Saturday, July 27, 2013

Nova out-dueled by Archer, 1-0

Well now this is just getting sad. Despite 7 innings of one-run ball from Ivan Nova, who has pitched really well recently, the Yankees managed just two hits today as they lost again to the Rays in depressing fashion, 1-0. I think I speak for all of us when I say, something has to be done. You can only blame injuries for so long. Yea, the guys they're putting on the field aren't that great, but they're still major leaguers. And they simply aren't trying. With this loss, believe it or not, the Yankees are down to 54-50 on the year. People, they're goals are switching constantly from win the World Series, to win the AL Pennant, to win the AL East, to make the playoffs, and now to just finish the year above .500. It's sad to say that by the time all their injured players return it'll probably be too late. This team is just terrible right now. 

Derek Jeter In, Travis Hafner Out

"How about this trade?"

Joe Girardi said Derek Jeter will be activated for tomorrows game. While he may be the DH tomorrow, after Monday's off-day he's probably going to be the full-time shortstop seeing as how the Yankees will have five straight away games against NL opponent's. So DJ must have felt pretty good after today's simulated game, in which he had eight at bats.

At first I thought it was odd that the Captain would return the day before an off-day, but then came the next bit of news...

Travis Hafner has been diagnosed with a right rotator cuff strain, and will be placed on the 15-Day DL in Jeter's place. Pronk had surgery on that shoulder in 2008, spent some time on the DL for it in subsequent years, and missed a few games earlier this season. So it was only a matter of time before a DL stint occurred.

Hafner has only hit .205/.300/.384 this season, and has been worse over the past month, so he won't be missed at all. Especially with Alfonso Soriano now around to take over DH duties.

Sherman Says Young Not Available

I talked about the pros and cons of acquiring Michael Young, while mentioning a tweet from Peter Gammons saying the Phillies are not making Young available. Well, here we are a couple hours later, and Joel Sherman tweets the same things Gammons did a couple of weeks ago... Young is not available.

I still say this is posturing by the Phillies, who at 9.5 games out of a Wild Card berth have pretty much no chance at making the postseason. With Young in the final year of his contract, it would be stupid for Philadelphia NOT to deal him away.

Reality.

Boy, when was the last time the Yankees won a series? I actually had to look it up; it was the first weekend of July against the Orioles-when Mariano blew the save that Sunday, only his second blown save of the year. I gotta be honest, it's been a rough summer for sure--really ever since the Subway Series. The Yankees had a terrible June, and then when faced with a Royals/Twins home stand before the All-Star Break, they only go 3-4 when a fully stacked Yankee team would've gone at least 6-1. Then the Yankees went 3-4 on a Boston/Texas road-trip, and I was shocked they did that WELL.

Who would've thought one day the Yankee offense would revolve around Brent Lillibridge? Two clutch hits in both Yankee wins in Texas. Mariano keeps racking up the saves; up to 33 at this point, but that's all the happy news we're gonna get right now. The games are depressing to watch. Which starting pitcher outside of Kuroda do you feel confident with? 9-9 CC Sabathia, who gave up a 6-spot in the second? Andy Pettitte, who looks more ready for Boca Raton and Hawaiian shirts than Yankee Stadium and pinstripes? It's getting so bad that Phil Hughes looks GOOD! (Couldn't help myself.)

Here's another very, very strong reality. I've been a baseball fan for 15 years now. In that time, nor in the baseball history I've read/watched, etc., I have never seen a team actively and obviously go after one of their OWN players than what the Yankees are doing with A-Rod. Every time he announces he's healthy, Big Brother tells him to shut up. "Shut up Alex, you're not healthy and you know it." (Not an exact quote, but that's pretty much what they're saying.) The Yankees don't care if he spoke to the head of orthopedics at Hackensack Medical; the Yankees couldn't care less if he went to the Fountain of Youth! They probably go to St. Patrick's every night and keep praying that he's suspended for Biogenesis; that he goes the way of Ryan Braun, so they don't have to pay him. Guess what, WHO DID THIS? When Brian Cashman didn't want him back, the Yankees all overpowered him and signed another long, expensive contract. They could've been watching A-Rod's saga on TV while playing for another team right now. Now you're stuck with him, so if he's healthy, PLAY HIM! We have nothing to lose. When Mike Francesa on WFAN asked A-Rod if he trusts the Yankees, he hesitated and said he didn't want to get into it. That's all you need to know.

I'm still a fan 'till I die, but these suits are really turning me off from giving them my ticket money. If you want a better grasp on how I'm feeling; this clip from my favorite, Mike Francesa, sums it up perfectly. Then I found out what Michael Kay said on his radio program from this tweet. This is why a guy employed by a team (YES) cannot fairly host a show of his own. Are the Yankees actively telling him what not to say? Probably not. Is it probably better for business and his reputation that he take the Yankees side on this? Probably. Does it make for a good radio "rivalry"? YOU BETCHA! Although in terms of radio ratings, it's no rivalry.

