Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics 5/11

And just like that it is Friday night baseball time in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics. In the opener of this three-game weekend set the Yankees will send former Oakland ace Sonny Gray to the mound to square off with Kendall Graveman for the A’s. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB 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 the legendary duo of 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 team all season long. Enjoy the game, keep those skies Sonny and go Yankees!!

Ridiculous Tweets by Jared Carrabis – Vol. I

So, you guys may or may not have read a little rant I did about a month back here on the blog about a certain sports personality and their Twitter account. Well, enough time has passed, and I have calmed down enough to reveal that I was talking about Jared Carrabis, a sports writer that covers the Boston Red Sox for Barstool Sports. I personally like Barstool Sports, Eric Hubbs who covers the Yankees for them and that guy that does the pizza reviews for them, but Carrabis is a bit much for me. Leave out the whole Yankees v. Red Sox thing, even without that just some of the things he says are outlandish and downright crazy. Maybe even ridiculous? That sounds like a great series to run here on the blog, so that’s what I did. It is meant all in fun, so have fun with it.

Didi Gregorius hits home runs into the first row. Hanley Ramirez hits home runs into the second deck. Take notes. pic.twitter.com/8gE4GwIjjH

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 10, 2018

Comparing Hanley Ramirez, a first baseman and a power hitter in his own right, to Didi Gregorius, a shortstop, is absolutely ridiculous and short-sighted. First of all, what the hell does it matter how far past the wall it goes? A home run is a home run. I guess Carrabis hasn’t checked the eerily small dimensions down the line at Fenway Park either. Secondly, comparing Hanley to Didi is like comparing apples to oranges. Compare Hanley to Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton, now let’s have a conversation. Where is Xander Bogaerts hitting them, pal?

Stay tuned, I am sure we will have a volume two and more here on the blog. I’m not following you, Jared, but I sure am watching. Have a great day and keep ‘em coming.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics 5/11

Good morning everybody and welcome back to the Bronx, New York. It is a new day and it is a new series for the Bronx Bombers as Aaron Judge and company welcome the Oakland Athletics to town for a three-game weekend set. In the opener of the three-game series inside Yankee Stadium the Yankees will send a familiar face out there in Sonny Gray who makes his first start against his former team after being traded away from Oakland at last season’s trading deadline. Opposing Gray will be Kendall Graveman for the Athletics, good luck to you with the way this offense is rolling right now. If they did what they did to Craig Kimbrel on Wednesday night, how do you think that will bode for you?

Gray will face his former teammates for the first time as a member of the New York Yankees tonight after spending parts of five seasons with Oakland. From 2013-2017 the Yankees right-hander posted a 44-36 record with Oakland with a 3.42 ERA in 114 games, 112 of them as a starting pitcher.

Kendall Graveman makes the start for Oakland. 

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB 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 the legendary duo of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Enjoy the game, here’s to hoping that Gray makes the A’s miss him tonight in the Bronx and go Yankees!!

Hello… Mother’s Day Weekend

Good morning everyone and a Happy Friday to everyone reading this on this beautiful morning. This is a special weekend for us all, it is Mother’s Day weekend! Some may be thinking, well my mother passed away or I don’t really have a relationship with my mother, and while that sucks it still is fine. You know why? A person doesn’t have to carry you and grow you in their body for nine months to be considered a mother, or even your mother. Sometimes your Aunt has to pick up the slack, or your grandmother, or a beautiful blonde haired, blue-eyed vixen with an insatiable desire for love has to come in and remind you just how awesome you are. Hell, there are even single father’s out there who have to be both, so never feel like you are alone. Ever. But especially on this day and this weekend.

Make it special and have a great day and a great weekend everyone. Especially you, the mother that my children always needed. The woman in my life I always dreamed for and never even knew it. My rock, my mountain, my world, my everything. My Kari. I love you and I hope you have the very best Mother’s Day.

