Hello… And Welcome Back!

Good morning everyone and welcome back to the blog. I apologize for my couple week hiatus from writing and I hope you all are still around to read these words. Life is busy, it’s summer time. School is out down here, vacations are being taken and work is through the roof right now. Things are calming down though for the most part so just bear with me while I get things caught up here on the blog. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a bunch of news to share with you.

On Friday, June 8^th I took my lovely girlfriend Kari to the top of a local spot here where we live called Amicalola Falls. I had never been before, although she had multiple times, so I enjoyed our hike up the falls and the scenery that surrounded it. It was a beautiful site and is something that I encourage anyone to go see if they are in the area, but this area will always be special to us for an entirely different reason. On that fateful night I asked my Kari to marry me! And of course, she said yes, I mean… how could she not? So, my girlfriend Kari is now my fiancé Kari. Yay!!

I love you my beautiful Kari, I always have, and I always will. Now let’s get caught up on all this Yankees news, shall we?

Remembering a Muggy Night in 2012

As many of you know, or you may not know, I moved to metro Atlanta, Georgia from the Bronx, New York back in 1999 and get to see the Yankees live very few times these days. The Yankees came down to Atlanta in 2009 and of course I attended as many games as I could so I was excited to see them come back down in 2012. I am a very superstitious person in my nature so my line of thinking was “the last time the Yankees came to Atlanta they won the World Series” in 2009 so that made me all the more excited for 2012 trip to Turner Field. We all know the history of that season, Derek Jeter's ankle, the offense going to sleep in October and the eventual loss in the American League Championship Series in 2012 but that's not what this story is about.


I remember a warm and muggy night on this day in 2012 when the Yankees were playing in the second game of a three game set at Turner Field in Atlanta. The Yankees had the bases loaded and Alex Rodriguez was at the plate while I sat in my usual box seats, fourth row Yankee side of the field. The Braves were winning 4-0 and my phone was blowing up with texts and Facebook posts about the Braves whooping the Yankees, the Yankees suck, omg Braves, Braves, Braves while I was there at the stadium and how the streak was ready to come to an end. That streak involves the Yankees win/loss record with me in attendance. I am 29 years old and I have seen tons of Yankees games live in the Bronx, in Tampa and now in Atlanta and the team has never lost a game while I was in attendance. While I have to admit my hopes were low at that point and my phone was one more #RISPFAIL away from being thrown onto the field before a funny thing happened, the Yankees rallied.


The Yankees loaded the bases with Rodriguez coming to the plate while I was wearing my A Rod jersey, something I was reluctant to do after the steroid admission but I was saving my Cano jersey for the next night, which seemed like fate to me. The Braves had shutdown reliever Jonny Venters on the mound which made me far from confident, Venters was awesome, which was only compounded when the count went full. Then something amazing happened, A Rod connected.... pandemonium.


Alex had hit his 23rd career grand slam tying a 74 year old major league record held by the Yankees Lou Gehrig. A Rod tied the game in the 8th inning and the Yankees ended up winning the game 6-4. The Facebook posts stopped, the texts went silent and I witnessed history. While I was at the next game the next night I ended up talking to the camera man at the stadium and he gave me the press release for the game the night before. Truth be told the only reason I think he gave us the release was because my wife was in a low cut dress and he thought she was hot, but hey I'll take it and took it as a compliment. I saw history and now have history in my hands and it all happened on a muggy night in Atlanta on this day in 2012. It was Craig Kimbrel bobblehead night as well which was awesome because my two sons now have a bobblehead of the Braves all-time saves leader.

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/12: Lou Gehrig’s Final Game

On this day in 1939 Lou Gehrig plays his final game as a member of the New York Yankees while in an exhibition game. A record crowd of 23,864 fans filed into Ruppert Stadium to see the Kansas City Blues play the Yankees. Gehrig played three innings and batted eight while grounding out weakly to second base in his only at bat.


Alex Rodriguez did something pretty significant as well and it pertains to Gehrig as well but more on that later....


Also on this day in 1928 Lou Gehrig has a week of it by collecting fourteen total bases when he collected two triples and two home runs in the same game. The Yankees would beat the Chicago White Sox 15-7 in Comiskey Park behind Gehrig's outburst.


Finally the New York Highlanders, later to be named the New York Yankees, were never known for being a good team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. On this day in 1907 the Highlanders committed a total of 11 errors in one game, and that's not a typo. Eight different Highlanders committed an error in a 16-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The Highlanders shortstop Kid Elberfeld committed four errors by himself while playing in front of the home team at American League Park.


