Sunday, June 1, 2014

Carlos Beltran Could Return Thursday


What perfect timing for the Yankees and Carlos Beltran and the worst possible timing for Kendrys Morales. The New York Yankees announced that Carlos Beltran would spend the next three days down in Tampa getting at bats in extended spring training games. Beltran will play on Monday and Tuesday and get evaluated Wednesday before a possible return Thurdsay with the Yankees.

In extended spring training the rules are a little more relaxed, for example Beltran could lead off every inning if he wanted to guaranteeing him at least eight at bats a game for the next two days. If Beltran gets through Monday and Tuesday he could possibly go on a minor league rehab assignment on Wednesday before coming back to New York on Thursday. The Yankees travel to Kansas City on Friday so he could always meet them there as well.

Robertson Surrenders 5 Ninth Inning Runs as Punch-Less Yankees Fall Again to Twins, 7-2

It's contests like today's that really make you question why you love the sport.

The Yankees, though terrible on offense, led 2-1 for pretty much all game, yet surrendered six ninth inning runs in an embarrassing 7-2 loss to the Twins. 

For the first three frames, the Yanks didn't even get a hit off ex-teammate Phil Hughes (Win; 8 IP, 2 ER), yet rallied in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a lead-off triple from Brett Gardner, a pair of singles from Derek Jeter (RBI) and Jacoby Ellsbury, and a go-ahead sac fly from Ichiro.

From then on, the Bombers amazingly didn't even record a base runner, but due to 5 innings of one-run ball from Chase Whitley, a perfect six-out performance from Dellin Betances, and a scorless eighth from Adam Warren they were in good shape.

Or, at least they thought so.

Going into the top of the ninth, there was no reason to doubt that David Robertson would get the job done, a belief that now seems extremely misguided.

On the first pitch Robertson threw in the frame, Minnesota's Josh Willingham tied the contest with a homer to left, #30's second blown save in 14 opportunities this season.

At that point, things didn't look like they could get much worse for Mariano's successor, although they eventually did, as the Twins would tack on five more in the at-bat thanks to an RBI Double from Brian Dozier, a 2-run Double from Eduardo Nunez, and another 2-run hit from Oswaldo Arcia. 

Of those 6 runs, 5 were charged to Robertson, whose ERA has now skyrocketed from the low-twos to a terrible, 4.50.

As for his record, it obviously didn't get any better either, as it is now 0-2 while the team's in games started by Whitley is 3-1.

One More Parting Shot For Mr. Phil Hughes


Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great. 

Game Thread: Yankees vs. Phil Hughes 6/1


Welcome to June baseball Yankees family as the New York Yankees and the Phil Hughes led Minnesota Twins will finish up their three game set this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Facing off with Phil Hughes will be the Yankees Chase Whitley making his fourth start in place of Yankees ace CC Sabathia. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Get your Yankees tickets right HERE for the return of Mr. Phil Hughes and all Yankees games home and away this season. Remember we offer no fees, free shipping, and same day shipping on our ticket sales which are really worth the click. Also be sure to follow @GreedyStripes on Twitter to chat with us during the game, maybe we will get banned on Twitter by Mr. Hughes after the game.

Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy whats left of your weekend.

The Good Ole Days Of Phil Hughes... Meme


Today is the day that Phil Hughes returns to face his old Yankees team at Yankee Stadium for the first time. This should be fun as Hughes will either give up 16 home runs or shut us down for 18 innings and finally reaching that "true potential" we all knew he had. I predict the latter will happen but you never know with this offense recently.

Preview: New York Yankees vs. Phil Hughes 6/1


The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins will face off in the finale of their three game set this weekend at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound to face off with former Yankee draft pick and starting pitcher Phil Hughes. Phil, don't call him Phillip, will be making his first start against his old club and his first appearance in the stadium he couldn't keep a baseball in since signing a deal with the Minnesota Twins this offseason. The game will be played at 1:05 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.

Whitley threw 91 pitches in his third start of his major league career last time out after failing to get out of the sixth inning again. Whitley took another no decision on Memorial Day against the St. Louis Cardinals after throwing five scoreless to start the game only to allow three runs in the sixth without getting an out.

Hughes had his seventh quality start of the season last time out as he gave up three runs and eight hits in seven innings against the Texas Rangers in a no decision. Hughes has not walked a batter in six straight starts. Where was this Hughes when he was in pinstripes?

Go Yankees!! Especially today...

Can't Predict Baseball: Babe Ruth Wins & Homers


On this day in 1920 Babe Ruth tossed four innings as a starter and hit cleanup for the New York Yankees in a 14-7 victory over the Washington Senators in the Polo Grounds. Babe Ruth is still fresh over from the Boston Red Sox where he was an accomplished hurler in Boston and known for his ability to hit the ball as well.

