Monday, June 30, 2014

Roberts' 9th Inning Homer Wasted in Extras as Yankees Drop Third Straight to Rays, 4-3

Going into this season's trade deadline, it's common knowledge that the Yankees have a lot of holes to fill. 

With Michael Pineda set to miss most of summer and the entire infield struggling to hit above .250, it's obvious that a solid starter and a reliable bat would be much appreciated, although after tonight the Yanks just might have one more kind of player to acquire.

A long reliever.

Yes, that notion sounds a little dumb, but after Jose Ramirez blew another game this evening it just might become legitimate, as the Bombers fell to the Rays again, 4-3.

To start off his top of the twelfth outing, Ramirez actually retired the always-dangerous Evan Longoria and James Loney, a success that quickly went for nothing, as the youngster would go on to walk Brandon Guyer and surrender an RBI Single to Logan Forsythe that broke the tie.

That sudden and painful collapse wasted a pair of scoreless innings the Yankees had gotten from the struggling Shawn Kelley, as well as a huge, game-continuing solo home run from Brian Roberts in the bottom of the ninth. 

Prior to those seemingly momentum-shifting occurrences, David Phelps also gave the Bombers 5.2 frames of two-run ball (solo homers from Matt Joyce and Kevin Kiermaier), almost matching the line of the Rays' Chris Archer, who, besides an Brett Gardner triple and Derek Jeter groundout in New York's half of the third, was great in his 21-out performance.

Still, as I said earlier, everything the Yanks did in this one ended up being worthless, as they dropped to an ugly 2-7 in their last nine contests, 2.5 games out of the division lead, and 3 games out of the second and final wild card spot, again proving that things are not actually getting better for them.

Luis Severino Named FSL Pitcher of the Week

The Tampa Yankees
RHP Luis Severino Named FSL Pitcher of the Week

 
Tampa, Fla. - The Florida State League named Tampa Yankees RHP Luis Severino Pitcher of the Week today. This honor was for games played June 23 - June 29, 2014.  
  
           Severino pitched on June 25th and got his first Tampa Yankees win. He had a quality start throwing six innings with six K's. He didn't allow a run or a hit and only gave up one walk for an ERA of 0.00. Severino joined the Tampa Yankees roster on June 20th after he was promoted from the Single-A Charleston RiverDogs.
          
          This is the second year of professional baseball for Severino. He is ranked No. 9 by Baseball America for Top Prospects in the Yankees organization.
         
The Tampa Yankees are the Single-A Advanced Affiliate of the New York Yankees. For more information about the Tampa Yankees call (813) 673-3055 or visitwww.tybaseball.com.

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Rays 6/30


Welcome to tonight's open thread, it's game time ladies and gentleman. The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will play on this last day of June tonight at Yankee Stadium in the first of a three game set in the Bronx. The Yankees will send David Phelps to the mound to face off with Chris Archer for the Rays. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Don't forget to snag some Yankees tickets for this weekend's series with the Rays by using our ticket partners right here on the blog. Follow @GreedyStripes on Twitter or find us on Facebook by searching for The Greedy Pinstripes to interact with myself and the rest of the writers. You can also interact with Yankees fans across the country by dropping us a line in the comments section of the site.

Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your night.

Yankees Tried To Eat $4.5 Million To Trade Ichiro


According to those anonymous sources and leaked information and all those easy cop outs the New York Yankees tried to trade Ichiro Suzuki to the Houston Astros before this season and were willing to eat $4.5 million of his $6.5 million in salary owed to him in 2014. The Yankees also reportedly tried to trade Chris Stewart to Houston before shipping him off to Pittsburgh for little to nothing, his worth.

The Astros have acknowledged the leak of information, seen HERE, and the FBI is supposedly on the case. Scary stuff but wow would I love for the Yankees info to be released.


The Yankees Have One Job Tonight... Meme


We have one job tonight, beat this man. This man, Chris Archer of the Tampa Bay Rays, has a 2-0 record and a 0.60 ERA inside Yankee Stadium for his career. Time to change that, don't you think? We're on ESPN for a second consecutive game so hello mute button, unless we bomb Archer. Let's do it.

6/30 Yankees Game Preview vs. Tampa Bay Rays


The New York Yankees will start a three game set at Yankee Stadium tonight with the last place Tampa Bay Rays in an AL East battle. The Yankees will send David Phelps to the mound to face off with Yankee Killer and Yankee Stadium lover Chris Archer for the Rays. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Phelps was coming off consecutive wins before the Blue Jays hit him around in his last start in Toronto. Phelps allowed eight hits and six runs in five innings in a no decision. Phelps did strike out seven batters though and looks to start a new winning streak tonight in the Bronx.

Archer is coming off his fifth loss of the season after allowing five runs in seven innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Archer is a Yankee killer though and loved the new Yankee Stadium owning a career 2-0 record with a 0.60 ERA in the Bronx.

Get your tickets for this game or any Yankees game right here on the blog by clicking this link. We offer no fees and great rates without the shipping costs associated with those other guys. Get yours now!

Go Yankees!!

Cashman Wants Pitching, We Need Hitting


On more than one occasion we here at the blog were called "silly" and "out of touch" when we mentioned making a trade for a bat, namely Martin Prado. "The Yankees need pitching" they would say and the offense will be fine eventually, well it's basically July and eventually is going to be too late before we know it.

