Friday, May 30, 2014

Three Home Runs Hurt Nuno, Yankees in 6-1 Loss to Twins

After taking two of three from the Cardinals earlier this week, the Yankees looked invincible.

The Bombers, who came into tonight's game against the Twins 4-1 over the last five days, had gotten the injured Mark Teixeira back in their lineup, to go along with a weak opposing starter in Ricky Nolasco.

Still, nothing went their way in the contest, causing them to fall in overall non-competitive fashion, 6-1.

For Yanks Pitcher Vidal Nuno, the game started out well, but with one out in the top of the second things began to fall apart.

At that time, Oswaldo Arcia homered on an 0-2 pitch, giving the Twins an early 1-0 lead.

It wouldn't last long, as Jacoby Ellsbury would tie the game in the bottom of the third with an RBI Double, but from then on it was all Minnesota.

To lead off the fourth, Josh Willingham homered to left-center, immediately followed by a bloop single from Arcia and another, two-run shot to Monument Park from Trevor Plouffe, quickly making it 4-1.

That would be all the Twins would get off Nuno on the night, although it was more than enough, knocking #57 out after 6.2 frames to drop his record to 1-2.

At that point, the game was over, although the Twins weren't quite done scoring yet, knocking in another two late off Preston Claiborne thanks to a duo of RBI Singles from former Yankee Eduardo Nunez and new Catcher Kurt Suzuki. 

Nunez, who was traded from the Bombers to Minnesota back in April, hit eighth and DH'd in this one, unsurprisingly not getting any cheers or jeers when he stepped up to the plate for the first time. Overall, Jeter's former replacement went 1-for-4 in the W, bringing his 2014 batting average down to a low .256.

Yankees Kelley, Teixeira, & Beltran Injuries Updates


The New York Yankees may be a bad version of the Walking Wounded right now but some key players are healing nicely.

Mark Teixeira took three games off, four consecutive days off, and feels good enough to play tonight in Yankees Stadium against the Twins. Teix will bat cleanup and will play first base.

Shawn Kelley threw off a mound for the first time since being shut down with a lingering back injury. Kelley reported no pain afterwards which is a great sign.

Beltran took 50 more swings today, 25 from each side of the plate, and was ecstatic with his progress.

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Twins 5/30


The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins will start a three game set tonight in the first of a weekend series at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will send Vidal Nuno to the mound to face off with Ricky Nolasco for the Twins. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

It's not too late to get your Yankees Tickets for the game tonight or this weekend, or any game really home or away, so CLICK HERE to get your tickets with free shipping, no fees, and same day shipping if you cannot pick them up. Be sure to also give @GreedyStripes a follow on twitter to chat with me during the game. I try and chat during every single game, as long as my kids let me anyway, and really enjoying chatting with you guys so give me a mention.

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

  Get Great Tickets at Ticket Monster!

Slade Heathcott Placed on Double-A Disabled List


The Trenton Thunder, Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced multiple roster moves prior to Friday's ballgame against the Portland Sea Dogs.

OF Slade Heathcott has been placed on the Disabled List (lower body soreness) retroactive to May 28th. Heathcott has appeared in nine games with the Thunder since making his season debut May 15th and is hitting .182 (6-for-33) with two doubles and four runs scored.

The lefty last appeared in a game for the Thunder on May 27th against the Reading Fightin Phils when he went 1-for-4.
LHP Aaron Dott, who was placed on the Temporarily Inactive List May 18th, has been transferred back to the active roster. In addition, OF Yeral Sanchez rejoins the team from the Staten Island roster and is scheduled to start Friday's game in right field.
With the moves, Trenton’s roster is at 24 players-- one short of the Eastern League maximum of 25 active players.

I've Got Til 5! - Walk-Up Music

As you can tell from our off-day music recommendations, we here at The Greedy Pinstripes are big music fans. I'm sure you've seen Daniel post about player's walk-up music here before. Well, I decided to take a closer look at all of them and pick out some of my favorites.

I will admit that there were quite a few that I did not know. Which is pretty unsettling, but I guess that's what happens when you get old.

Brett, who the hell is Brantley Gilbert?


5. David Robertson - "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd

I'm not a southern rock fan. It's not that I find it un-listenable, but it's that country twang twist that I don't like. Not to mention that Lynyrd Skynyrd's heavy use of the confederate flag bugs me as well. But I'm not going to ignore the fact that "Sweet Home Alabama" is a great song, and for a boy from Birmingham this song couldn't be more perfect.


