Saturday, October 31, 2015

World Series Game Four Open Thread


World Series Game Four inside Citi Field, this should be fun. The Kansas City Royals have dominated this series as the Mets may be cracking under the World Series pressure. How much longer will this series go on? Honestly I hope as long as possible, it's a long winter.

Thunder and NJM Score for Anchor House

Anchor House and NJM with Boomer


Boomer gives a big "thumbs-up" as Marie Roessel, left, from NJM Insurance Group presents a check to Kim McNear, Executive Director of Anchor House, as the beneficiary of the "Safe at Home" program, in which NJM contributes money to support a worthy non-profit organization based on the number of runs the Thunder score at ARM & HAMMER Park over the course of the season.


The Thunder, Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, scored 254 runs on their way to 40 wins at ARM & HAMMER Park this season, but the real winner this season was Anchor House, located at 482 Centre Street in Trenton, thanks to NJM Insurance Group and its Safe at Home program.

As part of the Safe at Home program, NJM made a $12,700 donation, based on $50 per run scored at ARM & HAMMER Park, to Anchor House. With this season's donation, NJM's Safe at Home program has donated more than $57,000 to local non-profits over the last four years.

"Thanks to the outstanding work of the Thunder offense this season and NJM Insurance, Anchor House can further their mission to work with abused, homeless, runaway, at risk and aging out youth to utilize their strengths and the support of their families and communities in order to ensure a stable and successful home," said Thunder GM/COO Jeff Hurley. "This program is precisely the type of program that the Thunder strive to promote; one that includes a great corporate partner, NJM, and enriches our community and its residents."

"One of NJM's core values is to support the communities we have the privilege to serve, and we've truly enjoyed parterning with the Trenton Thunder for the Safe at Home program," said NJM Corporate Communications Administrator Eric Stenson. "This program helps very deserving nonprofit organizations in the capital city such as Anchor House, whose work is critically important in the lives of so many young people in need."

The 2016 season, the 23rd in franchise history, will begin at ARM & HAMMER Park on April 7 when the Thunder host the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit Tigers) at 7:00 p.m. Season tickets and group outings are on sale now by calling 609-394-3300. For more information on the Thunder, visitwww.TrentonThunder.com.

The Free Agency Royal Rumble Returns – Relief Pitchers


The New York Yankees quest for the ultimate “Super Bullpen” will continue in 2016 with the presumed returns of Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, Chasen Shreve and Adam Warren but could the Yankees add one more piece to the puzzle? Possibly two? For the four competitors in tonight’s Free Agency Royal Rumble you better hope so or all this will have been for nothing.

Entering the ring first is the favorite, former Baltimore Orioles right-handed pitcher Darren O’Day. O’Day would kill two or three birds with one stone, pun intended, as it would piss off Buck Showalter, which is always fun, while also making the Yankees better and the Orioles inherently worse. Opposing O’Day is Ryan Madson of the Kansas City Royals who is rebuilding his value after finally making it all the way back from Tommy John surgery and the final two competitors in tonight’s rumble, or more like a battle royal to be completely honest, are Tyler Clippard and Joakim Soria.

Both Clippard and Soria are former closers who wouldn’t mind having the closing role back, for obvious financial advantages, and decide to work together in trying to get out of the ring. Neither Clippard nor Soria want the job or the pressure of pitching in New York and put up relatively no fight to Madson who hits them both with his American League Championship ring. And then there were two…

Madson stands tall in front of O’Day but the side-throwing right-hander catches Madson off guard and socks him back to the rope. Madson, now 36-years old, cannot keep the younger and more energetic O’Day off him long enough to stage a comeback and eventually finds himself over the top rope and onto the floor eliminated from the competition.

No opposing team, and I mean no opposing team, in Major League Baseball wants to see this bullpen. Not even on their worst day. Miller, Betances, O’Day, Wilson, Shreve, Warren. Lights out, game over and start spreading the news.


