Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox 6/27

The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox are ready to begin the second game of their four-game set to kick off the week in Chicago with a great pitching matchup. In the contest tonight the Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound to square off with potentially a future teammate in the White Sox Jose Quintana. The game will be played at 8:10 pm ET inside Guaranteed Rate Field and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along on the radio and in your cars by tuning into the WFAN broadcast.

Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and enjoy the game. As always, Go Yankees!!!

So the Top Prospects Won’t Be Traded, But Who Will?

If history is any indicator of the future the New York Yankees will be reluctant to give up any of their top prospects at this year’s July 31^st trading deadline. Now this is not to say that the Yankees will absolutely not trade any of Gleyber Torres (injured), Justus Sheffield, Clint Frazier or James Kaprielian (also injured) but I am saying that it seems unlikely is all. Brian Cashman has shown a reluctance and stated his reluctance to trade top prospects and the man who has to presumably sign off on any trade or acquisition, Hal Steinbrenner the Yankees principal owner, has shown a similar reluctance. So if the Yankees wont trade any of their top-tiered prospects who would they be willing to trade to fill one of the many holes the team has this season? Keep reading to find out.

Jorge Mateo was once considered to be the Yankees future starting shortstop in the Bronx. A Didi Gregorius trade later along with a suspension for Mateo’s attitude while in the midst of a down season and Mateo may be on the chopping block this July 31^st trading deadline. Mateo, 21-years old, relies heavily on his speed but has surprisingly been stuck at High-A Tampa for more than a full season now. Maybe it is because he strikes out 30% of the time at the plate or maybe the Yankees are trying to send him a message. Either way Mateo has not fallen off that far to where he cannot fetch a useful player in a trade either by himself or as a part of a package.

To get something you have to give something and you usually get out what you put in. If the Yankees want to acquire a top notch starter this summer they may have to trade one of their many talented outfielders including Dustin Fowler. Fowler has been raking at Triple-A this season after breaking out in a huge way in 2016 and many believe the center fielder is now Major League ready. The Yankees obviously think so too as they allowed Fowler to bump Clint Frazier from center field to left field this season and Fowler has done nothing but return their confidence with hitting, defense and superb base running. Could he return the Yankees one final time this summer with a starting pitcher, a third baseman or a first baseman? In all likelihood, yes.

Finally, and I cannot believe I am saying this, the Yankees may decide they are willing to part with Chance Adams this summer. I personally would not involve him in 99% of deals that the Yankees will be offered this summer but I am probably much higher on him, as a fan of course, than some may be including the organization. With the emergence of Jordan Montgomery as a reliable MLB starter and the return of Luis Severino to dominance the Yankees just may use Adams to net the third baseman or another starter that they believe can lead the team to the playoffs and beyond. It’s unlikely, I admit that, but I can’t with clear conscience say that it’s out of the realm of possibility either. 

Quick Hit: John Sterling Named Honorary 2017 Voice of the Atlantic League All-Star Game

Quick hit, not so quick title. That’s how we do it here on The Greedy Pinstripes, however we want to do it. Anyway, I digress. The Somerset Patriots and the Atlanta League of Professional Baseball have both announced that the New York Yankees (infamous to some) broadcasting legend John Sterling has been named the Honorary Voice of the 2017 Atlantic League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 12^th. The game will be played inside TD Bank Ballpark.

Sterling will be on the field during pre-game festivities and will be the color commentator during the Home Run Derby which is ironic and really fun all in itself. Sterling will also introduce the honorary managers Sparky Lyle and Willie Randolph as well as calling the All-Stars to the line during introductions.

Sterling has been the Yankees play-by-play man since 1989 and has not missed a single game in his 27 seasons in the booth. This includes the 2005 season when Sterling called every single pitch of every single Yankees game that season solo in the booth.

The 2017 Atlantic League All-Star Game is the premiere event of the summer, hosted by the Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark on Wednesday, July 12th. The event is presented by RWJBarnabas Health and Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and will feature the biggest Fireworks Show in ballpark history, commemorative giveaways for all ages, entertainment, and a Home Run Derby. For tickets, stop by the ballpark, call (908) 252-0700 or visit www.somersetpatriots.com.

