Sunday, August 24, 2014

McCann Hits Walk-Off Homer in Tenth as Yankees Complete Weekend Sweep of White Sox

Chris Capuano surrendered three earned runs in six innings and David Robertson blew a 4-3 lead in the ninth, but since the Ichiro Suzuki-led offense was able to rally from a 3-0 deficit against Chris Sale and Brian McCann took Jake Petricka deep for a PH three-run shot in the tenth the Yankees found a way to complete a sweep of the White Sox today, 7-4, in the finale at The Stadium.

Going into this one's bottom of the sixth, as expected, the Yanks were struggling at the plate against Sale, collecting just two hits while never getting to third.

Nonetheless, after Martin Prado reached second on a missed catch error by Dayan Viciedo and Mark Teixeira drove him in with double New York's bats found their swing, rallying for three more to take the advantage when Sale walked a pair, Zelous Wheeler got hit in the leg with the bases loaded, and Ichiro lined a two-run single to right.

Interestingly, each of those four trips around the bases was actually scored as unearned on Sale's final line, a fact that really shows the Yankees' ability to take advantage this afternoon.

Unfortunately, though, that at-bat still wouldn't end up being enough for the Yanks to get the W, as the usually-reliable Robertson surrendered a game-tying solo homer to Avisail Garcia in the top of the ninth.

No, that mistake didn't end things by any means, but yes, it certainly sucked the life out of the crowd, who went quiet the second it hit the seats.

Be that as it may, the Yanks eventually prevailed later on, with McCann winning the contest with two on and two out in the aforementioned tenth.

8/24 Yankees Open Game Thread vs. Chicago White Sox


The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox will finish up their three game set this weekend at Yankee Stadium with an afternoon game in the Bronx. The Yankees will send Chris Capuano to the mound to face off with the White Sox ace Chris Sale. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be see on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Get your Hello Kitty Bobblehead and get your Yankees tickets for today right here on the blog. Also be sure to follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and like our page on Facebook by searching for The Greedy Pinstripes.

It's an open thread and a game thread so talk about whatever you would like. Who needs that Sunday nap? Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your afternoon. Go Yankees!

Hiroki Kuroda Undecided About Playing Next Season


Hiroki Kuroda remains undecided on whether he will play next season or not and where he will play if he does play in 2015. For two consecutive seasons now Kuroda has decided late in the offseason whether he would return and where he would return to so this time around seems no different.

Kuroda has stated that he would like to finish his career in Japan where he career started and has also expressed a mild interest in returning to the Los Angeles Dodgers as well. The last two winters Kuroda has stated he would only pitch for the Dodgers, the Yankees, Japan, or retire and no signs point to that being any different this time around.

After two consecutive fades in August and September and a third still incomplete he may be pitching his final month and a half in New York either way.

Three Greatest Disasters In Chicago History


Tanaka Faces Live Hitters; Reports No Pain

In a likable series of events, Yankees' ace Masahiro Tanaka threw 2 innings and 35 pitches against live hitters yesterday, USA Today reports. 

After the outing, interestingly, Tanaka admitted he didn't have great control, but since he still didn't claim to have any pain this news is definitely good for the Yanks. 

Tanaka, 25, hasn't faced anyone with a bat in over a month, a fact that's forced New York to rely on inconsistent guys like Chris Capuano and Shane Greene more often than they'd like.

"I feel it's a little bit still rusty, but there were some good balls that I was able to throw," Tanaka told the Associated Press through a translator. "I want to keep moving forward."

While healthy with the Yankees this season, as we all know, Tanaka was one of the best hurlers in baseball, going 12-4 with a 2.51 ERA and 135 strikeouts. 

Also included in those amazing stats, impressively, were three complete games, coming versus the Mets, Mariners, and Red Sox with the Mets one being a shutout. 

In other words, it's pretty obvious to anyone with a mind that Tanaka returning would be a huge boost for the currently-in-limbo Bombers, who presently trail the Mariners by 3 1/2 games in the AL Wild Card Standings. 

8/24 Yankees Game Preview vs. Chicago White Sox


The New York Yankees finish off their series this afternoon with the Chicago White Sox before heading out on the road for a seven game road trip. The Yankees will send Chris Capuano to the mound to face off with the White Sox ace Chris Sale. This is the first of a huge and difficult four game set for the Yankees that could make or break their season. 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.

