Friday, May 2, 2014

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Rays 5/2


The New York Yankees will host the Tampa Bay Rays tonight in the first game of a three game set this weekend at Yankee Stadium. The pitching matchup for tonight is Vidal Nuno for the Yankees and David Price for the Rays and the game will be played at 7:05 pm ET. The game will be televised on the YES Network, MLB Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Join us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes where we are always up for a good Yankees baseball discussion, whether we agree with you or not. If twitter is not your thing then feel free to leave us a line in the comments section of the site. We have a great set of guys in there so be sure to check that out. You can also get your Yankees tickets right here on the blog for this game and every Yankees game so be sure to check that out if your in the market for some live Yankees baseball.

Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy your weekend.

Joel Hanrahan Comes Off The Yankees Board


The Yankees are the favorites to sign Joel Hanrahan for their bullpen.... aaaaaannnnnndddd's it's gone. The Yankees were said to be the favorites to sign Hanrahan to solidify the bullpen but missed out on the opportunity as Hanrahan signed with the Detroit Tigers today. Would have been a nice signing but not the end of the world, especially for a one year deal and only a max of $3 million if all incentives are reached.

Tampa Bay Rays Attendance Problems... Meme


It is definitely a good thing that this game is being played in Yankee Stadium or we would have a ton of empty seats tonight for the game. MLB The Show really is the most realistic game in the history of baseball games isn't it?

I've Got Til 5! - Disappointing Players In April

(It's 5:00pm somewhere)

While it may seem hard to be disappointed with a team that finished April in first place in their division, a -11 run differential tells you a different story. This is a team that needs to play a heck of a lot better if they hope to return to the postseason in 2014 and beyond.

So who are the top five players to blame for the team's poor start? Let's take a look...


1. CC Sabathia

A 5.11 ERA and a 3-3 record is not what you want out of your ace, however I don't think anybody actually believes Sabathia is the Yankees' ace anyway. Either way, I expect a lot better out of CC. In his first three starts he had only walked three hitters, while striking out 21, but he'd also given up 14 runs on five homers in just 19 innings. CC's fourth start of the year was pretty good (7 IP, 1 ER), which gave Yankees fans some hope, but his last start made us all groan once again (5 IP, 4 R)


2. Brian Roberts

I don't think we should have expected much out of Brian Roberts, but it's still a disappointment that he hasn't given the Yankees more. Thanks to a batting line of .222/.321/.292, he's the worst hitter out of the Yankees' regulars. Like I said, though, this is a guy that only hit .231/.289/.344 in his previous three seasons (133 games), so this is hardly a surprise.


3. Ivan Nova

Before getting injured, leading to Tommy John surgery, Nova was having a very disappointing season. His ERA was 8.27, and he only had one quality start out of the four he gave the Yankees. Thankfully, that one quality start was a nice one against the Red Sox, in which Ivan went 7.1 innings while giving up just two runs. I hope he comes back strong, and we can chalk up his poor start to 2014 on the elbow, but either way Ivan was disappointing.


4. Brian McCann

When the Yankees signed McCann, who has a career batting line of .277/.350/.473 to go along with averaging 20 home runs a season, I think we all expected more than this. Brian's batting line in April was a pathetic .224/.267.353. Teams have been deploying the dreaded shift against him, but McCann has shown the ability to beat the shift. So hopefully this has just been an adjustment period, and the guy the Yankees hoped they signed in the offseason shows up.


5. Hiroki Kuroda

After two seasons with an ERA of 3.31, Yankees fans thought they'd get something better out of Hiro than they did in April. Last month Kuroda's ERA was a measly 5.28, and his triple-slash against was .288/.323/.483. For a guy that's been hot at the beginning of the season, and cools off the last couple of months, this is not what Yankees fans want to see.


I'm sure you can come up with more than one honorable mention, but I wanted to add Michael Pineda's stupidity to this list. Not officially, of course, as that would make a total of six and that's a "no-no". But it's really too bad that Pineda had to be so blatant with the pine tar.

Preview: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 5/2


The New York Yankees will host the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend at Yankee Stadium in a three game set with their division rivals. The Yankees will send Vidal Nuno to the mound as the Yankees look to beat the Rays David Price for the second time in this early season. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network, and MLB TV and can be heard on WFAN.

Nuno is making his third start of the season after breaking camp with the Yankees out of the bullpen and looks to be sharper and better overall than he was last time out. Nuno  allowed three earned runs in 4.1 IP in his last start against the Los Angeles Angels where he got a no decision. His first start was against these Tampa Bay Rays though on April 20, Easter Sunday, and blanked the Rays over five innings for a victory.