About The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB)

The Atlantic League has been a leader in professional baseball and a gateway to Major League Baseball since 1998. Over 36 million fans have attended Atlantic League games and more than 800 players and 50 managers and coaches have joined MLB organizations directly from the ALPB. The Atlantic League emphasizes winning baseball games, showcasing the talent of top-caliber players and offering affordable family entertainment to metropolitan markets serving nearly 15% of the US population.

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox 6/27

The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox kicked off a four-game set last night and will continue that series tonight in Chicago inside Guaranteed Rate Field. I miss Comiskey Park and I hate these, in my opinion, sell out type stadiums. Oh well. In the second game of the series the Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound, good news, to face off with the White Sox ace Jose Quintana, bad news potentially. Could the Yankees be scouting the lefty in person as they approach Chicago in a potential buy-low type situation? Who in the world knows any more. On to the game.

Severino will make his 15^th start of the season tonight in Chicago fresh off a rough outing against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In the start Severino allowed six runs, five of them earned, which was the most runs he has given up in a single start all season long.

Quintana has been great during the month of June after a rough start to the season in May. In four June starts the White Sox lefty has a 2.25 ERA including a stellar start last time out against the Toronto Blue Jays where he threw 6.2 shutout innings allowing just five hits.

The game will be played at 8:10 pm ET inside Guaranteed Rate Field and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along on the radio and in your cars by tuning into John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman’s broadcast on WFAN. Enjoy the game and Go Yankees!!

A Win is a Win...

Credit:  Nuccio DiNuzzo-Chicago Tribune

Yankees 6, White Sox 5…

Moral of the story…never take anything for granted.  The Yankees took a comfortable five run lead into the bottom of the 9th inning but it was an edge of your seat, nail-biter at the end.  A three-run homer and a run-scoring double made it interesting but the Yankees were able to hold on for the win over the Chicago White Sox.

There were a few stars in this game, but credit first has to go to starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery who has proven to be the stopper in the absence of CC Sabathia.  Montgomery  (6-4) held the White Sox to one run on five hits over seven innings while striking out eight.  He issued just one free pass.  Montgomery gave up his only run in the second inning when speculated trade target Todd Frazier opened with a solo shot to left center.  From there, Monty kept the White Sox off the board while the Yankees built what appeared to be a comfortable lead.

Credit:  AP

A fielding error by Frazier in the fourth allowed Gary Sanchez to reach base.  Aaron Judge, who had opened the inning with a walk, moved to third.  Tyler Austin lofted a sacrifice fly to right which scored Judge, tying the game.  Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off the DL, singled to move Sanchez into scoring position.  Chase Headley singled, scoring Sanchez.  Following a walk by Austin Romine to load the bases, Ronald Torreyes hit into a double-play but Ellsbury was able to score before the White Sox completed the final out, catching Headley between second and third, to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.  

With one out in the sixth, Tyler Austin gave the Yankees what they were missing from first base with a line drive homer to left or as Michael Kay called it, “a bullet”.  Ellsbury reached base on a fielding error by White Sox starting pitcher David Holmberg and Headley followed with a double to move Ells to third.  The White Sox made a pitching change and Austin Romine greeted reliever Juan Minaya with a sac fly to center, scoring Ellsbury.  A passed ball moved Headley to third.  Ronald Torreyes hit a grounder that should have been the final out, but an error by first baseman Matt Davidson, the third White Sox error of the game, allowed Torreyes to reach first while Headley scored, making it 6-1 Yankees.

The Yankees got into some trouble in the 8th when Jonathan Holder replaced Montgomery to start the inning.  He struck out the first batter but a single by former Yankee Melky Cabrera and a walk to Jose Abreu put Cabrera in scoring position.  Avisail Garcia hit into a force out that erased Abreu at second, moving Cabrera to third.  Holder was pulled and replaced by Dellin Betances who subsequently walked Frazier to load the bases.  In what would prove to be one of the plays of the game, Betances struck out Davidson to end the threat.  