'Till Next Time!

Neil Dwyer @neildwyer1993

Happy 38th Birthday Alex Rodriguez


Happy 38th Birthday goes out to Yankees third basemen Alex Rodriguez. Hopefully we can get you back on the field soon and healthy. Enjoy your day ARod.

Travis Hafner Sent For An MRI On Sore Shoulder


Travis Hafner had a cortisone shot and missed about a week back in May with a sore shoulder and it has been a non issue ever since until today. Hafner's shoulder is acting up again and he has been sent to the team doctors to get an MRI on the ailing shoulder. Surely we won't miss his .205 batting average too much if a disabled list stint is necessary.

Should The Yankees Even Bother With Michael Young?

There is more talk about the Yankees trading for Michael Young, regardless of what the Phillies have said about their third baseman's availability. At the same time there has been a lot of chatter over whether the Yankees are that much better with Alfonso Soriano than they were before. On that note, I think they are better (especially in the power department), but that trade has not pushed them into the "true contender" category. So would dealing for Young get them there?

Can adding Young get us here?

Well, I decided to look over some pros and cons of acquiring Young...

Pros

  • He'll be a free agent after this season, so this wouldn't be like trading for Soriano or Wells... who both are signed through next season (although the Yankees won't be paying Wells much of anything in 2014, so he could be released without a second thought). 
  • Young is getting on base a little over 34% of the time, which is right in line with his career on-base percentage (.347). 
  • With 147 plate appearances in the postseason, all with Texas between 2010 and 2012, he does have enough experience there that we shouldn't need to worry about him feeling that pressure.
  • Seeing as how it's much higher than his career average, it may not continue, but as of right now Michael's walking quite a bit more than he ever has. His career walk rate is 6.7%, while he's walking 8.9% of the time in 2013.
  • Mike's hitting .278/.391/.417 with runners in scoring position... all three stats being much better than the .254/.338/.375 slash the Yankees have put up with RISP this season. 
  • Being a right-handed batter, and coming from hitter-friendly Citizen's Bank Park, you'd think that Young would hit for less power at Yankee Stadium. But his career slugging percentage of .441 at Yankee Stadium (average between Yankee Stadium 2 and Yankee Stadium 3), which is right in line with his career mark in that area (.441), says otherwise. 
  • Being a right-handed batter, you may think his numbers against right-handed pitchers may not be that good. However, Young is hitting .299 with a .767 OPS against them this season, and has hit .297 with a .775 OPS against same-sided pitching in his career.

Cons

  • Michael's .278 batting average this season is at it's lowest since his second full season in MLB (.262 in 2002). 
  • His slugging percentage, while not as bad as it was in 2012, is still much lower than it was from 2009 to 2011 (.404 in 2013, .478 between 2009 and 2011). 
  • Those lower numbers could be due to running into some bad luck, but Young's batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .313 does not support that theory.
  • In the "Pro" section I mentioned his postseason experience, but while experience there is great, a batting line of .248/.272/.383 isn't.
  • Young is striking out at a much higher rate than he did the previous two years (14.3% in 2013, as opposed to 11% from 2011 to 2012).
  • As seen by his triple-slash of .217/.314/.380, Michael hasn't hit left-handers well at all this year. To be fair, though, historically he's hit them very well (.333/.371/.423 last season, and .309/.362/.467 in his career). 
  • Although Young has had 60 more at bats on the road this season, he's hit one less home run away from homer-friendly Citizen's Bank Park. If he were a left-handed batter I wouldn't worry about that, thanks to Yankee Stadium's short porch in right field, but he would likely miss out on a few home runs due to batting right-handed.
No, I didn't plan on having an equal number of "Pros" and "Cons".


At 36 years old, Michael Young is certainly declining, so an improvement after a move to the Yankees is unlikely. We did see Ichiro's numbers go way up after being dealt to New York last season, so I suppose the same thing could happen to Young. But what we saw from Suzuki is certainly not the norm. However, it would take a dramatic plunge in productivity from Young for him not to be an improvement over what the Yankees have gotten out of their third basemen so far this season.

Personally, I'm not sold that adding Michael Young would get them to "true contender" status. That doesn't mean I don't want to see it happen, as any improvement on offense would be welcome, but if the price is anything close to too much then I wouldn't bother.

What do you think about this proposed lineup (when, or should I say "if", healthy)?