Price has given up at least six runs each in his last two starts including that 10-2 loss last time he pitched against the Yankees at home in Tampa. Price has allowed at least one home run in his last four starts and is heading to a home run friendly ballpark in the Bronx so let's hope the Yankees jump on him early and often tonight.

Go Yankees!!

Can't Predict Baseball: Knoblauch Hit With Quarters


On this day in 1923 the Washington Senators' pitcher Walter Johnson threw his amazing 100th shutout of his career against the New York Yankees. Johnson beat the Yankees 3-0 and would finish with 110 career shutouts in his 21 season major league career.

On this day in 1976 a shoving match between the Yankees Lou Piniella and the Red Sox Carlton Fisk started  after a home plate collision. The benches would clear and a brawl would ensue where Yankee third basemen Graig Nettles and Boston's pitcher Bill Lee fought so hard that Lee suffered a separated left throwing shoulder. A fight over a home plate collision would effect, and effectively end, the pitching career for Lee. Was is worth it?

On this day in 1995 Mo Vaughn and John Valentin hit grand slams in consecutive innings to account for all eight runs in a Red Sox 8-0 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. What is interesting is the Red Sox teammates were also teammates for the Seton Hall University baseball team.


On this day in 2001 over 40 fans were ejected from the game in the Metrodome after fans were throwing coins, plastic beer bottles, and golf balls at Yankees left fielder Chuck Knoblauch. The game was delayed 12 minutes and the game was nearly forfeited after the former Twin and current Yankee player was assaulted by the fans. The Twins would win the game 4-2.

Brendan Ryan Expected Back Tuesday vs. Angels


The New York Yankees are expecting Brendan Ryan to make his 2014 season debut on Tuesday in some capacity against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Ryan has been on a minor league rehab assignment and trying to get the Yankees mandated 40-50 at bats before being activated off the disabled list. Ryan started out in Tampa with the Tampa Yankees and has been moved up to the AA Trenton Thunder for the weekend. Ryan is somewhere around 20 at bats by my unofficial count so he could theoretically get close to 40 at bats by the end of the weekend and Monday.

The Yankees cannot call up Ryan until Tuesday, without another roster move anyway, because Michael Pineda cannot be added to the disabled list while on suspension for using pine tar against the Boston Red Sox. Pineda was suspended for 10 games and with the rain out and the game being pushed to June with the Seattle Mariners the 10th game for Pineda is Monday against the Angels.

Pineda will be added to the disabled list on Tuesday before the game and the Yankees can finally make a roster move. New York will have to play with a 24 man roster tonight, all weekend, and on Monday due to Pineda being a big dummy. With Dean Anna down in AAA with Scranton it looks like Ryan is finally ready to be the back up for Derek Jeter.

Quick Hit: It's Time To Bury The Rays


I know it's early and May just started but is it possible to bury the Rays with a series win or sweep this weekend? Probably not but we can make this even more difficult for Tampa who is struggling to get out of the cellar of the American League East. The Rays are coming off a double header with the Boston Red Sox yesterday after a rain out and should have a short bullpen. The way the Yankees make this a painful weekend for Tampa is to get into that bullpen and get David Price the hell out of the game tonight.

With Vidal Nuno, Masahiro Tanaka, and CC Sabathia taking the ball we can definitely make some noise this weekend, so let's do it.

Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 5/1


RiverDogs Sting GreenJackets to Win Series
Charleston wins series with a shutout after Augusta takes completion of suspended game

