The Daily Dozen - August 4, 2014

The Daily Dozen - August 4th, 2014 Edition
(Twelve Takeaways from Tonight's Game vs. the Detroit Tigers)

1. Max Scherzer came into tonight's game with a 2.08 ERA in his last 7 games.  The defending Cy Young award winner really only had one bad inning although his control wasn't really there.  He definitely had his defense bringing it tonight.  He showed his poise by pitching 7 innings and 115 pitches total.

2. The Tigers traded away AJax to get David Price.  Well they won't have to worry about replacing his defense with the young man Ezequiel Carrera has to offer.  What a great catch to rob Jacoby Ellsbury of a triple in the bottom of the 3rd inning to basically save 2 runs and Scherzer's pitch count.

FULL EXTENSION! (Credit: SportingNews.com and MLB.com)

3. Derek Jeter was 1 for 4 tonight.  He now sits at 3,426 hits of which 2,564 were singles, 537 were doubles, 66 were triples, and 259 were home runs.  If you added up the distance he has accumulated through his hits you would have 438,400 feet or 83.05 miles or roughly the distance between New York City and Philadelphia.

"That's a lot of dimp!"

4. Who really made the base-running error, Gardner or Prado?  It appeared that Gardner thought the ball was headed to home in the bottom of the 4th when Prado looked to possibly score.  It's probably Gardner's fault for being overaggresive...something he doesn't do enough of whilst at 1st base looking to steal in my humble opinion.

5. Carlos Beltran has been striking the ball well as of late.  Let's take a look at his composite batting average over the last 20 games and compare it to Brian McCann's who had his own hot streak a few weeks ago and is still contributing in terms of RBI.  In the last week, Beltran has gone 12 for 25 with 1 HR and 5 RBI...not bad, but not the best either in terms of driving in runs.  Of course he is batting in front of McCann which may help him see more pitches to hit.  Since coming back to the lineup on July 18th he has raised his batting average from .220 to .248 accumulating 23 hits, 4 home runs, and 12 RBI.  Not killer numbers but moving in the right direction.  He batted .300 for the month of July and is batting .500 in August so far with a 1.455 ops.  In that same stretch McCann has gone from a .239 batting average to .240 with only 13 hits, 1 HR and 8 RBI.  He batted .299 in July but is only at .200 for the short-sample of August.

6. The Tigers rotation has 50 wins and the last 3 Cy Young winners.  Talk about a dominating rotation: they are first in the AL in wins, Innings pitched per start (6.3), fewest home runs allowed (59), and 4th in the AL in ERA (3.77).

These guys are good...just not good enough tonight!

7. The Tigers Bullpen on the other hand... They are 14th in the AL in ERA (4.55), WHIP (1.47), opponent's on-base percentage (.346), and last in opponent's batting average (.278) and slugging percentage (.424).  Probably due to the alcoholic duo known as Joba and Coke...  A big thank you to ESPN for all of these stats tonight.

8. Ian Kinsler was brought in for his offensive skills.  Well tonight he showed off his glove making two substantial defensive plays.  The first was a stab at a Beltran line drive and then he turned what looked to be a base hit into an inning ending double play in the 5th inning to save yet another run.

9. Brett Gardner is the first leadoff hitter since Kinsler to have 5 home runs over 6 games.  Kinsler did that in 2011 when he was still with the Rangers.  For the record, Gardner now has 15 home runs on the season to the former power hitter Kinsler's 11.

"I am Brett Gardner! Hear me R-O-A-R" (Cue Katie Perry Music)

10. Jacoby Ellsbury is now 7 for 12 against Max Scherzer.  Thanks to Carrera he is not 8 for 12 with a triple and a HR.  He went 2 for 4 tonight with a single and a double.

11. Brandon McCarthy pitched 5-2/3 innings of excellence.  Yes, he gets into a lot of tight spots...but he also didn't give up any earned runs  while throwing 116 pitches and collecting 8 strikeouts.  On a side note, the Yankees are now 37-25 in games decided by 2 runs or less (shout out to Jeff Quagliata of YES for that tidbit).

12. Houdini recorded his 30th save for the Yankees tonight.  Rafael Soriano recorded 42 saves in 2012 when Rivera was injured but the last one to do it before that was John Wetteland with 46 in 1996.  Maybe the post Rivera era will be just fine?  Robertson has 51 games to eclipse Soriano's mark from 2012 and has an outside shot of catching Rivera for the all-time saves mark of 53 from 2004.  One other major milestone from tonight's game was Joe Girardi getting his 700th win as a manager (622 with the Yankees).   Also, the Yankees Playoff Odds sit at 18.8%...way down from the 34% last week...gotta do some work...

