Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Recap: Twins 3, Yankees 1

Masahiro Tanaka had a rough last outing of the spring, surrendering three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings as the Yankees dropped a pitcher's duel to the Twins, 3-1, Tuesday in Fort Myers.

Tanaka Struggles: Tanaka was cruising up until two outs in the bottom of the third, when he gave up a double to Eduardo Escobar and a single to Chris Herrmann to put the Twins on top. He then allowed two more runs in the fourth and fifth -- ending with an unfavorable final line of seven hits, one walk and one strikeout. 

Flores' Clutch Knock: Following a Chris Young single and a Rob Refsnyder walk, Ramon Flores lined a Tommy Milone fastball to center with two outs in the fourth -- scoring Young easily from second to even the game at one. It was Flores' eighth RBI of the month and sixth since last Tuesday -- accounting for the only time the Yankees reached third on the afternoon.

Martin's Nice Performance: It's been a tough preseason so far for Chris Martin, but at least in this one, the Yankees invitee pitched to his potential. He shutout the Twins for a full two innings after Tanaka's removal -- retiring each of the six batters he faced while striking out three.

Gardner Shows Promise: Brett Gardner went 1-for-2 with a walk in three plate appearances against Milone -- his walk being one of just two the lefty issued in the contest. As for his hit, it came on a seeing eye single in the Yankees' half of the third -- a slow grounder to right that just made it past a dive by the first baseman.

Rally Falls Short: Down 3-1 in the top of the ninth, the Yankees put two men on with two out for the .219-hitting Nick Noonan -- who proceeded to strike out swinging on a 3-2 offering to strand the tying runners. The punch-out wrapped up an 0-for-4 day at the dish for Noonan, and clinched a 26-pitch save for Twins right-hander Casey Fien. 

Next Up: The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the hill Wednesday when they host the Rays at Steinbrenner Field -- a matchup set to air live on YES and on tape delay on MLB Network. Jordan Norberto is expected to get the nod for Tampa Bay when the action begins at 1:05 p.m. ET -- the last exhibition meeting the two clubs will have this year.

Domingo German Needs Tommy John Surgery

A photo posted by el negro de los guasiviri (@domingogerman75) on
When the New York Yankees acquired Nathan Eovaldi from the Miami Marlins for David Phelps and Martin Prado Domingo German was one of the lesser pieces thrown into the deal for the Yankees. What the Yankees may or may not have known was that German needed Tommy John surgery, according to his Instagram account anyway.

German is just 22 years old and pitched in one Grapefruit League this season before being shut down. The team has not confirmed anything as of yet but it's interesting to note that German jumped from 67.0 IP in 2013 all the way to 123.1 IP last season.

German seems done for the 2015 season so it's time for him to focus on his rehab and the 2016 season. Good luck German and we can't wait for the return.

Predicting the MVP Award Winners for 2015


It’s time for the big awards to be given out as I take a stab at predicting the American League and National League MVP Awards. These predictions are such a crap shoot and so much goes into them and so much can alter the award winner during the season it’s almost silly to attempt to predict it in March but it’s all for fun anyway so why not.

For the American League I am going to go against the grain a little bit and pick a member of the Detroit Tigers, just not the Detroit Tigers player that you would expect. I am going to go with Yoenis Cespedes winning the award and not Victor Martinez or Miguel Cabrera. With that kind of protection in the lineup and that many runners on base in front of him Cespedes should see plenty of fastballs this season, and we all know Cespedes is a dead fastball hitter. He should hit his fair share of home runs and doubles while knocking in a ton of RBI and scoring a ton of runs. He may not compete for a batting title but I expect the Cuban, who FYI is playing for a contract since he is a free agent at the end of the season, to be right there in the MVP discussion this season.


For the National League I am going to pick a familiar face in Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins. Until Stanton gives me reason to pick someone else for the award I am going to pick him year in and year out, which makes next year’s post a little anti-climactic for you guys. Stanton is still the best hitter in all of the game and especially all of the National League and has a chip on his shoulder in 2015. He has a much improved team around him, a lot of money to justify to the fans that he deserves and he wants to prove that he can still hit after taking a fastball to the face that ended his 2014 season. He will do all that and then some in 2015, mark my words. 