CHARLESTON, SC - Following a loss in the completion of a suspended game, the Charleston RiverDogs took a series victory by defeating the Augusta GreenJackets 2-0 in a seven-inning contest on Thursday night in at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in South Atlantic League action. Earlier in the day, Augusta had a 6-2 win to finish a game that started on Wednesday before weather intervened. The attendance for game one was 5,355. For game two, 3,396 were present.
The RiverDogs are now 13-13 and the GreenJackets drop to 13-14. Charleston won the series by a 2-1 advantage.
The series finale was a tightly-contested pitchers' duel. Augusta starter Keury Mella retired the lineup in order to begin his outing and faced the minimum through five frames. Jaron Long made his first career start for the RiverDogs and stranded four runners in four innings pitched. Philip Walby relieved Long and was scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the RiverDogs picked up a 2-0 advantage. Jose Rosario bounced a leadoff single into left field. John Murphy had a sacrifice bunt before Eduardo de Oleo hit a two-run home run off Mella for his third blast of the season.
Walby registered his first win as a RiverDog and evened his record at 1-1. Mella suffered his first loss, sliding to 2-1. Nick Rumbelow completed the shutout with a scoreless seventh inning and claimed his fourth save in as many chances. de Oleo caught all three pitchers in the win.
Thursday's action began with a suspended game that resumed with no score in the bottom of the first inning. After a scoreless opening frame, Augusta's Leonardo Rojas brought in two runs in the second inning on a bases-loaded single for a 2-0 GreenJackets lead. Charleston cut the deficit to 2-1 when Murphy scored during a groundout in the home half of the second.
Augusta added three more runs to boost its lead to 5-1 through the fifth inning. Jeremy Sy scored in the third on a double from Brandon Bednar. In the top of the fifth, Sy and Bednar came in on a Tyler Horan double and a Christian Arroyo sacrifice fly, respectively.
The RiverDogs and GreenJackets each posted one more run in the contest. Charleston's Kale Sumner hit his second RiverDogs home run to bring the deficit to 5-2 in the sixth. During the eighth, Ryan Tuntland tripled and was driven in on a single by Cristian Paulino.
Steven Messner earned the victory for Augusta and improved to 2-1. Rookie Davis was charged with the loss and is 2-2 with Charleston.
BALLPARK FUN: As part of Charleston County School District Educators Night, Jaime Cunningham of Liberty Hill Academy was named the 2014 Teacher of the Year and received a one-year lease for a new Mini Cooper from Mini of Charleston. The Ashley View Pub was packed on another Budweiser Thirsty Thursday, presented by 95SX, which featured $1 drafts, DJ Natty Heavy, and a wing-eating contest courtesy of Wild Wing Café.
COMING UP: Charleston opens a four-game series against the Delmarva Shorebirds on Friday evening at 7:05pm. RiverDogs RHP Luis Severino (0-1, 1.89 ERA) will pitch against Shorebirds Sebastian Vader (2-1, 2.84 ERA). Wear red to the game on ISPHI Red Shirt Friday and save $1 off your ticket purchase at the box office or donate that dollar to Canines for Veterans and Folds of Honors. Head to the Ashley View Pub for $3 Aluminum Pint Night from Miller and Coors and stick around after the contest for a postgame fireworks display. Tickets may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or on-line at www.riverdogs.com. If fans cannot make it to the ballpark, they are encouraged to tune in to all the action this year both home and away worldwide on www.riverdogs.com and locally on 1250 WTMA, the new radio home for RiverDogs baseball.
Box Score- April 30 (suspended game): http://atmilb.com/1koUSfW
Box Score- May 1 (seven-inning game): http://atmilb.com/1ub453j

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs. The original post can be seen HERE

Trenton Thunder Game Recap 5/1

Thunder Rally Behind Bleich for 2-1 Win in Game 2

MANCHESTER, NH - The Trenton Thunder capped off a series-win over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats with a win in Game 2 of Thursday's doubleheader, 2-1.

Trailing 1-0 in the fifth inning, the Thunder used a leadoff walk by Carmen Angelini to get the rally started. The next batter was Taylor Dugas who hit an RBI triple up the right-centerfield gap to score Angelini from first base to tie the game.

With Dugas at first base and no outs, Dan Fiorito singled him home for Trenton's first lead of the game, and they would not look back down the stretch.

Starting pitcher Jeremy Bleich (3-2) got the win for Trenton by allowing one run in 6.0 innings on just two hits and one walk. He retired the final 11 batters he faced and needed just 77 pitches to get through his outing. In the seventh inning, the Thunder turned the ball over to Branden Pinder for his third save of the season.

Trenton returns home for a three-game series against the Richmond Flying Squirrels starting Friday night at ARM & HAMMER Park. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with the Trenton Thunder pre-game show beginning at 6:50 p.m. on 91.3 FM WTSR or online at www.trentonthunder.com.

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

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/2


On this day in 1939 Lou Gehrig told the Yankees manager Joe McCarthy that he was benching himself "for the good of the team" ending his iron man streak. The streak began in 1925 and ended at 2,130 consecutive games.


On this day in 1958 the New York Yankees threatened to broadcast their games nationwide if the National League went ahead with it's plans to broadcast Los Angeles Dodger and San Francisco Giant games in New York City. This was obviously just the beginning.


On this day in 1984 Don Mattingly had the only Yankee hit breaking up a perfect game bid for LaMarr Hoyt. Hoyt faced the minimum of 27 batters in a Chicago White Sox victory 3-0 over the Yankees.


On this day in 2001 Paul O'Neill joined the 2,000 hit club as the 215th member when he hit a single in the ninth inning off of Twins relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins.