Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Nuno loses control early as Mets beat Yankees again, 12-7

At least McCann played well. 

Coming off last Wednesday's dominant performance in Anaheim, Vidal Nuno looked destined for a repeat performance tonight.

The young right-hander, going into this one with a 1-0 record in three starts, instead struggled from start to finish, surrendering 5 earned runs in just 4.1 innings as the Yankees were beaten by the Mets, 12-7.

The first hitter Nuno faced this evening, Chris Young, was hit by a pitch, beginning a four-run top of the first highlighted by a three-run home run from Curtis Granderson. 

At that point, the Yanks looked to be in for a long night, but an RBI Single from Mark Teixeira and a 2-run shot to right field from Brian McCann quickly brought the Pinstripes to within one. 

Their momentum, unfortunately, would stop there, as struggling reliever Alfredo Aceves surrendered four trips around the bases in his 1.2 frames of relief.

Around that time Aceves was getting roughed up, the Bombers did cross home a few more times, as Brett Gardner and Alfonso Soriano hit run-scoring singles in the fifth and sixth respectively.

The Yanks, interestingly, also scored meaningless runs in this game's eighth and ninth, when Yangervis Solarte hit his first Yankee Stadium home run of the season and McCann lined another base hit to right.

With this loss, the Pinstripes have now lost a dissapointing four consecutive games, dropping their record to a now .500 19-19.

Breaking: Chase Whitley Gets The Start Thursday

Breaking news out of Yankee land as Chase Whitley will get the start for the New York Yankees on Thursday in the finale of the Subway Series in place of CC Sabathia. Originally Joe Girardi wanted Alfredo Aceves to pitch the game but the need for him out of the bullpen eliminated those plans last night in New York. Whitley is not not he 40 man roster so a corresponding move will have to be made.

If I were a betting man this either means bad news for Ichiro Suzuki's back, Carlos Beltran's elbow, or Bruce Billings who somehow still have a 40 man roster spot. The Yankees could designate Billings for assignment and either DL one of the outfielders, send down Zoilo Almonte, or send down a Preston Claiborne.

Stay tuned.


Cashman wants more pitching, but finds it "really hard" to find right now

Going into tonight's game against the Mets, it's no secret that the Yankees are in trouble.

Baseball's second-richest team, who spent over a half billion dollars this offseason improving their roster, have started the 2014 season with 18 losses in 37 games, the new guys' lack of production and the starting rotation's inability to stay healthy a big part of those struggles.

Despite that, GM Brian Cashman still seems to believe that the team's fine, claiming in a recent NJ.com article that, while he wants more pitching, it's "really hard" to find right now. 

"Oh, I'd be open to any external options," Cashman said. "But they're really hard to find this time of year."

That may be true, but the way I look at it: when stuff's really hard to get you just gotta adjust. Not by accepting that you can't get that talented arm from a selling team, but by becoming willing to give up more. Sure, that can be dumb, but as the YES Network's John Flaherty recently said, "the can't-miss prospect is usually the guy you wanna you let go." I think that's completely true in this case, seeing as the Yanks have a team capable of winning this year if they can just pull things together.

Subway Series Game Thread: Yankees vs. Mets 5/13


The New York Yankees and the New York Mets will play the second game of their yearly Subway Series and the finale at Yankee Stadium this season tonight. The Yankees will send Vidal Nuno to the mound to face off with Zack Wheeler for the Mets. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on MY9, MLB Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Talk trash with us to all the Mets fans on twitter by following @GreedyStripes, we're always on and always talking Yankees baseball. You can also drop us a line in our comments section of this post and every post if you're not addicted to social media like I am. Get your Citi Field Subway Series Yankees tickets right here on the blog before it's too late.

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

Ichiro Suzuki Has A Sore Back, Unavailable Tonight


Ichiro Suzuki is the latest member of the walking wounded MASH unit that the New York Yankees are assembling lately. Ichiro hurt his back making a diving catch on Sunday in the finale with the Milwaukee Brewers and did not take batting practice before last night's game with the New York Mets. Ichiro's back is still sore today and is said to be unavailable tonight as well. Ichiro is listed as day to day and this further explains why Zoilo Almonte was called up to replace Shawn Kelley and not Chase Whitley (yet).

The New York Mets Suck!!!!!.... Meme


The New York Mets suck... that's what the shirt says anyway. The Mets have actually been impressive this season and have a legit shot in the National League East division. Tonight though, the Mets suck. The end.

Preview: New York Yankees vs. New York Mets 5/13


The New York Yankees and the New York Mets will play the second game of this four game Subway Series tonight and the final game at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will send Vidal Nuno to the mound to face off with the Mets Zack Wheeler. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on MY9, MLB Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Nuno picked up his first win of the season last time out against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim holding the Angels bats to just one run and four hits over a career high 6.1 IP. Nuno really needed a strong start for his confidence as he has struggled all season both in the rotation and in the bullpen. Nuno now has a 3.54 ERA in his four starts this season.