Unable to tack on any further insurance runs, the Yankees took the 6-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th.  Chasen Shreve was brought in to pitch in relief of Betances and secured the first out on  a grounder by Yolmer Sanchez. But Kevan Smith and Adam Engel followed with singles to put runners at first and second.  Tim Anderson punched a fly ball over the center field wall to pull the White Sox within two runs, 6-4.  A frustrated Shreve was pulled for Aroldis Chapman but the White Sox kept the rally going with a single by Melky Cabrera.  Fellow Cuban Jose Abreu doubled off Chapman, scoring Cabrera, and it was 6-5 Yankees.  Fortunately, Chapman got Avisail Garcia on a ground out and Todd Frazier flied out to left to secure the save.  

A little too close for comfort but the final result was a much-needed win.  The Yankees (41-33) kept pace with the Boston Red Sox in the AL East standings.  The Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins, 4-1, earlier in the evening.  The Tampa Bay Rays were idle and slipped to 3 games back.

The game wasn’t without its bad news.  Second baseman Starlin Castro left the game in the third inning after straining his right hamstring while trying to run out a grounder.  He was replaced by Rob Refsnyder.  Castro will have a MRI today while the Yankees decide whether or not to place him on the DL.  The initial word is the Yankees will call up infield prospect Tyler Wade.  Wade has 5 HR’s and 25 RBI’s for Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  His slash line is .313/.390/.444.  In 71 games, he led the RailRiders with 13 errors but has stolen 24 bags.  Wade, expected to be the utility-man of the future, will now get his first taste of the Bigs.  He’ll back up Ronald Torreyes at second until Castro is able to resume play.  

Credit:  Jon Durr-Getty Images

Odds & Ends…

The Yankees were busy Monday on the transactions wire.  They placed Aaron Hicks, as expected, on the 10-Day DL with a right oblique strain.  Jacoby Ellsbury, who had been expected to continue his rehab with Double A Trenton was instead activated to replace Hicks.  Healthy, there’s no question I prefer Hicks over Ellsbury, but since that’s not an option, I am hopeful the Yankees can get something…anything…out of first base for production.  If so, it will help offset the loss of Hicks.  The Yankees also sent LHP Tyler Webb and OF Mason Williams to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  I was sorry to see Webb go after just two Major League appearances, but hopefully, he’ll be back.  RHP Ronald Herrera and IB/OF Rob Refsnyder were recalled to replace Webb and Williams.  Refsnyder will provide corner outfield relief and help at first base if necessary.  Herrera had been scheduled to start last night’s game for the RailRiders so he represents a rotation insurance arm.

Matt Holliday was unavailable for the second straight day with his condition as a result of the allergic reaction suffered in Oakland.  He had some medical tests ran yesterday but hopefully everything comes back good.  The Yankees can ill afford to lose his productive bat for any extended period of time.

I do not want to detract from the great rookie season Aaron Judge is having, but Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger is amazing.  He had his sixth multi-homer game on Sunday and now has 24 homers on the year.  With a delayed start (he wasn’t promoted to the Dodgers until April 25th), he has the most home runs of any NL rookie in the first half since the All-Star Game debuted in 1933.  The Dodgers have been steamrolling their opponents since he arrived.  At his current pace, the son of a former Yankees utility player may catch and surpass Judge for most home runs in MLB.  Bellinger and the Dodgers certainly have the mojo working right now.

Credit:  Chris Carlson-AP

Have a great Tuesday!  Hopefully it’s a two-for Tuesday as the Yankees attempt to secure their second win against the White Sox.  Let’s Go Yankees!

Could the Yankees Buy-Low on Kyle Schwarber Like They Did With Starlin Castro?

When the New York Yankees acquired Starlin Castro to be their second baseman from the Chicago Cubs there were more than a few upset Yankees fans among the ranks. Who could blame them? Some Yankees fans are still spoiled from the late George Steinbrenner who acquired the best of the best at any costs and Castro, at the time, was far from that. Castro was having trouble defensively and had fallen out of grace in Chicago due to lessened playing time and subsequent production shortcomings as well. Needless to say Castro has woken up since coming to New York and the deal acquiring him looks to be one of Brian Cashman’s best as we stand here today at the end of June which makes me wonder if Cashman couldn’t swindle the Cubs and Theo Epstein once again by buying low on 24-year old outfielder Kyle Schwarber.

