Looking Ahead to 2019: Jed Lowrie

I hate to look ahead to the 2019 season with the 2018 season still in full swing, but I can’t help it. I not only want to win this season, but I want to win next season as well, and every season for that matter. With that said I want to take a peek into the 2019 free agency really quick and suggest someone that should be on Brian Cashman’s radar now, so he can go ahead and get to work on it as soon as possible. Cashman loves his veteran players that can provide versatility, see Neil Walker for the 2018 season for a recent example of this, and Jed Lowrie should be a priority for him and the Yankees for the 2019 season in my opinion.

Lowrie has been a huge part of the successful season this year out in Oakland, and the 34-year old looks to be far from done going forward. Lowrie has good speed, he hits well for average, he is never an easy at-bat for the opposing pitcher as he is difficult to strike out, and he may just hit 20 home runs this season playing his home games in the spacious Oakland Coliseum. Imagine what his numbers would look like this season if he were playing 81 games in the Bronx.

Any team could use a super utility player like Lowrie that can conceivably play anywhere, but with the Yankees recent rash of injuries it would be imperative to sign a guy that can fill in all over the place specifically for New York. Utility guys generally come cheap and Lowrie would not hurt the Yankees chances at signing Manny Machado, Bryce Harper, Patrick Corbin, or whomever, and would make the team and the bench a whole lot stronger.

Sign Lowrie, then go ahead and get the big fish. Those guys won’t be going anywhere, but I don’t want Lowrie going anywhere next season but the Bronx.

Game Preview: New York Yankees VS. Chicago White Sox 8/28

The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox will continue their three-game set this week inside Yankee Stadium with the middle game of the series. Tonight the Yankees will send Lance Lynn to the mound to face off with James Shields for the White Sox. Three days until the August 31^st revocable waivers trade deadline, so let’s get to it here in the Bronx.

Lynn was once thought of by Yankees fans as a huge acquisition by Brian Cashman at the trade deadline, then reality hit, and Lynn started pitching to the back of his baseball card… just like I said that he would. In Lyn’s last 9.1 innings pitched the Yankees right-hander has allowed 10 runs. Not the ace Yankees Facebook groups made him out to be, huh?

"I once pitched a game THIS big."

Shields has been home run prone this season and that continued in his last start against the Detroit Tigers. Shields allowed three home runs in one inning against the Tigers in a loss. Shields did go at least six innings for the 22^nd time this season though, which is a silver lining for Chicago if they were looking for one.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

"Bye, Bye Birdie, indeed!"

Enjoy the game, beat up on the cupcake teams, and go Yankees!!

Hello… Hypocrites and Bandwagon Fans

Good morning Yankees family and welcome to the blog. Never, and I mean never, join a Facebook group for the New York Yankees. It is pure poison, it will make your blood pressure rise and it will make you lose faith in not only all of humanity, but all Yankees fans alike. The hypocrisy and plain out ignorance is alarming, and it gets worse every day.

“Sonny Gray sucks! He can only pitch well against Triple-A teams like the Orioles!”

“Luke Voit is amazing, and Greg Bird should never see the lineup ever again. Look at what he has done against the Orioles!!”

So, let me get this straight… it is okay to beat up on the Orioles and their “Triple-A” pitching, but it is not okay to beat up on their “Triple-A” offense that includes Adam Jones, Chris Davis and others. Got it, thanks for clearing that up.

Hey you, I loves you. Every day with you is truly special, and I am incredibly lucky to still call you mine. I cannot wait until you are legally my Kari Ann Burch.

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/28: Yankees & Red Sox Play Final Game In The Old Yankee Stadium

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox have played many historic and meaningful games in the old Yankee Stadium but the two teams played their final game in the House that Ruth Built on this day in 2008. These two teams fought tooth and nail against each other in this stadium for 85 years and it was fitting how the final game ended. The Yankees were losing 2-0 and came from behind thanks to a Jason Giambi seventh inning pinch hit two run home run to tie. Giambi would come up in the ninth inning and would get a walk off single to beat Boston 3-2 to avoid a sweep and keeps their playoff hopes alive.

Also on this day in 2007 the fans at Yankee Stadium were all entertained by a squirrel who stayed on the right field foul pole to watch the Yankees beat the Red Sox 5-3. The squirrel was quickly called a good luck charm and a fan favorite while receiving standing ovations and cheers every time he was shown on the scoreboard screen.