The Yankees have a substantial negative run differential and have been blown out more times than I would like to remember and count. The pitching staff is still second in the American League with a 10.5 WAR according to Fangraphs, although Baseball Reference has the Yankees listed at an 8.8 WAR for fifth best in the AL. I said all that to say this, even if we're fifth best in the league without CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Shawn Kelley for spurts, and a revolving door in the bullpen I don't think the pitching is the ultimate problem.

The bats are cold and it seems like every one of our big named acquisitions not named Jacoby Ellsbury are flirting with the Mendoza Line. The Yankees offense is 11th in the AL in WAR. We need pitching but we need multiple additions at the bat. Cashman, Yankees family, pay attention. The bats are in trouble.

What to watch for in this series against the Tampa Bay Rays

We all know what to expect when the Bombers play the Rays, usually 2 things happen:

1. There will be a pitching duel at least once in this series
2. Evan Longoria will hit a home run

Now that we got that out of the way, what else is there?

For the first game on our hands we have Chris Archer vs David Phelps. Seems innocent enough, usually Archer dominates the Yanks, albeit a very small sample.

The main thing I'll be watching for this whole series is the middle game of the series, the starters for that game are David Price and Hiroki Kuroda. Here are a few reasons:

-It'll be crucial to see if Kuroda can continue some semblance of what he has been pitching like recently. I think the days of last year Kuroda are over. We may get glimpses from time to time, but Girardi isn't putting him on the Andy Pettitte pitch count for fun and games. He is trying to prevent another September melt down.
-This is just pure speculation on my part, but say in this game, David Price shuts out the Yankees in the Bronx. Sure, we've seen Price do this a ton of times to the Yanks, not shut outs, but just complete dominance at times. With the state of the current rotation, I can't be the only one that thinks Cashman or Hal will see this and overreact. It wouldn't be the first time either for an overreaction from the front office.

Personally, I don't think the Yankees have enough attractive pieces to land Price over the Red Sox. But, weirder things have happened in baseball and it wouldn't shock me in the slightest to see this happen. I wouldn't want it to happen, I've been waiting for this team to fall back to Earth since the beginning of last season. This team just baffles me that they stay at .500.

All that said, everybody enjoy the series!

The Yankees stand 2GB the Blue Jays for 1st place and .5GB the O's for 2nd place. Need to start racking up wins before the All-Star Break.

Cashman Looking to Make Additions to the Starting Rotation

If you've watched any Yankees games lately, you know that their starting rotation's in trouble.

Their ace, Masahiro Tanaka, is no longer getting run support, while minor league call up Chase Whitley's beginning to fall apart. 

Because of those two and probably other issues, the Yanks are currently looking to acquire a reliable hurler, something that could be difficult with their weak farm system.

Still, they're trying.

"I'm looking to make some additions if I can," team GM Brian Cashman told The Newark Star Ledger's Brendan Kuty this weekend. "So I'd like to try to do things before (CC Sabathia and Michael Pineda) get back if possible. But I've already been trying. There's a reason we haven't done anything. It's not because of a lack of phone calls. But we'll see."

After throwing a rehab game with the High-A Tampa Yankees on Saturday, Sabathia stated that he felt "really good," a sign that he could be back in the next two weeks.

Unfortunately, Pineda's future doesn't look nearly as bright (he'll be out until at least August after suffering multiple setbacks), making the need for a new arm that much more dire, as the Bombers simply aren't winning contests anymore.

Five Realistic Yankees Trade Targets


The New York Yankees likely don't have the resources to acquire a David Price or Jeff Samardzija unfortunately but there are five starting pitchers I find to be realistic for the Yankees to be looking at. Obviously these guys will not knock Masahiro Tanaka off his ace pedestal but any of these five guys could really help the Yankees rotation right now.

Ian Kennedy, we all remember the name. Once a highly touted Yankee prospect and the last to make the majors in the same season he was drafted. Kennedy has a 9.7 K/9 which could help him switch from a pitcher friendly park in Petco back to Yankee Stadium.

The Rockies Jorge De La Rosa has struggled this season but it somehow may be easier for him to pitch in Yankee Stadium than it was in Coors Field. De La Rosa has a 4.78 ERA so he may not be the biggest Yankee upgrade but he would easily be the cheapest, plus he's left handed.

Brandon McCarthy gives up too many home runs for Yankee Stadium but sports a 9.67 K/9 to make up for it a bit. The Diamondbacks want to dump his $9 million in salary so he could also come cheap.

Jason Hammel is no Jeff Samardzija but he is solid and a free agent at the end of the season. Hammel has AL East experience and could fit into the Yankees price range prospects wise.

Cliff Lee is hurt and might not have much time to prove he is healthy before the trading deadline. He is high priced and an aging veteran, the Yankees forte. Plus we have a history of stealing salary dumps for nothing from the Philadelphia Phillies, see Bobby Abreu.


The Martin Prado Fire Is Heating Up & It Started Here


The Martin Prado to the New York Yankees rumors started here when my friend Bryan Van Dusen wrote about in a piece a few weeks back, see HERE and see below:

While Prado's batting line so far in 2014 is not impressive (.274/.318/.377, with only 1 SB in 2 attempts), he's hit pretty well this month (.307/.338/.427). Along with having a solid bat, Martin's versatility would work well in New York, since last season he played over 200 innings at both 2B and LF, while playing almost 900 innings at 3B.