McCarthy, Bullpen Shut Down Tigers' Bats in Pitcher's Duel W

Brandon McCarthy didn't allow an earned run in 5 2/3 innings and the bats crossed home twice in the bottom of the third tonight as the Yankees beat the Tigers, 2-1, in a pitcher's duel at the Stadium. 

In this one's top of the second, unsurprisingly, the frightening Detroit offense loaded the bases with just one out, seemingly sealing McCarthy's fate in the early going. 

Fortunetaly, though, McCarthy would later escape the jam, striking out Alex Avila and Eugenio Suarez consecutively to end the threat and most of the Tigers' offensive night. 

Yes, in the fifth Ian Kinsler knocked in a run after Martin Prado committed a throwing error, but since the Yanks still rallied for a pair off Max Scherzer (7 IP, 2 ER) in their half of the third things did turn out alright for the Pinstripes.

To start off that big frame, Ichiro Suzuki, Brett Gardner, and Derek Jeter all singled, bringing up the suddenly-hot Jacoby Ellsbury.

No, New York's $153 million man wouldn't get on, but yes, he did send a deep fly ball to center, one that'd be caught on a dive by Detroit's Ezequiel Carrera to drive home Ichiro and eventually set up a run-scoring hit from Brian McCann.

Mark Teixeira Late Scratch Against Detroit

Teixeira felt lightheaded prior to start .. Headley playing 1st, Prado playing 3rd, ichiro in rf #yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) August 4, 2014

Mark Teixeira was a late scratch for tonight's game with the Detroit Tigers. Teixeira is being scratched because he is lightheaded. Hopefully this is nothing major and Teix can come off the bench later or at worst be in the lineup tomorrow. That's one thing the Yankees cannot afford, especially this series, is to lose Teixeira for any length of time again.

8/4 Yankees Open Thread vs. Detroit Tigers

Welcome to tonight's open thread for the first game between the New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers at Yankee Stadium. These two teams will play four times this week in the Bronx as the Tigers finally get to show off some of their new toys. The Yankees will send arguably their best pitcher to the mound tonight in Brandon McCarthy and will face off with the Tigers ace Max Scherzer. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Get your tickets now for the Yankees home stand with the Tigers and the Cleveland Indians before the team is back out on the road. Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and like our page on Facebook by searching for The Greedy Pinstripes to keep the conversation going.

It's an open thread so talk about whatever you want in the comments section of the site. Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your evening. Go Yankees!

13 Players Reportedly Placed On Revocable Waivers

According to a post on MLB Trade Rumors an estimated 13 players have been placed on revocable waivers so far in less than a week of August baseball. Should the Yankees be interested in claiming any of them? Here's the list:

Oakland Athletics:

Jason Hammel

Arizona Diamondbacks:

Wade Miley

Philadelphia Phillies:

Marlon Byrd

Jonathan Papelbon

Chase Utley

AJ Burnett

Jimmy Rollins

Cole Hamels

Carlos Ruiz

Antonio Bastardo

Roberto Hernandez

Ryan Howard

Kyle Kendrick

Is Max Scherzer Good Or Are The Yankees Bad? Meme

Brett Gardner Named AL Player of the Week

Brett Gardner was named AL player of the week
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) August 4, 2014

Brett Gardner has been named the AL Player of the Week for the week of July 28- August 1st. As many of you remember this was the week that Gardner hit four home runs in the Texas Rangers series including two against the Rangers ace Yu Darvish. Congratulations to Brett on the honors.

8/4 Yankees Game Preview vs Detroit Tigers

The New York Yankees and the Detroit Tigers will start a four game series this week at Yankee Stadium after the Yankees had a bit of trouble with two struggling teams recently in the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees will send Brandon McCarthy to the mound to face off with the Tigers ace Max Scherzer. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

McCarthy is 3-0 in his last three starts for New York with a 3.00 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 18 innings for the Yankees. McCarthy has definitely solidified the Yankees starting rotation since coming over and has arguably been their best pitcher since coming over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Scherzer is on a hot streak with a 5-0 record with a 2.08 ERA in his last seven starts including throwing seven innings and only allowing one run last time out against the Chicago White Sox.

Get your tickets for tonight's game and get a Yankees back to school set if you're one of the first 18,000 fans 14 and under. You can also get tickets to see Max Scherzer tonight, David Price tomorrow, or Justin Verlander Wednesday night at the stadium in what should be a frustrating and tough series for New York. Get your tickets now. 