During Ruth's 15 years as a member of the New York Yankees he would take the mound just five times for the Bronx Bombers including a complete game victory in 1933. He hit a few home runs for them though...


On this day in 2009 the Yankees would beat the Indians 5-2 and also establish a major league record by playing in 18 straight games without an error. The new record passes the 2006 Red Sox record for the most games without committing an error but would end the very next day when Jorge Posada throws a ball into center field trying to catch a base stealer.


Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 5/31

Judge's Offense Not Enough Against Tourists
Judge homers, drives in all four RiverDogs runs in Charleston's fourth straight loss

CHARLESTON, SC - All four Charleston RiverDogs runs were driven in by Aaron Judge, including his sixth home run of the season, but the Asheville Tourists secured an 8-4 victory on Saturday night in front of 3,922 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in South Atlantic League action.
Charleston is now 27-28 while Asheville jumps to 31-23. The Tourists have won this series with three victories against the RiverDogs and can earn a sweep with a win in Sunday's finale.
Asheville grabbed a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Raimel Tapia reached on a two-out single against Ian Clarkin and scored during a triple to center field by Ryan McMahon.
The RiverDogs answered by surging ahead 2-1 in their half of the opening inning. Jose Rosario singled and Jackson Valera doubled off Zach Jemiola, putting runners in scoring position. Judge doubled to bring in Rosario and Valera to put Charleston in the lead.
Clarkin retired eight straight batters after McMahon's triple until the Tourists got rolling in the fourth. McMahon had a one-out single and moved to second base after a two-out walk to Jordan Patterson. Jose Briceno drove in McMahon during a single that tied the game at 2-2.
In the fifth, David Dahl blasted Asheville to a 3-2 advantage. Dahl sent a drive to right field that just cleared the wall for a go-ahead home run. It was Dahl's ninth round-tripper this season.
The Tourists strengthened their lead during the top of the seventh. After two straight walks from Rony Bautista, Cesar Vargas came in and fielded a sacrifice bunt that moved Cesar Galvez and Dahl into scoring position. Raimel Tapia grounded out and Ryan McMahon had an 0-1 count when a wild pitch was thrown. Galvez was hit by the throw to home plate before he scored, and the deflection allowed Dahl to score to give Asheville a 5-2 lead.
Judge closed Charleston's gap to 5-4 with an eighth-inning home run. Valera received a four-pitch walk from Daniel Palo before Judge homered to center field for his sixth shot of the year. Mike Ford singled and Miguel Andujar walked to continue the scoring threat, and John Murphy's sacrifice bunt against Andrew Brown pushed the runners up a base. However, Briceno picked Tyler Wade off third base and Brown finished the inning with a strikeout.
After escaping the eighth with a lead, Asheville extended the lead to 8-4 in the ninth. A two-out single from Tapia, coupled with an error, brought in Ashley Graeter and Galvez for a three-run lead. Tapia reached second base on the play and scored when McMahon singled.
Jemiola evened his record at 5-5 with the victory. Clarkin recorded a career-high seven strikeouts in a loss to fall to 1-3. Brown earned his first professional save.
BALLPARK FUN: The City of Charleston's annual picnic was held at The Joe, with Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. announcing that Gary Smith and Gary Smalls were the Employees of the Year. The SweetRight Brothers performed several routines during the game as the featured ballpark entertainment. Groundskeeper Mike Williams worked his 44th game this month at The Joe, the most Williams has covered in any month in his 22-year professional career.
COMING UP: The finale of this four-game series is Sunday match-up between Charleston LHP Caleb Smith (4-3, 1.51 ERA) and Asheville RHP Antonio Senzatela (5-1, 3.90 ERA). First pitch on Sunday is at 5:05pm. Bark for Your Brew at 3pm precedes the ballgame, featuring a craft beer sampling at The Joe that fans can attend with their dog. The homestand finale is another CCPRC and Crews Subaru Kids Club Sunday, presented by Y102.5, Dog Day, Seersucker Sunday, and Luau Night. 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