Improving in the infield may not be the Yankees most pressing need, but Yangervis Solarte's fall from grace and Brian Roberts being... well... Brian Roberts, should make Brian Cashman take a hard look at Prado.

I then touched on it and tweaked the idea a little turning my attention to Prado replacing the Yankees Kelly Johnson and not Brian Roberts, seen HERE and below:

The first reason for not wanting Prado to replace Roberts is this is a typical Yankees move signing a veteran guy long term to block a prospect like Rob Refsnyder. The second reason is I do not believe Alex Rodriguez can be effective in 2015 after basically sitting out for two consecutive seasons late into his 30's. The third reason is Kelly Johnson needs to go and go now. Roberts plays adequate defense and is a switch hitter, if worse came to worse for Roberts he could be a pretty damn good bench guy for the Yankees. Johnson is basically a bench guy for the Yankees and is not having a great time at it.

Johnson was brought in because of his versatility and potential for pop and RBI's at the bottom of the order. Johnson has played 810 games at second base, 133 games in left field, 43 games at third base, and 27 games at first base in his career making him a good guy to have around. Prado on the other hand has played 374 games at third base, 252 games in left field and one game in right field, 245 games at second base,  56 games at first base, and 16 games as a shortstop. Losing the versatility of Johnson is not only replaced but improved upon if you add Mr. Prado.


Many thought we here at The Greedy Pinstripes were just pulling this awful idea out of our behinds and then Pinstripe Alley, one of the biggest and best Yankee blogs, wrote a piece on it. Now The New York Daily News and Billy Madden wrote about it. Now it's on MLB Trade Rumors. The fire is spreading, remember where you heard it first.

Can David Price Be The Yankees New Ichiro?


Anyone else constantly refreshing MLB Trade Rumors hoping that David Price gets traded before tomorrow night so the Yankees don't have to face him AND Chris Archer in the same series? Maybe it's just me. That line of thinking got me wondering, what if the Yankees pulled a 2012 when they traded for Ichiro Suzuki while in Seattle to play the Mariners?The cost would be substantial but the immediate impact and upgrade over Vidal Nuno would be even more substantial.

This is a pipe dream but wouldn't it be nice?

Whitley, Bullpen Hit Hard in Another Rubber Game Loss

While he was undeniably good in his first 7 starts, it's become more and more obvious that Yankees Pitcher Chase Whitley's beginning to run out of gas. 

The 25-year-old rookie, who went 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA before falling to the Blue Jays last Monday, didn't look sharp at all tonight, surrendering 5 earned runs in 4+ innings.

After his departure, the Yanks' bats did come back a little, but in the end, couldn't make up for the youngster's struggles, as they fell in ugly fashion to the Red Sox 8-5.

For the first two frames, the argument could be made that Whitley wasn't terrible, although a top of the third, three-run home run by David Ortiz definitely changed that idea, as the Sox took an early 4-0 lead off the right-hander.

In their following at-bats, the Bombers would pull to within one thanks to a single by Derek Jeter and a pair of solo shots from Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran, but that trio of positives would eventually prove irrelevant, as Whitley and Shawn Kelley would hand that progress right back to Boston in its half of the fifth.

In that inning, the Sox would make it 7-3 on a two-run single from Dustin Pedroia and an unusual steal of home by Daniel Nava, pretty much making the Pinstripes look done.

Yes, they did sort of come back in their next turn when Brett Gardner doubled in Ichiro and Jacoby Ellsbury grounded another home, but due to the bullpen's lack of reliability they would end up being defeated, the sixth time that's happened in their last nine games.

As you probably already know, tonight's loss also cost them this seemingly winnable series, keeping them 2 games out of both the AL East lead and the final Wild Card spot.

In other words, this evening's failure is a deflating blow to the already scuffling Yankees, who will begin a trio of home contests with the last-place Rays tomorrow.

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/30


Cy Young showed why Major League Baseball would soon name their prestigious pitchers award after him, well that and leading the majors in wins and losses in his career, on this day in 1908 as Young no-hit the Highlanders 8-0. The 41 year old Red Sox pitcher would pitch his third no hitter of his career against the team that would soon be the New York Yankees.

On this day in 1961 Whitey Ford became the first American League pitcher to win eight games in one month. Ford would throw a complete game win over the Washington Senators as the Yankees would win 5-1. This would be the Yankees 22nd team victory in June, a great month.

Finally, on this day in 2002 the Yankees became the first team in the American League since the 1956 Chicago White Sox to have four infielders and a catcher on the All Star roster. Jason Giambi, Alfonso Soriano, and Jorge Posada were voted in by the fans and Derek Jeter and Robin Ventura were chosen by the AL manager Joe Torre.


Sunday, June 29, 2014

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Red Sox 6/29


Welcome to tonight's open thread and game thread for ESPN"s Sunday Night Baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. John Kruk, or whichever announcer they decide to get tonight, means hello mute button. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound to face off with John Lackey. The game will be played at 8:05 pm ET and can be seen on ESPN and heard on the radio with WFAN. Let's hope this Chase doesn't repeat what the last Chase pitching for the Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball did, again, and again, and again, and again.

It's not too late to get your Yankees tickets for tonight's game and they would probably come even cheaper than they normally would using TGP tickets right HERE on the blog. You can also follow @GreedyStripes on Twitter and search for The Greedy Pinstripes on Facebook to interact with myself and the writers. Drop us a line in the comments section to speak with Yankees fans from around the country, always something good going on in there.

Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy what's left of your weekend.

What The Hell Was Koji Euhara Celebrating Last Night?


I know it's hard to tell the difference but this was NOT taken after last night's game, this was at home for Boston in Fenway Park. My point is what the hell was Koji Euhara doing after he struck out Brian McCann to save last night's win for Boston? He acted like he just shut down the Yankees in the playoff game and acted like the Red Sox weren't still five games behind us in FOURTH place in the division. Stay classy Koji, that's all we ask.

If you want to celebrate come up with something entertaining like shooting an arrow in the sky, or really shoot one at Mike Nappybeard (h/t Brian Knepper) and make the world a better and more hygienic place.

6/29 Yankees Game Preview vs. Boston Red Sox


The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will finish their three game set at Yankee Stadium tonight as a part of ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound to face off with the Red Sox John Lackey looking for a series win for New York. The game will be played at 8:05 pm ET and can be seen on ESPN, MLB TV(maybe, maybe not), and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Whitley lost his first game of his career last time out against the Toronto Blue Jays while struggling with command all night long. Whitley went 3/1 innings and allowed 11 hits and eight earned runs. Get 'em next time kid, tonight.

Lackey is also coming off a struggle of a start where he allowed seven hits and seven runs in 3.2 innings against the Seattle Mariners. In four career starts at Yankee Stadium Lackey owns a 1-2 record with an 8.10 ERA.

Get your tickets for tonight's series finale with the Red Sox right here on the blog by using our ticket exchange with Ticket Monster. We offer no fees and free shipping on our tickets and guarantee to get them shipped the same day or the next day. Get yours now!

Go Yankees!!

Yankees Sign Jonny Drozd To Minor League Deal


The New York Yankees are going crazy with all these undrafted free agents that they are signing on minor league deals, crazy in a good way, and added another piece yesterday when they signed Jonny Drozd. Drozd was a member of the Texas Tech baseball team and compiled a 7-1 record with a 2.09 ERA with five saves in 28 relief outings this summer. Drozd was a teammate of another Texas Tech unsigned baseball player the Yankees signed to a minor league deal lately, Adam Kirsch.

The History Of The Yankees Captains


A couple hours ago we talked about the Curse of the Yankee Captains so why not the history of the Yankee captains just to be fair?

There have been 14 players named the team captain in the Highlanders/Yankees history. Some Yankees/Highlanders players are listed as captains but the first to be officially recognized as the Yankees captain was Hal Chase in 1910. Three of the first four Yankees "captains" were not officially recognized as Yankees captains but I have included them as well with the 11 official captains in our history.

Let's take a look at the complete list now.

(P) Clark Griffith 
Spent 1891-1914 as a Yankees player
Spent 1903-1905 as a Yankees captain


(SS) Kid Elberfeld 
Spent 1898-1914 as a Yankees player
Spent 1906-1909 as a Yankees captain



(1B) Hal Chase #1
Spent 1905-1919 as a Yankees player
Spent 1910-1912 as a Yankees captain


(1B) Frank Chance 
Spent 1898-1914 as a Yankees player
Spent 1913 as a Yankees captain


(SS) Roger Peckinpaugh #2 
Spent 1910-1927 as a Yankees player
Spent 1914-1921 as a Yankees captain



(OF) Babe Ruth #3
Spent 1914-1935 as a Yankees player
Spent 1922 as a Yankees captain


(SS) Everett Scott #4
Spent 1914-1926 as a Yankees player
Spent 1922-1925 as a Yankees captain


(1B) Lou Gehrig #5
Spent 1923-1939 as a Yankees player
Spent 1935-1939 as a Yankees captain



(C) Thurman Munson #6
Spent 1969-1979 as a Yankees player
Spent 1976-1979 as a Yankees captain


(3B) Graig Nettles #7
Spent 1967-1988 as a Yankees player
Spent 1982-1984 as a Yankees captain


(2B) Willie Randolph #8
Spent 1975-1992 as a Yankees player
Spent 1986-1988 as a Yankees co-captain



(P) Ron Guidry #9
Spent 1975-1988 as a Yankees player
Spent 1986-1988 as a Yankees co-captain


(1B) Don Mattingly #10
Spent 1982-1995 as a Yankees player
Spent 1991-1995 as a Yankees captain


(SS) Derek Jeter #11
Spent 1995-Present as a Yankees player
Spent 2003- Present as a Yankees captain


Four Yankees captains have been elected into the Hall of Fame, and obviously it will be five when Derek Jeter retires, including Clark Griffith, Frank Chance, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. It is really amazing to think that players like Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, or Catfsh Hunter to name a few have never been named a Yankees captain. It is also interesting to point out that Babe Ruth has only been a captain for a single season in 1922. George Steinbrenner kind of watered down the whole prestige behind being the Yankees captain when he handed the honor out six times in his tenure as Yankees owner but Derek Jeter is doing his best to make the best of the situation and bring the prestige back to the most honored spot in all of baseball, the captain of the New York Yankees.

Red Sox 1B Napoli Called Tanaka an "Idiot" After Hitting Home Run Yesterday

After hitting the game-winning home run in last night's top of the ninth, Red Sox First Basemen Mike Napoli could be heard saying "what an idiot" in reference to Yankees Starter Masahiro Tanaka, the NYDN's John Harper reports. 