The Free Agency Royal Rumble Returns – Outfielders


The New York Yankees earned the ultimate gift and the ultimate curse all wrapped up in one player in 2015 and his name was Alex Rodriguez. This isn’t meant to be negative or condescending by any means, I was defending and asking for forgiveness for Alex before Bald Vinny made money off of it made it cool, but him being effective and a huge part of the offense makes the team’s options rather limited. At this point in his career Carlos Beltran should be at least a part-time DH, if not a full-time DH, but is forced to play the field due to Rodriguez being on the roster. With Rodriguez at DH, Jacoby Ellsbury and Brett Gardner patrolling center field and left field respectively and Chris Young hitting free agency it looks like the Free Agency Royal Rumble will be a free-for-all for the final roster spot on the Yankees bench in 2016.

Entering the ring for the rumble are a few competitors that I think will at least be in the running for the position. The up and coming superstar Aaron Judge, former Yankees player and current Baltimore Orioles first baseman and outfielder Steve Pearce, Marlon Byrd of the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants in 2015, Drew Stubbs and another former Yankees farm hand and current Chicago Cub, Austin Jackson.

Before the match begins Marlon Byrd asks for a microphone and was quoted as saying the following:

“Now I know that if I win this Royal Rumble and I come to New York my playing time will be limited and dictated by injuries, I’m not okay with that. Also I have read numerous times that a fake Jon Heyman Twitter account faked out Daniel Burch at the trading deadline in 2014 forcing Mr. Burch to write over 2,000 words about me and welcoming me to the team only for me to go elsewhere. With all that said I think I’m going to forfeit, just not feeling it today. Thanks though. “


With Byrd out the group of remaining competitors, like they often do in these Royal Rumble’s, gang up on the biggest man in the ring, Aaron Judge. Judge is quickly disposed of and thrown over the top rope to the mat leaving Pearce, Stubbs and Jackson. Pearce, being the multi-faceted player that he is, reminds everyone that he is pennant chase, playoff and American League East tested not only in the outfield but at first base (hello Mark Teixeira insurance policy) and uses that to throw both Jackson and Stubbs over the top rope and to the floor. Stubbs would have been nice, he kills lefties but his right-handed splits aren’t much to write home about, and so would Jackson, another outfielder with the ability to play center field allowing a constant rotation to keep everyone fresh and healthy, but Pearce makes too much sense for the Yankees NOT to sign in my opinion. 

Quick Hit: Happy Halloween

This is every kid's dream isn't it? Halloween on a Friday or Saturday night so you can stay out all night conning people out of their candy and stay up all night eating it all? Happy Halloween everybody from everyone here at The Greedy Pinstripes.

We have a drinking idea, every time you see a minion you take a shot. Get the paramedics on call first though!

Weekly AFL Check In: Tyler Wade


You have to think that the New York Yankees cornered the "Tyler" market this season in the Arizona Fall League sending Tyler Austin, Tyler Webb and Tyler Wade to play for the Surprise Saguaros. Austin has already been checked in with so today we will take the time to check in on one of the

Yankees top shortstop prospects, Tyler Wade.


Tyler Wade:

Games: 8
At Bats: 25
AVG: .200
OBP: .222
SLG: .280
OPS: .502
H: 5
HR: 0
RBI: 5
BB: 1
K: 4

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/31: Stuck in the Middle with A Rod


On this day in 2009 Alex Rodriguez hit a long fly ball in right field at Citizen's Bank Park in Philadelphia that resulted in being the first instant replay call in World Series history. Originally the fly ball was called a double but the play was overturned and ruled a home run in the Yankees favor. If you can remember back that far this was the ball that hit the camera on the fence in right field and bounced back into the field of play.

Also on this day in 1957 Yogi Berra ruffled a few feathers when he admitted that the Yankees returned money to their players from fines collected in the Copacabana fight. Players like Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, and Moose Skowron to name a few were involved in a brawl while celebrating Billy Martin's 29th birthday in May. This obviously garnered some unwanted publicity for the storied New York Yankees franchise so the fines handed down were supposed to calm the waters until Yogi blew the lid off of the whole ordeal.

Friday, October 30, 2015

World Series Game Three Open Thread


Two down, potentially five more to go. Let's not get ahead of ourselves though, it's World Series Game Three as the series shifts to Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets. The Tuesday game goes over five hours and well into the night but when we have a Friday night game it will be over by 11:00 pm ET, book it.

