Just a Little House Cleaning

Don't mind me, just doing a little house cleaning and site maintenance. Check out what I have been working on all weekend, thank you in advance.

Done: 

2018 Schedule added

2018 Roster Updated

List of Active TGP Writers Updated

TGP T-Shirts Removed.... Looking for a new way to offer Yankees-related merchandise though if anyone is reading and interested in working together.

JOHN STERLING HOME RUN CALLS ADDED!


In Process: 

Wives and Girlfriends Page Updated

ORIGINS: Tyler Austin

After a big afternoon by Tyler Austin, a Georgia native that was once so gracious enough to do an interview for us here at The Greedy Pinstripes, let us get to know more about the man who makes every home run he hits count. Let us meet the man that is Tyler Austin. Enjoy the video, what is left of your weekend and the Easter holiday if you celebrate it.

Catching Up on Easter

A guy wants to take a few days off over the Easter holiday and all hell breaks loose on the Yankees transactions page. Figures, let's get caught back up.

Billy McKinney made his MLB debut on Saturday, and was promptly added to the 10-day disabled list after spraining his shoulder. McKinney ran into the wall in the first inning before exiting the game with the sprain. In a subsequent roster move Miguel Andujar was called up to replace him.

Adam Warren took a line drive off his ankle during the same game, but he was fortunate enough to avoid the disabled list after being diagnosed with a contusion (bone bruise).

Tyler Austin is good.

Dellin Betances is not (yet).

New York signed Oliver Perez to a minor league deal after learning that Giovanny Gallegos will start the Triple-A season on the disabled list with a groin injury. Perez had a non-roster invite to Cincinnati Reds camp this spring and did not impress allowing ten runs, eight hits and four walks for the Reds this spring in just 6.2 inning pitched.

A High View in Center...

Photo Credit: Associated Press (Fred Thornhill)

Continuing the long line of great Yankee Centerfielders…

Aaron Judge, Center Field.  

It was an odd sight on Saturday when Manager Aaron Boone inserted the 6’7” slugger into the lineup at center rather than his customary spot in right field. Injuries and the need to rest Brett Gardner force Boonie’s hand. While Judge played well, the move turned out to be for naught when Gardy had to enter the game anyway after Billy McKinney crashed into the left field wall and was removed from the game. Boone kept Judge in center and put Gardy in left for McKinney which was the right move. 

Given how uncomfortable Giancarlo Stanton looked in left field during Spring Training, Judge handled center field very smoothly. Unorthodox, sure, but Judge did play center in college so it’s not like he has never played the position before. I liked the move as position versatility is a big part of the 2018 Yankees. Stanton will be in left field for today’s game so that’s a riskier move than Judge in center, in my opinion.

Photo Credit: New York Post (Charles Wenzelberg)

After the game, McKinney was placed on the disabled list with a sprain of the acromioclavicular joint, or AC joint, in his left shoulder. He is expected to miss a few weeks. With neither Jacoby Ellsbury nor Clint Frazier ready to come off the DL, the Yankees are running short on outfielders. Of the outfielders on the 40-man roster, four are now on the DL and the remaining three are on the active roster. So, to add an outfielder would have necessitated the elimination of a spot on the 40-man roster to add someone. The next available outfielder in the organization is probably Shane Robinson. The Yankees opted to call up third baseman Miguel Andujar (already on the 40-man roster), and indicated Tyler Wade would be in the mix for outfield work. Brandon Drury also has played the outfield but the Yankees preference seems to be to keep him at third. Of course, Twitter was ablaze yesterday with The Curse of Jabari Blash tweets over the outfield calamities.  

Andujar will see time at first base, third base and DH, so it will be interesting to see how Boone mixes and matches the lineups in the coming days. He’s penciled in at DH for today’s game. Jacoby Ellsbury is eligible for activation on Thursday, assuming he is ready, so Andujar’s stay may be short. I never thought I’d look forward to Ellsbury’s return but here we are. For now, Andujar gets the chance to display some of the magic he wielded early in training camp. At decision time when Ellsbury returns, I’d probably keep Andujar and send Jonathan Holder down to Triple A, especially if he hits the way we know he can.   

Welcome back to the Show, Miguel! We hope the second appearance is as magical as the first.

Congratulations to Tyler Austin. His two home runs in yesterday’s 5-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays tied the game twice. That’s a great way to take advantage of an opportunity. Austin is tied for the team lead in home runs and is two homers ahead of Aaron Judge. I know, it’s early but good for Austin. Naturally, the day earned him a spot on the bench for today’s game. Still, Austin should be good for a pinch hit appearance.  

