Sunday, May 4, 2014

Sabathia struggles early as Rays take rubber game, 5-1

CC Sabathia gave up 5 earned runs in 3.2 innings and the offense scratched across just one earned run against Tampa Bay Starter Erik Bedard today as the Yankees surprisingly dropped the rubber game of this three-game series to the Rays, 5-1. In this start, Sabathia just could never get anyone out, giving up a 3-run inside-the-park home run to Mitch Meyer in the top of the third that pretty much ended this one's competitiveness. 

Anyway, as a I just said, the Yanks offense was awful this afternoon, scoring just once all game in the second when Yangervis Solarte drove in Mark Teixeira on a Sac Fly. Prior to that happening, the Bombers actually had runners on second and third with no outs, but as always, they weren't able to capitalize as much as they should have thanks to Kelly Johnson popping out and Brett Gardner striking out.

Still, I guess the Pinstripes did have one thing go right for them in this loss, as recently called-up veteran Alfredo Aceves tossed 5.1 innings of scoreless relief. In those frames, the former Red Sock, wearing his old #91, gave up just 3 hits, making me wonder, could he be someone capable from starting? I mean, it's possible, isn't it?

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Rays 5/4


The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays finish up a three game set this afternoon at Yankee Stadium in the series finale. The Yankees will look for a big game, not a big inning, from CC Sabathia today as he faces off with Erik Bedard for the Rays.  The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Join the conversation as we try and live tweet all Yankees games on Twitter. You can follow us there by following @GreedyStripes or by dropping us a line in the comments section of the site here. Don't be shy, we don't bite. Also you can get your Yankees tickets for this game and every Yankee game this season without even leaving the blog so definitely check that out and root, root, root for the home team live.

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

Derek Jeter Addresses The Rays Fans In New York


They cannot even show up to a game in Tampa if they were giving away tickets, does Derek Jeter really think any Tampa fans are coming to Yankee Stadium? For real though I hate facing the Tampa Bay Rays and I am glad they are going elsewhere for a while after this afternoon. Go Yankees!

Jeff Samardzija To Be Traded To The Yankees... Right..


Just a little rant before game time this afternoon so please excuse me in advanced. This is exactly why I got into the blogging and media game, morons like this guy flooding the internet with false information. I find it hard to believe that this college football wide receiver know, per "inside sources" that he cannot reveal, that the Cubs are trading their biggest trade piece in early May before say a Buster Olney, Jon Heyman, or MLB Trade Rumors? I call bulls**t and it makes me mad because I am sure there are some out there that actually believe this idiot.

Preview: New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays 5/4


The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will finish up their three game set this weekend at Yankee Stadium this afternoon in a matchup of left handed starting pitchers. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off with Erik Bedark for the Rays in the finale. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on television on the YES Network, MLB Network, and on MLB TV and can also be heard on the radio with WFAN.

CC Sabathia once again proved to be susceptible to the big inning after giving up four runs in the fifth inning against the Mariners in another loss. CC allowed nine hits in those five innings as the return of Robinson Cano was a good one if you're a Mariners fan. Sabathia beat the Tampa Bay Rays on April 17 though as the Yankees beat up on David Price so there is always that.

Bedard has made three starts for the Rays this season and is fresh off a no decision against the Boston Red Sox last time out. Bedard allowed one run in five innings against an the offensive powerhouse  and now brings his stuff to Yankee Stadium. Bedard has a career 4-5 record and a 4.43 ERA in 16 appearances, 15 of them starts, against the Yankees.

Go Yankees!!

Classic Player A vs. Player B Comparison NYY Style


This was done before yesterday's game so the numbers will be a little different but you get the general gist of it. Player A is one player on the New York Yankees that everyone on twitter, around the Yankees blogosphere, and the sports media considers to be "awesome" and Player B is a player that everyone in the world says "sucks" and is done. Interesting..

Player A:
Year Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2014 NYY 23 103 92 5 23 3 0 0 6 0 0 9 20 .250 .324 .283 .606 71
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/3/2014.


