Thursday, February 27, 2014

Single Game Trenton Thunder Tickets On Sale Saturday


(TRENTON, NJ) -  Finally, there's a sign that Spring is coming. Single game tickets for the 2014 season of Trenton Thunder baseball will go on sale this Saturday, March 1 at 9:30am. Tickets may be reserved online at trentonthunder.com, by phone at 609-394-3300 or in person at ARM & HAMMER Park between 9:30am and 2:30pm. 
Fans will once again find affordable pricing at the box office with tickets starting at just $10. Prices for Season Tickets, Pic-A-Plans, Mini Plans, Group tickets, as well as adult 100 and 200 level seats remain the same for the sixth consecutive year.
2014 ADVANCE TICKET PRICING
Full Season Ticket (71 Games): $650
Half Season Ticket (36 Games): $350
Pic-A-Plan: start at 10 games for $100
Mini Plans: start at 5 games for $55
100 Level (lower) Seat: $12
200 Level (upper) Seat: $11
200 Level Jr/Sr Seat: $10
Group Seats (20 or more tickets): $8
The Thunder will begin defense of their 2013 Eastern League Championship on Thursday, April 3 at ARM & HAMMER Park against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto). All five and six game Mini Plans and 10 or more game Pic-A-Plans include a free ticket to Opening Night as well as free food at each game, a free hat and more.
For Trenton Thunder giveaways, promotions, theme nights and post-game fireworks shows, please visit, http://www.trentonthunder.com/promotions.
Fans should note that the section labels at ARM & HAMMER Park have been changed. The lower "Club" level sections are now numbers in the 100's, the upper "Pavilion" level sections are now numbers in the 200's and luxury suites are numbered from one to 15. The team believes the new system is more instinctual and will make it easier for fans who are unfamiliar with the layout to find their seats. SEATING CHART

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder organization. The original article can be seen HERE

D'Backs Looking To Trade SS's For Young Catching

The New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks look like absolutely perfect trading partners going forward after the word came down that the D Backs are willing to trade away some of their shortstop depth. The Yankees need a shortstop, especially for next season and beyond. The Diamondbacks are said to be looking for young catching in return for their shortstops. The Yankees have an absolute logjam at catcher right now. Let's make a deal?

The Diamondbacks have Didi Gregorius and Chris Owings in the major leagues already and think that both can be major league capable shortstops. Arizona also have three shortstops in their Top 30 prospects list in Nick Ahmed, Sergio Alcantara, and Jose Munoz waiting in the wings. The Yankees have Gary Sanchez down in Trenton, Austin Romine and John Ryan Murphy likely headed to Scranton Wilkes Barre, and Brian McCann and Francisco Cervelli likely headed to the 25 man roster. Would the D Backs give up Gregorius for a package involving Romine, Sanchez, or Murphy?


The Diamondbacks asked for Travis d'Arnaud from the Mets and were turned down and do not see Kevin Plawecki as a suitable option for their shortstops. Plawecki projects to be a .280 hitter with 15 or so home runs per season with an average arm and is solid behind the plate. Plawecki sounds an awful like what Romine is and projects to be so he is likely out. Does Murphy or Sanchez compare to d'Arnaud better? Sure, but I am not entirely sold they will be enough.

Trading Sanchez to Arizona does not help them, they need players now in case Miguel Montero's decline continues and it doesn't help us much either. Trading Sanchez does not help the logjam much as we still have two very suitable catchers in Murphy and Romine down in AAA. It looks like it is John Ryan Murphy to the Diamondbacks or bust, and unfortunately I think it will be a bust. I would absolutely trade Murphy for Gregorius though so let's hope for the best.


FOX Releases 2014 Broadcast Schedule & Blackouts


FOX has released their 2014 broadcast schedule that is showing at least 11 Yankees games, three of them on FOX and eight of them on the new FOX Sports 1 network. Some late September dates are still TBA, probably for pennant race purposes, so we could see the Yankees land a few more games on those dates if things are interesting down the stretch.

The best news FOX released today was that they are reducing blackout restrictions with MLB Extra Innings and MLB.tv. What this means is fans like myself, who live in Atlanta, Georgia, are now able to watch most of the Yankees Saturday afternoon games if they are not broadcast on the YES Network. Under the old rules fans like myself were stuck watching what FOX thought I should be watching, which was usually the Atlanta Braves or the Boston Red Sox, so this part excites me.

HERE is the complete FOX broadcast list for 2014.

New York Yankees Spring Training News & Notes 2/27


As we all probably know by now the Yankees dropped another game to the Pittsburgh Pirates today in the Grapefruit League. Probably not the way the Yankees wanted to start Derek Jeter's farewell tour, he made his spring debut today, but it's just spring. On to the other news and notes from the day.

Eduardo Nunez ate some bad salmon and blamed that on why he was not feeling well yesterday, Nunez says he is now feeling 100% after his 24 hour stomach bug. Eating some bad fish is better than the flu any day.

The Yankees have added Addison Maruszak to their spring camps and have got him a locker with his name above it. It was thought that Addison was just up for the day after being called up to replace the sick Nunez but he seems to be here to stay, at least for now.

David Herndon threw a simulated game today pitching to Jose Gil and facing Antoan Richardson and Zelous Wheeler.

Chad Jennings once again with the assignments for the day

Today’s bullpen sessions
Brian Gordon (to Francisco Arcia)
Bryan Mitchell (to Roman Rodriguez)
Shane Greene (to Pete O’Brien)
Vidal Nuno (to Jose Gil)
Matt Thornton (to Austin Romine)
· Batting practice groups (starts at 10:15):
Group 1: Derek Jeter, Brian Roberts, Ichiro Suzuki, Francisco Cervelli
Group 2: Russ Canzler, Brett Gardner, Kelly Johnson, Mason Williams
Group 3: Adonis Garcia, Jose Pirela, Brendan Ryan, Austin Romine
Group 4: Ramon Flores, Corban Joseph, Zelous Wheeler, John Ryan Murphy
Group 5: Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Alfonso Soriano, Brian McCann
Group 6: Eduardo Nunez, Scott Sizemore, Mark Teixeira, Pete O’Brien
Group 7: Zoilo Almonte, Dean Anna, Antoan Richardson, Gary Sanchez
Group 8: Yangervis Solarte, Francisco Arcia, Jose Gil, Addison Maruszak
· Today’s second string: C John Ryan Murphy, 1B Jose Gil, 2B Corban Joseph, SS Brendan Ryan, 3B Zelous Wheeler, LF Jose Pirela, CF Ramon Flores, RF Adonis Garcia.
· Today’s available relievers: Jim Miller, Chris Leroux, Mark Montgomery, Robert Coello, Yoshinori Tateyama
· Tomorrow’s travel squad for Lakeland
Pitchers: Dellin Betances, Bruce Billings, Dan Burawa, Preston Claiborne, Matt Daley, Brian Gordon, Shawn Kelley, Fred Lewis, Adam Warren, Chase Whitley
Catchers: Francisco Arcia, Jose Gil, Brian McCann, Pete O’Brien, Austin Romine, Gary Sanchez
Infielders: Dean Anna, Russ Canzler, Corban Joseph, Eduardo Nunez, Jose Pirela, Brendan Ryan, Yangervis Solarte, Zelous Wheeler
Outfielders: Zoilo Almonte, Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Ramon Flores, Adonis Garcia, Antoan Richardson, Mason Williams
From minor league camp: Addison Maruszak, Caleb Cotham, Zach Nuding, Diego Moreno

Phelps solid as Yankees fall to Pirates again

David Phelps gave up 1 run and struck out 4 today as the Yankees lost their first Grapefruit league home game to the Pirates, 8-2. Overall, Phelps was good in this one, retiring 6 of the 8 guys he faced, but still, he did give up a home run and a double, something that's never looked at favorably. 

Anyway, some notable Yankees who played in this one were Derek Jeter, who went 0-for-2, Brian Roberts, who also went 0-for-2, Brett Gardner, who went 1-for-1 with a walk, Kelly Johnson, who went 1-for-2 with an RBI Double, and John Ryan Murphy, who went 1-for-2 with another RBI Double. So yea, like yesterday's game, this contest was a loss, but since it wasn't really the starters' fault I could care less what the scoreboard said at the end.

Exclusive Interview With Mike Ashmore


Okay so you remember last week when I said that the Mitch Hilligoss interview was the last of our Throwback Thursday posts? Well apparently I am a dirty rotten liar because I ran across this interview with now former Trenton Thunder beat writer Mike Ashmore and wanted to share it again with the readers. Enjoy and wish Mike a farewell as he will not be covering the Trenton Thunder anymore this season. 

The Greedy Pinstripes: Where did you get your start in writing and journalism?

Mike Ashmore:
I always wanted to do this, I just never really knew how to get into
it.  Always liked sports, always felt like I was a good writer...just
never knew how to put the two together.  Anyway, I was taking some
journalism classes at Raritan Valley Community College with the
Somerset Patriots beat writer for the Hunterdon County Democrat at the
time, Scott Stanchak.  I happened to be looking at some photos I'd
taken at a Patriots game, and he asked me if I'd be willing to help
him out during the season...so I got my start doing photos for the
original PatriotsBaseball.com, and branched out into features late
during my first season in 2003. 

TGP: Did you always want to be a journalist/blogger?

MA:            
Kind of addressed this in the first one, but yes.  And I hate the term
blogger.  There are people with blogs who can write circles around me,
no doubt...but there's a difference -- to me, anyway -- between a beat
writer with a blog and someone who is unfortunately not granted the
same access.  Doesn't make their opinion any less (or more) valid, but
"blogger" has always felt like a derogatory term to me. 