Since Schwarber was demoted to Triple-A recently, and for good reason mind you, you have to wonder if the Cubs are at least considering moving the outfielder for something at this year’s July 31^st trading deadline. Schwarber was hovering around the Mendoza line at the time of his demotion and although he was hitting for power he just wasn’t doing much else, period.

The Yankees have a first base problem with Greg Bird injured and Chris Carter stinking up the joint and the team may also need an outfielder in the coming years with the contracts of Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury coming off the books eventually so could the Yankees acquire Schwarber now not with the 2017 season in mind but maybe the 2018 season and beyond in their plans? It’s an interesting plan and proposition but obviously, like anything, it comes down to the price. The Yankees could use Schwarber as they continue to rebuild and the Cubs need pitching so theoretically these two teams could match up in a trade.

Here’s a trade proposal and this is purely based on my own mindset and speculation. Would the Yankees trade both Domingo German and Domingo Acevedo for Schwarber? I would. Would the Yankees do Chance Adams for Schwarber? I wouldn’t, but they might. More on him later. At this point all of this is just pure speculation but at the same time this is the time to dream. It’s the time of the July 31^st trade deadline so you may as well dream big. Stay tuned.

So it Seems…. KARMA

Good morning everyone and Happy Tuesday. Let’s start the day out with a little bit of breakfast, coffee and a side of karma, shall we? Remember the British-born woman who admitted to blackmailing Yankees general manager Brian Cashman not too long ago? Well Louise Meanwell, 41-years old, is not in federal custody and is facing possible deportation. Whoops.

Meanwell claimed to be Cashman’s mistress before pleading guilty to grand larceny, extortion, perjury and criminal impersonation back in December of 2015.

Karma. More people need it. Maybe then there wouldn’t be so many assholes in the world.

But you, you are the farthest thing from one. You are the sweetest and most kind-hearted person I’ve ever had the HONOR of meeting, knowing and loving. Hey you. I love you.

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/27: Wade Blasingame’s Debut & Goodbye

On this day in 1972 Wade Blasingame made his last start of his career and his first career start for the New York Yankees. The Tigers would hit three consecutive home runs in the first inning when Aurelio Rodriguez, Al Kaline, and Willie Horton went deep. The Tigers would beat the Yankees 5-2.

A Hole Too Deep...

Credit:  John Munson-NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Rangers 7, Yankees 6…

Bad Mike seems to be making more frequent appearances these days.  Unfortunately, Michael Pineda chose the day of the 71st Old Timer’s Day at Yankee Stadium to throw up another stink ball.  

The Yankees were immediately in the hole when the Texas Rangers opened with three runs in the top of the first.  Delino DeShields, Jr. led off with a double and scored on a single by Elvis Andrus.  Old-Timer Adrian Beltre, showing that he still has it, followed with a homer to left.

In the Rangers’ second, after Jonathan Lucroy opened with a single, Pineda came within a strike of getting out of the inning when he walked DeShields.  Shin-Soo Choo made Pineda pay for it with a three-run blast to the second deck in right.  It was 6-0 Rangers before most people had time to settle in to watch the game.  

Pineda gave us a little view of his dominant side in the third when he retired the three batters he faced, two by strikeout.  It was a facade. In the 4th, with two outs, the Rangers added what would prove to be the game-winning insurance run when rookie second baseman Drew Robinson grabbed his first major league hit with a solo home run to center.  The Rangers held a commanding 7-0 lead.

Pineda (7-4) didn’t come back for the fifth so his final line was ugly.  4 innings, 6 hits, 7 runs, 3 home runs, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts.  The outing pushed his ERA back over 4 to 4.12.  

Tyler Webb, making his second major league appearance, pitched the fifth.  It didn’t start well for Webb when he walked the first two batters on 3-2 counts.  But he rebounded to get Beltre to hit into a double play and struck out Rougned Odor.  