Go Yankees!!

Tanaka Feels Good After Throwing 25 Pitches

Tanaka threw 25 pitches at 60 feet and said things went well. Said he's relieved to get through this step.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) August 4, 2014

Masahiro Tanaka feels good after throwing 25 pitches while playing catch from 60 feet today. This was obviously the first step in the rehab program for Masahiro Tanaka as he tries to rehab a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. Tanaka will throw again tomorrow and will reportedly increase the number of pitches and how far he throws them and the Yankees will see how he responds to that.

This is obviously great news for the Yankees and Tanaka especially, maybe the rest and rehab program will actually work.

David Phelps Added To 15 Day DL, Daley Recalled

David Phelps has been placed on the 15 day disabled list with elbow inflammation, Matt Daley has been called up to take his 25 man roster place. Manager Joe Girardi has not announced who will take Phelp's spot in the rotation for the next two or three starts but it seems unlikely that it will be Michael Pineda. Esmil Rogers seems like the obvious candidate right now. Stay tuned...

Rogers Willing to Replace Phelps if Need Be

New Yankees' Reliever Esmil Rogers said that he is willing to take over David Phelps' spot in the rotation if the latter is unable to pitch. 

The 28-year-old, who joined the Yanks Thursday when they called him off waivers from the Blue Jays, made his team debut last night in Boston, impressively striking out both Mike Napoli and Yoenis Cespedes while retiring nine of the ten hitters he faced. 

No, that line doesn't guarantee any future success, but since it is obviously likable some are beginning to speculate that Rogers could be the next guy to begin a game, something he further pondered to The Star Ledger's Brendan Kuty after New York won.

"I'm going to do everything I can," the youngster said. "I don't want to go back (to the minors). Everything that I can do to help the team win, I'm going to do it because I'm healthy and I'm here to help the team."

During last night's first two innings, the usually-good Phelps surrendered 5 earned runs, an unfortunate occurrence that now appears to have happened because of a shoulder problem.

Earlier today, though, Yankees Manager Joe Girardi did tell reporters that the severity of a Phelps' injury isn't yet known, making whether or not #41 will be okay in five days a mystery.

Pittsburgh DFA's Dean Anna & Signs Jayson Nix

The Pittsburgh Pirates have designated one former member of the New York Yankees for assignment over the weekend and signed another in Dean Anna and Jayson Nix. It is extremely likely that Anna will clear waivers and it is even more likely that both would latch on with the Triple-A squads after Anna accepts an outright assignment. If Anna were to become a true free agent should the Yankees be interested? Yes, please.

I wouldn't mind having Dean Anna stashed back in our Triple-A lineup and not on the 40 man roster since the Jayson Nix experiment is long but over. Anna is a legitimate shortstop back up that got a quick cup of coffee already this season at the major league level. Worst comes to worst and Anna could always be the arm that saves the Yankees bullpen and starting rotation this season, I kid... I hope.

If Anna becomes a free agent and wants to come back then by all means, please make this happen Cashman.

Meet a Prospect: Esmil Rogers

Esmil Rogers is the latest arm to be thrown into the revolving door that is the Yankees bullpen. The Yankees acquired Rogers off waivers on July 31st from the Toronto Blue Jays. Scott Sizemore was released to give Rogers a 40 man roster spot and Zoilo Almonte was optioned back to Triple-A to make room on the 25 man roster for Rogers. Rogers is now a right handed option for Joe Girardi out of his bullpen so we might as well get to know him. This is Meet a Prospect, the Esmil Roger edition.

Esmil Antonio Rogers was born on August 14, 1985 in the Dominican Republic. Rogers was signed as a amateur free agent in 2003 by the Colorado Rockies and wouldn't begin his professional career until he reached rookie league ball in 2006. Rogers was not long for the minor leagues as he was promoted to the big leagues for the Rockies in September of 2009 and made his major league debut on September 12, 2009. Rogers spent his 2010 season in Colorado as well and pitched in 28 games, eight of them being starts, going 2-3 with a 6.13 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Rogers was a start in Colorado in 2011 as well after he replaced Ubaldo Jimenez in the starting rotation and went 3-1 with a 6.33 ERA in April. Rogers would join Jimenez in Cleveland in 2012 when the Rockies traded him to the Indians for cash considerations after Rogers was designated for assignment. Rogers had a 0-2 record with an 8.06 ERA with Colorado in 2012 and went to Cleveland looking for a new start.