Trenton Thunder Game Recap 5/31

Thunder Rally, but Lose Late Lead to Sea Dogs

Gary Sanchez' titanic home run to left field was part of a three-run 6th inning to give the Thunder a 3-2 lead, but the Portland Sea Dogs struck for two runs in a game-winning top of the 7th inning.
In Game 2 of Saturday's split double-header, the Thunder trailed 2-0 into the bottom of the 6th inning. After Sea Dogs starting pitcher Mike McCarthy retired 14 straight batters, Mason Williams doubled and was plated two batters later on a single up the middle by Tyler Austin. That set the table for Sanchez and his 6th home run of the season to give the Thunder a momentary lead.
The loss goes to Fred Lewis who tossed a perfect 6th inning, but allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in the 7th inning for the comeback win. He drops to 0-2 in seven appearances since being transferred from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and has now allowed 18 baserunners in 8.0 IP.
The Thunder threatened in the bottom of the 7th inning with a leadoff double by Rob Refsnyder who moved to third base with one out on a sacrifice bunt by Dan Fiorito. The next two batters were Yeral Sanchez and Carmen Angelini who were retired to end the ballgame without Refsnyder coming hometo score.
The Thunder look to avoid being swept in their four-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs Sunday with LHP Matt Tracy (5-2, 4.25) taking the ball for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. The Trenton Thunder Pre-Game Show begins at 12:45 p.m. and can be found on 91.3 FM and www.trentonthunder.com.

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

Quick Hit: Phil Hughes Career In New York


Welcome back to New York and welcome back to Yankee Stadium Phil Hughes. Let's take a look back at Phil Hughes career stats while with the New York Yankees. For those with young children in the room that are baseball fans you may want them to look away now, some of these numbers are ugly...

Year Age W L W-L% ERA G GS IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9
2007 21 5 3 .625 4.46 13 13 72.2 64 39 36 8 29 58 102 4.35 1.280 7.9 1.0 3.6 7.2
2008 22 0 4 .000 6.62 8 8 34.0 43 26 25 3 15 23 67 4.34 1.706 11.4 0.8 4.0 6.1
2009 23 8 3 .727 3.03 51 7 86.0 68 31 29 8 28 96 152 3.22 1.116 7.1 0.8 2.9 10.0
2010 ★ 24 18 8 .692 4.19 31 29 176.1 162 83 82 25 58 146 103 4.25 1.248 8.3 1.3 3.0 7.5
2011 25 5 5 .500 5.79 17 14 74.2 84 48 48 9 27 47 74 4.58 1.487 10.1 1.1 3.3 5.7
2012 26 16 13 .552 4.19 32 32 191.1 196 101 89 35 46 165 101 4.56 1.265 9.2 1.6 2.2 7.8
2013 27 4 14 .222 5.19 30 29 145.2 170 91 84 24 42 121 78 4.50 1.455 10.5 1.5 2.6 7.5
NYY (7 yrs) 56 50 .528 4.53 182 132 780.2 787 419 393 112 245 656 95 4.31 1.322 9.1 1.3 2.8 7.6
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/31/2014.

Rumor: Yankees Will Pursue FA Kendrys Morales

The Yankees could pursue Free Agent First Basemen Kendrys Morales in the coming weeks, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports.

Apparently, some in the team's front office are getting nervous that the injured Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira, who suffered a set back in yesterday's win over the Twins, won't fully heal anytime soon, leaving them a bat short heading into summer. 

Morales, who hit .277 with 23 Home Runs and 80 RBI for the Mariners in 2013, has already received interest from multiple teams this season, most notably the Rangers, Brewers, and Orioles.

For his career, which consists of that year in Seattle and six more with another AL West club in the Los Angeles Angels, the 30-year-old has hit a solid .280, but does have a history of injuries, breaking his leg on that infamous walk off grand slam back in May 2010 that caused him to miss not only the rest of that season but all of 2011 as well.

Still, the man seems like an overall solid Plan B for the Pinstripes, even though it seems unlikely they'll actually have to acquire him, as Beltran has progressed nicely in his rehab over the last couple of days. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/1


On this day in 1925 Lou Gehrig began his Iron Man streak of playing in 2,130 straight games when he came off the Yankees bench to pinch hit for rookie infielder Pee-Wee Wanninger. Wanninger is no stranger to consecutive games played streaks as he was the player who ended Everett Scott's 1,307 consecutive games played streak when he started for Scott on May 5 at shortstop.


On this day in 1941 Johnny Sturm hits his first major league home run in the eight inning in front of the largest crowd in the American League at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. The home run gives the Yankees a 2-1 lead and would begin a streak in which one or more Yankees will hit a home run in 24 consecutive games, a record that will stand for 53 years.


On this day in 1992 the San Diego Padres used the first pick in the MLB First Year Players Draft to take Phil Nevin over Derek Jeter. Jeter would fall to sixth overall to the New York Yankees because he was seeking a bonus of at least $1 million to skip college at the University of Michigan. Nevin had a pretty nice career but Jeter is a future Hall of Fame player, and the rest is history.