Wheeler's last two starts saw both the best and worst starts of his season. Wheeler was fantastic last time out as he shutout the surprise Miami Marlins through six innings to get his team the victory, although he took a no decision. Wheeler has five quality starts this season and only has one win to show for it, let's keep it that way.

Go Yankees!!

And Another One Down, And Another One Down...

Not satisfied with the number of injuries the Yankees had to endure last season, the Gods of baseball have decided to add two more players to the Yankees 2014 injury report...

Last night, between at bats, Carlos Beltran decided to take some swings in the batting cage. That's all well and good, as it's a way to stay loose, but while doing so he aggravated what turned out to be an old injury. An MRI revealed that Beltran has had a bone spur in his elbow, and it's finally decided to rear it's ugly head in the form of pain and discomfort. The Yankees will give Carlos a cortisone injection, and along with a few days rest hope he'll avoid surgery.

Our second injury has hit the bullpen, an area that can ill-afford to suffer any losses. Shawn Kelly has been put on the 15-day DL with a "strained lumbar spine." In layman's terms, he hurt his lower back. The team was able to back-date the stint to last Tuesday, so Shawn will be eligible to return next Wednesday.

Zoilo Almonte has been called up to take Kelly's spot, giving the Yankees a five man bench (and only six in the bullpen)... which is a bit strange. I have a feeling this won't be something that last's long, especially when you have a rotation that's iffy at best, meaning the bullpen is going to need that 7th arm eventually. But with Carlos' back, and Ichiro not feeling well, the team could use the outfield depth.

Let's hope that this turn of events makes Girardi stop babying David Robertson, and allows him to pitch a bit more than three outs when it's necessary. Not that I don't trust Dellin Betances, but the loss of Mariano Rivera has really been exposed lately.

Article Revisit: Juan Francisco To The Yankees?

                                  

On March, 8 of this year I posed the question whether the Yankees should go after Juan Francisco or not. The Brewers cut him out of spring training and he eventually went on to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays so the point is moot now but it's still fun to go back and look. HERE is the original article.

We all heard and read that the Brewers were among the teams scouting the Yankees excess catching depth recently. Milwaukee is said to be dangling Rickie Weeks or Aramis Ramirez but why not Juan Francisco? I think we could use Francisco more for a plethora of reasons, especially if it only costs Austin Romine or John Ryan Murphy.


Francisco would give us another power hitter in the lineup and a huge bat coming off the bench from the left side of the plate. Francisco split time with the Brewers and the Atlanta Braves last season and hit 18 home runs in 348 at bats, that's a home run every 19 at bats for those without a calculator. Over a 162 game season that ranks 11th best in the American League, who couldn't use that?


Francisco also gives us a legitimate backup at both third base and first base. He won't win a Gold Glove award at either position but he is probably a better candidate than Alfonso Soriano at first and Eduardo Nunez at third base defensively right now.


Francisco also looks like he is the odd man out on the Brewers roster thanks to former Yankees Lyle Overbay and Mark Reynolds signing deals with Milwaukee over the winter. The Brewers have excess infielders and we need infielders, the Brewers need a backup catcher and we have more than a couple. Let's make a deal Brian Cashman.

The very first comment on the post was, to paraphrase, that we don't need Francisco. The poster stated that he doesn't hit well and his glove did not make up for the lack of hitting. I believe an exact quote was "we have enough DH's."

Juan Francisco through play on 5/11:

.268/.361/.535 with five home runs and a 1.000 fielding percentage at first base and third base.

Remembering The 2000 World Series - Game 2


The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.


The New York Yankees would send Roger Clemens to the mound in Game 2 to face off with Mets pitcher Mike Hampton. Roger Clemens was already not a favorite in the Mets clubhouse after this seasons match up in Interleague play where Clemens hit Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball that gave him a concussion and landed him on the disabled list. The bad blood came back when in Mike Piazza's first at bat Roger Clemens sawed off Piazza's bat with a fastball that went foul. A large piece of the bat came flying towards Clemens and he would pick up the bat and throw it down the first base line in the general direction of Mike Piazza. Clemens said after the game that he did not see Piazza running down the base line when he threw the bat but that did not placate Mike Piazza. The Yankees would take a 6-0 lead into the 9th inning when Mike Piazza would get some sort of pay back when he hit a home run against Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson later in the game but the Yankees would ultimately win the game 6-5 to take a 2-0 lead in the Subway World Series. Roger Clemens would take the victory and Mike Hampton would take the loss.

This would be the Yankees 10th consecutive World Series game victory tying the longest American League winning streak in World Series history.

Can't Predict Baseball: The Rays Are Finally Good


On this day in 1985 the New York Yankees rally to beat the Minnesota Twins 9-8 after trailing the Twins 8-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning. Don Mattingly hit a ninth inning three run walk off home run at Yankee Stadium with two outs to cap the victory.

