This Day in New York Yankees History 10/14: Chris Chambliss Wins the Pennant

Chris Chambliss will forever be known and remembered for his home run that won the pennant in the America League for the New York Yankees in 1976. Chambliss won the Yankees 30th AL pennant with his bottom of the ninth walk off home run to beat the Kansas City Royals in Game Five of the ALCS 7-6. Fans rushed the field, security lost control, and the Yankees are headed to the World Series. My, oh my I don’t believe it.


Also on this day in 2000 Roger Clemens strikes out a record setting 15 Seattle Mariners in a 5-0 victory in Game Four of the ALCS. The Yankees would win the game behind Clemens’ one hitter.

ALCS Game One Thread: New York Yankees @ Houston Astros

And just like that ladies, gentleman and Yankees doubters/haters it is game time and time for Game One of the 2017 American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros. In the opener of the series the Yankees face a familiar foe and a tough opponent in Dallas Keuchel for the Astros while New York counters with Masahiro Tanaka. The game will be played at 8:00 pm ET inside Minute Maid Park and can be seen on Fox Sports One. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into either WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman or by turning on ESPN Radio.

Follow us on Twitter to interact with us during the game by following @GreedyStripes and enjoy the game. Need a win, one win at a time, so get a win and Go Yankees! Also be on the lookout for my prediction below. Some may call it…. Bold. Enjoy the game.

Prediction: Yankees win 9-4

Friday the 13th Article Revisit: The Curse of the Billy Goat & Other Baseball Superstitions

You have to admit that if you watch baseball, play baseball or have talked to anyone who has played or watched baseball that there is a certain level of superstition in the game. You also have to admit that if you talk to enough people about Friday the 13^th that there is a similar set of superstitions surrounding the day. What do you get when you have Game One of the ALCS on Friday the 13^th? Well besides the Yankees bombing Dallas Keuchel, my prediction, you also get this article revisit from the 2016 season covering some of the weird known superstitions in baseball as well as the now outdated Curse of the Billy Goat that the Chicago Cubs broke last season. Enjoy the article revisit as we wait on the game tonight inside Minute Maid Park. Go Yankees!!

Sunday, October 9, 2016

The Curse of the Billy Goat & Other Baseball Superstitions

If you’re a fan of Major League Baseball or if you’ve ever played baseball down from Little League all the way to the show chances are there is at least a little superstitious blood running through your body. I can remember wearing a red power rangers shirt under my jersey back in my early Little League years and the first time I did I went 3-4 and we won. So what did I do? I wore that same shirt under my jersey every single game until the superstition ran out. If you’re a fan of Major League Baseball you probably also believe in curses no matter what you say out loud. The Curse of the Bambino was a real thing, even if it was just in the heads of the Boston Red Sox fans and players, and until the Curse of the Billy Goat and other superstitions around baseball are broken by Cubs players and fans alike those traditions will remain a part of the game as well. 

With the Cubs once again looking to break the Curse of the Billy Goat this fall I wanted to take a look at some of the superstitions in baseball and some of the attempts to specifically end the curse surrounding Wrigley Field. Fans have tried to smuggle in goats into Wrigley Field and one local food company, Carnivore Inc., even went as far as to butcher a goat that lived 90 minutes south of Chicago to turn into sausage that will be served in the Chicago suburbs. Will thousands of Cubs fans eating a goat during the playoffs reverse the Curse of the Billy Goat? Stay tuned, but I doubt it. 

Some other superstitions around baseball include Washington Nationals pitcher Sean Burnett putting a poker chip in his back pocket before taking the mound, Wade Boggs eating fried chicken before every start, Derek Holland watching scenes from “For the Love of the Game,” Jason Giambi and his gold thong he passed around the Yankees clubhouse, CC Sabathia keeps a picture of his children in his jersey while he pitches and so many other superstitions. 

Players won’t step on the white line when entering or leaving the field, players won’t get a new hat or batting helmet if they are hitting well no matter how disgusting they look, Roger Clemens would not take the mound without first rubbing the forehead of Babe Ruth in Monument Park, Phil Hughes doesn’t shave the day he is scheduled to pitch and so much more. Superstitions run rampant in Major League Baseball! 