Spring: New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins 3/31


The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins continue their Grapefruit League schedules this afternoon when the Yankees travel out on the road. The Yankees will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound this afternoon to face off against Tommy Milone for the Twins. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on MLB Network.


Opening Day is a mere six days away Yankees family. 

Former Yankees Faces in Different Spring Places




The New York Yankees have seen a lot of turnover over the past few seasons and especially during the 2015 offseason so I thought now would be a good time to see how those former Yankees faces are doing in different spring places. Not that spring stats mean much of anything at all but it can still be fun to look at to see if the team “won” a specific transaction or not.

Francisco Cervelli:

Tm Age GS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
PIT 29 11 27 6 9 2 1 3 5 7 4 .333 .486 .815 1.301

Shane Greene:

Tm Age GS W L ERA G IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9
DET 26 4 1 1 3.95 4 13.2 13 9 6 1 3 14 1.171 8.6 0.7 2.0 9.2

Brandon McCarthy:

Tm Age GS W L ERA G IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9
LAD 31 4 1 1 6.75 4 14.2 20 11 11 1 3 9 1.568 12.3 0.6 1.8 5.5

Martin Prado:

Tm Age G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS
MIA 31 17 46 4 12 2 0 0 4 .261 .306 .304 .610
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/30/2015.

David Phelps:

Tm Age W L ERA G IP H R ER HR BB SO WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9
MIA 28 2 0 1.00 6 18.0 10 3 2 0 7 14 0.944 5.0 0.0 3.5 7.0

Predicting the Final 25 Man Roster


With the latest round of spring training roster cuts now done I figured now would be the best time to take another stab at predicting the 25 man roster this season. I originally had Robert Refsnyder, Jose Pirela and Jacob Lindgren on my rosters but none of those three players unfortunately will make the cut out of camp in 2015. In their place is Stephen Drew, Chasen Shreve and Brendan Ryan. See below for the rest of the players who have all but locked up a 25 man roster spot for the Yankees when camp breaks at the end of this week.

C: Brian McCann
1B: Mark Teixeira
2B: Stephen Drew
SS: Didi Gregorius
3B: Chase Headley
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury
RF: Carlos Beltran
DH: Alex Rodriguez

BN: Garrett Jones
BN: Chris Young
BN: Brendan Ryan
BN: Austin Romine

SP: Masahiro Tanaka
SP: Michael Pineda
SP: CC Sabathia
SP: Nathan Eovaldi
SP: Adam Warren

LR: Esmil Rogers
LR: Chase Whitley
RP: Chasen Shreve
RP: Justin Wilson
RP: David Carpenter
RP: Dellin Betances
RP: Andrew Miller


TGP Daily Poll: Yankees Continue to Dominate Minnesota


The New York Yankees have destroyed the Minnesota Twins over the past five to ten seasons and that will continue this afternoon. Even if it is just spring training the Yankees continue to dominate.


Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Charleston Riverdogs Introduce New Food & Beverage Items for 2015



Brisket Ramen Bowl Highlights RiverDogs’

New Food & Beverage for the 2015 Season

New items include Summer Harvest Salad, Kimchi Dog & chocolate covered bacon

CHARLESTON, SC – One of the highlights of the Charleston RiverDogs’ preseason is the announcement of what those wacky guys in the kitchen have new coming up in the concession stands.


Rest assured, fans won’t be disappointed. In fact, there will be several new mouth-watering items at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park this spring when the season opens on April 9.


For a very long time, the Charleston RiverDogs have been recognized for their diverse and tasty concession offerings, which have in recent years drawn Food Network star Rachel Ray and Man v. Food celebrity Adam Richman to Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park to sample the variety of delicacies. Whether it’s at the Doghouse, DogWorld, Joe’s Grill or the Pie House, fans can always find something to satisfy their every craving.


And this year, multiple new items are being added to the fan-favorite hot dog menu and the culmination of meticulous work in the RiverDogs’ top-secret test kitchen.


John Schumacher, the food guru for the RiverDogs’ ownership ensemble, The Goldklang Group, said that the new items were “the result of extensive kitchen research” for new ideas.


“With Josh Shea in his third year as our F&B Director and with the addition of Jay Weekley, we’ve again raised the bar of expectation and increase our food exploration,” said Schumacher.