Also on this day in 1990 in a bit of non-Yankees related news Cal Ripken Jr. continued his attack of Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak while playing in his 1,308th consecutive game. Ripken would move into second place on the all-time list ahead of former Yankees and Red Sox shortstop Everett Scott. Scott played consecutively from 1918-1925.

Over 26 Need Not Apply...

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Rich Schultz)

Baby Bombers Power Yanks to Victory…

OK, the winning pitcher and the reliever who picked up the save have celebrated the Big 3-0, but the young bats of Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar and 26-year-old Aaron Judge homered to propel the Yankees to a one-run win over the New York Mets, 4-3, on Saturday.

The game had a bizarre beginning when Aaron Hicks led off with a shot to right that went into the Yankees bullpen through an open door. The potential triple wound up as a ground-rule double thanks to the inattentive unknown individual who left the door open. The Mets got out of the inning when Mets pitcher Steven Matz caught Hicks straying too far from second with two outs and nailed him with a tag out at second to end the inning. Perhaps if he had been on third, the results for the inning (goose egg) would have been different. Fortunately, the Mets would leave the door open for the Yankees to win the game after they scored three runs in the bottom of the first on homers by Todd Frazier and Asdrubal Cabrera. Cabrera’s hit was a two-run shot after a triple by Brandon Nimmo.  

It looked like it was going to be a short outing for Domingo German but he settled down after the rough first inning. He ended up going five more strong innings without allowing anymore runs after the Mets’ uprising in the first. On 96 pitches, he struck out nine batters. He didn’t figure into the decision since he left with the game tied after completing the sixth inning but clearly the Yankees would not have won the game if the 25-year-old German did not shut down the Mets after those early home runs. With the announcement prior to the game that Masahiro Tanaka had been placed on the 10-day DL with the hamstring tightness in both legs, the Yankees need German now more than ever. The way he shook off the early problems showed veteran prowess despite his youth.  

Photo Credit: New York Post (Corey Sipkin)

Like Jacob deGrom had done the day before, Steven Matz held the Yanks in check early. Gleyber Torres finally got the Yankees on the board with a solo shot in the top of the third inning to make it a 3-1 game.  In the top of the sixth, after Gary Sanchez had walked with one out, Miguel Andujar, displaying why he, and not the Toddfather nor Brandon Drury for that matter, is the Yankees third baseman, blasted a Matz pitch into the left field stands. The Yankees had knotted the game at three.

Photo Credit: Newsday (Joseph D Sullivan)

David Robertson took over for German in the bottom of the seventh and immediately gave up a lead-off double to Adrian Gonzalez on the first pitch. Fortunately, he retired the next three batters, which included a great defensive play by Didi Gregorius to end the inning, stranding A-Gon at second and leaving the game deadlocked.

The Mets inserted former Yankees reliever Anthony Swarzak to start the top of the eighth inning and he was greeted with a Judgian blast on the first pitch, a shot to left by Aaron Judge to give the Yankees a one-run lead. The Yankees proceeded to get runners at the corners with two outs, but failed to score any further runs when Greg Bird, pinch-hitting for Tyler Austin, grounded out to second.

Bottom of the eighth it was three up and three down by strikeout for Dellin Betances.  Man, oh man, he looks good lately. Earlier this season, I didn’t want Dellin anywhere near the ninth inning but he has restored my confidence in him. A day after Aroldis Chapman had a mound visit by Trainer Steve Donahue for ongoing tendonitis in his knee, I probably would have left Chappy on the bench for this game. I would have held Betances for the ninth after burning D-Rob earlier in the game. Of course, it’s easy to say in hindsight but suffice it say that I am very happy that Betances is becoming a trusted resource once again.  

As for Chapman, it was a shaky performance. He walked Jay Bruce to start the ninth, a batter who cannot seem to hit the broad side of a barn this season. He struck out the next two batters including former Toronto villain Jose “Joey Bats” Bautista but a walk of Kevin Plawecki put Bruce in scoring position. Fortunately, the next batter was Jose Reyes, who is struggling to hold his roster spot with the Mets. A liner to right into the waiting glove of Aaron Judge ended the game and handed Chapman his 17th save of the season.  

Prior to the season, I didn’t want rookies at second AND third but here we are. Andujar and Torres have clearly proved me wrong.  I still feel bad for Brandon Drury, a player I like, but I am thrilled with the performances of the rookies.  I never expected this kind of power from the very talented Torres who now has 11 homers for the year. The only time he had double-digit homers in the minors was 2016 between two Class A clubs. He certainly never displayed this type of power while he was in the Chicago Cubs organization. I remember being saddened when the Yankees traded Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs. I guess I’ve recovered…and then some. I love this Yankees team and the rookies are at the forefront of the team’s success.

