Monday, June 17, 2013

Yankees Sign Randy Ruiz To Minor League Deal


The Yankees have signed minor leaguer Randy Ruiz to a minor league deal as obvious depth and insurance for Mark Teixeira and his wrist injury. Ruiz is 35 years old so he is far from a prospect but has spent parts of 15 seasons in the minor leagues with a career minor league stat line of .301/.373/.524 with 232 home runs. Ruiz had a nice 2009 campaign with the Toronto Blue Jays putting up a .313/.385/.635 with 10 home runs in a very limited 130 plate appearances. Granted it was in 2009 but a home run every 13 at bats is a great sign of what kind of power he may be bringing to the Scranton Wilkes Barre Railriders.

Yankees Injury Updates For 6/17


Brian Cashman gave a plethora of injury updates today that we are glad to be able to share with you right now.


  • Derek Jeter took 15 swings in the batting cages and did some tee and toss. He also moved up from ground balls hit directly at him to taking ground balls to his side. He also made some throws to first base so the captain seems to be on the way back sooner rather than later. 

  • Curtis Granderson is expected to have the pin taken out of his broken hand on Thursday. It will take Granderson about a week of doing grip exercises and such strengthening his hand before he thinks about swinging  a bat and such with it. 

  • Francisco Cervelli got some, what I consider to be, bad news today when Brian Cashman said that he would not be back before mid July. Cervelli did some long toss and receiving drills but is still about a week to two weeks away from swinging a bat under water. 

  • Eduardo Nunez took 30 ground balls today and did some tee and toss and long toss. None of that matters if he cannot swing a bat without pain though and that is something that he is currently not doing. 

  • Alex Rodriguez did three rounds of batting practice today after running the bases yesterday for the first time since his hip surgery. He also took ground balls to both sides and took some slow rollers while progressing a lot more than some of his fellow injured Yankees teammates. Alex is expected to face live pitching tomorrow in a simulated game type situation.

  • Michael Pineda will make his next start on Thursday for the Florida State League instead of Wednesday. Wednesday's game is a day game and the Yankees want Pineda to pitch at night so Thursday night it is. 







Yankees Agree To Terms With 1st Round Pick Ian Clarkin


The Yankees and one of their first round picks, Ian Clarkin, have agreed to terms that will get Clarkin signed into the Yankees system. Before the draft Clarkin not only told reporters that he hated the Yankees but also said that he was unlikely to sign unless he got "life changing" money. We do not have the figures just yet but the deal is expected to be an above slot deal and apparently will be life changing. Clarkin took his physical today and as long as everything came through clean we will see the official announcement as soon as tomorrow. With the Yankees signing Clarkin along with their other first rounder Eric Jagielo all they have to do is sign their third first round pick Aaron Judge and they will have all of their first round talent locked up. As a professed prospect humper nothing makes me happier than to report this news to you guys.

Rafael DePaula Promoted To High A Tampa Yankees


Rafael DePaula, in my opinion the top Yankees prospect in their entire system, has been promoted from the Low A Charleston Riverdogs to the High A Tampa Yankees. DePaula has a 2.94 ERA with 96 K's in 64 IP before being promoted to the Tampa Yankees. Dietrich Enns (who?) was also promoted with DePaula so good for both of them and great news for Yankees fans as DePaula continues to improve and blow expectations away.

Mark Teixeira Likely Headed To The DL Tomorrow


Yesterday we learned that Mark Teixeira has inflammation in his right wrist and would receive a cortisone shot that would likely keep him off the disabled list. Today Brian Cashman confirmed that he thought that the Yankees would in fact place Teix on the DL with that inflammation. No word on a corresponding move just yet but with Lyle Overbay slated to get the starts at first base and Thomas Neal there to essentially replace Overbay in the outfield I think the move will bring Adam Warren back to the majors.

This Day In Yankees History 6/17


On this day in 1978, inspired by Louisiana Lightning Ron Guidry's 18 K performance including 15 K's in six innings the Yankees crowd started clapping when their pitcher had two strikes on a batter. This method is still used today by the Yankees crowd so now you know where and when it began.

Yankees Off Day Movie Recommendation


Watch the entire movie right here on The Greedy Pinstripes. The Yankees and the writers here at TGP will be back to work tomorrow as the Yankees host the Don Mattingly led Los Angeles Dodgers. Enjoy the movie and the off day.

Yankees Off Day Music Recommendation


Love him or hate him Kanye West came out with a new cd recently, well it leaked onto the internet anyway, and this is one of the tracks off the album. Leave a comment in the comment box and tell me what you think.

Morning Bits

Good morning everyone!

The Yankees put an end to their losing streak yesterday with a 6-5 win over the Angels.

Travis Hafner put the Yankees on top with a three-run homer in the third inning which was followed by RBI hits by Lyle Overbay and Justin Nix to give the Yankees a 5-0 lead.

CC Sabathia threw eight fantastic innings before getting into trouble in the ninth. David Robertson and Mariano Rivera almost blew the game for the Yankees in relief but managed to barely hang on to the lead.

The Yankees concluded their ridiculously scheduled ten game West Coast trip with a 4-6 record which has them back in third place in the Al East, three games behind the Red Sox and one-and-a-half games behind the Orioles.

The Yankees are off today and start a nine game home stand with a game against the Dodgers on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees have 26 games left before the All-Star break and 19 of those games will be in Yankee Stadium.

Now on to today's news links:

David Waldstein of the New York Times has the story on Mark Teixeira's wrist.

Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News has this recap of the top ten moments in Yankees-Dodgers history.

Wally Matthews of ESPNNY.com says not to expect the cavalry to come and save the Yankees.

Have a great day everyone!