On this day in 2008 the Boston Red Sox lost and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Yankees 2-1 in 11 innings to put the Rays in sole possession of first place for the first time in their franchise's history. Tampa would be seven games over the .500 mark (23-16) which is also a mark that had never been accomplished in the 11 years of the Rays existence.

Quick Hit: The State of The Starting Rotation


The Yankees are in trouble, no? Three fifths of the Yankees starting rotation is on the disabled list now with CC Sabathia missing at least 15 days with fluid in his knee, Michael Pineda rehabbing a teres major muscle in his back, and Ivan Nova done for the year with Tommy John surgery. In their place is Alfredo Aceves, David Phelps, and Vidal Nuno. Surely the Yankees aren't comfortable with this, are they?

While it's a little early to acquire any impact starting pitching, and I think New York will since Nova is out for the entire 2014 and likely half of 2015, I think the Yankees should start looking. Nuno has been wildly inconsistent, Phelps has pitched well but was skipped due to the rain out in Seattle, and Aceves has pitched well in the minor leagues and in the bullpen this season.

Can the Yankees really compete for a playoff spot in Derek Jeter's final season with a "pretty good #3" in Masahiro Tanaka, an aging and uncomfortable with the shift Hiroki Kuroda, and three pieces out of their bullpen? I hope so, and so far they have, but that doesn't mean it makes me feel good.

Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 5/12


Walk-Off Walk Ends Ten-Inning RiverDogs Win
Jaron Long tosses shutout start before Michael O'Neill pushes in winning run

CHARLESTON, SC - Jaron Long's career-high seven shutout innings highlighted a pitchers' duel that closed on a bases-loaded walk for Michael O'Neill, giving the Charleston RiverDogs a 1-0 victory in ten innings over the Savannah Sand Gnats on Monday night in front of 5,123 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in South Atlantic League action.
The RiverDogs have a 20-16 record and are four games above .500 for the first time this season. Charleston leads this series by a 2-1 margin over the Sand Gnats, who are now 24-11.
Dueling shutout bids for Charleston and Savannah carried nearly all of Monday's action. Long represented the home side with the longest start of his career as he held the Sand Gnats scoreless. He retired eight consecutive batters twice, with one of those streaks coming after a one-out fifth-inning triple by Victor Cruzado. Long struck out Matt Oberste and Jeff Glenn to clean up his only jam and quickly retired the side in his final two innings to close his start.
Kevin McGowan's six shutout innings opened Savannah's night on the mound. In the second and third innings, he stranded runners at first and second with inning-ending strikeouts. McGowan successfully retired the final 11 batters that he faced in his own quality start.
Akeel Morris relieved McGowan and stretched that streak to 16 straight RiverDogs retired until Charleston threatened to score late in the eighth. With two outs, Brandon Thomas was hit by a pitch and reached second base on a passed ball. Morris finished the frame with a strikeout and kept the game scoreless heading into the ninth inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, the RiverDogs nearly won the game against John Mincone. O'Neill got on base after a strikeout coupled with a wild pitch. O'Neill made it to second on Miguel Andujar's one-out single and reached third on an Eduardo de Oleo fly out. However, Mincone sent the contest to extra innings with a strikeout that closed the ninth inning.
RiverDogs newcomers Rony Bautista and Chris Smith combined for scoreless pitching behind Long until Charleston walked to a win. Jose Rosario hit a two-out double to put the potential winning run in scoring position. Aaron Judge was intentionally walked to fill first base to set up Mike Ford, who loaded the bases with a walk of his own. O'Neill, the potential winning run in the ninth, took a ball on a full count against Mincone to force in Rosario and end the game.
Smith is 1-0 after earning the victory in his affiliated baseball debut. Mincone was tagged with the loss and has an 0-1 record this season.
BALLPARK FUN: Children and charity highlighted Monday's activity at The Joe. Youth Baseball Night, presented by McDonald's, welcomed scores of youth baseball teams that took part in a pregame parade around the warning track. "Dogs with a Cause" supported the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry while Play It Again Sports Mt. Pleasant collected used baseball equipment to donate to Pass It Forward Sports, a local charitable organization that helps underprivileged kids participate in organized youth sports.
COMING UP: The finale of this four-game series is set for Tuesday evening at 7:05pm. Charleston RHP Luis Severino (1-1, 2.32 ERA) will face Savannah RHP Ricky Knapp (2-2, 2.83 ERA). On Harris Teeter 2-for-$20 Date Night, couples who show their VIC card at the box office can receive two tickets, two tacos, two fountain drinks, and a nacho tray for only $20. 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.

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

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/13


On this day in 1929 a game was played for the first time in major league history where both teams wore numbers on the back of their uniforms. The Indians hosted the New York Yankees in League Park in Cleveland and would mark numerals becoming a permanent fixture on the back of the uniforms.


On this day in 1955 for the first time in his career Mickey Mantle hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game. Mantle finished the game with three home runs total, two from the left side, and drove in all five runs in a 5-2 win over the Detroit Tigers.