Dodgers who took the Washington Nationals to the brink before finally sending them home for the long winter ahead. Will it be the Cubs who won the National League Central Division race and sent the San Francisco Giants home in the NLDS or will it be the Los Angeles Dodgers who won a decisive Game 5 on the road just two nights ago? Let’s find out.

Earlier today we looked at how the Cubs offense has done against the Dodgers Game One starter Kenta Maeda and we also checked out how the Dodgers offense has done this season against the Cubs starter Jon Lester who starts tonight for Chicago and we’ve also seen what these two teams have done against each other head-to-head this season. So who wins and how many games will it take? Boy this one is harder to call if you ask me.

I want to go with the Cubs because they are clearly the better team in almost every aspect of the game. The Cubs have a better offense, a better defense, better pitching and they are young and hungry. Can the team get the whole curse out of their minds before they become their own worst enemies though? Ultimately I think that they can but I don’t think it will be as easy as it should be for the Cubbies.

I’m taking the Cubs in the NLCS but I can see it taking six games before they do it. The Cubs have to choke away a game or two just to make it interesting, don’t they?

Get ready for your Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians World Series in 2016 ladies and gentleman. 

The NLCS Pitching vs. Offense Breakdown

You know what they say about the playoffs, pitching and defense wins championships. Now thanks to great sites like Baseball Reference and Fangraphs we could all nerd out and compare these two defenses against one another but what is the fun in that? Especially on a Saturday, so instead we’ll focus on the pitching. What has the pitching for both the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers done against each other’s offense throughout their careers? Once again, thanks to great sites like Baseball Reference Fangraphs and this time ESPN we can easily find out. Enjoy as we get ready for the beginning of the NLCS here in a few short hours. Until then, enjoy your Saturday or Game Two of the ALCS that will also start here in a couple hours.

Jon Lester vs. Los Angeles

Kyle Hendricks vs. Los Angeles

Jake Arrieta vs. Los Angeles

John Lackey vs. Los Angeles

Kenta Maeda vs. Chicago

Kenta has never faced a single Chicago Cubs player

TBA vs. Chicago

TBA vs. Chicago

TBA vs. Chicago

Come on Dodgers, name some pitchers already! Will update when they do but right now it's speculated that Clayton Kershaw will start Game Two despite pitching in relief in Game 5 against the Nationals.