Player B:
Year Tm G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+
2014 NYY 24 94 81 13 19 3 1 0 4 4 0 11 18 .235 .323 .296 .619 74
Generated 5/3/2014.

As you can see the two players are very similar overall. 

Advantages go to Player A in hits, RBI's, and batting average. Awesome
Advantages go to Player B in runs scores, triples, stolen bases, walks, strike outs, OBP, SLG, OPS, and OPS+. Sucks

Player A is Derek Jeter
Player B is Brian Roberts

Let that sink in for a minute Yankees family. I know it's May but if that works for a 40 year old Derek Jeter who is coming off of multiple injuries then it should work for 36 year old Brian Roberts who is coming off of multiple freak injuries. Patience Yankees fans, that's all that I ask. 

Trenton Thunder Game Recap 5/3

Roller, Gamel Lead Thunder to 6-4 Win

The Thunder scored in each of the first four innings on their way to a 6-4 win over Richmond in front of 5,137 fans at ARM & HAMMER Park on Saturday night.

Flying Squirrel starter Kyle Crick walked the first two hitters he faced in the first inning and with two out, Kyle Roller dropped a base hit into right field to score Mason Williams and Brendan Ryan.

After Ben Gamel drove in Carmen Angelini with an infield single in the second inning to take a 3-0 lead, Richmond rallied for three runs in their half of the third. Thunder starter Jairo Heredia balked in a run with the bases loaded then surrendered a two-run triple to Jarrett Parker to tie the game at three

The Thunder quickly snatched the lead back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Rob Refsnyder tripled to right center to score Roller and a throwing error by Richmond shortstop Matt Duffy allowed Refsnyder to score on the play.

Roller finished 2-for-2 with three runs driven in and a walk. Yankees shortstop Brendan Ryan went 2-for-3 with a run scored and two walks in his second game with the Thunder. Ben Gamel had the Thunder's seventh three-hit game of the season with a 3-for-5 effort.

Charley Short earned his first win of the season with three innings of relief. Taylor Garrison followed with two innings of scoreless innings and Brandon Pinder struck out the side in the ninth to earn his fourth save.

The Thunder will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. The first 1,000 fans age 5-15 through the gate will get Drawstring Bags presented of Fred Beans Automotive Group. The Thunder will start LHP Manny Banuelos (0-0, 0.00), the Flying Squirrels will counter with LHP Ty Blach (1-1, 1.54). Listen live on 91.3 WTSR and TrentonThunder.com beginning at 12:45 p.m.

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

Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 5/3

Andujar Homers as Clarkin Wins Debut
Miguel Andujar caps early rally with home run while Ian Clarkin allows no runs in first start