So will the Chicago Cubs win their first World Series since 1908 and will any other superstitions or outlandish beliefs be put to bed before the end of the 2016 season? Stay tuned. 

FYI, they Cubs did break the curse in case you missed it. I know you didn’t, but still. 

The 2017 Story of the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees

Story time ladies and gentleman and this one is an interesting one. This story covers what the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros have done against one another head-to-head here in 2017. Will these stats mean much in this new season that we call the postseason? No, not likely but you know what they say… “history is usually an indicator of the future.” The Yankees and Astros have the ability to either debunk or prove that theory right here in this series but that process cannot begin without the history between the two clubs. Don’t worry, I got your back. Keep reading.

The New York Yankees and the Houston Astros faced off seven times this season, four times in the Bronx and three times inside Minute Maid Park, with the Astros winning five of those seven matchups including three-of-four inside Yankee Stadium. Sure, that looks bad but the last time we did this we were telling the story of the 2017 New York Yankees and the 2017 Cleveland Indians and that story turned out alright in the end for the boys in pinstripes, didn’t it? Also it is worth mentioning that all seven games came before the 2017 July 31^st trading deadline and four of those games came way back in May. Needless to say both teams are much different today than they were in May and June/July of this season.

Team Game-by-Game Schedule

Gm#	Date		Tm		Opp	W/L	R	RA	Inn	W-L	Rank	GB	Win	Loss	Save	Time	D/N	Attendance	Streak
32	Thursday, May 11	boxscore	NYY		HOU	L	2	3		21-11	2	0.5	Keuchel	Pineda	Giles	3:09	N	39,050	--
33	Friday, May 12	boxscore	NYY		HOU	L	1	5		21-12	2	0.5	McCullers	Montgomery		3:09	N	41,150	---
34	Sunday, May 14 (1)	boxscore	NYY		HOU	W	11	6		22-12	1	up 0.5	Warren	Harris		3:20	D		+
35	Sunday, May 14 (2)	boxscore	NYY		HOU	L	7	10		22-13	1	up 0.5	Morton	Tanaka		3:49	D	47,883	-
78	Friday, Jun 30	boxscore	NYY	@	HOU	W	13	4		43-35	2	1.0	Pineda	Feliz	Mitchell	3:20	N	40,024	+
79	Saturday, Jul 1	boxscore	NYY	@	HOU	L	6	7		43-36	2	2.0	Diaz	Betances	Giles	3:25	N	41,010	-
80	Sunday, Jul 2	boxscore	NYY	@	HOU	L	1	8		43-37	2	3.0	Devenski	Severino		3:29	D	41,761	--

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

We can look at the history all day and analyze it until we are blue in the face but when these two teams faced off head-to-head this season players like David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Sonny Gray, Todd Frazier and even Didi Gregorius weren’t either here or firing on all cylinders yet after slow starts due to injuries. Sure, the Astros could say the same and remind us that they didn’t have Justin Verlander during those contests either but when these games took place the Yankees were a young team and a team just at the beginning of coming together. Now the team had melded and molded into what we see before us, potentially the American League Champions.

Stay tuned to see what happens and how this story ends over the next four-to-seven games. Go Yankees, Yankees in six. 

ALCS Game One Preview: New York Yankees @ Houston Astros

Tonight the American League Championship Series takes center stage as the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros prepare to battle in a best-of-seven series. The winner heads to the World Series with an American League pennant in their hands while the loser goes home to lick their wounds and wonder all winter long what they could have done differently. The Yankees path to the ALCS has been a nerve racking one as all four of the team’s postseason wins have come with their backs at the elimination wall after winning the AL Wild Card Game against the Minnesota Twins and after winning three straight in the ALDS against the Cleveland Indians after getting down 0-2 in the best-of-five series. All the Houston Astros did was beat up on the Boston Red Sox and send the American League East Division champions home crying to their mommies inside Fenway Park, no biggie. Tonight is a new series though as the slates are wiped clean once again and in Game One the pitching matchup will be Masahiro Tanaka for the Yankees and Dallas Keuchel for the Astros.