Photo Credit: Associated Press (Bill Kostroun)

The Yankees (42-18) maintained their half-game lead over the Boston Red Sox (44-21) in the AL East with the win. The Sox beat the other Sox, 4-2, to keep pace. Hopefully the White Sox can take today’s game.  

With the placement of Tanaka on the disabled list, the Yankees recalled utility-man Ronald Torreyes prior to the game. It brought multiple comments of “The cameraman is back!” on Twitter but Toe’s value to the chemistry of the 2018 Yankees cannot be understated. The clubhouse was very happy to see him and it reinforces how this team supports one another.  Toe made it into yesterday’s game as a pinch-hitter for Dellin Betances in the ninth. He grounded out to short, but when his name is called upon the next time, his bat or glove, as always, will be ready. Welcome back, Toe!

Just when I thought Josh Rogers is putting his name into the conversation for spot starter, he threw his second consecutive stinker yesterday for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. After giving up six runs in 1 1/3 innings on June 3rd, Rogers allowed 13 hits and five runs in 4 2/3 innings yesterday as the Louisville Bats coasted past the RailRiders, 9-4, with a 20-hit attack. Many are saying that Jonathan Loaisiga will get the call to make the spot start on Friday but I also think A.J. Cole, the forgotten man on the bench, should get consideration. The Yankees really need to see what they have with Cole. Either they need to give him an opportunity or they need to move on and open his spot for one of the talented young arms in the system ready to take the next step.    

The Yankees can sweep the Mets today with our best pitcher (Luis Severino, like I needed to mention his name) on the mound. A good day for baseball and a great day for a victory.  

Go Yankees!

Remembering Game Five of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 5 of the 2000 World Series.

In a rematch of the Game 1 pitchers duel Andy Pettitte took the mound for the Yankees and faced off against the Mets ace Al Leiter. Bernie Williams would get the scoring going with a solo home run in the top of the 2nd inning giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Mets would respond by getting two unearned runs across the board in the bottom of the 2nd and would keep that lead until the 6th inning when Derek Jeter hit a game tying home run. Heading into the 9th inning the game was tied a 2-2 each when Luis Sojo hit an RBI single off of Al Leiter to give the Yankees the lead and an errant throw that ended up in the Yankees dugout allowed a 4th run to score giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead going to the bottom of the 9th. Mike Piazza would come up in the 9th as the tying run in the 9th and hit a deep fly ball to center field that would find Bernie Williams glove and that would get the Yankees their third consecutive World Series victory. Mike Stanton would get the victory and Al Leiter would take the loss while Mariano Rivera notched his second save of the World Series in the clinching game.


This would be the Yankees 26th World Series victory overall and fourth in five years cementing the dynasty.

Remembering Game Four of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 4 of the 2000 World Series.

The New York Yankees sent Denny Neagle to the mound to face off with the Mets Bobby Jones in Game 4 of the Subway World Series. Derek Jeter led off the game and blasted a home run over the left field fence giving the Yankees a lead that they would never relinquish in this game. This would extend Derek Jeter's World Series hitting streak to 13 games and would be only the 16th lead off home run in World Series history. The Yankees would win the game 3-2 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Subway World Series. Jeff Nelson would take the victory and Bobby Jones would take the loss with Mariano Rivera notching the save for the pinstripers.

NL MVP Loves Flushing Meadow...

Photo Credit: New York Post (Paul J Bereswill)

Stanton hits 22nd Career Homer at Citi Field…

I should be leading off by saying how instrumental Brett Gardner’s home run off Mets ace Jacob deGrom was to the Yankees’ 4-1 victory over the Mets or the brilliant job Masahiro Tanaka did after giving up the lead off right field upper deck homer to Brandon Nimmo, but watching Giancarlo Stanton go yard, even if it was just a tack-on run, was a game highlight for me.  

We know Stanton will eventually get hot and start hitting home runs seemingly every day.  Maybe this is the start. His homer was the 22nd of his career at Citi Field. In 109 career games against the Mets, Stanton has 36 home runs and 82 RBIs. It is the most career homers he has against any opponent. The next closest opponent is the team the Yankees face for a two-game series starting Tuesday (the Washington Nationals). Stanton has 34 career homers against the Nats. Then, it’s the Tampa Bay Rays, a team that has lost its best starting pitcher (Chris Archer, injury-DL) and best reliever (Alex Colome, trade to Mariners). It is easy to see how this could be the start of a very hot summer for Giancarlo.   

