Offense Stays Cold as Yankees Lose to Rays 6-1

Michael Pineda surrendered just one earned run in 5 1/3 innings and Francisco Cervelli went a nice 2-for-3, but since the offense continued to look confused at the plate and Esmil Rogers again didn't look sharp in relief the Yankees' ugly losing streak reached three tonight with a 6-1 meltdown to the Rays.

For essentially the first half of this one, though they failed to score after getting the first two men on in the third and fifth, the Pineda-led Yanks desperately held on to a 1-0 lead, one they took in the top of the second off Jake Odirizzi (6 Innings Pitched, 1 Earned Run) when Ichiro Suzuki singled home Chris Young. 

Nonetheless, from the bottom of the fifth on everything seemed to go Tampa Bay's way, with the home team luckily tying it in that frame when a pair of errors by Brendan Ryan and Pineda helped drive in Kevin Kiermaier.

Then in the sixth, in a happening that appeared to crush whatever spirit the Yanks had left, the Rays crossed home again on a bunt knock by Yunel Escobar, followed shortly by a four spot in the seventh that basically put the nail in the coffin.

9/16 Open Game Thread vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Welcome to tonight’s open thread for the game between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. This is the second game of a three game set and the next to the last time Derek Jeter will see the friendly confines of Tropicana Field. The Yankees will have Michael Pineda on the mound looking for a victory and he will be facing off with the Rays Jake Odorizzi. The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET and can be seen on MY9, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Derek Jeter is heading home soon for his final trips to Yankee Stadium click HERE to be there in person. Also be sure to follow us on Twitter if you can’t make it to the Bronx by following @GreedyStripes and like our page on Facebook by searching for The Greedy Pinstripes.

It’s an open thread and we’re not going to have too many more of these this season so take advantage and comment it up. Enjoy the game Yankees family and as always, Go Yankees!

Masahiro Tanaka Tentatively Scheduled To Start Sunday

Masahiro Tanaka is tentatively scheduled to start this Sunday for the Yankees against the Toronto Blue Jays. Tanaka is on the 60 day DL so New York will have to make a roster move to accommodate Tanaka on the roster but that shouldn't be a problem whatsoever. Tanaka will be making his first start since early July as he attempts to rest and rehab a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right throwing elbow. The game will be at Yankee Stadium so get your tickets for that game, should be a good one to watch. 

9/16 Game Preview vs. Tampa Bay Rays

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will continue their three game set this week in Tropicana Field. This is Derek Jeter’s final trip to Tropicana Field in his career so hopefully the Yankees can get him a victory or two before he leaves. The Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound to face off with the Rays Jake Odorizzi. The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET and can be seen on MY9, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Pineda has been the recipient of little to no offensive support in his last three starts and has to be getting frustrated with the team. Pineda has pitched well since coming off the disabled list with a shoulder muscle strain but has little to show for it in the way of victories.

Odorizzi ia fresh off his last start that handed him his 12th loss of the season. Odorizzi allowed six runs on five hits in 4.1 IP last time out against these Yankees in the Bronx. Odorizzi is 5-6 with a 2.69 ERA in 16 starts this season at Tropicana Field. 

Get your Yankees tickets for the final home stand of theseason in Yankee Stadium. This will definitely be the last opportunity you get to see Derek Jeter in Yankees pinstripes so act now before the games are all sold out. CLICK HERE.

Go Yankees!!

Prado Done for Season, Yankees Call Up Jose Pirela

Martin Prado is out for the remainder of the 2014 season after an appendectomy. The Yankees have purchased the contract of Jose Pirela. Pirela is a minor league free agent at the end of the season. 

Don’t Worry Tampa, No Pressure

Last year on Mariano Rivera’s farewell tour the Tampa Bay Rays had a very unique and very cool sculpture of the last man to wear #42 made of sand. This year Derek Jeter is retiring so Tampa and their executives may feel some pressure to up the ante and out-do themselves this season but fear not, the bar has been set low by the Baltimore Orioles. The Tampa Bay Rays have no pressure on them this time around as I cannot see them putting out anything worse than what the Orioles did Sunday night.