Photo Credit: New York Post (Corey Sipkin)

It wasn’t a great game for the big guys. Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez were combined 0-for-8 with a strikeout. Giancarlo Stanton with 1-for-3 with a walk, but no runs. The trio went 0-for-12 the day before so hopefully it’s time for some big hits today. It’s a rest day for El Gary so the power show will be up to Judge and Stanton.    

Aaron Boone is already taking heat for the bullpen. I was surprised to see Aroldis Chapman on Opening Day when the Yankees had a five-run lead. After pitching both Thursday and Friday, the Cuban Missile was not available on Saturday. The bullpen struggled yesterday and was responsible for the loss despite Tyler Austin’s heroics. Adam Warren got the first call in relief of starter CC Sabathia. He took over in the bottom of the sixth and recorded the first out on a grounder to third. But he walked the next batter, Kevin Pillar. Aledmys Diaz followed with a come-backer to the mound that struck Warren on the right ankle. Warren’s ankle diverted the path of the ball to first base so Tyler Austin was able to make the tag play on Diaz, but Pillar advanced to second. Warren was unable to continue and his replacement, Jonathan Holder, was greeted by Luke Maile’s run-scoring single.  

Austin tied the game with his second home run, a shot to left, so the score was tied when Dellin Betances entered in the bottom of the seventh inning. Betances allowed a single to the first batter he faced, Curtis Granderson, but a perfect strike from Gary Sanchez to Didi Gregorious on a steal attempt nailed the Grandy Man at second. The Blue Jays challenged the play but replay showed Didi got the glove down on Grandy’s sliding hand a split second before it reached the bag. It was a tremendous play that helped Betances get out of the seventh unscathed and should have been momentum for better things.  

But Boone overplayed his hand and brought Betances back for the bottom of the eighth.  Enter Betances; exit potential win. Former Yankee Yangervis Solarte, with a bat flip, blasted a leadoff homer to give the Blue Jays a one-run lead.  Betances struck out Randal Grichuk but then the comedy ensued. Kevin Pillar reached base on a single to right. After striking out Aledmys Diaz for the second out, Pillar stole second off Betances who then lost Luke Maile on a 3-2 count to put the runner at first.  Pillar and Maile advanced on a double-steal with no play by the Yankees. Pillar then made a break for home and Dellin’s erratic throw to Gary Sanchez allowed Pillar to cross the plate easily for the second run of the inning. Betances managed to strike out Gift Ngoepe to finally end the inning, but the Blue Jays were up, 5-3. From there, the Yankees went down quietly against Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna in the top of the 9th, and the Yankees had suffered their first loss of the season.

I am not ready to condemn Betances (well, maybe I am) but the Blue Jays clearly got into his head in the 8th inning. Runners on base are never a good thing when Betances is on the mound but the Blue Jays wrote a blueprint for the rest of the league. Four steals in one inning. This is something Betances needs to figure out in the games ahead or teams will routinely exploit this weakness.  I don’t trust Betances with the game on the line right now. I would have preferred David Robertson in that spot. Actually, I’d take D-Rob, Tommy Kahnle and Chad Green as my late inning, high-leverage guys over Betances. I really hope he is able to turn this around. Otherwise, I’d be in favor of dumping Betances in a trading deadline deal. When he is on, there are not many better than Betances, but when he’s off, he makes Tyler Clippard look very, very good. Love the arm but he’s too much of a head case for me.

Photo Credit: New York Post (Corey Sipkin)

The Yanks look to rebound today in the getaway game. Sonny Gray will take the mound to face Marcus Stroman. Many are predicting a great season from Gray and it starts here. Hopefully he carries the team to victory so that the flight back to New York is an enjoyable one. 

I have to admit that I felt very underwhelmed on Saturday morning when I saw that the Yankees had signed left-handed reliever Oliver Perez, 36. He’ll add depth at Triple A, which is a little short on lefties. Perez pitched for the Washington Nationals last year (appearing in 50 games with an 0-0 record and 4.64 ERA). The former Met failed to make the Cincinnati Reds in Spring Training and was released last weekend. Hopefully injuries do not force the Yankees to add Perez to the Major League roster (where he’d make $1 million). If that happens, it is not a very good sign for the state of the Bullpen. It would have made for a great April Fool’s Day joke except that’s today, not yesterday.  