In his two at-bats prior to the go-ahead shot, Napoli had struck out on Tanaka's signature splitter, making the fact that the latter went with his fastball on the 1-2 pitch strange.

Still, insulting a guy who'd got the better of you multiple times is something that doesn't sit well with many Yankee fans, forcing Napoli to release this statement after the contest.

"Nothing towards him," Napoli said to the aforementioned Harper. "I thought he would throw me a splitter in the dirt."

While that excuse does seem to work, Tanaka supporters everywhere are probably not going to buy it, as Napoli is obviously a Red Sock.

Because of that, this event looks like it will revive this rivalry in 2014, and definitely make tonight's rubber game much more interesting, even if it doesn't involve the Bombers' ace.

In case you don't already know, this evening's matchup won't begin until 8:05 pm ET, due to it being nationally televised on ESPN. 

Was There A Curse Of The Yankees Captains?

Kid Elberfeld served as the Yankees captain in 1906 and kept the title until the 1909 season was over with the Highlanders. Kid was nicknamed The Tabasco Kid because of his fiery temper and actions both verbally and physically on the field with the umpires. One time while in the minor leagues Kid threw a ball of mud into an umpires open mouth and later in the Major Leagues he assaulted an umpire physically and had to be removed by the police. This was not a stat that was kept up with back in the early 1900's but most historians say that Elberfeld was thrown out of more games than anyone else in his era. Elberfeld managed the Highlanders in 1908 and finished with the worst record in the league with a 27-71 record. 


Hal Chase was considered to be the first official Yankees/Highlanders captain when he was named the captain in 1910 and kept the title until 1912. Hal was considered to be the best defensive first baseman in all of baseball and even drew rave reviews from the likes of Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson during his playing career for his glove. Hal's legacy is extremely tainted though with rumors of him betting on baseball games and suspicion in throwing baseball games and purposely losing. This kind of stuff is why we will never see guys like Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson in the MLB Hall of Fame but somehow Hal not only got away with it but is still a member of the hall.


Frank Chance was only the Yankees captain for one season, the 1913 season, and it did not exactly go as planned. The Cubs released him and negotiated to get him on the Yankees after multiple surgeries to remove blood clots in his brain that were caused by being hit in the head by pitches in the 1912 season. The Yankees signed him to a three year deal in 1913 and never played more than 12 games in a single season for the Yankees. The Yankees spent much of the 1913 season in last place but a late season push, including a win in the next to the last game, had the Yankees finish 7th in that season. Not exactly as planned for Frank and the Yankees. 


Lou Gehrig was named the Yankees captain in 1935 and would remain the captain until he retired in the 1939 season due to a disease which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Lou retired at the young age of 36 so who would know how much more revered he would be had he been able to see the latter years of his 30's in baseball. The Iron Horse played in 2,130 consecutive games which was not surpassed until Cal Ripken Jr. passed it in 1995, a mere 56 years later. Gehrig finished with great stats in his career but was absolutely decimated by ALS. Lou would retire from baseball in the 1939 season at the age of 36 stating that he was "The Luckiest Man On The Face Of The Earth" and would die only two years later in 1941 at the age of 38. 


Thurman Munson was named the Yankees captain in 1976 and kept the title until 1979. The Yankees would lose the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in 1976 but would win back to back World Series in 1977 and 1978 behind the bat of Reggie Jackson. The Yankees would not make an appearance in the 1979 World Series with the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Baltimore Orioles but what else happened in 1979 would hurt the Yankees and Munson more. Munson owned his own plane and was taking flying lessons because he got so homesick and wanted to be able to go to Cleveland to his family whenever he wanted. Thurman was practicing taking off and crashed his plane on August 2, 1979 and died.


Don Mattingly was named the Yankees captain in 1991 and would keep the title until he retired after the 1995 season. The Yankees were generally a terrible team when Don Mattingly was on the team only making the playoffs once in his tenure in 1995. A strike shortened 1994 season would have probably seen the Yankees in the playoffs as well but we will never know but the greed of the MLB Players Association is a discussion for another day. Mattingly injured his back in 1987 though and was never the same after that season and would prematurely end his career after allegedly horse playing with teammate Bob Shirley.


Derek Jeter has five World Series rings,a Rookie of the Year award, 13 All Star Game appearances, a World Series MVP award, has gotten an MVP vote in 12 seasons and finished as high as 2nd place in 2006, has five each of Gold Gloves and Silver Slugger awards, and would have earned $261,159,364 in his baseball career before any kind of endorsements and such by the time his current contract is up after the 2014 season. On top of all of that Derek Jeter has a pretty impressive spread of women to boast about as well, seen HERE on the Yankees Wives & Girlfriends section of the site, so yeah who am I kidding? What curse? If there was one Mr. Derek Sanderson Jeter definitely broke that. 

Jacob Lindrgen & Austin DeCarr Debuted Last Night


The New York Yankees top two picks in the 2014 MLB draft debuted last night for the GCL Yankees. Jacob Lindgren was the Yankees top overall pick and was drafted in the second round and Austin DeCarr was taken out of High School in the third round, the Yankees second pick.

Both were in action for the rookie league GCL Yankees and made their professional debuts. Lindgren threw an inning and allowed two hits while striking out two and getting a ground ball for the third out. DeCarr also went an inning and allowed one hit with a walk, a strikeout, and a ground ball that looks like a double play if the box score is correct.