Capuano is coming off a start in which he failed to reach the sixth inning for the first time in a Yankees uniform. Capuano only pitched 5.1 innings and struck out eight batters against the Houston Astros. The Yankees and Capuano lost the game in a heartbreaking fashion to the team's playoff hopes and aspirations.

Sale is coming off a month in which he has lost his last two decisions and has not won a game for the entire month of August, a trend the Yankees look to continue this afternoon in the Bronx. Sale has allowed nine earned runs and allowed 23 hits in 26 innings striking out 36 batters and walking seven guys.

This is not a joke, it's Hello Kitty Bobblehead Day at Yankee Stadium today for the first 18,000 guests 14 years and younger. If you have a daughter or just want to see the Yankees live grab a pair of Yankees tickets for today's game before the team heads out on the road next week. 

Go Yankees!!

Can't Predict Baseball: All Star Game Rematch In 2013


Major League Baseball has been around for over 100 years now but only once in the history of the games have we seen an All Star Game rematch, but we were all treated to this in 2013. The All Star Game was played in Citi Field in 2013 and on this day in 2013 the Mets were back home in Citi Field to host the Detroit Tigers.

Both the All Star Game and this game were played at Citi Field with the Mets Matt Harvey on the mound for the home team and facing off with the Tigers Max Scherzer. 

Detroit would win the game 3-0 while Harvey gave up 13 hits in 6.2 innings. After the game Harvey would end up on the disabled list and would ultimately have to go under the knife with Tommy John surgery. Scherzer in the same game would become the third pitcher in the history of baseball to start a season 19-1. 

The other two pitchers to start a season  19-1 were Rube Marquard in 1912 with the New York Giants and Roger Clemens with the 2001 New York Yankees. You know what they say Suzyn, you really can't predict baseball. 


Complete List Of Retired Yankees Numbers


Joe Torre's #6 jersey was retired yesterday afternoon in a pre-game ceremony at Yankee Stadium and Derek Jeter's #2 jersey will be retired in two weeks time giving the Yankees 19 retired jersey numbers in their history. The Yankees may have to soon hand out the #0 and triple digit numbers soon enough.

#1 Billy Martin
#2 Derek Jeter
#3 Babe Ruth
#4 Lou Gehrig
#5 Joe DiMaggio
#6 Joe Torre
#7 Mickey Mantle
#8 Yogi Berra/ Bill Dickey
#9 Roger Maris
#10 Phil Rizzuto
#15 Thurman Munson
#16 Whitey Ford
#23 Don Mattingly
#32 Elston Howard
#37 Casey Stengel
#42 Mariano Rivera/ Jackie Robinson
#44 Reggie Jackson
#49 Ron Guidry




Quick Hit: Yankees Begin a Tough Postseason Stretch


Starting this afternoon the New York Yankees begin a tough stretch of games that will undoubtedly determine whether the team will make the postseason or not. In the next four games the Yankees finish their three game set with the Chicago White Sox by facing off with Chris Sale, make up a previously rained out game with the Kansas City Royals by facing James Shields, and head to Detroit to take on the Tigers and Rick Porcello and David Price. The third game of the Tigers series the Yankees draw Buck Farmer, a rookie in his third start of his career.

New York finishes off with three games in Toronto against the Blue Jays before beginning September baseball. We will likely know a lot more about the Yankees chances for a playoff berth by then but these next four games are likely to make the team or break the team, hopefully the former.

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/24: Yankees Hats Start a Gang War


Unknown to the New York Yankees their hats may have contributed to an uptick in gang violence in East Harlem, New York. On this day in 2007, a day after protests concerning the gang related items, New Era announced that it will remove the "offensive" hats that bears the colors and symbols of the rival gangs the Bloods, the Crips, and the Latin Kings. Two white hats had been wrapped in red and blue bandannas made by New Era and appeared to represent the Bloods and the Crips. A black Yankees hat with the interlocking NY also had a crown symbolic of the Latin Kings.

Also on this day in 1985 Don Baylor ties a major league record in a Yankees uniform when he is hit by a pitch for the 189th time in his career.

Finally on this day in 1951 Mickey Mantle was recalled from the minor leagues and for the first time in his career wore his #7 jersey. The Yankees would win the game and Mantle would go 1-4 in the 2-0 victory over the Indians. Mantle had previously wore #6 before being demoted six weeks ago and his jersey was given to infielder Bobby Brown.