Let’s get a win today and head back to New York with a 3-1 record. Go Yankees!

The Road to 162-0...

So Far, So Good…

Two games into the 162-game schedule and life in the Yankees Universe is fantastic. Okay, we’re not going to win every game and of course winning only 60% of the remaining games would be a stellar regular season but it’s fun to open the year with successive wins.

Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports (Kim Klement)

The Opener was a perfect day for Yankees fans and new Manager Aaron Boone. It couldn’t have been scripted better with the superior work of ace Luis Severino, the bullpen (particularly Chad Green with three strikeouts against the four batters he faced), and the bat of Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton’s two home runs were the talk of the game but it was a great team victory from top to bottom. The only blemish was the solo home run that Dellin Betances allowed to Kevin Pillar when he entered the game in the bottom of the 8th en route to the 6-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.  

Yesterday’s game was a little tougher for Boone. The big guns (Aaron Judge, Stanton, and Gary Sanchez) were a combined 0-for-12 with four strikeouts, but in the end it did not really matter. Batting clean-up for the first time this season, Didi Gregorius was 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored on two extra-base hits. Getting thrown out at the plate with no outs was the only negative for an otherwise tremendous day for Sir Didi. The big bats belonged to the bottom of the order with the 8th and 9th hitters, Brandon Drury and Tyler Wade. Drury had two RBIs on a single and a double, while Wade had a two-run double. I groaned when Masahiro Tanaka gave up a home run (fortunately with the bases empty) to former St Louis Cardinal Randall Grichuk in the 2nd inning but it was only one of three hits Tanaka allowed over the course of 79 pitches and six innings of work. The Yankees won the game, 4-2, to earn no less than a split of the four-game series pending the outcome of the next two games in Toronto.

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Tom Szczerbowski)

What can you say about the debut performances of Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka? Collectively, they pitched 11 2/3 innings, allowing only 4 hits, one run, 3 walks, and 15 strikeouts. They’ve set the bar high for the rest of the starting rotation. I am sure that no one wants to be the first to implode.  

The bullpen has been outstanding, as usual and as expected, despite the homer Betances gave up or the run-scoring double Aroldis Chapman allowed last night. Both guys were able to finish the job without assistance and will no doubt prove to be their dominant selves for the course of the long season. Chad Green, Tommy Kahnle, and David Robertson showed why this is Baseball’s best bullpen. I am sure that Chasen Shreve, Adam Warren and Jonathan Holder are itching for their 2018 premieres and should take the mound today and/or tomorrow.  

I saw an interesting fact yesterday when it was mentioned that the Blue Jays featured more members of 2011 Yankees Opening Day lineup in their batting order than the Yankees did. Looking back at the March 31, 2011 game that saw Joba Chamberlain pick up the win in relief of CC Sabathia for the Yankees’ 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers, the starting lineup featured the following guys:

Brett Gardner, LF (Yankees LF/CF)

Derek Jeter, SS (Marlins CEO)

Mark Teixeira, 1B (Retired, Baseball Analyst)

Alex Rodriguez, 3B (Retired, Baseball Analyst)

Robinson Cano, 2B (Mariners 2B)

Nick Swisher, RF (Retired, Highly Wired)

Jorge Posada, DH (Retired, Humanitarian)

Curtis Granderson, CF (Blue Jays LF)

Russell Martin, C (Blue Jays C)

This seems like so long ago. I enjoyed the Grandy Man and Martin during their time in Pinstripes but I am glad that they are Blue Jays today. Hopefully Sabathia picks up another win seven years later to the day.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

I am not going to read too much into a 2-0 start given that there are still 160 games to be played, but I am glad the Yankees are faring much better than the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers have opened the season by scoring no runs over 18 innings and have lost two heart-breaking 1-0 losses to one of baseball’s worst teams last season (the San Francisco Giants) on two solo homers by second baseman (and New York native) Joe Panik. While the Dodgers may not be “Paniking”, I’d rather be 2-0 than 0-2. Watching the Dodgers bat in the bottom of the 9th last evening showed how deep and special the Yankees lineup truly is. After the Giants had homered against Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen to take the lead in the scoreless battle, the Dodgers sent 39-year-old Chase Utley and Logan Forsythe to the plate in the bottom of the 9th for the rally attempt. Both Utley and Forsythe left their bats on their shoulders for called third strikes. Joc Pedersen, a good but inconsistent hitter, pinch hit for Jansen. He weakly popped up in foul territory to end the game.  With no offense to the fine career Utley has had, I’d much rather have Brandon Drury and Tyler Wade at the bottom of the lineup any day of the week.  