Neither did much more than get their feet wet last night but you have to start somewhere, the rest is downhill from here for these two bright spots in the Yankees draft. FYI Jonathan Holder, Lindgren's former teammate, allowed six hits and four runs in 1.2 innings in the same game walking one and striking out three in his second professional game. Get 'em next time kid!

Quick Hit: Getting Back On Track


I want to start this day off by sincerely apologizing to our readers and our friends, work has been killing me this week and taking up much of the time I have allotted for this blog. We have been doing inventory at work which means all hands are on deck, whether you work the production lines, work in the office like myself, or clean the toilets, you're doing inventory and helping reconcile the inventory. Anyway after a few consecutive 11+ hour days and the rest of my day spent sleeping and spending time with my babies I have neglected you guys, and I apologize.

Inventory is done, I am as well rested as a guy can be with two kids (one of them being a seven month old),p and I am ready to get caught up and get back on track. Be sure to check in for tonight's ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, I plan on live tweeting the game.

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/29


On this day in 1941 Joe DiMaggio and the Yankees played in a double header with the Washington Senators. The wins and losses didn't matter as much as the fact that DiMaggio tied and then broke the American League record for consecutive games with a hit, previously held by George Sisler with 41 straight games with a hit. DiMaggio had a seventh inning single off Walt Masteron to break the tie with Sisler.

On this day in 2000 the New York Yankees tried multiple times to bolster their offense in trades and failed to get Juan Gonzalez and Sammy Sosa before settling for David Justice from the Cleveland Indians for Ricky Ledee and two players to be named later. That trade kind of worked, no?


Saturday, June 28, 2014

CC Sabathia Allows Two Runs In Rehab Start


CC Sabathia has officially started Vidal Nuno's 30 day clock, also known as the final countdown (cue the music), with his first rehab start for the High-A Tampa Yankees tonight. CC started with a lineup of Jake Cave, Angelo Gumbs, Greg Bird, and Aaron Judge most notably behind him and allowed two runs in the contest. CC allowed a total of three hits and struck out two with a walk in 2.1 innings. Sabathia threw 36 pitches, 24 of them for strikes, and sat around 87-89 MPH with a few fastballs touching 90 MPH. Most important though, no injury, discomfort, or lingering soreness so it's a win for the Yankees.


No Offense Ruins Tanaka's Great Start in 2-1 Loss to Red Sox

Back on June 8, the Yankees went for 1-for-17 with RISP in an embarrassing loss to the Royals.

In the game, the Yanks' offense, probably the most inconsistent in baseball, had plenty of chances to score or take the lead, but didn't due to a lazy effort.

Well, that kind of frustrating performance unfortunately happened again tonight, as the Bombers wasted a dominant start from Masahiro Tanaka in a tough, 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Red Sox.

In the outing, Tanaka wasn't the slightest bit inconsistent, although he did surrender a pair of homers to David Ross and Mike Napoli, with Napoli's coming with two outs and two strikes in the top of the ninth. 

Interestingly, that blast from Napoli happened in his fourth and final plate appearance, following his striking out on the splitter in two of the first three.

Still, Tanaka (9 Innings Pitched, 2 Earned Runs, 7 H, 1 BB, 8 K) inexplicably didn't go with his signature pitch on the ball the Sox First Basemen hit into right field's first row, costing him the contest, as the Yanks' unsurprisingly didn't score off Koji Uehera in their last at-bat. 

That trend of not crossing home when it matters was recurring for Bombers in the loss, with them collecting just one run over 8 innings off Jon Lester.

That circling of the bases, not earned due to an error by Boston SS Stephen Drew, came in the bottom of the third, when Derek Jeter grounded out routinely to drive in Brian Roberts. 

Besides that, as you can see by the final score, the Pinstripes' bats just couldn't do anything, going 0-for-5 with men on second and third while also grounding into a rally-killing double play in the bottom of the eighth, wasting what looked like a very promising lead-off walk from Brett Gardner.

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Red Sox 6/28


Welcome to tonight's game thread and open thread for the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Work is literally trying to kill me these last two days so I must apologize that there will be no game preview or cleverly placed meme tonight. I will try to do better tomorrow. Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your evening. Go Yankees!!

Beating Red Sox a "Confidence Boost" For Nuno

Since May 7's 9-2 blowout in Anaheim, Yankees Pitcher Vidal Nuno has struggled to get wins.

The 26-year-old rookie, who joined the rotation in early May after Ivan Nova went down, only got through 5 innings without giving up 3+ earned runs once between the aforementioned date and last night's game against the Red Sox, making his recent 5.2 frame performance big for both him and the staff.

As expected, the series-opening W could also help out Nuno on a psychological level, something the youngster revealed to ESPN.com's Wallace Matthews after the victory. 

"Every day has been tough lately, just knowing that my command wasn't there," Nuno said. "It's been a grind. But I've been working on it. Pretty much it's a confidence booster tonight to show that I can still belong here and attack these guys with my stuff. I can win games."

Prior to the contest, some called for Nuno to be given the night off, as the Bombers didn't play Thursday. 

Fortunetaly, team Manager Joe Girardi didn't abide with those people's wishes, a decision that could turn out to be huge in how the month plays out, as the Pinstripes will now get to save Masahiro Tanaka for their July 3 opener in Minnesota.