TGP: You're name is everywhere now. I think I even heard it on ESPN one time. How awesome is that?

MA:          
It doesn't suck.  But the reality of it is, it's cool for a little
while but doesn't do a hell of a lot for your career.  It's something
neat to add to my resume and have my friends bust my balls about, but
it ends there.  I'm exceptionally grateful to be in a position to
where things like that can happen to me, of course...and maybe it's
because I'm a little later on in my career, but it's not a super big
thing. 

TGP: How long have you been doing this? By my count you are in your 14th year of covering sports and 11th as a Trenton Thunder beat writer.

MA:
While I do joke about being an old man frequently, I'm thankfully not
that far into things.  I started when I was 20 in 2003...this is my
tenth year overall and my ninth of doing the Thunder.  It's my seventh
year as the beat writer for the Democrat, my fifth doing the Thunder
Thoughts blog and my third backing up Josh Norris with The Trentonian. 

TGP: How excited are you about the possibility of Mason Williams, Angelo Gumbs, Dante Bichette Jr, Tyler Austin, Gary Sanchez, etc all being on the same Trenton Thunder team?

MA:
I honestly don't look that far ahead.  Of course, having a
prospect-laden team will be fun.  But there's also a lot that's been
made about the current squad being essentially devoid of top guys for
most of the year, and this may be the most fun team I've been around
in Trenton in a while.  And pitching excites me more than anything
else...none of those guys you mentioned will be on the bump. 

TGP: I know you have to be unbiased, or at least appear that way, but be honest do you ever find yourself favoring certain prospects over others?

MA:
I always try to write in a way so that nobody would ever know what my
favorite teams and so on were if you didn't know already.  I've always
admitted that I was a Red Sox fan for a while -- long story...the
Thunder were affiliated with Boston during the years I went as a
fan...but at the same time, you do this for long enough, and the fan
and the fun both get sucked right out of you -- but I don't think you
could ever tell that was the case while it was the case.  I can't
exactly pinpoint the time where I kind of stopped being a fan...but I
can tell you that I barely even watched the second World Series win
because I didn't really care.  So it was a little bit before then.  So
as far as I go, there aren't any real team biases...even in my NHL
Playoff stuff...I'm still a big Rangers fan, but I took a lot of pride
in the fact that you'd never be able to guess that if you read my
coverage of the Eastern Conference Finals. 

To answer your original question...I root for a few things...quick
games, my story and good people.  But I don't favor one guy over
another in my coverage.  If anything, I base who I focus more on based
on who the fans are more interested in. 

TGP: Most famous person in your cell phone?

MA: 
There's a good amount of big leaguers in there, but nothing too crazy... 

TGP: Most embarrassing song/artist in your ipod?

MA: 
I'd think the Mashmore98 Twitter handle -- at least the "98" part --
should be a real good indication of that.  Pleeeeeenty of bad 80's
stuff and boy bands, etc. 

I've been reading your blog for almost 4 years now and I appreciate all the hard work and videos and such that you put into it. Seeing a guy like you get to where you are at, and where you could go in the future, makes me want to do this and succeed so much more. Thank you for taking the time to do this interview for us and our readers and we wish you nothing but the best in the future in all aspects of your life. Keep growing that red playoff beard buddy!

I Just Love This Picture, LOL!!


Follow Mike on twitter @mashmore98

How Many Wins Will The Yankees Get In 2014?

How Many Wins Will The Yankees Get In 2014?
  
pollcode.com free polls 
The Yankees spent over $500 million this offseason, how many wins is all that money worth? You tell us.

Pittsburgh Pirates @ New York Yankees 2/27


The Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates play their second games of the spring this afternoon with the expected debut of Derek Sanderson Jeter. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on the YES Network and MLB Network on a delay. Let's see the Yankees win one for the captain.

Meet A Prospect: Hal Steinbrenner


Harold Zieg "Hal" Steinbrenner was born on December 3, 1969 to George and Elizabeth Steinbrenner in Culver, Indiana. Hal is the younger son of the former owner of the New York Yankees, George Steinbrenner, and has two sister siblings in Jessica Steinbrenner and Jennifer Steinbrenner Swindal. Steinbrenner attended Culver Military Academy and then transferred to and graduated from Williams College in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He also got a Masters degree in Business Administration at the University of Florida in 1994 which would take him far in his current role.


From 2007 to the present George Steinbrenner stepped down from the day to day operations of the New York Yankees and the job was left to both Hank and Hal Steinbrenner. It would take until November, 8 of the 2008 season before Major League Baseball owners approved the shift of power to the Steinbrenner Brothers.  On September 28, 2007 Hal was elected as the Chariman of the Board of Yankee Global Enterprises which is the parent company of the New York Yankees. Hal is also currently the chairman and the CEO of Steinbrenner Hotel Properties while holding a seat on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of Tampa Bay.


