Orioles Homer Three Times Off Nuno, Beat Yankees Easily

If you aren't convinced that Yankees' Pitcher Vidal Nuno needs to lose his spot in the rotation now, then you never will be.

Going into today's start against the third place Orioles, we all knew that Nuno was struggling, but this was just too much, as the rookie gave up three long home runs in a 6-1 loss.

After retiring the first two men he faced in this contest's top of the first, Nuno surrendered a hard hit solo homer to Baltimore Center Fielder Adam Jones, putting the Yanks in an early 1-0 hole.

From then until the top of the fourth, Nuno actually did pretty well, sitting down seven of eight before allowing another two-run shot to the red hot Nelson Cruz, his MLB leading 23rd of the year.

In the O's very next AB, they'd tack on another duo on a fly ball to left from Steve Pearce (already his 3rd and 4th RBIs of the series), eventually knocking the frustrated Nuno out of the ballgame, with his line reading 6.1 innings of 5-run (4 earned) ball.

The rough outing, Nuno's second in a row with less than two runs of support (Yanks only run came on a Mark Teixeira homer), dropped the youngster's record to 1-4, while moving his ERA down .02 points to 5.88.

Interestingly, it also proved that his struggles aren't because of battery mate issues, as #57's usual catcher John Ryan Murphy obviously didn't play in this one. 

Instead, the recently activated Francisco Cervelli got the start, going 1-for-3 with a single.

The appearance for Cervelli, who hasn't played in a non-pinch running position since April 13, disappointingly didn't include any attempts to steal from the visitors, meaning it'll be a little longer until we get to see his 2014 defensive abilities. 

Game Thread: Yankees vs Orioles 6/21

Welcome to the Yankees Tino Martinez Day open thread where New York will host the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees will send Vidal Nuno to the mound to face off with Bud Norris for the O's. 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.

Get your Tino Martinez Day or Goose Gossage Day Yankees tickets right HERE on the blog with no fees, no shipping, and great prices now. If you can't make it to the stadium join us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes or find us on Facebook to chat during the game and share your favorite Tino memories and moments. You can also leave us a line in the comments section and interact with other Yankees fans all day long.

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

Beltran Admits He Was Just Trying To Get a Base Hit On Walk-Off Homer

In last night's bottom of the ninth, as you all probably know by now, Yankees DH Carlos Beltran gave the team a win with a three-run home run.

Beltran, who has batted just .277 with 7 homers and 23 RBI this season, has often struggled since putting on Pinstripes, making last night's blast a confidence boost for both him and the fans.

While that's undoubtedly still true, the veteran did admit after the W that hitting one over the wall wasn't his intention, as he was just trying to single up the middle.

“Honestly, I was trying to get a base hit, hit a ball up the middle,” Beltran told the New York Post's Dan Martin. “I got a good pitch to hit and as soon as I hit it I knew it was going to be a home run.”

Last year with the Cardinals, #36 went deep 24 times, a feat that'll be hard to reach in 2014.

Due to his injuries and recurring struggles, Beltran is only on pace for 16 this season, although a good hot streak could always change that.

Either way, I'm sure Yankee fans everywhere are fine with what he did yesterday, as it kept the Bombers just 1.5 games out of first place.

Remembering Yankees of The Past: Tino Martinez

Tino Martinez came to the New York Yankees in 1996 via trade from the
Seattle Mariners along with Jeff Nelson and Jim Mecir for Sterling Hitchcock
and Russ Davis. Martinez had the role that nobody ever wanted, replacing the
great, and now retired, Don Mattingly at first base for New York and filled
in admirably. Martinez won World Series championships with New York in 1996,
1998, 1999, and 2000 and was a key component in the title runs. 



Martinez hit a grand slam in Game 1 of the 1998 World Series against the San
Diego Padres off Mark Langston giving the Yankees a four run lead that they
never gave back. The Yankees had tied the game earlier in the inning when
teammate Chuck Knoblauch hit a three run home run. The Yankees would go on
to sweep the series and take the title home to the Bronx. The second came on
October, 31 2001 with two outs in the 9th inning with the Yankees trailing
by two runs and hit the game tying home run off Arizona Diamondbacks closer
Byung-Hyun Kim. The feat was repeated the next night by Scott Brosius and we
all remember the Derek Jeter "Mr. November" home run but the Yankees would
lose Games 6 and 7 and lose the series. 



As a side note Martinez also won the State Farm Home Run Derby in 1997 for
the Yankees. Martinez also led the American League in home runs (44) and
RBI's (141) that season and finished second in the American League Most
Valuable Player Award voting. Martinez being hit by Baltimore Orioles
pitcher Armando Benitez resulted in the brawl between the two clubs in 1998
that we all remember so well. Martinez was a great ball player and a great
Yankee and we honor him here today the way the New York Yankees will honor
him in the Bronx tonight.