Photo Credit: Getty Images

It didn’t take too long for the Yankees depth to be tested. In a surprise move yesterday, the Yankees placed center fielder Aaron Hicks on the 10-day DL before the game with an intercostal muscle strain. Hicks was not happy with the move as he felt he’d be fine with a few days rest but the Yankees are notoriously conservative when it comes to potential injuries. It was a great story to see outfielder Billy McKinney get his unexpected Major League debut. He woke up in Tampa on Friday morning, thinking about the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders season opener in a week, only to find out that he had a mid-day flight to Toronto to catch. By the end of the evening, he had collected his first Major League hit. I couldn’t help but think of Dustin Fowler’s horrific debut last year with the devastating knee injury, but the results were much better for McKinney. He was only 1-for-4 but it’s nice to get that first hit out of the way.  He had a few good defensive plays in left as well. After the game, McKinney said that ball for the first hit would go to his parents. A very classy move by the 23-year-old.  

MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch posted an interesting stat that McKinney is only the second Yankee since 1956 to make his MLB debut in the starting lineup within the first two games of the season. The last Yankee do it was Hideki Matsui on this date in 2003, also in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Like McKinney, Matsui had a hit in four at-bats but Godzilla did knock in a run in a game that saw Rogers Clemens defeat former Blue Jays great Roy Halladay.  

McKinney’s stay with the big league club figures to be short. Jacoby Ellsbury is eligible to come off the DL next Thursday so it’s likely that McKinney will be playing in next Friday’s season opener for the RailRiders at PNC Field in Moosic, PA against the Syracuse Chiefs. But for now, McKinney gets to play and make an impression for our favorite team. It sure beats working out at Minor League Camp in Tampa. Welcome to the Show, Billy!

Photo Credit: The New York Post (Corey Sipkin)

For Yankees fans, like me, who had hoped Aaron Hicks would stay healthy for an entire season, it is not a great start. But at least it sounds like he’ll be able to return as soon as he is eligible. We’ll see. Hicks must prove he deserves our trust and support. As frustrated as I get with the health of Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Greg Bird, I feel badly for Toronto and their fans. Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki remains one of the game’s best but the guy can’t stay on the field. Every year, it’s something. The latest setback was this week when it was announced that Tulo would need surgery on both ankles to remove bone spurs. Very sad for the talented player who can’t seem to get or stay healthy. So, I guess the Yankees are not the only team to get Ellsbury’d on a routine basis.

Great tweet by Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media this morning: “I mean, how do you bet against Aaron Boone? He’s never lost.” True statement.

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Tom Szczerbowski)

Today, CC Sabathia takes the mound against Blue Jays fan favorite Marco Estrada. I guess you could say that it is a battle of former Milwaukee Brewers. May the 6’6” left-hander and 2008 Brewer emerge victorious!

Photo Credit: The Record (Kevin R Wexler)

Go Yankees!

Good Friday Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 3/30

Good evening, and welcome back to Yankees baseball as the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays continue their three-game set with the middle game of their series. In the opener we watched as Luis Severino and JA Happ attempted to keep the opposing offense down from the other team and tonight we are treated with the pitching matchup of Masahiro Tanaka taking the ball for the Yankees against Aaron Sanchez of the Blue Jays. The game will be played at 7:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre, eh, and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the game by using MLB TV, the MLB.com app or by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with, interact with and to talk Yankees baseball all season long. Enjoy the game and Go Yankees!!

Five New York Yankees BOLD Predictions for the 2018 Season

The 2018 season kicked off officially yesterday afternoon with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays squaring off head-to-head inside the Rogers Centre. These two teams will meet plenty of times this season including once again tonight so to say that these two teams will be familiar with each other by the time September and October comes around is an understatement. I don’t usually partake in the understatements of the world, I like to be bold and I like to make predictions, so here are five bold predictions for the New York Yankees here in the 2018 season.