The Free Agency Royal Rumble Returns – Infielders


For the first time in Free Agency Royal Rumble history an incumbent member of the New York Yankees will have his job on the line as both Dustin Ackley and Robert Refsnyder will be in the rumble. Joining Refsynder and Ackley in the rumble will be the Kansas City Royals second baseman Ben Zobrist, the Los Angeles Dodgers second basemen Chase Utley and Howie Kendrick and the incumbent Yankees second baseman, Mr. Stephen Drew.

Howie Kendrick was taken out and backstabbed almost immediately by Chase Utley on an errant slide into the ropes leaving the field at five. Utley hurt himself on the slide, he is 37-years old after all, and was easily eliminated by Stephen Drew who was stat padding his stats in garbage time leaving the field at four. Ben Zobrist felt excited looking at the field remaining, especially considering he is not linked to draft pick compensation but the Yankees threesome quickly took advantage of his head in the clouds, and bulky contract that in my opinion he will never live up to at 35-years old and after all the hype he received in Oakland, and eliminated him.

In a shocking turn of events the Yankees Three, that’s what they are now calling themselves, left the ring hand-in-hand-in-hand leaving the Yankees with all three of them for the 2016 season. According to reports, reports I am making up for the purpose of this post and for fun, Drew will ride the bench and be the backup to Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley while both Ackley and Refsnyder will platoon at second base. When Refsnyder is at second Ackley will relieve one of the corner outfielders, especially Brett Gardner, to keep them fresh and prevent another second half letdown.


The Free Agency Royal Rumble Returns – Starting Pitching


Last year around this time the blog was in full offseason mode with our eyes, as writers, on the 2015 season. The World Series was over and all 30 MLB teams were making their shopping lists and checking it twice for the winter so I thought this year we would do the same with the return of the Free Agency Royal Rumble. This is a bit of a play on the popular WWE PPV, the Royal Rumble, as we pit all the potential starting pitching targets for the New York Yankees and see which one wins the rumble (and is most likely to sign with the club).

The participants in the 2015 Free Agency Royal Rumble for starting pitchers are David Price, Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Jordan Zimmerman, Zack Greinke and Wei-Yin Chen. Men, take your positions the rumble is about to begin.

Immediately the group begins to wrestle and Zack Greinke, feeling his anxiety kick up and wondering what it would be like being booed off the Yankee Stadium field like the team was during the AL Wild Card Game, throws himself over the top rope and eliminates himself from the competition. The rest of the competitors take this opportunity to work together while they still can to get David Price up and over the top rope before his $30 million expected AAV on the wrong side of 30-years old and his postseason demons and monkey’s on his back make it impossible to take him out. Four remain.

Johnny Cueto walks up to Jordan Zimmerman and takes a peak at the contract he is said to be asking for that will undoubtedly set the market and wants to mimic Zimmerman’s demands with his own. Zimmerman catches Cueto peaking and reminds him of his numbers after switching to the American League and his postseason numbers as he throws him over the top rope to eliminate him. While this is happening Mike Leake, the opportunist, is also sneaking a peak at Zimmerman’s proposed contract demands and gets offended that he won’t make that for the rest of his career, let alone in one contract, and throws Zimmerman over the top rope while he is distracted leaving just two contestants remaining.

Mike Leake and Wei-Yin Chen. Leake has been active, eliminating Zimmerman, but Chen has quietly been sitting back resting and waiting for the opportunity. Chen is an ace in the making but is never mentioned alongside the other aces in this market and that has visibly angered him. Chen rushes at Leake intending to take out his frustrations on the former Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants right-hander and knocks him over the rope and to the floor. The problem is his momentum also carries himself over the rope and to the floor leaving no clear cut winner for the Yankees.


Chen is probably the best suited for the Yankees because he won’t command an astronomical contract in terms of years and dollars despite being American League East tested and Leake is the most likely for the same reasons, just on a lesser scale than Chen. With the Yankees already having a ton of depth, although no defined ace as we stand today, it seems unlikely that either are signed, or anyone in this field for that matter. The Yankees may take this rumble as a sign to stand pat here this winter. 