4. Kelly Johnson - "Bulls On Parade" by Rage Against The Machine

While I've read that Kelly also uses "Tonight Tonight" by Hot Chelle Rae and "What I Got" by Sublime, it's his choice of Rage Against The Machine's hit song that puts him on this list. RATM's self-titled debut album is great, thanks to songs like "Bombtrack", "Killing In The Name", and one of my favorite songs of all time "Know Your Enemy. While "Bulls On Parade" would not place among my favorite songs from Rage, I don't know if that's the fault of the song or the way radio and MTV overplayed it. Either way, I applaud Mr. Johnson's song choice.

Oh... and "Bulls on Parade" appears on the album "Evil Empire". So there's another reason it makes for a great walk-up song for a Yankee.


3. Mark Teixeira - "It's Tricky" by Run DMC

I'm far from a huge rap fan, but who doesn't love the song "It's Tricky"? It has a fun beat, and the flow of the rhymes are great. Although that shouldn't be surprising as the song comes from Run DMC, who were not only rap icons but general music icons too. I also have to mention that the video for "It's Tricky" features the hilarious comedy duo of Penn and Teller. Didn't they look great in rap attire? LOL!



2. Jacoby Ellsbury - "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf

For some reason Jacoby has used the song "Ni**As In Paris". I don't know what the song really means, but on the surface it doesn't make any sense (check out his skin color and ethnicity for reasons why). Thankfully the song "Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf is also on Ellsbury's playlist. Like rap, I'm not the biggest hip-hop fan, but I really like this song. The fact that Rudolf started writing songs young, is an acclaimed producer, and a heck of a guitar player is another reason why I don't lump Kevin in with other hip hop "artists". If it wasn't for the fact that Lil Wayne bugs me "Let It Rock" may very well top this list.


1. Carlos Beltran - "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns N Roses

It's really sad what has come of Guns N Roses. From the biggest rock band in the World to basically non-existent seven years later (I don't consider anything after The Spaghetti Incident to be the true Guns). When Appetite For Destruction came out in the summer of 1987 I, along with millions of others, went crazy. From beginning to end this album was incredible. The song "Anything Goes" is probably my least favorite on Appetite, but that's not because the song stinks. However, it's the first song on the record that we're talking about here. In 2009 VH1 named "Welcome To The Jungle" the greatest hard rock song of all time. And why not? An absolutely killer guitar riff, hard hitting lyrics, Axl Rose's awesome rock voice and range... this song has everything a rock fan could ever want.


I was thinking of making this an all-time list, but I couldn't find enough information about walk-up music to make it worthwhile. But let's hear your thoughts and share your favorites from not just 2014 but forever.

Preview: New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins 5/30


The New York Yankees are going home to host the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium this weekend in a three game set. The Yankees will send Vidal Nuno to the mound to face off with Ricky Nolasco for the Twins. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Nuno lasted seven innings in his last start allowing just three runs in a no decision against the Chicago White Sox. The outing was Nuno's longest of the season in both length with the seven innings and with his 101 pitches thrown and both were desperately needed by New York. Nuno has never faced a single player on the Minnesota Twins roster so this should be interesting.

Nolasco struggled in his last start against the San Francisco Giants allowing seven runs, nine hits, and one walked batter in just 4.2 innings. Nolasco was highly sought after this offseason and is sporting a 5.58 ERA in May after posting a 6.67 ERA in April.

We're a little early today so we can give the 5:00 slot to my friend Bryan Van Dusen and his "I've Got Til Five" series that I enjoy so much. Today he talks Yankees walk up music and the new rule made by Major League Baseball pertaining to walk up music so if I have your interest check back in about 30 minutes for that.

Go Yankees!!

Girardi Not Concerned About Solarte's Recent Slump

If you've watched any Yankees games lately, you know that Yangervis Solarte has struggled mightily. 

The 26 year old rookie, the team's starting third basemen this year despite the fact that he's only making the league minimum of $500,000, has just 7 hits in his last 49 at bats, something that has caused his batting average to drop from an amazing .336 to a still solid .285. 

To some, that fall in production is a sign that reality has finally hit the youngster, although Manager Joe Girardi doesn't think so, arguing that everybody has slumps.

"(Scuffling's) part of the game," Girardi told the Newark Star Ledger's Brendan Kuty after the Yankees beat the Cardinals Wednesday night. "To me a lot of the times the best players really go through either hot streaks or cold streaks. It's just really part of the game. If he didn't go through them, he'd probably hit .400 or .500 all the time. So, you know that they're going to go through them."