The Orioles, as we all know by now I’m sure, gave Jeter a captain’s hat, a huge mallet, and a bucket of crabs. The captain’s hat I get, I appreciate, and I thought was clever and thoughtful. The mallet I think was just a reason to get that stupid mascot onto the field and into the festivities. The bucket of crabs though, really? You gave our starting shortstop crabs?

This script just writes itself. As Tampa gets ready to honor the Yankee captain this week at Tropicana Field I reiterate, no pressure. At least your gift won’t be ranked last. 

Meet a Prospect: Chris Young

Chris Young has burst onto the Yankees scene after starting the 2014 season with the New York Mets. The Mets designated the right handed center fielder for assignment only for the Yankees to pick him up, call him up in September, and get the most out of his bat. I usually say that you’re not a Yankee until we do one of these posts but since I am a little behind and Young has hit like 14 clutch and walk off hits and home runs since I think it’s safe to say he is fitting in quite well without the post. Even so let’s meet a prospect, the Chris Young edition.

Christopher Brandon Young was born on September 5, 1983 and spent his High School years attending the national powerhouse Bellaire High School. Young broke his arm during the playoffs in his senior year attempting to catch a fly ball hit by Elkins High School’s Chad Huffman. Huffman is currently an outfielder with the Cleveland Indians. Broken arm and all the Chicago White Sox selected Young in the 16^th round of the 2001 MLB First Year Players Draft. By 2003 Young had become an Appalachian League All-Star outfielder and by 2005 Young had been named Baseball America;s 1^st team Minor League All-Star outfielder and the Chicago White Sox Minor League Player of the Year. Young was on his way to bigger and better things but those things would not be with Chicago as he was traded after that breakout 2005 season to the Arizona Diamondbacks along with Orlando Hernandez and Luis Vizcaino for Javier Vazquez and cash considerations.

Young would start his Diamondbacks minor league career in 2006 by becoming a Triple-A All Star and by being named to Baseball America’s 2^nd team Minor League All-Star outfielder. A strong 2006 campaign allowed Young to make his major league debut on August 18, 2006 and in turn made him the Diamondbacks every day center fielder at the beginning of the 2007 season. In that 2007 rookie campaign Young set a Diamondbacks rookie record when he hit his 23^rd home run of the season and also became just the eight rookie to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season. Young finished with 27 stolen bases that year which led all NL rookie and hit 32 home runs which was second behind only Ryan Braun. Young finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2007 losing to the aforementioned Braun but did get selected to the 2007 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team. Young followed up his rookie campaign with a strong 2008 season in which he started 157 games in center field finishing with a .248 average, 22 home runs, 14 stolen bases, 85 RBI and 85 runs scored. The 2009 season was a setback for Young as he hit .212, the lowest of all qualified National League batters, and was demoted back to Triple-A on August 10. Young was on the downward slope.

Young recovered a bit in 2010 and made the NL All-Star team for the first time in his career, albeit as a reserve, and also participated in the 2010 State Farm Home Run Derby. Young only finished with one home run and was eliminated in the first round. Young finished his career with the Diamondbacks playing out until after the 2012 season when he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for infielder Cliff Pennington and Yordy Cabrera. Young was less than stellar under Billy Beane’s watchful eye and had an overall uneventful couple of seasons with Oakland before hitting free agency before the 2014 season. Young would sign a one year deal with the New York Mets worth $7.25 million.

Young’s disappointing tenure with the Mets ended on August 8^th as he was designated for assignment and subsequently released on August 15^th of this year. Less than two weeks later on August 27 the Yankees swooped Young up on a minor league deal and called him up on September 2 when the rosters expanded. Nine days later on September 11 Young broke up the Rays Alex Cobb’s no hitter in the bottom of the eighth inning with a double and hit a game winning three run home run to walk off against the Rays in the very next inning. The very next day Young hit his third home run in three days breaking a 0-0 tie in the 11^th inning with the Baltimore Orioles before the bullpen blew the lead and the game. Young also played some stellar defense in left field the next day on September 12^th and even stole home on a double steal cementing one good week with his new club. Now Young will forever be remembered for these moments because they have been put in (virtual) ink right here on the blog. 

