Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Game Thread SEA @ NYY 5/15


The Yankees added yet another come from behind victory under their belts last night against the Seattle Mariners and look for a little easier of a win tonight as these same two teams go head to head again tonight. David Adams is making his major league debut, we are still Travis Hafner-less, and Phil Hughes is on the mound for the Yanks. Use this thread to chat with us during the game or follow us on twitter (@GreedyStripes) and tweet with us there. 

 Here is the Yankees lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells DH
Curtis Granderson LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
David Adams 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chris Stewart C
Alberto Gonzalez SS



Travis Hafner Day To Day W/ Shoulder Tendinitis


Late last night it was reported, and apparently missed by us here at The Greedy Pinstripes (sorry about that), that Travis Hafner has right shoulder tendinitis and is listed as day to day. Hopefully he can avoid a DL trip unlike the rest of his teammates after receiving a cortisone shot in the shoulder late last night. Girardi said he could be back as early as today but I expect the Yankees to let him sit out the entire Mariners series and reevaluate him then.

Former Yankees Update David Aardsma


David Aardsma has been released from a major league team for the second time this season, the first being the Yankees and this time the Miami Marlins. This time David requested the release from the Marlins as his contract contained a May 15th opt out clause. David will now seek a major league deal with a new team after pitching 14 IP for the Marlins AAA New Orleans team putting up a 2.57 ERA with 8 BB's and 12 K's.

Happy Birthday David Adams


What a day for 26 year old David Adams. David was called up to the majors today and is expected to make his major league debut tonight against the Seattle Mariners, the team he was almost traded to in the Cliff Lee deal. Today is also his 26th birthday so The Greedy Pinstripes want to wish David Adams a very happy 26th birthday!

Yankees Call Up David Adams


We knew the day was coming.

David Adams has been brought up from AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where he was batting .316/.407/.490 with 3 home runs. The Yankees likely would have called him up sooner, instead of trading for Chris Nelson, but they couldn't thanks to a rule that says a player that was released and re-signed to a Minor League contract must remain in the minors for 30 days. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for that rule, but I don't know what that is.

In a corresponding move, Chris Nelson was Designated For Assignment. There has been talk of why the team didn't choose to keep Chris Nelson for now, while Eduardo Nunez was still on the DL, and cutting Ben Francisco since Curtis Granderson is back and they now have 4 viable starting outfielders. However with Alberto Gonzalez as the backup 2B/3B/SS, along with Travis Hafner possibly missing more than a few days due to injury, the 5th outfielder may be needed while one of those 4 viable OF starters fills in at DH.

I'm sure I'm not alone in looking forward to seeing what Adams can do. Kevin Youkilis will eventually be back, but at that point it's probably only a matter of time before Youk is back on the DL anyway.

Seattle Mariners @ New York Yankees 5/15


The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners will play the middle game of their three game set tonight at Yankees stadium. After an exciting pitchers duel last night will we see more of the same tonight? The Yankees will send Phil Hughes to the mound to face off against Hisashi Iwakuma. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on YES and MLB TV.

Buy your Yankees tickets for this game and every Yankees home game right here on The Greedy Pinstripes.

Game 39 Lineup: Mariners vs. Yankees

Looks like the Yankees have a new third baseman...check out the lineup

Brett Gardner CF
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells DH
Curtis Granderson LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
David Adams 3B
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Chris Stewart C
Alberto Gonzalez SS

Phil Hughes RHP

Notes:

-- Travis Hafner's MRI revealed he has tendinitis. He's icing his shoulder today and hopes to be in the lineup tomorrow night.

-- Chris Nelson's name is no longer on the roster--and David Adams's name replaced his. My hunch is telling me Nelson is the roster move.

Yankees Lineup With Granderson


Yesterday was basically the whole season for the New York Yankees in a nutshell. They finally got Curtis Granderson back from the disabled list, but lost Travis Hafner due to a sore shoulder. So, they did not gain a whole lot there. Then, they were down 3-0 to King Felix and the Mariners, before clutch hits by Robinsonn Cano and Travsi Hafner got them a 4-3 lead that Mariano Rivera saved in the ninth inning. This formula has gotten them the most wins (25) in MLB and the best overall record (25-14) in the AL. They have never gotten healthy this year, but their pitching has been outstanding, and they have managed to hit just enough.

There was great anticipation yesterday as to where Granderson would bat in the lineup and who among Brett Gardner, Ichiro Suzuki and Vernon Wells would sit. With Hafner hurt that got delayed a few days, but it is still definitely worth pondering.

It seems pretty obvious that with Granderson returning Suzuki’s playing time should be cut dramatically. Wells has earned the right to play every day and Gardner’s defense is very valuable in centerfield, although I am still not a big fan of his at the plate. Suzuki has been terrible at the plate this year, as he has hit .246/.289/.341/.630 (63 wRC+) in 137 at bats. For comparisons sake, Chris Stewart had a 65 wRC+ last season, so Suzuki is hitting at a backup catcher’s level in right field this season.

This is not terribly surprising, as Suzuki has been in a steep decline for many years now. Even in his prime Suzuki never took walks for hit for power, so if he is not hitting at least .280 he provides little offensive value. The Yankee’s upper hierarchy signed him to a two-year contract most likely because they wanted the added revenue if Suzuki reached 3,000 hits in a Yankees uniform. Hopefully, nonsense like that, and Suzuki’s stature as a Hall of Fame player, does not stop Joe Girardi from putting him in his rightful place on the bench and as the team’s fourth outfielder.

Last night, Girardi chose to leave Cano 2nd and bat Granderson 4th. It is unconventional to hit your best player second, but lone behold Cano was up with the game on the line in the seventh inning. Now, that you could obviously write that off as just a coincidence, but getting Cano the most plate appearances possible is not the worst thing in the world. Ideally I would like Granderson 2nd and Cano 3rd because Granderson is a great fastball hitter and he would see tons of them hitting in front of Cano. However, the problem with that is with Gardner leading off you have three lefties in a row at the top of the lineup, so you can see why this is a very tough lineup to juggle.

With David Adams potentially coming up today you have three guys for two spots in Adams, Chris Nelson and Jayson Nix if Ben Francisco gets cut rather than Nelson. With the way Adams is hitting at Triple A (.316/.407/.490/.897) he deserves a chance to start at third base everyday, which leaves Nelson and Nix to battle it out at shortstop. There really is not big difference between the two. but I think Nelson brings a little more to the table than Nix. Nelson is hitting .296 over his last seven games for the Yankees and adds a lot more speed than Nix. Nix has struck out way to many times for a non-power hitter and only has .626 OPS this season. I am not saying Nelson is a whole lot better, but I would rather see him play

So, here are what my lineups would be, assuming Hafner is healthy.

Vs. Righties

1. Gardner CF

2. Granderson RF

3. Cano 2B

4. Wells LF

5. Hafner DH

6. Adams 3B

7. Overbay 1B

8. Nelson SS

9. Stewart C

Vs. Lefties

1. Gardner CF

2. Wells DH

3. Granderson RF

4. Cano 2B

5. Adams 3B

6. Suzuki LF

7. Nelson SS

8. Overbay 1B

9. Stewart C

I put Ichiro in against lefties because his platoon splits are actually a lot better vs. lefties this season and more because the Yankees really don’t have anybody else. Getting Youkilis back against lefties would be a big helps.  What would your Yankees lineup be? Discuss it in the comments.

This Day In Yankees History 5/15


On this day in 1941 Joe DiMaggio's record 56 game hitting streak would begin with a single against the Chicago White Sox. Joe would get a hit in every game until July 17th when the streak would end at 56 games.