Smokin Joe’s stand has been relocated inside the Beer Garden and features a ramped-up menu. A highlight is the Brisket Ramen Bowl, which is a healthy serving of Ramen noodles sautéed in an orange teriyaki glaze topped with smoked beef brisket, snow peas, carrots, green onions and a hardboiled egg. There will also be a Smoked Turkey Wing Basket that features two half-pound turkey wings that are slow-smoked and served with a blackberry sage barbeque sauce over a basket of in-house cooked pork rinds.


In an effort to enhance the healthy food offerings served at DogWorld, both black bean and turkey burgers return. Added this year is the Summer Harvest Salad that feeds two-to-three adults and includes an entire head of hydroponically-grown butter leaf lettuce stuffed with grape tomatoes, edamame, and an herb and carrot quinoa mixture. It is topped with sprouts, sunflower seeds and a creamy avocado dressing, all served in a replica baseball batting helmet.

Beer shakes, an item that grows in popularity, return for their third year and the two distinct flavors – Palmetto Espresso Porter Chocolate (from a local brewery) and Guinness Caramel – will return. New this year, however, is the Shock Top Creamsicle Shake and makes its debut during the opening seven-game homestand.

The Wacko Taco Stand, a popular stop on the concourse, features a Lowcountry Taco, which is smoked pulled pork, slow cooked collard greens and mac n’ cheese topped with a Memphis-style barbeque sauce.


The Funnel Cake Stand enjoyed an offseason makeover and is now called the RiverDogs’ State Fair. And with that comes two innovative menu items: chocolate covered pepper bacon and deep-fried cheesecake on a stick.


The club introduces a new hot dog annually and this year Schumacher unveils a new “signature” specialty that will be a Southern Kimchi Dog which is a Hebrew National hot dog topped with collard greens, kimchi and piquant peppers tossed in soy sauce and a sesame seed oil sauce.


The RiverDogs will also offer a giant, 24-ounce soft pretzel that is cleverly called “A Knot to Remember,” and it is served in a pizza box with marinara, garlic butter and a nacho cheese sauce.


And finally, the Firefly Tiki Hut returns with many of the old favorites and a new Peach Moonshine Mojito.

This Day in New York Yankees History 3/31: Welcome to Coors Field


On this day in 1995 in front of a crowd of 47,536 the New York Yankees lost the first ever game at Coors Field, an exhibition game, 4-1 to the Colorado Rockies.


Also on this day in 1984 Roger Maris announced his #9 jersey retirement from the Yankees on an episode of ABC's Sports Beat with Howard Cosell. New York planned to retire the jersey number at Old Timer's Day that July. Maris showed much disbelief in learning the news and was very happy to be recognized for his seven years in pinstripes.

Monday, March 30, 2015

ICYMI: Should New York Draft Brady Aiken?


The New York Yankees stockpiled all the draft picks they could while still attempting to improve the team this offseason for what I consider to be a nice change of pace. Instead of re-signing David Robertson to a mega deal the team instead took the draft pick compensation for him and signed Andrew Miller to a similar deal. New York now has three picks in the first 60 or so picks of the draft including two in the first round (including the supplemental round) so should one of those picks be used to pick Brady Aiken?

Aiken was the #1 overall pick in 2014 and ultimately did not sign with the Houston Astros due to something on the medicals that the team did not like. Now I think we all know what that was as Aiken underwent Tommy John surgery this week ending his 2015 season. The Yankees have the money and the time to wait on and bring along Aiken slowly so should the team take a chance on drafting him? Absolutely!

If the team took his talent with their first overall pick you would have to assume that he would not sign for slot money or above with the injury. New York could take that extra cash flow and talk a few High School players out of going to college and talk a few committed players into foregoing those commitments for professional baseball.

If New York can get #1 overall talent at the #16 slot and save money to take a bigger name at the #30 slot and get them both signed that would do wonders for what many believe is a Top 20 farm system. The Yankees have a slew of pitchers coming through the system and can wait a season while Aiken mends, he would be three or four months into recovery before the team even drafted him, in what would not be an unprecedented drafting. Many teams have been drafting players they knew needed Tommy John surgery because of the astronomical success rate with the procedure.


It’s not something that everyone is doing yet but it’s something I think the Yankees need to take a chance on. Draft Aiken, wait him out and get another young stud starting pitcher for us all to drool over for the next four or five seasons. It makes too much sense not to. 