CHARLESTON, SC - A two-run home run from Miguel Andujar and Ian Clarkin's five shutout innings in his team debut created an early lead, and the Charleston RiverDogs held back late threats from the Delmarva Shorebirds to claim a 6-5 win on Saturday evening in front of 3,596 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in South Atlantic League action.
The RiverDogs climb back to .500 at 14-14 as Delmarva drops to 13-15. This four-game series is now tied with one win apiece.
Luc Rennie matched Clarkin through the first few innings until a RiverDogs rally in the fourth. Abiatal Avelino hit a leadoff double and came in after a two-out single by Mike Ford. Andujar followed with a two-run home run, his first blast of the season, to put Charleston up 3-0.
Delmarva was scoreless until the sixth inning when a pair of runs against Omar Luis cut the difference to 3-2. Justin Viele got the Shorebirds on the board when he scored on a double play. After the twin killing, Trey Mancini brought in Gregory Lorenzo with a double to bring the Shorebirds within one.
Charleston matched Delmarva's runs in the home half of the sixth. Another two-out single from Ford extended the inning while Andujar reached on an error. A double by Michael O'Neill scored Ford for a 4-2 RiverDogs lead. The advantage became 5-2 when Andujar scored on a passed ball.
Both teams scored in the seventh inning as the contest remained close. Alex Murphy's ground rule double pushed in Austin Wynns before Hector Veloz scored on a Mike Yastrzemski single, slicing the deficit to 5-4. Avelino singled to score Gosuke Katoh and bump the Charleston lead to 6-4 during the bottom of the inning.
In the eighth inning, the Shorebirds threatened to take the lead. With two outs and the bases loaded, Wynns was forced in when Viele was hit by a pitch. Charleston's Stefan Lopez relieved Luis and needed 12 pitches to garner an inning-ending strikeout against Yastrzemski. Lopez followed with a perfect ninth inning to clinch a 6-5 RiverDogs victory.
Clarkin wins his 2014 debut and is 1-0 this season after five shutout innings with five strikeouts. Rennie was charged with the loss and falls to 0-3. Lopez earned his first save of the year.
BALLPARK FUN: Former Clemson football players Tajh Boyd and Quandon Christian each threw out a ceremonial first pitch, mingled with fans, and signed autographs at Saturday's contest. Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church highlighted Greek Heritage Night at The Joe, featuring pregame and in-game dance routines from the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church Dance Ministry. Fans can use their tickets from Saturday's game to receive free entry into the 44th Annual Charleston Greek Festival, held Friday, May 9 through Sunday, May 11.
COMING UP: Game three of this four-game set is scheduled for 5:05pm on Sunday. RiverDogs LHP Caleb Smith (2-1, 0.84 ERA) will pitch against Shorebirds RHP Austin Urban (1-2, 6.89 ERA). It's another CCPRC and Crews Subaru Kids Club Sunday, including Kids Eat Free from Pepsi, free parking for the contest, and all members of Charlie's Kids Club get in free. The RiverDogs will wear their seersucker uniforms on Seersucker Sunday and celebrity "Smokin' Chef" Michael Saboe is making pulled pork sundaes. Join the Ancient Order of Hibernians and enjoy Irish Heritage Night, too. Tickets may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or on-line atwww.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.

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

Quick Hit: Please End The Nuno Experiment Now


Before we get too involved here I want to make it very clear that I like Vidal Nuno and I want him on the team but it is becoming painfully obvious that he may not be ready to be in the starting rotation. Please end this experiment right now and put him back into the bullpen and call it a day.

Whether you are a fan of Nuno or not it makes sense to keep him around in the bullpen rather than send him down to Triple-A. Nuno could be the second lefty in the bullpen that the Yankees so covet and could be the long reliever that we have needed far too often this season. You already have the "Mexican Gangster" Alfredo Aceves up on the roster and stretched out as a starter so the replacement is already in house.

Aceves would become of the best fifth starters in the league if he pitches anything like he did in the minor leagues or anything like his first time in the Bronx and the Yankees solidify a bullpen. It makes sense and it needs to happen, but it wont.

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/4


On this day in 1931 the Yankees put Babe Ruth at first base to take some strain off his legs and moved Lou Gehrig to right field. Gehrig commits an error in right and the Senators would win the game 7-3.


On this day in 1968 the song Mrs. Robinson made its debut on the Billboard Top 40. The lyrics in the song ask "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you."


On this day in 1981 the Yankees Ron Davis set a major league mark for consecutive strikeouts by a reliever when he struck out eight consecutive Angels batters in a 4-2 New York victory. Davis came in for the seventh inning and immediately got Don Baylor to pop up and followed to strike out the rest of the batters he faced en route to a save and a Yankees victory.


On this day in 2006 Forbes magazine valued the New York Yankees at $1 billion making the Yanks the first Major League Baseball team to be valued over $1 billion. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays were valued at $209 million coming in last in the publication.


On this day in 2008 Yogi Berra was one of 15 inaugural honorees to be inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Yogi was not without a "Yogism" as he called fellow inductee Albert Einstein "a pretty smart guy," although he did not think the Nobel Prize winner for physics would have made a good MLB manager.