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/11: Hidek Matsui is Human

On this day in 2006 Hideki Matsui's streak of playing in every game since starting his MLB career with the Yankees ends at 518 games. Matsui broke his wrist attempting to make a diving catch out in left field. The 31 year old All Star from Japan established the major league record for the most consecutive games played to start a career surpassing Ernie Banks' mark of 424 games.

Also on this day in 1946 the New York Yankees and Tiny Bonham end the Boston Red Sox 15 game winning streak with a 2-0 victory in Yankee Stadium. Before the loss Boston was 21-3 to start the 1946 season and would easily win the American League pennant that season.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox 5/10

And just like that it is game time once again here in the Bronx as the latest chapter of the rivalry concludes. In the finale of this three-game set between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off with Eduardo Rodriguez for the Red Sox, starting in place of Rick Porcello who was originally slated to start tonight in the Bronx. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11, NESN and MLB 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 with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season long. Enjoy the game, “you just hate to see another Boston loss,” and go Yankees!!

Rafael Palmeiro’s Comeback & Fight Against Steroids

I will be completely honest here, Rafael Palmeiro broke my heart. Why you may ask? Well I have like four-or-five of his rookie cards in mint condition that I was planning on cashing in once he made it to the Hall of Fame, but after an inclusion in the Mitchell Report and a failed test for steroids before the end of his playing days the value of his cards plummeted. Palmeiro will likely never make it into the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York and I will likely never strike it rich off his Topps Tiffany playing cards, but that won’t stop Palmeiro from fighting back against his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs. In fact, Palmeiro is taking his fight against steroids so far that at the ripe age of 53-years old he is making a return to professional baseball.

After spending much of his MLB career with the Texas Rangers and the Baltimore Orioles the former MLB first baseman is now headed to the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. Rafael will also be joined by his son, 28-year old Patrick Palmeiro, on the Railroaders.

Palmeiro let it be known this winter that he would like to return to Major League Baseball and even went as far as to claim that he could still contribute at the Major League level. Palmeiro asked for an invitation to spring training to prove that and to win a job outright this spring, but no teams were willing to extend the invite leading Palmeiro to play for Cleburne to try and prove that he still has it. Palmeiro also wants to prove that he still has it, and has always had it, without the boost that performance enhancing drugs can give.

Palmeiro was quoted as saying to The Athletic in December:

"Maybe 12 years later, if I can come back and prove I don’t need anything as an older player with an older body, then people might think, OK, maybe he didn’t do anything intentionally."

That sounds great, now it’s time to prove it. Good luck.

Article Revisit: Rooting for Aroldis Chapman

With all the happenings in the MLB world right now, including the Toronto Blue Jay’s closer Robert Osuna’s arrest for domestic violence, I wanted to take a quick second to look back through the Greedy Pinstripes archive and revisit an article that Bryan Van Dusen posted around a year ago today. The article covers weeks of research that Bryan did regarding the domestic violence accusations surrounding Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman and he opined whether the Yankees fans should root for him as he closes out games for out team. It really is a great article and it deserves a second look here on the blog with the recent Osuna news, so enjoy.

It should go without saying that domestic violence is a serious matter. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States, which equates to more than 10 million women and men during one year.

On a typical day there are more than 20,000 phone calls placed to domestic violence hotlines nationwide. And among so many other disturbing stats is this one... the precense of a gun in a domestic violence situation increases the risk of homicide by 500%.

That brings us to the incident involving Aroldis Chapman in October of 2015. If you'd like to read the police report yourself, here are pictures of it...

I know that pictures on the internet can sometimes be hard to read, especially when a computer novice such as myself is the one posting them, so I'll give you a breakdown of the report...

At about 10:00pm, the night of October 31st, 2015, police were called to the home of Aroldis Chapman. When they arrived Cristina Barnea met them in the driveway, and informed them that her and her boyfriend (Chapman) got into an argument. During the argument Chapman had allegedly pushed her before the argument was broken up by family members. At which point Barnea ran outside, heard "shotgun" blasts, hid in the bushes outside the home, and called the police. It was also advised that her infant child was still inside the residence with Chapman.

After checking guests as they left the house and finding nothing on them, police established a perimeter around the home until Chapman finally exited the house without incident.

It was established at the time that the argument between Barnea and Chapman started because Barnea found something in Chapman's phone that she did not like. Ms. Barnea then went into the bathroom with the phone, while Chapman followed her in there and took the phone back. Barnea then wanted to speak with Chapman in the home's movie theater, which is where she claimed to have been pushed by Chapman. That is when Barnea's brother broke things up, leading to her running outside and hiding.

Barnea's brother also spoke with an officer, saying he did attempt to stop the argument between his sister and Chapman. He did note that while there was arguing happening, he saw no physical violence occur.

Chapman's employed driver also gave a statement, most of which included the same facts listed above. One big difference is that Barnea apparently charged at and tackled Chapman in the theater (which Barnea says did not happen). However, the driver refused to provide a sworn tape recorded statement.

In the report Chapman corroborated the events of that evening, however he had simply used his index and middle finger to push Ms. Barnea on the left shoulder to move her away from him while saying she should not talk to him that way. At that point Barnea fell to the ground and started yelling, prompting her brother to run in, push Chapman to the ground, and along with friends and relatives break up the altercation.

Chapman left the house at that time, and wanted to drive away, but friends did not let him do that. Instead he and a friend sat in Chapman's Land Rover, where he punched the window and lacerated his hand before exiting with a pistol he got out of the glove compartment, and went into the garage. While in the garage he fired the gun "several" times before throwing the gun away. At that point friends took him into his room and locked themselves in.

It should be noted that Chapman, like his driver, refused to give a sworn recorded statement or sign an affidavit of complaint. He did, however, sign a consent to search around the exterior of his garage.

Barnea was spoken to again by officers about the incident, where inconsistencies started popping up. One of them being that Ms. Barnea could not say how she had fallen to the ground, and that Chapman had instead pushed her against the bathroom wall before she had fallen. She then said Chapman had "choked" her by placing his hands around her neck, but that it did not prevent her from breathing. The officers noted that there were no signs of choking on Ms. Barnea

Barnea then said she did not want any further involvement with the incident, and just wanted to collect her belongings and leave. At that point she was allowed to do so, and was advised to call the Davie Police to stand by while she later collecting any other belongings from the home. Barnea then left without further incident.

Finally, officers could not find the gun outside the garage, and were advised that this was because Chapman had actually retrieved the weapon and put it in his Escalade so that nobody else could find it and hurt themselves. Chapman was told doing so hindered the investigation, however it was found that that wasn't his intention and no charges were filed.

In the end it was noted that due to several inconsistencies in Barnea's statement, as well as the statements of others changing several times during the investigation, the case would be forwarded to the State Attorney's Office for review.


While the police report pointed out inconsistencies, I wanted to talk about some of them myself.

The first of those has to do with the number of people that apparently saw the incident. Cristina Barnea, herself, noted that the incident happened in front of "everyone". The police report also noted that there were around 20 guests at the party. However, not one of them corroborated the story that Ms. Barnea gave, nor have they come forward afterward to say Mr. Chapman did anything such as choking her or endangering her or anybody else.

Now, I understand that some people may not wish to testify against a celebrity such as Chapman. Doing so can create all sorts of problems for a person, among those things are unwanted attention from the media, negative comments and attention on social media, and possible unwanted legal battles from said celebrity. However, especially at a time where so many things can be said anonymously while speaking to a journalist "off the record", or on any number of message boards and such on the internet, you would think something incriminating would have been said about Aroldis Chapman. Yet there's been nothing.

Then you have what may be one of the most disturbing things to be noted during the police investigation that night... allegations of choking.

Honestly, that part seems to be total crap.

For starters, Barnea noted in the police report that even though Chapman was "choking" her, she was never unable to breathe. Look, the very definition of choking is to prevent airflow into the lungs. Ms. Barnea clearly used the word "choke" in order to make things sound much worse than they actually were. If anything, Chapman at one point may have touched her throat, but no actual choking actually occurred.

Later on, in a sworn waiver of prosecution to the State Attorney's Office, Ms. Barnea changed her story saying Chapman only "used his fingers to move her away from him, and out of his personal space. She lost her balance and fell to the ground."

Need I say more about this part of the incident?

No? Okay, then I'll just re-post this picture of Cristina Bernea taken shortly after the choking allegation...

Another reason a lot of people are upset about what allegedly happened between Barnea and Chapman is that it happened in front of their infant child. I want to note that this is absolutely not true. The fact is the child was being cared for by Barnea's mother, out of view of the party and the incident. Nothing of the sort was mentioned in the police report, neither. This is just another attempt at people trying to build up the story into more than it actually is.

I also want to say that there is zero evidence that Aroldis fired his gun outside of his home, nor in the direction of anybody. The first part is very important as firing a weapon outside of private property is against Florida law. Furthermore, Aroldis agreed to a search of the exterior of the garage, which tells me he was not trying to hide anything he had done. While he was told he was wrong in removing the gun from the garage, as doing so interfered with a police investigation, Chapman never attempted to hide the fact surrounding his use of the gun from anybody. If any sort of wrong-doing happened during the incident, such as him threatening Barnea or anybody else with the weapon, don't you think that would have been mentioned in the police report? Or don't you think that such a thing would have been brought up during the investigation by the State Attorney? Or like I mentioned earlier, don't you think somebody that was at the party would have said something about gun violence?

I want to point out that Ms. Barnea is not so innocent, either. Look at the following report of her breaking into Chapman's home while he was getting ready to return to Florida after the Reds' season had ended the day before in Pittsburgh.

As I did with the other police report, let me break it down. Ms. Barnea had returned to the house after their relationship ended (which included Barnea voluntarily leaving the house, and using a key she had taken without Chapman's knowledge) and entered the home. And although that is not a completely legal or even morally correct thing to do, Chapman still agreed to allow Barnea to collect her's and their child's things from his house.

The final nail in the coffin of Aroldis Chapman being guilty is this.... they are still together nearly a year and a half later. We're not talking about the guy having a one-night stand with somebody, and that somebody is keeping their mouth shut about a celebrity they slept with. This is clearly a committed relationship. Cristina Barnea was even Chapman's special guest at the World Series this past season.

All of the following information tells me that Chapman and Barnea simply got into an argument the night of the party, and it's highly likely that alcohol helped to escalate a simple argument into an "incident". Things were said and accusations of cheating were made. In response Aroldis got mad, went to his car to talk it out with a friend, wrongly(note the bold font and italics) decided to take his gun from the glove compartment and into his garage, and vented by firing that gun eight times into the wall (accidentally firing one through the window and into an open field). This is not a case of a horrible man doing horrible things.

In fact, I believe that if there was no gun involved, there's a good chance this whole thing would have faded away in a heartbeat. But due to the issues of domestic and gun violence being as big as they are (and for good reason, mind you), along with it involving a high profile celebrity/athlete, the story was jumped on by all sorts of people (media and others) and blown up into something much bigger than it was.

Look at it this way... Aroldis was not arrested and charged with abuse against his wife that needed medical attention, yet Jose Reyes... who is guilty of those things... received a hero's welcome at Citi Field when he returned following his suspension.

Aroldis Chapman was not videotaped punching his wife in a casino elevator, but there are people... even women... who supported Ray Rice after he did just that.

Chapman was not accused of trying to kill his own mother, but Dez Bryant's mother forgave and supported him for doing that.