Predicting the Cy Young Award Winners for 2015


Today we move into the bigger awards as I take a stab at predicting the American League and National League Cy Young Award winners. This was one of the few awards I actually did well with last year so I feel confident that I can do that again in 2015.

For the American League winner I am going to go with Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox. Porcello had a career season in 2014 with the Detroit Tigers before being traded over to a much improved Boston Red Sox team this winter. Many speculators have stated that the Red Sox don’t have an ace heading into this season but as much as I hate to admit it, Porcello could (and will) be that guy for Boston. The Red Sox have this uncanny ability of taking in your tired, your hungry and your mediocre and turning them into stars, David Ortiz for example, and I believe they will do it again with Porcello in 2015.


For the National League I am going to pick a familiar face in the ace for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Clayton Kershaw. When Kershaw gives me a reason not to pick him then I will, not until then. The Dodgers lefty is clearly the best regular season pitcher in the game right now and shows no signs of slowing down or changing that in 2015. It’s an easy pick and it’s a safe pick but sometimes those kind of picks, the obvious picks, are the best picks and that’s my pick. 

Most Popular Article of the Week: Yankees Valued at $3.2 Billion According to Forbes


The New York Yankees are still the most valued franchise in all of Major League Baseball after Forbes released their valuations of every team this season. The Yankees came in worth $3.2 billion, up from $2.5 billion last year, after the Yankees estimated revenue sat at $508 million. Coming in second was the Los Angeles Dodgers who are worth $2.4 billion while the World Series champion San Francisco Giants are third at $2 billion.

The average MLB team is worth $1.2 billion, an increase of 48% since the 2014 season. Money is coming into the game quicker than they can spend it and with the Yankees making over $500 million in the 2014 season alone it makes you wonder why the team couldn’t go an extra $5 million or so extra on Yoan Moncada….

Yelp Reviews Of Yankee Stadium

I recently read an article from Sports Pickle (I recommend following them on Twitter), which covers some Yelp reviews for Nassau Coliseum... home of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders.

Not the most inviting place from the looks of it.

While I don't mean to dump on Islander fans that read The Greedy Pinstripes (especially the Mulch Heads), I wanted to let non-Islander fans know that part of the hatred towards Nassau Coliseum probably falls on the team that plays there.

The Islanders have finished above third place in their division only once since the 1987-1988 season. Since the 1993-1994 season, they've gone no further than the conference quarterfinals.

So their fans have a reason to be bitter, even if it gets misdirected at the home of the Islanders.

Here are some of the comments about Nassau Coliseum...
I still don’t understand how they still allow people to come to this place … They do have flatscreen TVs around the building, so that’s a plus … even though they probably fell off a truck. - Jason R. Richmond Hill, NY
Smallest little joke stadium that I’ve ever been to … And I come from BUFFALO, NEW YORK!! - Tiffany F. Queens, NY
The bathrooms are gross, the seats even more gross and the areas you use for ‘VIP’ areas are just large holding dock locations in the basement … gross. - Jenn S. Port Washington, NY
Side note - I've never lived in New York City. I'm from central New York, between Rochester and Syracuse in the Finger Lakes, where things are much different than "the City" due to pro sports teams in Buffalo (NHL Sabres and NFL Bills). From what I've seen, though, most NYCers come in two forms... those that like the Yankees, Giants, Rangers, and Knicks, and those that like the Mets, Jets, Islanders, and Nets. Am I right?

Anyway, that article from Sports Pickle made me think about Yelp reviews for Yankee Stadium.

Now, when it was first debuted a lot of people dumped on "new" Yankee Stadium, thanks in part to things like no Bleacher Creatures and some seats in the outfield having restricted views. Then there was the whole home run issue, as air currents (or whatever) apparently made hitting dingers there really easy. Oh, and the place lost that "fans on top of the field" feel.

For a place that cost $2.3 billion to build, it seemed like there were way too many issues.