1. Brett Gardner - CF
2. Derek Jeter - SS
3. Robinson Cano - 2B
4. Alfonso Soriano - DH
5. Michael Young - 3B
6. Curtis Granderson - LF
7. Ichiro Suzuki - RF
8. Lyle Overbay - 1B
9. Austin Romine - C

"Meh."

Game Thread: Rays @ Yankees 7/27


The New York Yankees will host the Tampa Bay Rays for the second time this weekend in their three game set as Yankees Stadium this afternoon as the battle for the AL East continues. The pitching match up is Ivan Nova for the Yankees and Chris Archer for the Rays. Ivan Nova has been stellar since coming off his minor league assignment in June and hopefully continues his streak today. Chris Archer has pitched well lately but has gotten his wins against teams like the Toronto Blue Jays so maybe we can show him what a real offense looks like.... or maybe not. Either way go Yankees!

Follow us on twitter by following @GreedyStripes

Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees 7/27


The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays continue their three game AL East show down at Yankees Stadium this afternoon. The Yankees will send Ivan Nova to the mound who has pitched his butt off lately to face off with Chris Archer for the Rays. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on YES and MLB TV.

Game 104 Lineup: Rays vs. Yankees

Well, last night didn't work out as well as we wanted it to. Anyway, here's today's lineup. 

Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alfonso Soriano DH
Lyle Overbay 1B
Vernon Wells LF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Brent Lillibridge 3B
Chris Stewart C

RHP Ivan Nova

Some Notes:

-- Travis Hafner is going for an MRI on his shoulder. Maybe that explains his three month slump.

-- CC Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda took batting practice to prepare for the upcoming west coast swing. CC hit a HR during BP. Now if someone could actually do that during a game, that would be sweet.

-- Derek Jeter will do a simulated game today and he could return to the lineup as soon as tomorrow.

Derek Jeter Will NOT Play Today, Maybe Tomorrow


There has been an announcement in the clubhouse and press box at Yankees Stadium that Derek Jeter will not be in uniform for the Yankees today and will not re join the club. There is a possibility that Jeter will be back in the Bronx tomorrow for the finale of the series. Instead Jeter will spend his day in a simulated game in an, as of right now, undisclosed location at an undisclosed time.

Article Revisit: Meet A Prospect Corey Black

One last Corey Black article revisit for we officially close the book on Mr. Black unfortunately as we revisit the popular Meet A Prospect series showcasing Corey. Enjoy!

Meet A Prospect : Corey Black


The New York Yankees used their fourth round pick, 157th overall, on right handed college starting pitcher Corey Black. Corey has spent his college career with Faulkner University in Montgomery Alabama. Corey signed for a measly $215K.

Corey Black has good fastball with good movement that sits in the upper 90's consistently. Black, which is not odd for college pitchers, has good secondary pitches to go with his fastball. Being from such a small University in Alabama a lot is not really known about him but the Yankees have obviously seen something that intrigues them in Black. He is kind of a small guy only being 5'11" so that always seems to point guys like this towards the bullpen in the future. 

Corey Black is still considered raw even though he is a college pitcher. What Black lacks in polish though he more then makes up in upside and projections. You absolutely cannot teach velocity and reminds me a ton of Joba Chamberlain. I truly think we could see him as early as next season if the bullpen needs an arm in September or earlier. 

Black started one game in the GCL before being promoted to the NYPL and being sent to Staten Island. He has a modest 3.38 ERA in the Penn League while starting three games and holding batters to a .211 BAA at the time of this writing. His biggest problem has been his 5 walks to go with his 8 K's. 

Follow Corey Black, a Greedy Pinstripes Follower (@GreedyStripes), on Twitter @Cblacknyy

Ownership Pulled The Alfonso Soriano Trade Trigger


Here we go again with the ownership making deals that Brian Cashman advises against, although the last one worked out not so bad when we signed another Soriano in Rafael Soriano. It is surpriging to me though that Hal Steinbrenner, the fiscal guru, is wanting a guy with $25,000,000 left on a contract that takes him through next season but hey what do I know. I think this sets a scray and bad precedence to let the ownership dictate which deals will and will not be made. You hired Brian Cashman to do a job and you either have faith in him to do his job or you don't, there can't be any middle ground here.

Article Revisit: The Corey Black Interview

In honor of our fallen comrade Corey Black who was traded for Alfonso Soriano yesterday I wanted to take the time to revisit the Corey Black interview that was exclusively done for The Greedy Pinstripes. Good luck to Corey in Chicago and we want to personally thank him for all the things he did for us, for taking the time out to respond to tweets, and thank you for all your kind words. You are a class act and we appreciate you and we thank you for the memories. Now on to the interview.