Can't Predict Baseball: Branch Rickey Sucks


Branch Rickey is well known for being the man that essentially integrated Negro League baseball players into the major leagues when he signed Jackie Robinson to that historic contract way back when. While Rickey was generally thought of as a good administrator in this game of baseball he flat out sucked as a catcher. The Yankees catcher allowed 13 stolen bases to the Washington Senators on this day in 1907. Rickey would go down in history for the Robinson signing and would earn the nickname "the Mahatma" but it definitely was not for his on the field capabilities.

Also on this day 1919 the Boston Red Sox pitcher Carl Mays made of a day of it by pitching two complete games in the same day. The Red Sox and Mays would shut out the Yankees 2-0 in the first game of the doubleheader and would lose the second game 4-1. Coincidentally the Yankees would trade for Mays this season at the end of July, I guess the extended look at the submariner right hander didn't hurt.

Two complete games in one day by the same pitcher and 13 stolen bases off the great Branch Rickey, I guess it's true what they say Suzyn you really can't predict baseball.


Quick Hit: Nuno Gets Good As CC Gets Healthy


Doesn't it figure, or is it simply a coincidence, that Vidal Nuno throws the game of his life last night against the Boston Red Sox at home on the eve of CC Sabathia making his first rehab assignment start? Isn't that how it always goes for the Yankees? A guy struggles, the veteran is on his way back, the rookie improves, and another guy like Chase Whitley will be sent down when CC is ready to return after the All Star Break.

FYI here is the schedule for CC Sabathia's return:

Rehab start today: 45-50 pitches
7/3: 60 pitches
7/8: 75 pitches
7/13: 90 pitches

All Star Break

Return to the mound to start on 7/18 against the Cincinnati Reds at home? The break also allows us to reset the rotation and, if Joe Girardi chooses, have Masahiro Tanaka pitch technically in the number two spot.

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/28


On this day in 1939 the New York Yankees established the major league record for most home runs hit in a game in a doubleheader with a total of 13. The Yankees would sweep the Philadelphia Athletics on this day by beating the A's 23-2 in game one with eight home runs and 10-0 off five home runs in game two.

On this day in 1949 Joe DiMaggio finally came off the disabled list for the Yankees after missing  the first 69 games of the season with a heel injury. Joe D would hit four home runs in a three game sweep of the Boston Red Sox fresh out of the box.

On this day in 2009 Mariano Rivera joined a club with only one other member, the 500 saves club with Trevor Hoffman. Rivera also registered his first and only RBI of his career when he took a bases loaded walk in a 4-2 win over the New York Mets in Citi Field.

Friday, June 27, 2014

Nuno Finally Pitches Well in 6-0 Win Over Red Sox

Going into tonight's opener against the arch-rival Red Sox, many people questioned Joe Girardi's decision to start Vidal Nuno.

The 26-year-old lefty, 1-4 with a 5.88 ERA before the contest began, had given up 14 earned runs in his last two outings, causing some to prefer just letting Masahiro Tanaka go after the team's day off. 

Fortunetaly, Girardi didn't listen to those critics, sticking with a plan that eventually let Nuno toss a scoreless 5.2 frames, helping the Yankees win easily 6-0.

To start off the contest, Nuno did walk Red Sox Right Fielder Brock Holt, his only real moment of weakness on the night, as the youngster ended up surrendering just 2 hits to lower his ERA to 5.42.

On the offensive side of things, #57 also got a pretty good amount of run support, with the Yanks taking an early lead in the bottom of the first when the red-hot Mark Teixeira drove home Derek Jeter with a Sac Fly to left. 

Later on in the third, the inconsistent Bombers' bats would really break the game open, thanks to Kelly Johnson making everything a lot less stressful with a two-run home run to deep right-center and Brett Gardner immediately following that with a solo shot of his own, putting Boston's Brandon Workman (7 IP, 4 ER) in an nearly-inescapable hole.

Still, that message apparently never reached Bombers Catcher Brian McCann, who tacked on another pair in the eighth with a blast to the right-field porch.

The upper-decker from McCann, his first since last Wednesday, was his ninth of the season, and his third already against the Red Sox. 

Overall in 2014, the Pinstripes Backstop has quietly dominated Boston's pitching staff, hitting an impressive .392 (11-for-28) in the clubs' eight meetings, five of which have taken place in the veteran's home of the Bronx.

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Red Sox 6/27


Welcome to tonight's open thread and game thread! The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will play the latest edition of the rivalry, this time in a three game set in Yankee Stadium this weekend. The first game will have Vidal Nuno pitching for the Yankees against Brandon Workman for the Red Sox. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

It's not too late to grab your Yankees tickets for tonight's game, the Saturday night game on Fox, or the Sunday night game on ESPN. See your Yankees live before it's too late by grabbing some tickets right HERE on TGP. You can also follow @GreedyStripes on Twitter and search for The Greedy Pinstripes on Facebook to chat with us during the game. Or you can leave comments in the comments section and interact with Yankees fans across the country.

Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your evening and weekend.

The Red Sox and Three Game Winning Streaks... Meme


True, at least up to date this season. All this trash talking may be a reverse jinx, only time will tell. Enjoy the game Yankees family and let's sweep those Sox so David Ortiz has something to complain about.

I've Got Til 5! - The Cast of Major League

I didn't write a post for this column last week, so to make up for it I'm giving you an extra long version of I've Got Til 5!. And for that post I think I came up with a pretty cool subject.