Congrats Tino!

6/21 Yankees Game Preview vs. Baltimore Orioles

The New York Yankees will host the Baltimore Orioles in the middle game of their three game set this weekend at the Bronx this afternoon. The Yankees will send Vidal Nuno to the mound to face off with the Orioles Bud Norris. 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 John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Nuno was roughed up once again in his last start against the Oakland Athletics allowing eight runs in three innings. Many around Yankee land are calling for Nuno to be removed from the rotation so this may be the make or break start for the soft tossing lefty. Nuno has a 7.43 ERA during his three starts in June and the Yankees are 1-5 in his starts at home this season.

Norris has won three starts starts for the Orioles and looks to ride that hot streak into the Bronx this afternoon at the stadium. Norris shut down the Toronto Blue Jays his last time out over 6.2 innings in his last start only allowing one run.

Get your Tino Martinez Day Yankees tickets right here on the blog to see the Yankees legend be enshrined in Monument Park. If you can't make it today we do it all over again tomorrow honoring Goose Gossage in the Bronx, get your tickets now.

Go Yankees!!

Article Revisit: Yankees Bring Back Tino Martinez?

Should The Yankees Bring Back Tino Martinez?

Let us be clear here before we get started that this is pure speculation and I have nothing to back this up. With that said one of our friends in twitter, because he is more than just a follower, @thisguygd posted the hash tag #BringBackTino and that is not that bad of an idea.

I know the Yankees brass said they wanted to bring back the entire coaching staff, including hitting coach Kevin Long, and have already made good on that promise bringing manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach Larry Rothschild but should we explore the idea of Tino back in pinstripes? This is not one of those posts where Long should get the axe because the team couldn't hit a lick, I understand he far exceeded expectations considering what he was given, I am more going along the line of change for change sake. Unless of course you are convince that Mark Reynolds improved that much under Long then by all means keep him.

Kevin is long, see what I did there, considered to be this hitting guru but holes are beginning to be exposed in that boat. He may be a good hitting coach, and honesty I think he is, but I think it's time to see what someone else can do. Long has not done enough to make him close to irreplaceable like Girardi did and the thought of having a former Yankee during the dynasty years back on the team excites me, even for nostalgia reasons. 

I don't feel compelled to speak on the whole Miami Marlins incident because first and foremost I do not like to Derek on the past much. Secondly I know I do not know Tino personally but without a history of anything like this being known public I personally believe this was an isolated incident and that it will not happen again. Finally I just don't care and I cannot be more honest than that.

This is not a bashing Kevin Long post and it's not a praising Martinez as the messiah post, it's just something to think about. Happy Friday everyone and Go Yankees! 

This was post was originally posted HERE. 

Tino Martinez To Receive Monument Park Plaque Today

The New York Yankees will honor many of their greats this season at Yankee Stadium and the first to be honored is the man who replaced Don Mattingly, Mr. Tino Martinez. Tino played seven seasons in the Bronx and won four World Series rings with his time with the Yankees and will now forever be a Yankee when a plaque in his honor is added to Monument Park.

Martinez will join the likes of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzuto, Thurman Munson, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson, Elston Howard, Roger Maris, Mariano Rivera, the man he replaced in Mattingly, and so many more.

Today is going to truly be a day to remember, today is Tino Martinez Day.

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/21

On this day in 1941 the New York Yankees team consecutive streak of hitting a home run in 17 straight games is extended with a seventh inning home run by Phil Rizzuto. The home run would tie the major league record originally set by the Detroit Tigers and would come in a 7-2 loss to that same Tigers team in Yankee Stadium. This was only Rizzuto's second career home run.

On this day in 1967 the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox had a benches clearing brawl to keep the fans entertained. Joe Foy was struck in the helmet and in retaliation the Red Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg hit the Yankees pitcher Thad Tillotson to start the fight in the second inning. No ejections were handed out and Reggie Smith is brushed back in the next inning while Dick Howser leave the games in the fifth inning after being hit in the head with a pitch.

On this day in 2005 the Yankees had a week of it at the plate in a 20-11 victory over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The Rays led the Yankees 10-2 at one point in the game before the Rays lost the lead. This would make the second time in Rays franchise history that they led by at least eight runs in a game only to lose by at least nine runs. The Rays gave up 13 runs in the bottom of the second inning which was the second time they have given up at least 13 runs in an inning in the same season, a major league record they did not want to be a part of.