Tanaka was dominant in his one ALDS start against the Cleveland Indians with the Yankees down 0-2 in the best-of-five series. Tanaka shut out the Indians in the start keeping the Yankees season alive while stealing a 1-0 victory at home. 

Keuchel took the ball for the Astros in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox and logged 5.2 innings pitched giving up just one run on three hits along the way. The Boston offense did draw three walks off the Houston left-hander but that was easily negated by Keuchel’s seven strikeouts in the Astros 8-2 victory at home. Keuchel has made three career postseason starts and owns a career 0.96 ERA including a victory against the Yankees in the 2015 AL Wild Card Game.

The game will be played at 8:00 pm ET inside Minute Maid Park and can be seen on Fox Sports One. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. You could always tune into ESPN Radio as well but honestly, why would you want to? That’s almost like watching a NESN or SNY broadcast with all their anti-Yankees bias. Defy the haters, silence the doubters, need a win so get a win and GO YANKEES!!!

Why I’m Not Afraid of the Houston Astros in the ALCS

For the longest time I was donned by my Twitter followers and peers the “Yankees Wizard” for my uncanny, and sometime mystical, ability to predict what was going to happen before it happened. While my predictions have become fewer and fewer because life has gotten so damn busy apparently it doesn’t mean the ability is gone because I all but called that the New York Yankees would take down the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS three weeks before the series even began. I labeled the post “Why I’m Not Afraid of the Cleveland Indians in the Postseason” and guess what, I’m baaaaack. This time I’m not afraid the Houston Astros and I am prepared to tell you why. #TAKE17.

The Houston Astros starting pitching has been fantastic this year and it only got better when the team pulled off a last minute trade to acquire veteran right-hander Justin Verlander. The Boston Red Sox felt the wrath of that starting pitching as well as the wrath of MVP candidate Jose Altuve in the ALDS but the Yankees are not the Red Sox. While New York has struggled against Dallas Keuchel throughout his young career, and to be fair everyone in the league has, New York has done extremely well against Verlander to the tune of the below stats. Shout out to Baseball Reference for the tables.


 Verlander vs. Yankees Offense

I	Split	G	AB	R	H	2B	HR	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
	New York Yankees	18	440	56	117	20	18	38	101	.266	.327	.443	.770

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Verlander vs. Yankees win/loss:

I	Split	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	SHO	IP	H	R	HR	SO	WHIP	SO9
	New York Yankees	6	7	3.87	18	18	0	0	111.2	117	56	18	101	1.388	8.1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

The Yankees have done well against Verlander and have done generally well against the other Houston pitchers not named Keuchel as well. Keuchel can’t win all four games for Houston which means the Yankees have a legitimate chance at this thing here with the Astros. All New York has to do is get through their starting pitching early and get to the lackluster bullpen out in Houston and the team should have a chance to win every single night. While New York has one of the best bullpen’s in all of MLB and in the postseason this year the Astros do not, in fact Houston had one of the worst bullpens among all the postseason-bound teams here in 2017.

I am not saying the Yankees are World Series bound, I’m not saying that they aren’t either mind you, but what I am saying is that I am not heading into this ALCS as a fan thinking my team is about to be heading home after four-or-five games. Even seven games. I’m not worried about the Houston Astros and I don’t believe that this young, feisty and naïve team that doesn’t know when they should quit is either. That, my friends, is scary for the Houston Astros. About as scary as the Yankees bullpen has been this postseason. 

So it Seems… ALCS

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the American League Championship series! By a show of hands who had this rebuilding Yankees team in the ALCS here in 2017? Probably not many, not even I did to be frank. This team has grown up together, molded together and is so much more than just a group of players wearing the same uniform. I have said all season long that this was a true TEAM and that this team was fun to watch and they have not disappointed here in the postseason, congratulations to them.

The work is far from done though as the team travels to Houston tonight to begin their ALCS series. Who had the Yankees playing for the American League pennant? This all still blows my mind in the best possible way. Go Yankees!