So what did those on Yelp have to say? Here are a few reviews...
I love this stadium!! definitely more modern and luxurious than the original but is successful in keeping the old world charm at the same time. Can't wait to go back. - Spree W. Sacremento, CA
This holy grail of a stadium just never gets old! - Chris E. New York, NY
this park is exactly what you'd expect out of the home of the Yankees. It's expensive of course but you have a good view of the field even from the upper deck. Everything is first class and has this "corporate" feel that sort of embodies the Yankees, along with reminders of their success over the years. - David H. Arlington, VA
Frankly every baseball fan should make a point of catching a game here. Aside from the tradition and heritage, there's also lots of great modern amenities that make this stadium one of the best in the country. - Kevin W. Manhattan, NY
To be forthright upfront, I am a Red Sox fan. There is no way I can give this place more than 3 stars [which he did] or I would not be allowed back in Massachusetts. - Dan C. New York, NY
The new stadium is phenomenal and we [him and his fiance] love going to games here. - Kevin B. Summit, NJ
The new Yankee Stadium isn't the house that Ruth built, but it still screams tradition. - Charley B. Kansas City, KS
A great game experience and really terrific people who work there. - Jane M. Morris County, NJ
The New Yankee Stadium is a monument to all things baseball. - Frank B. Seattle, WA
MAN!! as a long time Yankee hater and after visiting over 10 MLB parks I hate saying that Yankee Stadium might be as good as it gets. - Beau S. Seattle, WA
Yelp actually had 769 reviews for Yankee Stadium, and 558 of them ranked the stadium at least four stars out of five. That's pretty darn good. Especially when you take into account the number of Yankee haters that wrote something, along with those that simply can't get over the fact that "old" Yankee Stadium is gone.

"You love me, you really love me!"

TGP Daily Poll: Didi Will Be Ready for Opening Day


Didi Gregorius sprained his wrist on Saturday in a game with the Baltimore Orioles and had precautionary tests done on the wrist. All seems well and Didi seems to be ready to play on Wednesday. Gregorius will be ready for Opening Day for the Yankees.

Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Former Yankees Update: Hiroki Kuroda


Hiroki Kuroda made his first start in his native country of Japan since leaving the island to pursue a career in Major League Baseball in the United States on Sunday. Kuroda returned to the Hiroshima Carp and struck out five batters while giving up five hits and one walk in seven shutout innings. The Carp went on to win the game by the final score of 2-1.

The 40 year old right hander threw 96 pitches and added to his career 103-89 record in Japan with a victory over the weekend.

Sad News Regarding a Prospect

This is not Yankees related news but this is sad news nonetheless as the game of Major League Baseball lost one of it's own over the weekend. Victor Sanchez, 20 years old, passed away over the weekend after swimming off the coast of Venezuela. Sanchez was hit in the head by a boat suffering a fractured skull and hematoma that put the starter into a coma.

Our condolences go to his family, friends and his teammates inside the Seattle Mariners organization. This is always horrible news and he was gone far too soon. RIP.

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/30


On this day in 2001 former Yankee Dwight Gooden announced his retirement from baseball. Doc finished with a 194-112 record playing for the Mets, Yankees, Indians, Astros, and Devil Rays and won a World Series and pitched a no hitter with the Yankees.

On this day in 1991 the Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles played an exhibition game at Joe Robbie Stadium which drew 67,654 fans, a new spring training attendance record. The two day series between the two teams was a part pf South Florida's efforts to get a National League expansion team, soon to be named the Florida Marlins.

On this day in 1984 the San Diego Padres obtained Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles for pitcher Dennis Rasmussen and prospect Darin Cloniger.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Sunday Spring Training Roster Moves


The New York Yankees have announced a series of roster moves that bring the team that much closer to their 25 man roster for Opening Day.

UPDATE: The Yankees have reassigned Ramon Flores, Nick Rumbelow, Jacob Lindgren, Francisco Arcia, Cole Figueroa, Kyle Higashioka, Jonathan Galvez and Slade Heathcott to minor league camps.


  • The Yankees released Scott Baker but hope to re-sign him to a new minor league deal a la Jared Burton to avoid paying the $100,000 retention bonus. 

  • Bryan Mitchell has been re-assigned to Triple-A Scranton where he will start his season.

  • Kyle Davies has be re-assigned to minor league camp as well. 

  • Brian Cashman hinted that Chase Whitley and Jacob Lindgren may make the Opening Day roster in the bullpen but more cuts are expected after the game this afternoon. 