Brett Gardner, the veteran easily written off by most Yankees fans at the start of the year, provided the hit that powered the victory. With Jacob deGrom pitching like he always does against the Yankees (dominating) and a deadlocked game at 1-1 in the eighth inning, Gardy’s two-run homer off deGrom gave the Yankees a lead they would not relinquish. On a team filled with big sluggers, Gardner is the unlikely hero but there he is leading by example time and again.  

Photo Credit: NJ Advance Media for NJ.com (John Munson)

As for deGrom, I couldn’t help but imagine how he’d look in Pinstripes. Honestly, I do not think the Mets would ever trade their ace to the Yankees but realistically it does make sense. The Mets could garner a boatload of top prospects from their NYC rivals which would help restore some luster in Queens, even if it meant watching deGrom win a World Series championship, or two or three…, with the Yankees.

Credit to Masahiro Tanaka for shaking off the Nimmo dinger to start the game. He got the obligatory home run out of the way early. I am worried that he left the game with hamstring tightness, but before he departed, he did not allow another hit to the Mets and recorded eight strikeouts before his early departure after completing five innings. Not to be confused with Shohei Ohtani at bat, Tanaka reached base in the top of the sixth inning, thanks to an  uncharacteristic fielding error by Mets first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. Tanaka worked his way to third with a single by Gleyber Torres and a walk by Brett Gardner. Aaron Judge’s fly to right brought Tanaka running home to score the run to tie the game, but something did seem wrong with his body language as there was no excitement in his face as he walked back to the Yankees dugout. He left the game with what was described as hamstring tightness and will undergo further tests today. Hopefully this is nothing serious. Naturally, the apparent injury brought back memories of Chien-Ming Wang who was never the same after suffering a foot injury in a National League park. I have never been against the lack of a DH in the NL except for the risk to AL pitchers who do not regularly come to the plate with bat in hand. It puts them at an obvious disadvantage and opens the possibility of unnecessary injury.

Photo Credit: NJ Advance Media for NJ.com (John Munson)

The Yankees bullpen also gets kudos for keeping the Mets off the board to set the stage for the late game heroics by Gardy and Giancarlo. Jonathan Holder, Chad Green, Dellin Betances, and Aroldis Chapman combined for four innings of three-hit, scoreless relief. Green gave up two hits but struck out two, including an inning-ending strikeout of Devin Mesoraco, to stifle a potential Mets rally. Courtesy of Gardy’s homer to follow the next inning, Green (4-0) picked up the vulture win. For Chapman, it was his 16th save of the season. The Mets had the tying run at the plate when Chappy hit a batter and another reached on an infield hit, but he induced a fly out by slugger Jay Bruce to end the game. Trainer Steve Donahue visited Chapman while he was on the mound but he stayed in the game. He has apparently been dealing with tendonitis in his left knee, although Aaron Boone said after the game it was “no big deal”. I hope not. Chapman, for all his sweatiness, has been fantastic this year. Quietly, I have enjoyed the performances of Betances lately. In his most recent games, Aaron Boone hasn’t tried to squeeze more than an inning out of Betances and it has yielded very good results. So credit to Boonie for making good use of the pen. The Mets, for as miserable as they’ve been at times this year, have the bats to get back into a game in a hurry.

The Yankees (41-18) leaped over the Boston Red Sox (43-21) in the AL East by a half-game with the victory. Chris Sale pitched masterfully against his former club, the Chicago White Sox, but it wasn’t enough as the White Sox used Dylan Covey and their bullpen to shutout Boston, 1-0. It was the third consecutive loss for Sale.  Too bad, so sad. Um, not really.

If the Yankees have to pull a spot starter out of the minor leagues, I fully expect Jonathan Loaisiga to get the call. The 23-year-old righty is 6-0 with 2.30 ERA this year with High A-Tampa and Double A-Trenton. The only concern is that he has yet to pitch at the Triple A level. He has a spot on the 40-man roster which gives him an “arm” up on the guys who are not.  Justus Sheffield certainly threw his name into the hat with yesterday’s outstanding performance. He only gave up one hit and two runs (none earned) in six innings of work to help power the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders to a 4-3 win over the Louisville Bats in front of a packed house at PNC Field in Moosic, PA. Top Sheff did walk three batters and threw a wild pitch but he struck out eight to pick up his first Triple A win this year. There’s no doubt Sheffield will make his Major League debut this year. It is just a matter of whether it will be sooner or later.  