The Puzzling Case of Pickles...

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Yanks Get Double Treat on Saturday…

The Yankees swept the day/night doubleheader in Baltimore on Saturday, and find themselves only seven games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East (just six games back in the loss column). The Yankees took the day game by a score of 10-3 behind the pitching of J.A. “Happer” Happ, his fifth consecutive Yankees victory, and then swept the doubleheader by defeating the O’s 5-1 in the nightcap, a win delivered courtesy of Sonny “Pickles” Gray.

Granted, Gray was facing the worst team in Major League Baseball and they weren’t playing at Yankee Stadium so he had the right conditions for a stellar game. The last time “Pickles” had faced Baltimore, he was pounded for seven runs in only 2 2/3 innings (a 5-7 loss to the O’s on August 1st but that game was in the Bronx. He pitched six scoreless innings of three-hit ball against the Orioles at Camden Yards on July 11th and has only given up one run to Baltimore in three Camden Yards starts this year. He clearly likes pitching in Baltimore even if he can’t pitch anywhere else so I temper Saturday night’s performance. Still, it was a win and that’s what matters most. Gray threw 79 pitches in 6 1/3 innings, limiting Baltimore to three hits and no runs.  He struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter until the final guy he faced in the bottom of the 7th inning.  

After the game, Gray proclaimed himself as “one of the best starting pitchers in this league” which I thought was a bit much. Maybe he was saying it for the benefit of O’s GM Dan Duquette (future trade possibilities), given his propensity for ‘elite-like’ games in Baltimore. His statement could not have been meant for Yankee fans because we know better. Good for Gray to have confidence, but he shouldn’t rush out to buy shelf space for a Cy Young Award.  

Perhaps the disappointment of the night game was the inability of reliever Tommy Kahnle to preserve the shutout for “Pickles”. It was a messy bottom of the ninth as Kahnle gave up three hits, the last one a single by Yankees castoff Jace Peterson which scored Trey Mancini with Baltimore’s only run. Manager Aaron Boone was forced to bring in Dellin “El Acido” Betances to get the final out with two runners on base. Fortunately, he struck out Caleb Joseph on five pitches to prevent an Orioles rally and gained his first save of the season. There’s no way that should have ever been a save situation and it reinforces why Tommy Kahnle has a long way to go before he can be a trusted member of the bullpen again.  

In the day game, I was a little worried when J.A. Happ gave up two runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning which gave the O’s a one-run lead. He has pitched so well for the Yankees since his acquisition in July and it is inevitable that the wheels will fall off. Happ is exactly the type of trading deadline deal you want to make. Acquire a guy who outperforms his time with his previous club and just wins down the stretch.  The Yankees other lefty July trade target, Cole Hamels, is doing a tremendous job for the Chicago Cubs, but I agree that Happ was the right choice given his AL East experience. Happ ended up with yet another quality start, holding the O’s to just those two runs on five hits over six innings for his 15th win of he year. Happ (15-6) walked a batter and struck out nine and is only a win behind Luis Severino. Luis Cessa, the 26th man, finished up the final three innings for his first save despite the blowout.  

Miguel “Papá ” Andujar, who has become everybody’s favorite choice for AL Rookie of the Year, hit his 21st home run in the first game with 4 RBI’s to pace the Yankees. Aaron “Hicksie” Hicks had three hits and 2 RBI’s. Luke “Louis” Voit got the start in the first game over Greg Bird, and delivered a run-scoring single. Brett “Gardner” Gardner also chipped in a couple of RBI’s and Gleyber “GT” Torres, with two hits, had an RBI as well.   

In the night game, Gardy, Hicks, and Giancarlo “G” Stanton all contributed an RBI, and Austin “Ro” Romine smacked an insurance-providing solo homer in the top of the ninth. Greg “Bird” Bird finally got the start after two successive starts by Luke Voit. He responded to the challenge for his position by going 0-for-3 with a strikeout. 

The Yankees (82-47) play the Boston Red Sox six more times with three games in New York and three in Boston. The New York series is Tuesday, September 18th through Thursday, September 20th, while the Boston series finishes the regular season on Friday, September 28th to Sunday, September 30th. It’s still an uphill battle but the division title remains within reach if the cards fall right for the Yankees. Getting everybody healthy is the first course of business.  