In the bottom of the 5th, the Yankees made it a game again.  Mason Williams led off with a single.  Following outs by Ronald Torreyes and Brett Gardner, Austin Romine struck out but reached first base on a wild pitch by Rangers pitcher Nick Martinez.  Aaron Judge followed with a run-scoring single to push the first Yankee run across the plate.  Gary Sanchez made it 7-4 with a three-run shot to center.  

The Yankees continued to chip away when Ronald Torreyes led off the bottom of the 7th with his second home run of the season, a shot to left.  Both Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez walked with two outs. Didi Gregorius singled to right to score Judge, but Sanchez was tagged out at third to end the inning.  The Yankees had closed to within one run, 7-6.  "That's a mistake on my part.  I should never be the last out at third base." -- said Sanchez through an interpreter after the game.  

Credit:  John Munson-NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A scoring opportunity was wasted in the eighth inning when Chase Headley opened with a double, but he was left stranded at second, thanks to a ground out and two strikeouts.  The Yankees had one more shot in the 9th when Aaron Judge hit a two-out single but Gary Sanchez went down swinging against Rangers closer Matt Bush to end the game.  

Credit:  John Munson-NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Aroldis Chapman pitched a perfect top of the 9th, striking out the side in the losing effort.  Despite the loss, it was good to see a solid effort by the Yankees bullpen.  Webb, Chad Green, Dellin Betances, and Chapman pitched five scoreless innings after the Pineda debacle.

Credit:  John Munson-NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Aaron Hicks left the game with right oblique tightness.  He was scheduled to have a MRI last evening and the immediate word is that he could miss up to 3-4 weeks.  Jacoby Ellsbury is the most likely choice for activation after a weekend of rehab starts.  He was 2-for-5 on Sunday, with 2 RBI's, for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.  This would be a great time to promote Dustin Fowler, but then again, there is the small issue of room on the 40-man roster.  No word yet on the Yankees plans when Hicks is placed on the DL.

Both Matt Holliday and Starlin Castro missed the game.  Holliday is still dealing with the allergic reaction that arose in Oakland while Castro had a cortisone shot for a sore wrist.

The Yankees (40-33) remained tied for first place in the AL East as the Los Angeles Angeles defeated the Boston Red Sox again, 4-2.  The Tampa Bay Rays lost to the Baltimore Orioles, 8-5, so they are still 2 1/2 games behind.  The bottom two teams in the AL East were the only ones to gain ground.  The Orioles are 4 games back, while the Toronto Blue Jays, who beat the Kansas City Royals 8-2, are 5 games.  

Hopefully, the Yankees can rediscover the magic that has alluded them since the West Coast road trip.  They’ll be in Chicago tonight to start a four-game series against the White Sox.  If they can’t start winning with consistency, next weekend in Houston is not going to be pretty.

2017 Old Timer’s Day at Yankee Stadium

The weather cooperated for the 71st Old Timer’s Day.  It was a beautiful setting for the pre-game announcements and it was spectacular to see so many Yankee greats and their families.  

Credit:  Seth Wenig-AP

Following a recorded intro by the late Bob Sheppard, Michael Kay and John Sterling had the honors of the pre-game introductions.

Widows of Yankee Greats

Helen Hunter, wife of Jim “Catfish” Hunter

Jill Martin, wife of Billy Martin

Diana Munson, wife of Thurman Munson

Kay Murcer, wife of Bobby Murcer

Former Players and Managers, and a Long-Time Trainer

Scott Bradley

Pat Kelly

Jesse Barfield

Scott Kamienicki

Tanyon Sturtze

Homer Bush

Marcus Thames

John Flaherty

Kevin Maas

Rick Cerone

Stump Merrill

Lee Mazzilli

Gene Michael

Gene Monahan

Mariano Duncan

Charlie Hayes

Graeme Lloyd

Jeff Nelson

Ramiro Mendoza

David Cone

Brian Doyle

Mike Torrez

Mickey Rivers

Roy White

Bucky Dent

Sparky Lyle

Al Downing

Ralph Terry

Hector Lopez

Don Larsen

Bobby Brown

Tino Martinez

Paul O’Neill

Willie Randolph

Ron Guidry

Bernie Williams

Jorge Posada

Rickey Henderson

Rich Gossage

Reggie Jackson

Joe Torre

Whitey Ford

Tim Raines

The Chairman of the Board
Credit:  John Munson-NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Yankees presented two chairs from the old Yankee Stadium to Raines in recognition of his entry into the Hall of Fame, Class of 2017.  