Chapman was never sentenced to spend any time in jail after being convicted of domestic abuse, however Chad Johnson had the support of at least one of his former Dolphins teammates one that happened to him
.
To wrap this whole thing up I would like to say the following...

If you think I'm not going to root for Aroldis Chapman when he steps on the mound for the Yankees then you're out of your mind. Domestic violence, whether it's a simple misunderstanding or an incredibly violent act caught on camera, is not acceptable. But to treat Chapman like he's some type of monster that doesn't deserve a chance to redeem himself is downright wrong. I will accept your right to act as you wish towards the man, but don't think for one second that I'm going to agree with it. Actually, if anything, I'll cheer louder to drown out your booing.

Sometimes the Best Trade Is the Trade You Don’t Make

I found something interesting on Twitter yesterday morning that really caught my eye. While I have not been able to find a confirmation of this yet anywhere else the basic premise of the ideology and of this post remains the same, regardless of whether the information is true or not. Sometimes the best trade that you can make in Major League Baseball is the trade that you don’t make. Case in point, the Twitter post that stated that the New York Yankees offered Domingo German to the New York Mets last July in a potential deal for Jay Bruce. We know the Yankees offered the Mets prospects for Bruce’s services, but the group from Queens instead opted to send the left-hander to the Cleveland Indians for cash instead. If this is true… wow, for the Mets.

Let’s just assume this is true and the Yankees did offer German up to the Mets for a half-season of Bruce, the Yankees truly dodged a bullet here. Now, I am not one of these fanatics that are anointing German as the next Nolan Ryan after just on start in the Bronx, albeit a good one that saw him leave after six no-hit innings, but at the same time I have always thought of German as a potential serviceable MLB-caliber starter. Any time you can get a potential and serviceable MLB-caliber starter for two months of an aging veteran that, at the time, you have no intention of keeping you ALWAYS take that over cash considerations. Always. Unless you’re the Mets.

There have been plenty of these instances that can cement the mind set even if German was never offered to the New York Mets. George Steinbrenner and company tried to trade Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte on multiple occasions that we know of, and it wouldn’t surprise me if the club also tried to trade Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter at some point as well. Luis Severino and Aaron Judge were named in trade rumors before, although rumors are just that… rumors, as well as many of the men we see dominating at the Major League level today.

Brian Cashman gets killed for the trades that he loses, and doesn’t get enough praise for the trades that he wins, but what about the trades that he doesn’t make? Those, in time, may be the decisions that will ultimately cement his legacy. Stay tuned.

Waking Up in First Place...

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

Yankees win latest series with Boston…

We have often heard it in recent days. On April 20^th, the Yankees were 7 ½ games behind the Boston Red Sox in the AL East after Boston’s blazing 17-2 start at the beginning of the year. The Yankees, then 9-9, were getting ready to embark on the most brutal stretch of their schedule, struggling to stay above .500, with multiple series ahead against division leaders and winning teams. 

Yet, here we are on May 10^th, and the Yankees lead the AL East by one game with the best record in Major League Baseball. I guess I was worried for nothing, thanks to the twenty-five men on the Yankees roster who have contributed to the legendary winning run the team is currently on. Well, make that twenty-four, reliever A.J. Cole has just been along for the ride.

First place, how sweet it is…

It is amazing the last Yankees team to win 17 of 18 games were the 1953 Yankees which included a young Baby Bomber named Mickey Mantle. That’s pretty good company for the 2018 Yankees. I wasn’t alive then but I hear the 1950’s Yankees were pretty good.

The Yankees are spoiling second baseman Gleyber Torres. He’s quickly learning losing is unacceptable in the Bronx, having experienced only one loss in his first seventeen games. The Yankees are supposed to win every day, right?