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe had some interesting comments about the Yankees in his weekly Sunday Baseball Notes.  He stated the Indians and the Yankees “were exploring the possibility of (Andrew) McCutchen, who has cleared waivers and can be traded anywhere”. I find it hard to believe the Yankees would add McCutchen due to the luxury tax threshold limitations but I guess you can never underestimate GM Brian Cashman. I wouldn’t mind seeing McCutchen in pinstripes but then again, he’s a redundant luxury once Aaron Judge returns to good health. Cutch does have that “it” factor and could be capable of delivering huge hits when it matters the most even if he is no longer the player he once was for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cafardo also said the Yankees were in the hunt for Giants lefthander Madison Bumgarner at the July trading deadline but found the price too high. Bummer, I would have loved Mad-Bum on the Yankees. Of course, I have no idea what the Giants asked for. Handing over our ten best prospects probably would not have been a good idea. LOL! I doubt that was the cost but it probably wasn’t too far off.  

Congrats to former Yankee Matt Holliday for his return to the Majors with his original team, the Colorado Rockies. Holliday was unable to wear his original number (5) since it now belongs to long-time Rockie Carlos Gonzalez and the number he wore with the Yankees (17) is retired in honor of Rockies great Todd Helton. So Holliday opted for number 7 which of course is a hallowed number around here. Holliday went hitless in his Rockies debut on Friday after an absence of ten years in a Colorado uniform but he delivered a pinch hit homer yesterday against another one of his former teams, the St Louis Cardinals.  

The Yankees conclude their series at Camden Yards today. Luis Severino (16-6, 3.28 ERA) will face Dylan Bundy (7-12, 5.31 ERA) tonight at 8 pm ET before the team heads home (sleep?  who needs stinkin’ sleep!). It would be great if Sevy could pitch like he did in the first half. We need THAT guy hitting all cylinders for the sprint to the finish. Baltimore is going to lose 100 games this season with or without our help. We might as well move them one game closer. With the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers on tap for the seven-game homestand starting Monday, the Yankees must continue to put the pressure on the Beantown Bunch.  These are the games that we can and should win before we face the Wild Card contending Oakland A’s and Seattle Mariners on the the last West Coast trip of the regular season starting on Labor Day.  

Go Yankees!

On a Wing (Voit) and a Prayer (Britton)...

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Patrick McDermott)

Yanks Use Unlikely Heroes to Thwart the O’s…

When the lineup was posted prior to the game, Luke Voit’s name at first base was about as exciting as getting teeth pulled despite Greg Bird’s struggles with the bat. After the game was over, Voit had ensured he could be the beneficiary of more playing time at Bird’s expense.  His two home runs were huge. The first tied the game in the early stages and the latter provided the necessary insurance for the win. The muscled kid from St Louis came up big for the Pinstripes with 4 RBI’s in the 7-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.  

Zach Britton picked up his first save for the Yankees, his fifth of the year. He was treated rudely by former teammate Chris Davis who blasted a solo home run in the bottom of the tenth, but thanks to Voit’s two-run shot after the Yankees had taken a one-run lead in the top of the tenth, Britton withstood the Davis home run trot to preserve the win. Things might have looked differently had Britton not gotten Trey Mancini, the batter before Davis, to hit into a double play. Whatever it takes, it was a win and the Yankees finally have a winning season record against the O’s at 7-6.  

Photo Credit: Associated Press

The Orioles got on the board first. After the Yankees had threatened in the top of the first inning (but failed), the O’s grabbed the early lead with a two-run single by Chris Davis in the bottom of the inning off Yankees starter CC Sabathia. Davis entered the game batting .163 on the season but apparently Yankees pitching didn’t get the memo.

Orioles starter Alex Cobb, who has enjoyed a resurgent second half following a 2-12 record leading up to the All-Star Game, was tough on the Yankees lineup. After escaping the first inning scoring opportunity, he blanked the Yankees over the  next two innings, allowing just a couple of meaningless walks. It looked like he was going to have his way in the top of the fourth inning when he struck out Miguel Andujar to start the frame. Neil Walker singled to center, but Gleyber Torres flied out to right for the second out. Up to the plate strolled Luke Voit who had hit into a double play in the second inning for his first at-bat. Voit crushed the Cobb offering over the wall in left center to tie the game at two. It looked weird to see Chasen Shreve’s #45 circling the bases.  