Yankee Stadium Legacy: #32 Whitey Ford (Again)


Whitey Ford held the Yankees franchise all time leader title in career wins with 236 wins. "The Chairman of the Board" anchored the Yankees rotation during the 1950's and 1960's and won the AL ERA title in 1956 with a 2.47 ERA. Ford was lights out in 1958 as he posted a 2.01 ERA, a personal best. In July of that year Ford threw three consecutive shutouts.

32 days until Yankees Opening Day

Prospects Month: Top 28 Yankees Prospects List #2


Continuing our look at The Greedy Pinstripes Top 28 prospects list as a part of Prospects Month we name our #2 prospect, Rafael DePaula!

Here is the complete up to date list. Check back every day as the list fills out and we continue our look at the prospects in the New York Yankees system during Prospects Month here on TGP.

1.
2. Rafael DePaula
3. JR Murphy
4. Slade Heathcott
5. Tyler Austin
6. Mason Williams
7. Ian Clarkin
8. Eric Jagielo
9. Greg Bird
10. Manny Banuelos
11. Jose Campos
12. Gosuke Katoh
13. Shane Greene
14. Jose Ramirez
15. Peter O'Brien
16. Aaron Judge
17. Ty Hensley
18. Luis Severino
19. Abiatal Avelino
20. Rob Refsnyder
21. Nik Turley
22. Cito Culver
23. Ramon Flores
24. Mark Montgomery
25. Rookie Davis
26. Jake Cave
27. Ben Gamel
28. Angelo Gumbs

Exclusive Interview w/ Yankees Tyler Austin


The Greedy Pinstripes brings you the latest interview with Yankees prospect Tyler Austin, that's a big name for anyone who follows Yankees prospects. It's a little on the short side but that is perfectly fine because I would rather him be rehabbing that wrist rather than typing on a computer. Enjoy!!

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? 
Tyler Austin : Yes sir I've always wanted to be a pro ball player.  

TGP: What team did you root for growing up as a kid?
TA: Yankees  
TGP: Favorite player(s) growing up?
TA: Derek Jeter and Andrew Jones 

TGP: Your biggest inspiration when it came to baseball? 
TA: I was inspired from people telling me I couldn't do it my whole life. And I don't take no for answer so when people would say that it drove me even more to make my dreams come true.  

TGP: Did you have a preference to what team you wanted to sign with?  
TA: No sir I didn't really care where I went. But it made it even sweeter cause it was with the Yankees who have always been my favorite team.  

TGP: What a lot of people did not know, including myself , was that you were a center fielder as a young player. Did you always want to be an outfielder for the Yankees? 
TA: I didn't really care where they put me. No matter where it is I'm gonna go out each and every day and give it everything I have.  

TGP: Whose idea/call was it to make you a corner infielder rather then an outfielder? 
TA: I'm not sure whose idea it was. 

TGP: How hard is it being away from your significant other while on the road and such? 
TA: It's really hard being away from my family and girlfriend. But I talk to them every night and I'm just thankful I have them in my life and supporting me through my good times and bad.  

TGP: Favorite moment as a Yankees prospect? 
TA: Winning the New York Penn league championship 

TGP: Who was the best prospect in the Yankees system that you ever played with? 
TA: Mason Williams  

TGP: Do you keep in touch with any other current or former Yankees prospects or coaches? 
TA: Yes sir I do  

TGP: Hardest part of being a prospect? 
TA: Nothing is really hard about it. I still have to go out there and play each and every game the right way no matter if I am a prospect or I'm not. 

 TGP: A lot of people don't know you battled cancer, so first off congrats on beating that, how was that whole experience?
TA: Thank you!! It was tough going through that I was only 18 years old and didn't really know how to handle something like that at such a young age. But I just kept faith in the lord and new everything would be okay if I kept the faith in him.  

TGP: Most famous person in your cell phone? 
TA: Justin Maxwell  

TGP: Most embarrassing song/artist in your iPod?
TA: Baby by just Bebier haha 

Thank you very much Tyler for taking the time to do this interview for us, it is truly appreciated. We hope you come back strong and healthy in 2014 and make people regret leaving you off of various prospects lists this season.

This Day In New York Yankees History 2/27


On this day in 1912 the Yankees announced that they would begin wearing pinstripes on their uniform, something they obviously still do today. The Yankees wouldn't actually start physically wearing them until April 22, 1915 but either way it became a reality.


On this day in 1985 Toby Harrah is traded by the Yankees to the Texas Rangers for outfielder Billy Sample and a player to be named later. The 36 year old veteran infielder was originally a member of the Texas Rangers and will become the club's manager for one year in 1992.