Sonny Gray Will Be the Ace of the Yankees Staff:

Luis Severino started on Opening Day, Masahiro Tanaka starts tonight, and the Yankees stopper from the 2017 season starts tomorrow leaving little (figuratively and literally) Sonny Gray to start the Yankees home opener in the Bronx against the Tampa Bay Rays. Being a fourth starter and having to wait that long to make your first start of the season has to be a huge adjustment for Gray who has been the ace of the Oakland Athletics staff for quite a few years now, when he was healthy enough to do so anyway. Some may take this as a slap in the face and as a bit of an insult, but others will only use this as motivation to do better and strive to be great. For some reason, and this is obviously pure speculation on my part as I personally do not know Sonny, I have a feeling Gray will be the latter kind of guy on the field here in 2018 more so than the former. In fact, Gray will ride that chip on his shoulder all the way to becoming the ace of this Yankees staff here this season.

A full offseason and spring training camp with pitching coach Larry Rothschild and with primary starting catcher Gary Sanchez will only help Gray as he moves forward towards his first start here in 2018. It isn’t like Gray pitched bad in 2017, he pitched quite well actually, but fell victim to a lack of run support more times than not. This will not be the case here in 2018. New York has too much depth, too much versatility, too much power and too much talent to be consistently held down on a nightly basis in my opinion. The team has the potential to be an offensive juggernaut and every pitcher on the staff will benefit from it, especially Gray. Gray will no longer have the pressure of pitching in a close game or from behind every single time he takes the ball here in 2018 and his on-the-field production will benefit from it in my opinion.

Brandon Drury Will be Boo’d Within Two Weeks:

The New York Yankees fans are some of the most passionate, loud and best fans in the world in my very humble, yet clearly bias, opinion when you are doing well, but at the same time they can be toughest and most impatient fans in the world when you’re struggling. Most of the current Yankees have seen at least a glimpse of what the Yankees fans can be like, especially players like Didi Gregorius who had a tough transition to the Bronx after being acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks to replace the legend that is Derek Jeter. Didi made a few errors at shortstop to start his Yankees tenure and the fans in the Bronx were not shy about showing their displeasure with the now fan favorite, and I think unfortunately that Brandon Drury will be in for a similar treatment from the Yankees faithful.

I give it two weeks, tops, before Drury comes out of the gates struggling either offensively, defensively or both and the Yankees boo birds let him have it. This may not be a bold prediction given the current state of affairs, but at least we aren’t Phillies fans. Those guys are absolutely horrible, so I hear.

Gary Sanchez Will Hit 50 Home Runs:

All offseason long it has been Aaron Judge this and Giancarlo Stanton that, but I truly think many fans and writers alike are sleeping on Gary Sanchez a little bit. After a slow start to his 2017 campaign Gary bounced back to hit 33 home runs for New York, a number he is going to smash out of the park here in 2018. There will be no slow start for the Kraken, only bomb after bomb after bomb after bomb after bomb after… well you get the point. Sanchez, not Giancarlo or Judge, will lead the team and the league in home runs with at least 50 long balls in 2018.

Gleyber Torres Will Play in 100+ Games:

The New York Yankees teased their fans this winter with the idea that one of, or both of, Gleyber Torres or Miguel Andujar could be on the team’s Opening Day roster. A Brandon Drury acquisition and Neil Walker signing threw a bit of a monkey wrench into those plans for both of the Yankees young stars in the making, but I don’t think either addition will have much of a factor in how much playing time Torres gets at the Major League level in 2018.

We know Torres will be down on the farm for at least the first three weeks and 20 games of the Minor League season, so the Yankees can delay his free agency by one year, but after that I think Torres will be unleashed on the rest of the league for good. I am not all that high on Walker and Drury may be too useful and versatile for his own good which could lead him into more of a utility role than an every day slot thus opening the door for Torres at either second base or third base. With the injury to Greg Bird I think we will see a lot more of Walker at first base than we are comfortable with, even with Tyler Austin on the roster, leaving plenty of at-bats for Torres to have in 2018.

Gleyber Torres will play in at least 100 games at the Major League level in 2018.

Aaron Judge Will NOT Be the 2017 Version of Aaron Judge:

When I posted my post comparing the lineups and defensive positioning for both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox one reader and fan had a question for me, why in the world did I pick Mookie Betts, the presumed starting right fielder for the Red Sox this season, over Aaron Judge, the Yankees starting right fielder on more nights than not. The answer is simple, while I think Judge is a great player that will do great things during his MLB career and 2018 season I just cannot see him matching his production from his breakout 2017 campaign. History is against it, and baseball (and the fact that you cannot predict it) is against it happening again.