Last year, it seemed like the Yankees were consistently losing the close games. Yet, this year, no deficit (it seems) has been too much unless we’re playing the lowly Baltimore Orioles. When Red Sox manager Alex Cora brought his closer, Craig Kimbrel, into last night’s game with five outs to go, it did not feel as intimidating as it had in years past. When Brett Gardner laced the triple to recapture the lead for the Yankees, it wasn’t a surprise to me. It felt like this team was going to find a way to victory. The two run homer by Aaron Judge off Kimbrel was icing on the cake. Loved seeing Astros closer Ken Giles blow the recent game against the Yankees, but watching Kimbrel lose was better even if he didn’t slug himself coming off the mound.    

This run won’t last forever (will it?) but I am certainly enjoying it while it lasts. Back in early April, I felt we’d have a good litmus test on the Yankees by May 10^th. Well, I’d say they aced the exam and have proven they are among the very best in Major League Baseball. Win or lose today, the team’s accomplishments have far exceeded my expectations. 

Going into the Boston series, I had hoped the Yankees would win at least two of three so that they’d have at least a share of the AL East when the Red Sox headed for the airport. However, with two wins in the bag, let’s “Get Greedy” and go for the sweep! 

I am not going to get too high. It is only mid-May and there’s so much baseball yet to be played before anything is decided. Gleyber Torres, sadly, will one day learn it is indeed possible to lose two or three games (or…yikes!...more) in a row at the MLB level. I am not going to dismiss the Red Sox. They are a very good team that’s not going away. But then again, neither are we. It should be a great summer of baseball ahead. 

I did have to check out Boston newspapers today. The Boston Globe featured the Boston Celtics on their Sports page. The Celtics won their Eastern Conference semi-finals matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers and will advance to the Conference Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. I suppose that’s big news in Boston but it is funny how the Red Sox became a secondary thought in the Globe.    

Credit to Giancarlo Stanton who had two homers in the first game of the Red Sox series and a two-run double yesterday. The best way to stop boos at Yankee Stadium is to show up in a big way against the dreaded Red Sox. Nice job, Giancarlo. This is what you were hired to do.

And for all of you who wanted to cut Neil Walker, ala Chris Carter style, I think he’s given his answer to you. On a team that has featured a different hero almost every night, Walker has been a key ingredient in many of the rallies. I think there’s a much better chance of Tyler Austin finding his way to Scranton, PA than Walker hitting the unemployment line. Sorry Tyler, it’s not you. Walker has simply appeared so graceful at first base even though he is out of position and now his bat is showing why he was an offensive force for the Pirates and Mets.  His veteran leadership meshes well with the team, and I am glad he’s here.

Hopefully CC Sabathia can close out the Red Sox this evening and send them out of town on a three-game losing streak. Since Rick Porcello had to move up his start by a day when Wednesday’s scheduled starter, David Price, returned to Boston for medical tests, Eduardo Rodriguez (3-0, 5.29 ERA) will take the mound later today for Boston.

The Yankees open a three-game set against the Oakland A’s on Friday night for their last home series before a road trip to Washington, Kansas City, and Dallas/Fort Worth. While it is cool Sonny Gray gets the start in the series opener against his former team, the player I will be watching most is former Yankee Dustin Fowler. The A’s called up Fowler yesterday.  I had wondered if he’d make his season debut and first official MLB at-bat against the Yankees, but a pinch-hit appearance yesterday against the Houston Astros gave Fowler the first Major League at-bat that eluded him last year in Chicago when he suffered the devastating knee injury. Pinch-hitting for Mark Canha in the 7^th inning (with Houston’s Will Harris on the mound), Fowler lined out to second. So, he’ll come to Yankee Stadium seeking his first Major League hit. While I don’t want the A’s to win (obviously), I hope Fowler gets that hit and draws a standing ovation from the Yankee Stadium crowd. He deserves it. A good man who deserves the very best life has to offer. He will always be one of my favorite ex-Yankees.

Photo Credit:  Getty Images 

Gotta admit that it is really fun to be a Yankees fan right now. I know, it’s always fun, but the World seems like a better place when the Greedy Pinstripes are winning.

Go Yankees!