In tonight's Yankees/Twins opener, Right-hander Ricky Nolasco, a hurler opponents have hit .322 off of this year, will start for Minnesota, possibly giving Solarte a much-needed opportunity to turn things around. 

Can't Predict Baseball: Babe Ruth Calls It A Career


On this day in 1934 the Yankees Ben Chapman broke up Earl Whitehill's no hitter in the bottom of the ninth inning at Yankee Stadium. This is significant because in the 1933 season Chapman, albeit provoked, hit Whitehill with a punch in the passageway causing a 20 minute brawl that needed the police to restore order. I guess he broke something up twice, huh?

On this day in 1935 Babe Ruth, a member of the Boston Braves, plays in his last major league game of his career. Ruth, at Baker Bowl, does not get in a hit in his first inning at bat against the Phillies. On June 2 of that year the former Yankee All Star and super star would call it a career officially.


Quick Hit: "Wake Up The Babe So I Can Drill Him"


Remember way back on this day in 2001 when the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry was possibly at it's highest and Pedro Martinez spoke up about the Curse of the Bambino? If you don't it was after Martinez ended a streak of five straight losses against New York and was making light of the curse. Martinez states that he wished someone would wake up Babe Ruth so he could drill him with a pitch.

Long story short the Red Sox would not beat the Yankees again during the final seven meetings of the 2001 season. But there was no curse, the Red Sox just sucked for 86 years... right.


Trenton Thunder Game Recap 5/29

Early Offense Sparks 12-2 Win over Fightins

READING, PA - In his Double-A debut, Eric Wooten allowed two runs (1 ER) over seven innings, and Trenton's offense struck early for a 12-2 win over the Reading Fightin Phils.
Following Manny Banuelos' start of 2.0 innings with no hits, no runs and one walk, Wooten entered out of the bullpen for the first time. Wooten, a free agent signed by the New York Yankees in the middle of the 2013 season, had made 10 appearances (nine starts) for the Tampa Yankees before being transferred to the Thunder roster Thursday morning. The lefty from Central Arizona Collegeallowed eight hits, three walks and a pair of hit-by-pitches in his outing which began after the Thunder had already jumped out to a 6-0 lead.
Before an Education Day crowd of 6,026 at FirstEnergy Stadium the Thunder offense sent nine batters to the plate in the first inning off starting pitcher Perci Garner. Garner, who allowed six runs (5 ER) in 2.1 IP, needed 41 pitches to get through the first inning which included four runs on three walks and two hits. The first four Thunder batters of the game reached off Garner and Trenton had a 1-0 lead before an out was recorded.
The Thunder scored 12 runs on 13 hits and eight walks which matched the season-high eight walks they drew Wednesday night. Four Thunder batters had multi-hit games (Ben Gamel, Rob Refsnyder, Peter O'Brien and Taylor Dugas) which included a perfect 4-for-4 day from Gamel with a walk.
The Thunder return home for a four-game series in three days against the Portland Sea Dogs. Friday's ballgame is a 7:05 first pitch with a 6:50 p.m. pre-game show that can be found on 91.3 FM and www.trentonthunder.com. Saturday is a split double-header with ballgames starting at 2:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. and then the finale of the series Sunday.

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

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/30


On this day in 1932 the New York Yankees honored former manager Miller Huggins in a pre-game ceremony. The former Yankees manager died near the end of last season and had received a plaque in his memory. The Yankees would sweep both games in the double header with the Boston Red Sox.


On this day in 1938 the Yankees set a new record for attendance at Yankee Stadium drawing 81,841 fans in a double header with the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees would win both games sweeping the Red Sox in the double bill.


On this day in 1956 Mickey Mantle came within 18 inches of becoming the first player to hit a home run out of Yankee Stadium. The blast came off the Washington Senators Pedro Ramos and the ball was still climbing when it hit the facade in the upper right field stands.


On this day in 1992 the Yankees Scott Sanderson beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-1 to become the ninth pitcher to defeat all 26 teams in the major leagues at the time. Sanderson joins Nolan Ryan, Tommy John, Don Sutton, Mike Torrez, Rick Wise, Gaylord Perry, Doyle Alexander, and Goose Gossage with the feat.


On this day in 2007 in Toronto  a Jorge Posada pop out falls in between Howie Clark and John McDonald allowing Alex Rodriguez to score on the play. A Rod yelled that he got it while running by and tricked both the Blue Jays infielders in a "Bush League" move.