Headley Blaming Umpire for Last Night's Ejection

Yankees' Third Basemen Chase Headley blames his ejection last night on home plate umpire Marty Foster, who he claimed instigated their argument.

Coming with one out and nobody on in yesterday's top of the seventh, Headley's disqualification was set in motion by a low strike one call by Foster, who took off his mask during the disagreement.

"I felt that he was an aggressor toward me," Headley told The Star Ledger's Brendan Kuty after the contest. "I told him to calm down and he kept yelling at me."

Headley also said Foster was shouting at him to get back in the batter's box, which the former ultimately did before apparently saying something else.

"He kept yelling at me to get back in the box," Headley said. "You have to be able to talk to (umpires). Because not only myself, there were a couple of guys who were upset. The borderline ones you can live with … but when there's a pitch that should not be missed ever, that's when as a player you get a little bit more upset."

The ejection was the third of Headley's career. The other two, as you may have imagined, came when he was with the Padres.

The Yankees Bullpen Is Done

The bullpen of the New York Yankees is done, it has hit a wall, it has hit an innings limit, and it is done. The only saving grace this season has been the bullpen and the strong starting pitching but the bullpen has been overused, abused, and should not be relied on any more this season. It’s probably a good thing that the Yankees aren’t making the postseason this year because we may have two or three more Tom Gordon and Scott Proctor’s on our hands.

Dellin Betances has been affected the least as he has thrown 23 IP since August and has seen his ERA fall from 1.52 to 1.35. Get Dellin past the magical 130 strikeout mark so he can pass Rivera and use sparingly. Dellin has been the exception and not the rule and that probably has a lot to do with the fact that he is 26 years old. 

David Robertson may have been the one affected the most although he has been effective in save situations. Robertson has had 40 save situations this season and has saved 36 of them, which is not a number to bow your head down too in shame, but lately he has been shaky at best. Robertson has thrown 17.2 IP since August and that includes a streak of not pitching in over a week in a save situation at the end of August and early September. Robertson has seen his era rise from 2.81 to 2.93.

Adam Warren has nothing left in the tank and has fallen out of the “circle of trust” with Joe Girardi in recent months. Warren has thrown 18.1 IP since August 1 and has seen his ERA rise from 3.19 to 3.30. Warren is reminding me a lot of our new version of Joba Chamberlain when he fell from grace in 2013.

Shawn Kelley, Rich Hill, Josh Outman, and others have been used sparingly, obviously some more than others specifically in Kelley’s case, and have pitched well lately all things considered. With David Phelps back in the fold and in the bullpen I expect Girardi to ride his formerly inflamed elbow all the way to October when the bullpen finally gets a well-deserved and much needed rest this winter. 

TGP Daily Poll: The Best Derek Jeter Gift Is Yet To Come

The daily poll for The Greedy Pinstripes today focuses on Derek Jeter and his farewell tour gifts. Jeter has been showered with gifts and donations to his Turn 2 Foundation in this his final season in the major leagues but is the best gift yet to come? Could the Boston Red Sox, who did a magnificent job honoring Mariano Rivera last season, out-do them all? Even the Yankees?

Vote in our poll!

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/16: Catfish Hunter Day At Yankee Stadium

The New York Yankees have become known for the days they honor their current and former stars, players, and managers, and the Yankees did just that on this day in 1979 when they honored retiring closer Catfish Hunter. Hunter was surprisingly only 33 years old when the future Hall of Fame pitcher decided to hang up his cleats for good.

On the same day the Yankees got a glimpse into the future as a 20 year old rookie pitcher made his major league debut. His name was Dave Righetti.

Also on this day in 1948 Joe DiMaggio became only the 8th player in major league history to reach the 300 home run mark. DiMaggio joins Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott, Jimmie Foxx, Rogers Hornsby, Chuck Klein, and Hank Greenberg in the 300 home run club.

Finally on this day in 1923 in a move that future owner George Steinbrenner would have made 23 year old shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh was hired to replace Frank Chance as the manager of the team. Peckinpaugh lasted a whole 20 games and went 10-10 for the 6th place Yankees squad.