Photo Credit: Todd Hiller

Congratulations to the Golden State Warriors and the Washington Capitals for their championships in the NBA and NHL, respectively. Championships are old hat for the Warriors but it was exciting to see the Capitals win their first, especially for their great player and captain, Alex Ovechkin. Somehow it didn’t seem right for the Las Vegas Golden Knights to win a championship in their inaugural year so I was happy to see the Caps emerge as the Stanley Cup Champions. Plus the Golden Knights had knocked my team (the San Jose Sharks) out of the playoffs so it was sweet revenge.

Today is a new day but a good day to continue the Mets losing streak. Go Domingo German and, as always, Go Yankees!

Remembering Game Three of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 3 of the 2000 World Series.

The Yankees would send Orlando Hernandez to the mound to face off with the Mets Rick Reed in Game 3 of the Subway World Series. The game would go into the 8th inning tied at 2-2 when Orlando Hernandez gave up two runs to break the game open and give the Mets a 4-2 lead. The Mets would win the game by that same score breaking Orlando Hernandez's perfect playoff record of 6-0 and ending the Yankees 14 consecutive World Series victories dating back to the 1996 World Series. John Franco would take the victory and Orlando Hernandez would take the loss with Armando Benitez notching the save to make the Subway World Series 2-1 in the Yankees favor.

Remembering Game Two of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.

The New York Yankees would send Roger Clemens to the mound in Game 2 to face off with Mets pitcher Mike Hampton. Roger Clemens was already not a favorite in the Mets clubhouse after this seasons match up in Interleague play where Clemens hit Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball that gave him a concussion and landed him on the disabled list. The bad blood came back when in Mike Piazza's first at bat Roger Clemens sawed off Piazza's bat with a fastball that went foul. A large piece of the bat came flying towards Clemens and he would pick up the bat and throw it down the first base line in the general direction of Mike Piazza. Clemens said after the game that he did not see Piazza running down the base line when he threw the bat but that did not placate Mike Piazza. The Yankees would take a 6-0 lead into the 9th inning when Mike Piazza would get some sort of pay back when he hit a home run against Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson later in the game but the Yankees would ultimately win the game 6-5 to take a 2-0 lead in the Subway World Series. Roger Clemens would take the victory and Mike Hampton would take the loss.

This would be the Yankees 10th consecutive World Series game victory tying the longest American League winning streak in World Series history.

Trade History Between the Yankees & Mets

Here's all 16 trades between the two clubs. You be the judge. Leave your thoughts in the comments section of the site or by tweeting us @GreedyStripes. Enjoy and Happy Hunting Cashman!


New York Mets selected Duke Carmel in free agent draft (Rule 5 Draft) on November 30, 1964.
New York Mets purchased Bob Friend from the New York Yankees on June 15, 1966.


New York Mets sold Chris Cannizzaro to the New York Yankees on December 7, 1966.


New York Mets purchased Hal Reniff from the New York Yankees on June 29, 1967.


New York Mets traded Roy Staiger to the New York Yankees for Sergio Ferrer on December 9, 1977.


New York Mets purchased Ray Burris from the New York Yankees on August 20, 1979.


April 1, 1980: New York Yankees purchase infielder Marshall Brandt from the New York Mets. 
New York Mets traded Felix Perdomo and Steve Ray to the New York Yankees for Tucker Ashford on April 18, 1983.


New York Mets traded Rafael Santana and Victor Garcia to the New York Yankees for Phil Lombardi, Darren Reedand Steve Frey on December 11, 1987.

July 10, 1989: Outfielder Marcus Lawton is traded from the Mets to the Yankees for pitcher Scott Nielsen. 

New York Mets traded Tim Burke to the New York Yankees for Lee Guetterman on June 9, 1992.

New York Mets traded Frank Tanana to the New York Yankees for Kenny Greer on September 17, 1993.

New York Mets traded Robin Ventura to the New York Yankees for David Justice on December 7, 2001.

New York Mets traded Armando Benitez to the New York Yankees for Jason Anderson, Anderson Garcia and Ryan Bicondoa on July 16, 2003.

New York Mets traded Mike Stanton to the New York Yankees for Felix Heredia on December 3, 2004.

New York Yankees traded cash to the New York Mets for Gonzalez Germen on December 19, 2014. 

The New York Yankees were NOT able to acquire Jay Bruce from the Mets in 2017, speculated to be for starting pitcher Domingo German, which may have been the best trade the Yankees ever made with the Mets. The one that they didn't make.