CC Sabathia got the Yankees through six innings with the game knotted at two. The ball was turned over to David Robertson for the seventh but unfortunately he ran into a bit of bad luck. The first hitter, John Andreoli (a recent cast-off from the Seattle Mariners), reached base on a fielding error by interim shortstop Gleyber Torres (the ball rolled up his arm off his wrist and dropped into shallow left field). Torres was in pain but stayed in the game. D-Rob was able to retire the next two hitters but then Jonathan Villar, the former Milwaukee Brewer, took Robertson deep to left center, giving the O’s a 4-2 lead. I hate to say it, but I don’t really see the Yankees re-signing D-Rob, one of my favorite Yankees over the years, after the season.  

The Yankees answered in the top of the eighth. With only one out, they loaded the bases against two Orioles relievers. The third O’s pitcher of the inning, Mychal Givens, came in to face Gleyber Torres and was greeted with a two-run single to right. The O’s had a play at the plate for the second runner, Miguel Andujar, on a strong throw by Adam Jones, but the ball came loose on the collision at home. Papa was safe and the game was tied again. The Yanks re-loaded the bases after Luke Voit had struck out for the second out, but Ronald Torreyes left the runners stranded with a pop out to first.

Dellin Betances, sporting yellow shoes, pitched the bottom of the eighth. He got into a little trouble with a couple of singles but was able to get out of the inning with a couple of swinging strikeouts.

The Yankees had a chance in the ninth when Brett Gardner opened the inning with a single, but after Giancarlo Stanton flied out, Aaron Hicks hit the ball directly into Chris Davis’ glove, standing on first base, for an inning-ending double play. Three up and three down for Chad Green in the bottom of the ninth, and it was off to extra innings we went.

With former Yankees prospect Cody Carroll pitching, Neil Walker homered to right center with one out to give the Yankees their first lead of the game. Neil, please accept my apology for any disparaging words I may have used about you earlier in the season. Gleyber Torres followed with a walk. He stole second and then advanced to third on a throwing error by the O’s catcher. Luke Voit, who obviously enjoyed the fourth inning home run, decided to re-live the experience with another two-run blast, this time to right center.  

Photo Credit: Associated Press (Patrick Semansky)

The Yankees took the three-run lead into the bottom of the tenth, bringing in former Orioles closer Zach Britton to finish off his ex-teammates. Adam Jones singled to right to open the inning for the Orioles, but Trey Mancini, in the midst of a down year for him, grounded into a double play. So Chris Davis came to the plate with the bases empty and two outs. His homer to center, traveling 430 feet, cut the Yanks’ lead to two. Fortunately, Tim Beckham grounded out to first to end the game. It was a struggle but the Yankees persevered to pull out the victory. Britton walked off the Orioles mound with another save in his illustrious Camden Yards career, but the first in opposing gear. 

The win, the Yankees’ 80th of the year, helped them to cut the gap to 8 1/2 games behind the AL East-leading Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox dropped a 10-3 game to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees are just the second team in MLB to reach 80 wins, but of course the Red Sox became the first to 90 earlier this week. The Yankees hold a four-game lead on the Oakland A’s in the Wild Card standings and eight games over Adam Warren and the Seattle Mariners.  

Nice job by CC Sabathia, fresh off the 10-day DL, to give the Yankees some length after the first inning difficulties. He mixed in a couple of eight-pitch innings. He may not have gotten the decision but he put his team in position for the win. As they say, wins are a worthless statistic to prove a pitcher’s worth. The Yankees would not have won this game without CC’s strong performance.

Gary Sanchez began a rehab assignment in Florida (Gulf Coast League) today so it sounds like we’ll be getting one of the wounded soldiers back soon. Sanchez will move up to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after today’s game before rejoins the team, hopefully next week. I really hope that El Gary brings some of the hustle I’ve seen with the rehab workout videos. We could really use the pre-2018 version of Sanchez for the regular season’s final month.  

The Yankees and the Orioles play two today. RHP Luis Cessa has been called up as the 26th man for the day/night double-header. The first game, at 1:00 pm ET, features J.A. Happ (14-6, 3.84 ERA) against Jimmy Yacabonis (0-1, 6.75 ERA). Luke Voit hit his last Triple A homer, prior to his call-up, against Yacabonis. Sure enough, on the lineup just posted for today’s game, Voit is playing first base. The second game, 7:05 pm ET, will pit the beleaguered Sonny Gray (9-8, 5.34 ERA) against Andrew Cashner (4-11, 4.84 ERA). Despite his record, Cashner always seems to pitch well against the Yankees. If Gray wants to pitch any meaningful games for the Yankees down the stretch, he needs to show up tonight. No pressure. Somehow I suspect he’ll fail miserably to maintain his grip on the Sonny Gray Sucks! tag line. Sonny, dammit, prove me wrong.