Credit:  John Munson-NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

They also gave tribute to the many members of the Yankees family that have departed in the past year.

The Old Timer’s Game saw the Clippers defeat the Bombers, 2-1.  

Next Up:  The Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, IL

Here are the pitching match-ups:

TODAY

Yankees:  Jordan Montgomery (5-4, 3.74 ERA)

White Sox:  David Holmberg (1-1, 2.84 ERA)

TUESDAY

Yankees:  Luis Severino (5-3, 3.30 ERA)

White Sox:  Jose Quintana (4-8, 4.69 ERA)

WEDNESDAY

Yankees:  Masahiro Tanaka (5-7, 5.74 ERA)

White Sox:  Mike Pelfrey (3-6, 3.73 ERA)

THURSDAY

Yankees:  Luis Cessa (0-2, 6.57 ERA)

White Sox:  James Shields (1-1, 4.26 ERA)

Have a great Monday!  Let's Go Yankees!

Tyler Clippard, Yankee Killer...

Credit:  Paul J Bereswill-The New York Post

Rangers 8, Yankees 1…

You have to score runs to win so starter Luis Cessa should not be faulted for this one.  Aaron Judge tried too.  He hit his league-leading 26th home run to extend his current hitting streak to 26 games.  For as disappointing as the offense was from everybody else, the Yankees entered the 9th inning just a three-run jack away from tying the game.  

However, Manager Joe Girardi chose to bring in game-killer Tyler Clippard.  Perhaps we should just call him Relyt Drappilc because he is pitching so damn back-ass-wards right now.  If you are feeling generous and want to give the other team the opportunity to score lots of runs, just bring Clippard into a game.   But more rips on Clippard later.

Who is Austin Bibens-Dirkx?  The Yankees never seem to do well against unknown rookies but this dude is a 32-year-old in his sixth major league organization.  He spent 12 years in the minor leagues and was in the independent leagues last year.  When the Rangers pitching staff gets healthy, we’ll probably never hear his name again.  But on Saturday, he owned the Yankees.  Aside from Judge’s solo home run in the sixth, Bibens-Dirkx only allowed four other meaningless hits in seven innings of work.  He’ll be telling his grandkids one day about the time he shut down the high and mighty Yankees on the hallowed grounds of Yankee Stadium.  

Credit:  Randy Miller-NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Cessa (0-2) was not awful but he did depart the game after five innings (having thrown 86 pitches).  He allowed three runs on three hits, walked two, and struck out eight.  His mistake pitch was a slider thrown to Carlos Gomez in the fourth inning that ended up in the left field stands for two runs, giving the Rangers a 3-0 lead.  As YES Network announcer David Cone put it, it was a slider that stopped sliding or a slider that takes a seat (pulled up a chair).  

Credit:  Randy Miller-NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

After Judge had brought the Yankees to within two runs with his homer, Rangers catcher Robinson Chirinos answered with a solo shot of his own in the seventh off Yankees reliever Jonathan Holder.  It was the tenth home run of the season for Chirinos in only 95 at-bats. 

With two outs in the seventh, Tyler Webb entered the game in relief of Holder.  It was Tyler’s Major League debut and he got his first batter (Shin-Soo Choo) to line out to end the inning.  Webb pitched the eighth, retiring the three batters he faced, including one by strikeout, to complete a perfect debut.