If you haven't seen the movie Major League I have one thing to say...

"Why the hell not?!?!"

That was the situation my girlfriend was in until a few nights ago. I guess that was partially my fault, since... as a baseball fan... I should have made sure she'd seen this masterpiece of cinema. I mean, it has everything... comedy, drama, great acting, original story, and it's about baseball. The Yankees are the villains in this movie, even though it came out in 1989 and that season the Bombers finished the season 14.5 games behind the American League East Champion Toronto Blue Jays (note: the Indians were 16 games out of 1st). And you know what? That's okay with me. As you all should know... I've come to embrace the "Evil Empire" moniker.

While watching the movie I started to wonder what happened to the actors after Major League came out, and after taking a look decided to share some things with you.


Jake Taylor - Tom Berenger

Along with the "not horrible" Major League II, Berenger was in the very cool movie Training Day. He also had small parts in Born on the Fourth of July, Cheers, Inception, and other movies and TV shows I've never heard of or know little about. I should note that his knees seemed to be okay in these other acting appearances.

Tom Berenger has actually been married four times, and has a total of six children.


Ricky Vaughn - Charlie Sheen

Other than the Charlie Harper character (he should have worn an Indians jersey with the number "99" on the back instead of the bowling shirt), best known from the TV show Two and a Half Men, he's done little since leaving Spin City in 2002 (note: I loved that show). After Major League Sheen did play Aramis in the 1993 version of The Three Muskateers (love) and worked with his brother in a little movie called Men At Work.

I think you guys have seen or read about the exploits of the man with tiger's blood running through his veins.


Roger Dorn - Corbin Bernsen

Corbin Bernsen was a busy man after Major League, acting in 174 more TV shows and movies (five of them have yet to be released). Unfortunately, except for the Major League sequels, none of the TV shows or movies he was in stands out. Even with all that work, he didn't risk injury or the displacement of his house.

Bernsen has over 8,000 snow globes, giving him one of the largest snow globe collections in the world.


Rachel Phelps - Margaret Whitton

Other than Major League II, I haven't heard of any of the other movies and TV shows she's acted in. But due to her exploits as the owner of the Indians I don't think many places were willing to give her a job.

But it doesn't matter how successful her acting career has been, because she's a Yankees fan!


Lou Brown - James Gammon

James Gammon made appearances in Grey's Anatomy, Monk, Crossing Jordan, Nash Bridges, Point Break, Natural Born Killers (thumbs up), and Wyatt Earp (thumbs up). Sam Shepard, best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Chuck Yeager in the film The Right Stuff, considered Gammon one of the best actors alive.

Sadly, the former Indians manager passed away in July of 2010.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Gammon.


Lynn Wells - Rene Russo

I don't know how she could have thought about marrying that lawyer over Jack freakin' Taylor, but she did make some good decisions by appearing in movies like Thor 1 & 2, Lethal Weapon 3 & 4, Ransom, and Tin Cup (big thumbs up).

She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter.


Willie Mays Hayes - Wesley Snipes

Along with having been the star of the Blade series, Snipes will be in the new The Expendables movie coming out later this year. He probably didn't take any steroids for the roll, but his character Bobby Rayburn in the movie The Fan (with Robert De Niro) reminded me of Barry Bonds. Snipes acted in a number of good movies, along with To Wong Foo: Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, Murder at 1600, US Marshalls, Demolition Man, Rising Sun, White Men Can't Jump, and the list goes on.

Snipes' apartment was destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers during the September 11 attacks. Luckily, he was on the West Coast at the time.

Charlie Donovan - Charles Cyphers

Charlie Cypers may not have acted in any big movies since Major League, but he's appeared in JAG, ER, Seinfeld, The George Wendt Show, The George Carlin Show, Murder She Wrote, and Jake and the Fatman.


Eddie Harris - Chelcie Ross

Chelcie Ross probably didn't need any Crisco, Bardol, Vagisil, or snot for any of his acting performances after Major League. I don't know many of the shows or movies he was in after Major League, but his performance as Senator Baynard in The Last Boy Scout was pretty darn good, and I'm a big fan of that flick.

Ross actually served in Vietnam as an officer in the Air Force.


Pedro Cerrano - Dennis Haysbert

While he did make some acting appearances in shows and movies like 24 and Mr. Baseball, a lot of the work Haysbert has done since Major League was in voice-acting, including doing so in video games like Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, Call of Duty: Finest Hour, and 24: The Game. And he's got six more acting roles coming up .

Even though Haysbert was offered numerous athletic scholarships, he chose to pursue acting.


Pepper Leach - Andy Romano

Romano may not have been in any blockbusters since he was an assistant coach for the Indians in Major League, but he was in the movie Pump Up the Volume, and that's pretty damn cool.


Harry Doyle - Bob Uecker

If you loved his commentary for the Indians then you can still hear Mr. Uecker announcing Milwaukee Brewers games on the radio on WTMJ. He was actually inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 2011.

Bob hosted two different general sports shows called Bob Uecker's Wacky World of Sports (later became The Lighter Side of Sports with Mike Golic) and Bob Uecker's War of the Stars. He even made a few appearances in the WWF, including being the ring announcer for Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania 3 in front of over 93,000 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan.

But I'll always remember his role in the show Mr. Belvedere, and it's theme song will run through my head...