Judge slashed .284/.422/.627 in 2017 with 52 home runs, 114 RBI, 128 runs scored while walking 127 times. How many times has a right-handed hitter hit 50 home runs playing his home games inside Yankee Stadium? Not often, in fact only five players have ever hit 50 home runs in a season as a Yankee, period. Babe Ruth did it four times (1920, 1921, 1927 and 1928), Mickey Mantle did it twice (1956 and 1961), Roger Maris did it once (1961), and Alex Rodriguez did it once (2007). That’s quite the cast of characters to keep company with for Judge, but that also means it is highly unlikely for him to match that this coming season, let alone improve upon it.

Looking at Judge’s career numbers in the Minor Leagues he is career .278/.373/.473 hitter which is a far cry, and a much larger sample size, from his 2017 stats. Judge will still be great in 2018, and in my opinion, he is truly a once-in-a-generation type talent, but I can’t see him matching that slugging or on-base percentage in 2018. The average I expect to drop slightly as well, although I am skeptical to commit to that with what he has backing him up and protecting him in the Yankees lineup. Either way, I think we see a regression, however slight, for Judge in 2018.

I have been told to start writing with an edge, hopefully this was a step in the right direction there. More to come I’m sure, so stay tuned.

Good Friday Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays 3/30

You know what possibly the best thing about Major League Baseball is? I personally love the fact that the games are played basically every single day. Sure, I love football and basketball as well from time to time, but watching your team lose on a Sunday only to have to feel that sting for a few days or a week can sometimes just be torture. In baseball if you have a tough loss on Sunday you usually go right back out on the field on Monday and can turn things around. At the same time a big win on Sunday can be erased just as fast the following Monday with a tough loss, it is just one of the many things that make the game great in my opinion. With that said the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are back at it again tonight inside the Rogers Centre with the second game of their three-game set to open the 2018 season. Yesterday afternoon we all watched as JA Happ and Luis Severino squared off to kick off the season and tonight we are treated with another great pitching matchup. Masahiro Tanaka, who normally starts on Opening Day for New York, will take the mound for the Yankees while the Blue Jays will counter with Aaron Sanchez, who missed almost all of the 2017 season with an injury for Toronto.

Tanaka made his Major League debut pitching in the second game of the season back in 2014 against these same Toronto Blue Jays inside the Rogers Centre and he will do so again tonight after Luis Severino took the Opening Day nod from him here in 2018. Tanaka gave up a home run to the first batter he faced that season and gave up a ton of home runs in 2017, a career-high 35 long balls to be exact, which led the right-hander to focus on his fastball command and control in hopes of lowering that number significantly here in 2018.

Sanchez missed most of the 2017 campaign with Toronto due to lingering blister issues on his throwing hand. Sanchez has put to bed any rumors of this becoming a recurring issue this spring after showing no signs of trouble while in camp with the Blue Jays. In Sanchez’s final tune-up start before the season he allowed just one earned run in 6.1 innings pitched at home against the Atlanta Braves, hopefully a sign of what’s to come if you are a Blue Jays fan.

The game will be played at 7:07 pm ET inside the Rogers Centre in Toronto and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB Network. You can also follow along with the MLB TV and the MLB.com app or you can tune into the WFAN radio broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. No matter how you get to follow along enjoy the game and go Yankees!

Hello… and Good Friday to You All

Good morning everyone, and a Good Friday to all if you celebrate. If not, then just Happy Friday to you as we inch towards the weekend. Good Friday, according to Wikipedia, is a Christian holiday that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. Jesus died on Good Friday and was reborn on Easter Sunday. Whether you believe or not, celebrate the day or not, or whatever you choose to do just make sure it is a great day regardless. It is another day with Yankees baseball, and it’s a Friday, so how could it not be? Right?

Have a great day everyone. Especially you. I hope you have an amazing Friday, because you deserve it. You deserve the world and everything in it, and I won’t sleep until you have it all. I love you. My rock. My Kari. My baby.

Have a great day everyone!

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/30: Dwight Gooden's Final Walk

On this day in 2001 former Yankee Dwight Gooden announced his retirement from baseball. Doc finished with a 194-112 record playing for the Mets, Yankees, Indians, Astros, and Devil Rays and won a World Series and pitched a no hitter with the Yankees.

On this day in 1991 the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles played an exhibition game at Joe Robbie Stadium which drew 67,654 fans, a new spring training attendance record. The two day series between the two teams was a part pf South Florida's efforts to get a National League expansion team, soon to be named the Florida Marlins.

On this day in 1984 the San Diego Padres obtained Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles for pitcher Dennis Rasmussen and prospect Darin Cloniger.