Credit:  Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

Sadly, Girardi opted to turn to Clippard for the ninth and he snuffed any chance for a comeback.  Before he had recorded the third out, Clippard had allowed four more runs on a wild pitch and two doubles.  He allowed a total of four hits in the inning and gave up two walks.  The once-reliable set up artist is now a huge albatross. I am not sure how you can turn him around in games without costly implications.  This is one of the worst stretches that I’ve ever seen.  While he pitched well for the Yankees last year after his acquisition from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trading deadline, his numbers in the Sonoran Desert weren’t that great.  For the 2016 D-Backs, he was 2-3 with 4.30 ERA.  That’s closer to the pitcher that we are seeing today.  I hope Clippard can turn this thing around but at the moment, I am not optimistic.  Clippard’s too valuable (I think?) to cut so hopefully he does work through this funk.  I apologize for being so harsh but the last few weeks with Clippard have not been enjoyable.  

Credit:  Frank Franklin II-Associated Press

Facing the huge deficit, the Yankees went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, with two strikeouts, and the Rangers walked away with the victory.

Fortunately for the Yankees (40-32), the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Boston Red Sox, 6-3, so the teams remain tied atop the AL East Standings.  The Tampa Bay Rays also lost (8-3 to the Baltimore Orioles) so they stayed 2.5 games back.  

Tyler Austin, making his season debut, finished hitless in three at-bats with two strikeouts and a grounder into a double play. There was concern in the fifth inning when Pete Kozma, standing off first base, jarred Austin’s left wrist while racing back to first standing up after a line out by Choo.  Austin shook it off and continued the game.  It does raise the question of who is the safety net for Austin should he get hurt.  Chase Headley is currently unable to play due to back spasms and it is best to not over-expose Matt Holliday at the position. 

Odds & Ends…

The Yankees have signed their top pick, RHP Clarke Schmidt, to an ‘as-expected’ below-allocation contract.  By signing for $2,184,300 (or $1,274,300 below the allocated value of the 16th overall pick), the Yankees had the money to “overpay” RHP Matt Sauer, RHP Trevor Stephan, OF Canaan Smith, and RHP Dalton Higgins.  With a signing bonus of $2.5 million, second round pick Sauer ended up as the most costly of the signed draft choices.  The Yankees have only one player in the top 20 that remains unsigned…18th pick RHP Garrett Whitlock. 

Credit:  Allen Sharp-Spurs & Feathers

Jacoby Ellsbury made a rehab start yesterday for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.  He broke up a no-hitter with a double in the fifth inning of SWB’s 8-0 loss to the Pawtucket Red Sox.  He finished 1-for-3.   He’ll start at DH today for SWB before moving over to AA-Trenton when the RailRiders hit the road.  

Today is one of the best days of the year for the Yankees.  It’s Old Timer’s Day.  Pre-Game introductions begin at 11:30 am Eastern.  It is always so fun to hear the name announcements for the Yankees legends as they run (or walk) out onto the field.  Jorge Posada will be making his first Old Timer’s appearance at Yankee Stadium.  Hip, hip, Jorge!  This year’s participants will include Jesse Barfield (no offense, we should have kept Al Leiter), Scott Bradley, Homer Bush, Rick Cerone, David Cone, Bucky Dent, Al Downing, Brian Doyle, Mariano Duncan, John Flaherty, Whitey “Chairman of the Board” Ford, Joe Girardi, Rich “Goose” Gossage, Ron “Louisiana Lightning” Guidry, Charlie Hayes, Rickey Henderson, Reginald Martinez “Mr October” Jackson, Scott Kamieniecki, Pat Kelly, Don “Gooney Bird” Larsen, Graeme Lloyd, Hector Lopez, Sparky Lyle, Kevin Maas, Constantino "Tino" Martinez, Lee "Maz" Mazzilli, Ramiro Mendoza, Stump Merrill, Gene “Stick” Michael, Jeff Nelson, Paul “The Warrior” O’Neill,  Tim “Rock” Raines, Willie Randolph, Mickey “Mick the Quick” Rivers, Tanyon Sturtze, Ralph Terry, Marcus Thames, Joe Torre, Mike Torrez (sorry, but I still think of him as a Red Sock), Roy White and Bernie “Bern Baby Bern” Williams.  

Credit:  Jim McIsaac-Getty Images

Have a great Sunday!  It will be a fun day!  Go Yankees!