Recap: Yankees 7, Astros 0

Nathan Eovaldi threw 4 2/3 shutout innings and Chase Headley went 2-for-3 with three RBI Sunday as the Yankees beat up Astros, 7-0, in a one-sided affair in Kissimmee. 

Eovaldi's Gem: Eovaldi struck out five and allowed just three hits during his 14-out performance -- walking none and conceding a wild pitch. He let just one man reach third on the day, and his ERA for the preseason is now an impressive 0.66.

Headley Keeps Hitting: Headley broke a scoreless tie with a solo home run off Scott Feldman in the third, and drove in two more with a bases-loaded single in the sixth. His homer to right was his third of the month -- the highest total on the Yankees. 

A-Rod at First: Alex Rodriguez played first base for three innings in this one -- fielding just one routine grounder in the bottom of the second. Rodriguez picked up the roller without issue and flipped it to the covering Eovaldi -- a relatively-easy out that at least seemed to show Rodriguez's competency.

Rogers Bounces Back: Esmil Rogers retired each of the five Astros he faced in the sixth and seventh -- striking out two to lower his ERA to 2.57. Rogers came in for the sixth after Chase Whitley fanned the last batter of the fifth -- the only out Whitley induced in the contest.

Notable Offense: Slade Heathcott plated Rodriguez with a sharp single in the fourth -- Heathcott's ninth hit in 28 at-bats this spring. Rob Refsnyder also brought in a run with a double in the sixth -- one of four the Yankees scored in the frame.

Next Up: The Yankees are off Monday before heading to Ft. Myers for a 1:05 p.m. meeting with the Twins on Tuesday -- the Yanks' lone visit to Hammond Stadium this season. Masahiro Tanaka is slated to start for the Yankees when they go head-to-head with Minnesota's Tommy Milone -- a matchup you can see live on FS-North as well as MLB Network. 

Should New York Draft Brady Aiken?


The New York Yankees stockpiled all the draft picks they could while still attempting to improve the team this offseason for what I consider to be a nice change of pace. Instead of re-signing David Robertson to a mega deal the team instead took the draft pick compensation for him and signed Andrew Miller to a similar deal. New York now has three picks in the first 60 or so picks of the draft including two in the first round (including the supplemental round) so should one of those picks be used to pick Brady Aiken?

Aiken was the #1 overall pick in 2014 and ultimately did not sign with the Houston Astros due to something on the medicals that the team did not like. Now I think we all know what that was as Aiken underwent Tommy John surgery this week ending his 2015 season. The Yankees have the money and the time to wait on and bring along Aiken slowly so should the team take a chance on drafting him? Absolutely!

If the team took his talent with their first overall pick you would have to assume that he would not sign for slot money or above with the injury. New York could take that extra cash flow and talk a few High School players out of going to college and talk a few committed players into foregoing those commitments for professional baseball.

If New York can get #1 overall talent at the #16 slot and save money to take a bigger name at the #30 slot and get them both signed that would do wonders for what many believe is a Top 20 farm system. The Yankees have a slew of pitchers coming through the system and can wait a season while Aiken mends, he would be three or four months into recovery before the team even drafted him, in what would not be an unprecedented drafting. Many teams have been drafting players they knew needed Tommy John surgery because of the astronomical success rate with the procedure.


It’s not something that everyone is doing yet but it’s something I think the Yankees need to take a chance on. Draft Aiken, wait him out and get another young stud starting pitcher for us all to drool over for the next four or five seasons. It makes too much sense not to. 

Spring: New York Yankees @ Houston Astros 3/29


The New York Yankees and the Houston Astros continue their Grapefruit League schedules this afternoon when the Bronx Bombers travel to Osceola County Stadium to face off with the Astros. The Yankees will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound for the first time since announcing that he would be the team's fourth starter this season. The Astros will counter Eovaldi with Scott Feldman on the mound for Houston.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on MLB TV.

Weekly Check In With Luis Severino


We have been checking in all weekend with a few key Yankees prospects including Jacob Lindgren and Robert Refsnyder so we will finish this weekly check in with Luis Severino. Severino will not start the season in the Bronx unfortunately but he seems to be a shoe in for at least a September call up which is encouraging. Without further delay let's see what Severino has done to date this season in Yankees spring training camp.