And hey you. I know this hasn’t been a great week with me being sick and all that and for that I apologize. I will find a way to make up it up to you, I promise. I loves you!! Kari Ann Burch, I loves you. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/13: Zimmer Apologizes

Yesterday in this day in New York Yankees history the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox had their brawl in the ALCS that resulted in Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez throwing Yankees bench coach Don Zimmer to the ground. Zimmer apologized to the media and the fans on this day for his part in the incident.

Also on this day in 2001 the Yankees staved off elimination by beating the Oakland Athletics and Barry Zito 1-0 behind a beautiful pitching performance by Mike Mussina. The only run scored was a fifth inning home run off the bat of Jorge Posada and the game was saved by the now famous "flip" play by shortstop Derek Jeter.

To the ALCS? YES, in Didi!...

Credit:  Phil Long-AP

American League Division Series, Game 5

Yankees 5, Indians 2...

Yankees Win Series, 3-2

CC Sabathia pitched tremendously before handing it over to the bullpen and the bats of Didi Gregorius and Brett Gardner provided the offense as the Yankees surprised the Cleveland Indians and the Baseball World to advance to the American League Championship Series.

Going into the final game of the ALDS, none of the experts were giving the Yankees a chance going against likely AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber in his home ballpark. But thanks in very large part to Gregorius, Kluber didn't stay around too long.  His two home runs ensured that Kluber was watching the game from the dugout by the end of the 4th inning. I am sure that's not the game plan that Tribe manager Terry Francona had envisioned. Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez, and Greg Bird were a combined 0-for-13 with ten strikeouts, but with Didi Gregorius playing one of the greatest games in Yankee shortstop history, it did not matter.

The game started with Corey Kluber in control. Brett Gardner opened with a failed bunt attempt on the first pitch to record an out. Aaron Judge struck out for the first of four strikeouts on the night for the second out. But then Didi Gregorius, who entered the game with just one hit in the series, blasted a drive into the right field seats for the game's first run. Kluber came right back and struck out Gary Sanchez and was seemingly in control despite the misplaced pitch to Didi.

Credit:  John Kuntz-Cleveland.com

The Yankees had a runner in scoring position in the 2nd inning when Aaron Hicks took a two-out walk and Jacoby Ellsbury reached first on, surprise, catcher's interference (bat hit the top of the catcher's glove). Todd Frazier flied out to end the inning and leave the runners stranded, but the Yankees were showing activity against Kluber. Meanwhile, CC Sabathia was facing the minimum number of batters with four strikeouts through the first two innings.

Brett Gardner led off the top of the 3rd inning with a sharp single to right. After Judge whiffed again, Didi Gregorius jumped on another Kluber pitch and ensured it was a fan souvenir in the right field seats again. The Yankees were up, 3-0. 

Credit:  Jason Miller-Getty Images

The bottom of the inning was another three-up, three-down performance for Sabathia, with two more strikeouts.

In the top of the 4th inning, Kluber retired the first two hitters but had reached three balls with both before getting a strikeout and a line out. When he walked Jacoby Ellsbury on five pitches, it was Miller Time in Cleveland. Terry Francona pulled Kluber, who left with a 12.79 ERA in this series, in favor of Andrew Miller. Miller struck out Todd Frazier to get the Tribe out of the inning but it was very surprising to see Kluber's exit before the conclusion of four full innings. I certainly was not complaining.

CC Sabathia finally gave up his first hit in the bottom of the 4th when Francisco Lindor led off with a single through the hole into left field. Sabathia came back strong, retiring the next three batters, two by strikeout, and remained in control. He looked good starting the bottom of the 5th when he struck out Carlos Santana, but then four successive singles brought home two runs to make it a one-run game. Manager Joe Girardi wasn't taking any chances at that point and went to the pen to bring in David Robertson to face Francisco Lindor with runners at first and second. 

Credit:  Getty Images

On his second pitch, Lindor hit a grounder to Didi who stepped on second and threw to first to complete the inning-ending double play. A huge defensive play by Didi to ensure that his glove was as loud as his bat. CC Sabathia may not have survived the 5th inning, but still, giving up only two runs and striking out nine batters was a tremendous effort despite the slim lead.  