Greedy Pinstripes Exclusive Interview W/ Corey Black


The Greedy Pinstripes are proud to present to you our latest exclusive interview, this time with Yankees starting pitcher Corey Black. Corey was drafted by the Yankees in the 2012 MLB First Year Player's Draft in the 4th round and spent time with the Gulf Coast Yankees, the Staten Island Yankees, and the Charleston Riverdogs last season. Going on two years removed from Tommy John Surgery we are really starting to see the full extent of Corey's potential especially in how he can dial up the radar guns with his fastball. We want to thank Corey for taking the time to do this interview and for being a Greedy Pinstripes follower, @GreedyStripes, on twitter. Follow Corey on twitter @ CblackCSC13 and follow him all season long for the Yankees minor league affiliate teams. 

The Greedy Pinstripes: Was your dream as a child always to be a baseball player? If not then what did you want to be when you grew up?

Corey Black: My dream was always to be a baseball player and if that didn’t work a pro at another sport
 
TGP: What team did you root for growing up as a kid?

CB: Growing up in SD I was always at Padres games
 
TGP: Favorite player(s) growing up?

CB: Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr
 
TGP: Your biggest inspiration when it came to baseball?

CB: My mom was always pushing me to never give up on my dreams
 
TGP: Best college memory? Doesn't have to be baseball related.

CB: Being named SSAC Pitcher of the year
 
TGP: What is the hardest part of coming back from a Tommy John surgery?

CB: The set backs with dealing with an injury are always the worst. Surrounding yourself with people that push you to come back is what helped me
 
TGP: Favorite moment as a Yankees prospect?

CB: Being around all these soon to be Hall of Famers at big league camp
 
TGP: Who was the best prospect in the Yankees system that you ever played with?

CB: Its hard to pick one out because everyone in this organization is here for a reason
 
TGP: Do you keep in touch with any other current or former Yankees prospects or coaches?

CB: Ive only been here for a short amount of time so the people I am around are usually the people I associate with
 
TGP: Hardest part of being a prospect?

CB: Exceeding the expectations I put on myself
 
TGP: Were you always a pitcher? Did you ever want to try another position?

CB: I didn’t pitch until college. I was always a utility player mainly a shortstop & 3rd baseman growing up
 
TGP: With almost a strike out per inning would you consider yourself a strike out pitcher or more of a control pitcher?

CB: Last year I tried turning myself into a control pitcher because in college I walked way too many people and wouldn’t be able to get into later innings. Looking back as the walks went down the strike outs started rising. So yes I do think I am a strike out pitcher
 
TGP: Do you think you are better suited as a starter or a future reliever in the Major Leagues?

CB: I try not to think about that. I just do as I’m told and I go out and pitch
 
TGP: Over/Under 2 times you get called Francisco Arcia this spring?

CB: Over! Way over
 
TGP: Most famous person in your cell phone?

CB: Bryce Harper
 
TGP: Most embarrassing song/artist in your ipod?

CB: Bye bye bye –N SYNC

I want to thank Corey once again for taking the time to do this interview for us. You're always an awesome guy on twitter and we really appreciate you. By the way Corey can we get Bryce Harper's phone number?

Morning Bits

Good morning everyone!

After a week off I am back at the keyboard but nothing much has changed in the world of the Yankees.

C.C. Sabathia threw more batting practice as the Yankees lost by a score of 10-3 to the Rays.

Sabathia allowed 7 earned runs on 9 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings and saw his ERA soar to 4.65, the highest of the Yankee rotation right now.

Alfonso Soriano returned to the Bronx last night and stranded 5 runners while going 0-5.

The Yankees and Rays will do battle again today in the Bronx at 1:05 PM ET in a game that will be televised by YES.  Chris Archer(5-3, 2.76 ERA) will face Ivan Nova(4-3, 3.66 ERA).

Now on to today's news links:

Wally Matthews and Andrew Marchand of ESPNNY.com have this piece on the soap opera involving A-Rod.

Peter Botte and Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News report that Derek Jeter could be back in the Yankee lineup by Sunday.

Filip Bondy, also of the New York Daily News, points out that the Mets are playing better than the Yankees are right now and without the drama.

Have a great day everyone!

Daily "Jump On The Yankees Bandwagon" Update


Even with this loss we are still only 2.5 games back of the wild card at last check and as we all know the post season is a whole new season. Jump on the bandwagon now and remember that you heard about the turn around here first on The Greedy Pinstripes.

Record since turnaround was announced is 2-2

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/27


This is not really New York Yankees history that we probably want to remember but on this day in 2011 the Seattle Mariners made history against us. The Mariners snapped a 17 game losing streak behind seven strong innings from Felix Hernandez and an offensive outburst. The M's would win 9-2 to get their first victory in three weeks.