G: 2
ERA: 6.75
IP: 2.2 IP
K: 5
BB: 1
WHIP: 2.625
K/9: 16.9
H: 6

Predicting the Rookies of the Year in 2015


The Rookie of the Year award is probably far and away the hardest to predict every single season, and I show that almost every single season with the wrong predictions. A ton can happen between now and the end of the 2015 season and a lot of it comes out of nowhere. There is always the Josh Harrison that comes out of nowhere that I didn’t see coming and there is always the disappointment in Billy Hamilton that, well, disappointed me. Then there is always the rookie that gets kept down in Triple-A for too long and doesn’t have enough time to showcase enough to win the award and then there is always the guy that wins a job out of camp and shocks the baseball world for three or four months to win the award. I am going to take my best shot at these predictions but I am warning you not to go all Pete Rose and bet on the game because it is very likely I will be completely off base when we revisit this post in November.

For the American League I chose Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians almost by default. I wanted to go with Rusney Castillo of the Boston Red Sox simply because Lindor is a glove first type shortstop but the Indians lineup should be deeper than last season and much improved. Lindor, even hitting near the bottom of the order, should be able to use his speed and his legs to get him a few base hits and keep a respectable average, runs scored, stolen base and RBI count. Lindor may not run away with the award but I think at the end of the day he takes it home for Cleveland.


For the National League Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs is becoming a household name after hitting an absolute ton of home runs in the Cactus League this spring. Bryant is the obvious pick and the safe pick but I honestly don’t know enough about the various farms around the league to go against him. I almost wanted to go with his teammate Jorge Soler just because it would be bold and different but then he went and swatted eight home runs in a few weeks’ time and I knew I had to go with Bryant in 2015. 

Alex Rodriguez Will Never Get His Chance on The Player's Tribune


I have been reading anything and everything that I can regarding David Ortiz's article that he posted on Derek Jeter's The Player's Tribune. Whether it be the article itself, the rebuttal's going all over the internet by that "red headed jheri curled reporter" or just plain old opinion articles from bloggers like myself I cannot get enough of this right now. When I originally saw the article on the blog I rolled my eyes and kept scrolling but what ultimately sparked my interest was an article posted on another blog, Bleeding Yankee Blue.

Robert Casey, my friend, was blatantly attacked on Twitter and on email apparently because he wrote an article labeled "Jeter's Big Mistake" which showed the utmost respect for Jeter while questioning why Alex Rodriguez was not given a shot to tell his side of the story. Jeter will never give Rodriguez that opportunity.

Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Who's On First?!?!? Alex Rodriguez!

Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira



I have been saying for about a week now that I am growing tired of the spring training games, competitions and activities and I am really just ready for the games to count for something. Well today is going to be a little different as Alex Rodriguez gets his first time in his career at first base. Granted it's a spring training game against the Houston Astros but A Rod is playing first base nonetheless.

The Yankees have Mark Teixeira at first base and Garrett Jones backing up the position so this means little in the grand scheme of things. I think the only reason Rodriguez is even getting some reps at the position is so the team can keep Brendan Ryan on the bench and Brian McCann behind the plate. A Rod is basically the third string there, if that, but it's still interesting to see a (soon to be) 40 year old player learning a new position for the first time.

It's enough to get me watching, oh yeah someone decided this game shouldn't be televised. How disappointing, and convenient.

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/29:


On this day in 2009 the Evil Empire struck again as they placed a permanent September 11 memorial at the entrance of George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees Spring Training home in Tampa, Florida. The tribute showcased a foundation in the shape of the Pentagon that supported two towers made from steel from the World Trade Center that was placed on a grassy spot representing where United Flight 93 was hijacked and flown into the Earth in Pennsylvania. The Red Sox did nothing.

Also on this day in 1975 the Yankees released Mel Stottlemyre after he tore his rotator cuff. Mel finished with a 164-139 record and a 2.97 ERA with 40 shutouts before he became New York's pitching coach.

Finally on this day in 1948 the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox played an exceptionally long exhibition game that went 17 innings, unheard of nowadays. The game still ended in a 2-2 tie in a four hour and two minute game. The Yankees scored a run in each of the bottom of the ninth and tenth innings to keep the game tied and moving along. New York had the winning run at third base in the bottom of the 17th inning but Frank Crosetti attempted a bunt to squeeze the runner home and failed.