Credit:  David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

It became a dueling battle of the bullpens as both teams put up scoreless frames through the eighth inning. The Tribe brought in their closer, Cody Allen, with two outs in the 8th (who proceeded to strike out Greg Bird), but I was very surprised...and a little uneasy...when the Yankees brought in Aroldis Chapman to start the bottom of the 8th. With so many other options available in the bullpen, I was fearful that Girardi had gone to Chapman too prematurely. Fortunately, Girardi proved why he is the Yankees manager and I am just a blogger on this site, when Chapman recorded three quick outs on thirteen pitches.

Credit:  Getty Images

In the top of the 9th, with Cody Allen still on the mound, Starlin Castro struck out for the first out. Next up, Aaron Hicks singled to left. A fielding error by Austin Jackson, the ball rolled under his glove, allowed Hicks to move to second. Allen got Chase Headley to pop out, but then he walked Todd Frazier. Brett Gardner's single to right, just past the glove of second baseman Jose Ramirez, cleared the bases to give the Yankees two very huge insurance runs. Frazier was able to score the second run when the throw from right fielder Jay Bruce into second got past Francisco Lindor and the Toddfather was able to slide into home ahead of the throw to the plate. Gardy advanced to second on a throwing error. It was a legendary at-bat for Gardy, who battled Allen through 12 pitches before getting the key hit (the longest at-bat of the post-season). Francona made another pitching move and pulled his closer in favor of Joe Smith. Smith got Aaron Judge to ground out to third, but no matter, the Yankees had increased their lead to 5-2. A little breathing room.

Going into the bottom of the 9th with a three-run lead made me feel so much better about the return of Aroldis Chapman for a second inning of work. But I did feel some tension when Chapman walked the first batter (Jose Ramirez). Chapman allowed me to exhale slightly when he struck out Edwin Encarnacion.  Carlos Santana hit a ball to second for the force out of Ramirez. Two outs. The only man standing between the Yankees and a date in the ALCS with the Houston Astros was one-time Yankees prospect Austin Jackson. Carlos Santana took second on defensive indifference, but Gardy's insurance runs ensured that Santana was inconsequential. Chapman's job was simple...leave the potential tying run standing on deck without a chance to come to the plate. You could feel the excitement emerging when Chapman blew a fastball past Jackson for the called third strike to end the game. The Yankees win!

Credit:  Gregory Shamus-Getty Images

I blamed Joe Girardi for the second game loss, but this game completed his redemption. It's amazing how many people wrote off the Yankees when they lost the first two games of the ALDS in Cleveland. Even after they tied the series in New York, I didn't hear many voices giving the Yankees any chance for Game 5 in Cleveland except for maybe Alex Rodriguez. The Indians were arguably the best team in the American League, with 104 wins on the season including the two wins in the ALDS. Their season included the historic 22-game winning streak and they were nearly everyone's favorite, excluding Yankees fans, to win the World Series after their loss last year to the Chicago Cubs. But in the end, they will not have the opportunity to make a repeat appearance in the Fall Classic.  

If Corey Kluber could have figured out an answer for Didi Gregorius, the results may have been very different and the Yankees might have been left wondering what could have been. Instead, the magic and the 'never-say-die' resiliency of the 2017 Yankees continues. The Yankees will get a rematch of their 2015 Wild Card Game loss to Dallas Keuchel and the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS. This time, we get seven games to show the World that heart, determination and desire, combined with a little talent, can make a difference.  

Congratulations to the New York Yankees! Goodbye, Cleveland...hello, Houston!

Credit:  David Dermer-AP

Have a great Thursday!  Friday the 13th, here we come!  Go Yankees!

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/12: Casey Stengel Day

Not much has happened on this day in New York Yankees history believe it or not. The team didn't capture any World Series championships, break any records, or win any big games. Casey Stengel made the Yankees news a couple times though when on this day in 1948 the Yankees named Stengel the manager. Stengel was replacing Bucky Harris after never finishing higher than fifth place with the Braves or the Dodgers in his managerial career.

Also on this day in Stengel history the Hall of Fame manager hit the deciding home run in a World Series against the Bronx Bombers. In front of the largest crowd in MLB history, a mere 62,430 fans, Stengel hit his second home run of the World Series for the Giants in a 1-0 victory over the Yankees.