Rogers was well improved in Cleveland after getting out of Coors Field and went 3-1 with a 3.06 ERA with 54 strikeouts in 53 innings and 44 games with the Indians. Rogers opened eyes up in Toronto and was traded to the Blue Jays in the offseason before the 2013 season for Mike Aviles and Yan Gomes. The first time Rogers would face his old team in Colorado he took a no hitter into the sixth inning and left the game with an 8-2 lead after 6.2 innings. After the game Rogers ERA was lowered to 1.71 and continued to have a great season for Toronto. Rogers pitched with Toronto until this season when he was designated for assignment after starting the 2014 season with a 6.97 ERA in 16 appearances. He cleared waivers and accepted his Triple-A assignment only to be designated again on July 27 without making another appearance with the team.

The Yankees claimed him and acquired Rogers on July 31st to be a part of their bullpen and hoping that another change of scenery will help the right hander. Welcome to New York Esmil, make us proud.

Remember When Dave Winfield Killed A Seagull?

This could have easily been a "Can't Predict Baseball" kind of post because this was as likely as the time when Randy Johnson killed a bird with a pitch. On this day in 1983 Dave Winfield accidentally killed a seagull at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto while throwing a warm up pitch prior to the fifth inning. The Yankees would ultimately win the game but the celebration would be short lived as Winfield would be arrested by the Ontario police and was charged with animal cruelty.

That sure was a fowl ball that Winfield will never forget. Winfield was charged and allowed out on bail for $500. The bat boy in Toronto insisted that this was done on purpose and obviously Winfield denied purposely hurting the animal. Winfield faced up to six months in jail but thankfully for the Yankees outfielder the charges were dropped the very next day.

What would a bizarre incident like this be without a quote from the great Yankee manager Billy Martin?

"They say he hit the gull on purpose? They wouldn't say that if they'd seen the throws he'd been making all year. It's the first time he's hit the cutoff man." 

Nine years later Winfield would join the Blue Jays to complete the full circle.

Quick Hit: Masahiro Tanaka Decision Day

What feels just like yesterday we were awaiting the Mark Teixeira decision that would decide whether he would be placed on the disabled list or come back to the big club. Today that same decision looms over the right elbow of Masahiro Tanaka. This decision could not only make or break the 2014 season but the 2015 season as well so there is a lot riding on this decision.

If the Yankees receive bad news today on Tanaka's right elbow then this season is all but over for the 25 year old right hander. There is a small chance that Tanaka's ulnar collateral ligament could heal itself since the tear was well under 10%, unlike Matt Harvey's who was well over the 10% tear, and he may never have to go under the knife. Even if the diagnosis is more rest, more rehab, and another injection in his elbow the season is all but over for Tanaka.

If the Yankees receive good news today than Tanaka could be back in the rotation sometime this month. Tick, tock, tick, tock as we await the news on Tanaka. Stay tuned...

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/4: A Rod's 500th and 600th Home Runs

At one point in his career everyone thought that Alex Rodriguez would be the man to finally break Hank Aaron's and then Barry Bonds all time home run mark. Alex hit two home runs on this day on his way to the record books. It all started in 2007 when Alex became the 22nd and the youngest player (32 years and 8 days) to hit 500 home runs. Alex only took 14 seasons to reach the mark when he hit the three run home run off Royals starter Kyle Davies. Alex joined Mickey Mantle as the only other player to hit his 500th home run inside Yankee Stadium.

A mere three years later on this day in 2010 Alex was in the news again for hitting a home run, this time his 600th home run of his career. Alex would pass Babe Ruth to become the youngest player in the history of baseball to reach the 600 home run plateau. A Rod's first inning two run home run would make him the seventh player in baseball history to reach 600 home runs.

Also on this day in 1985 the Yankees honored Phil Rizzuto by retiring his #10 jersey before the game. Rizzuto was a former Yankees player and a play by play color broadcaster that was best known for his "Holy Cow" expressions. The Yankees honored Rizzuto by a gift from the team of a cow wearing a halo.

Also on this day in 1985 Tom Seaver becomes the 17th player in major league history to win his 300th game. Seaver ruins Phil Rizzuto Day at Yankee Stadium by beating the Yankees 4-1 allowing only six singles to reach the milestone.

Finally on this day in 1968 the Yankees held their second of three days honoring the great Mickey Mantle. Prior to the game over 2000 fans paid tribute to the future Hall of Famer in the Bronx.