Hopefully last night’s win provides some momentum for the Yankees against the pesky O’s. Why win just one game, when you can take two?  Let’s do this. Go Yankees!

Five Yankees Related Movies for Your Upcoming Weekend

The weekend is here and if you’re like me you’re just getting off of work. What will you do for the rest of this weekend? Do you have any plans? If so, leave them below in the comments section. If not here are a few Yankees related movies that you could watch while waiting on the Yankees game. Or, you know, you could always come chat with us on Twitter by sending @GreedyStripes a tweet. That’s always an option as well. On to the movies!!


“The Babe” is obviously a movie about Babe Ruth, the Yankees legend, but this movie covers it all. His time with the Boston Red Sox, the purchase from the New York Yankees, his time with the Braves, etc. It’s definitely an interesting one to watch.


The Pride of the Yankees is a movie covering the life and playing career of Lou Gehrig. I’m sure everyone knew that by now but how can you not watch this movie if you see it on television? Also, how can you not get goosebumps when Gehrig “considers himself… the luckiest man…. On the face of this Earth?”


At one point this season when I listed my Top 10 favorite baseball related movies I caught flak for not including the Yankees-themed movie “61*” so you best believe I am including it here. This movie covers the single-season home run chase in 1961 by Roger Maris, who hits 61 passing Babe Ruth who hit 60 home runs in a single season in less games (hence the asterisk), and teammate Mickey Mantle. I absolutely love this movie and I love Barry Pepper as an actor so this one I have watched at least 50 – 100 times already in my lifetime.


Finally you have “The Scout” which has Brendan Fraser as a pitcher for the Yankees. This movie covers it all, not only the game on the field but Fraser adapting to life in the big city and life in the big leagues after not coming through the system in the traditional sort like most pitchers. This is a great movie and one of my absolute all-time favorites, check it out. It has George Costanza for crying out loud, how could it be bad?

Hello… Let’s Play Two

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. Happy Saturday, and a huge welcome to the weekend for you all. What better way is there than to spend a Saturday than playing baseball? Spending your Saturday playing two games, much like the Yankees will do today in their day/night doubleheader with the Baltimore Orioles. On paper that’s a good thing for the struggling Yankees, but recently the team has struggled against Baltimore and their Triple-A lineup for whatever reason. Oh well, no stress can be had on a Saturday, so I won’t lose sleep about it.

Win both games and let’s at least make this damn thing interesting heading down the stretch. We don’t have to win it, we just have to let Boston know that they were in a pennant race and become the hottest team heading into October. It can be done with this roster, so do it. Simple.

Hey you. I love you, good morning.

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/25: Three Grand Slams In One Game

Never in the history of Major League Baseball had one team hit three grand slams in one game before the New York Yankees accomplished the feat in 2011. The Yankees would beat the Oakland Athletics 22-9 with Robinson Cano, Russell Martin, and Curtis Granderson all going deep with the bases loaded in Yankee Stadium.

Also on this day in 1996 Mickey Mantle joined Miller Huggins, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig as Yankees greats that have a monument in Monument Park. Mantle died of liver cancer last year and is the first new monument to be dedicated by the team in 47 years.

Also on this day in 1968 Yankees outfielder Rocky Colavito pitched 2.1 innings of relief giving up just one hit in a victory for the Yankees 6-5 over the Tigers. The Yankees outfielder, who also hit a home run in the game, will be the last position player to get a win by pitching until Colorado Rockies Brent Mayne would win a game in the year 2000.

Finally on this day in 1956 the Yankees general manager George Weiss and manager Casey Stengel hold a closed door meeting with shortstop Phil Rizzuto. The meeting discussed who should be let go since the team had acquired Enos Slaughter off waivers from the Atheltics. Rizzuto made several suggestions on who he thought who should be released from the Yankees before Weiss informed Scooter that he would be the player to be let go. Shady.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 8/24

And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. In the first game of the three-game set this weekend the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off with Alex Cobb for the Orioles. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network locally and on MASN if you are in the Baltimore area. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app, and 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 us and the Yankees all season long. Enjoy the game, give Buck Showalter a reason to cry tonight, and go Yankees!!