When Did Bat Flipping & Showing Up Your Opponent Become Okay Again?


Many times I find myself not watching the MLB Playoffs or the World Series if the New York Yankees aren’t in it, I can’t help it but the games just aren’t as interesting for me without a vesting personal interest. This season I decided to go against the grain a bit and watch as much playoff baseball as I could, although obviously I’ve missed more than my fair share, and I see a trend developing that I find to be pretty disturbing, the bat flip and showing up your opponent apparently is okay again.

I saw it happen in the American League Wild Card Game when the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros faced off head-to-head. Carlos Gomez is known to be a confident player, I call it cocky but whatever, and had a bat flip while Colby Rasmus did as well on what turned out to be the game-winning home run off Masahiro Tanaka. I didn’t like it as a fan and I’m sure the Yankees players and Tanaka specifically didn’t appreciate it either, just a hunch. The bat flipping didn’t stop there though as Jose Bautista did one as well in Game 5 of the ALDS. I understand that was the biggest postseason home run since Joe Carter’s walk-off home run against the Philadelphia Phillies but there is a higher purpose at stake here, it’s called respect.

In Game One of the 2015 World Series the Kansas City Royals came from behind to beat the New York Mets on a walk-off sacrifice fly by Royals star Eric Hosmer. Naturally when the winning run crossed the plate in front of his home crowd an emphatic bat flip and helmet toss came along with the victory once again. Celebrating is one thing, disrespecting the opposing team, pitcher and fan base is another and there is a fine line. Bat flips, in my opinion, are crossing that line.


Come to think of it… the Astros lost the series after their bat flips. The Blue Jays lost their series against these same Royals after the Jose Bautista bat flip seen round the world. Are the Royals the next victim of some instant karma? Guess you’ll have to stay tuned. 

Revisiting the Omar Minaya to the Yankees Idea from 2014


Just around this time last year the World Series was just ending and the long winter before Spring Training was beginning with little in the way of news. The New York Yankees had missed the postseason for the second straight season despite spending in excess of $500 million the offseason before in trades, signings and extensions and the fans and the organization were hungry for a new voice and vision. That vision and voice was thought to be of Omar Minaya, the former New York Mets GM, but for some unreported reason Minaya never joined his close friend Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees organization, could he before the 2016 season though?

Say what you will about Minaya but the New York Mets are not in the World Series right now without him. Minaya whiffed, and sometimes he whiffed badly, with the Mets but when he hit on a deal he usually struck it big. The problem was he was not given enough time to see some of those deals and his ultimate plan come to fruition.

Minaya is responsible for drafting Daniel Murphy in 2006 and Mike Pelfrey, Bobby Parnell and Jon Niese in 2005. In fact many of the Mets young pieces that are either being utilized now or were used in trades to acquire other pieces were drafted and signed internationally by Minaya including Lucas Duda and Steven Matz. This in no way is meant to discount what Sandy Alderson has done for the club, many of the young aces you see now were signed and developed under his tenure, but he had a little help building a World Series caliber team by Minaya in my opinion.


The Yankees have basically given one of their top scouts Tim Naehring the vacant job left behind by Billy Eppler but they fell short of mentioning him as the team’s assistant GM. Could Minaya fill that void? As long as he’s bringing another Steven Matz with him then I’d have to say yes. What could it hurt when Hal Steinbrenner likely makes the final decision anyway? 

Weekly AFL Check In: Chaz Hebert


The Weekly Arizona Fall League check in posts continue this morning with a prospect that the casual New York Yankees fan probably doesn’t know, Chaz Hebert. Chaz is a pitcher in the Yankees organization that spent time with the Charleston Riverdogs, the Trenton Thunder and the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders this season down on the farm.

Hebert has basically been the piggyback to Ian Clarkin as he has entered in from the bullpen first after both of Clarkin’s starts this fall. Hebert is not the sexy name that we all salivate over in the AFL but he’s climbing the ladder quickly and quietly and may be a common name in your household before you know it.


Chaz Hebert

G: 2
GS: 0
IP: 5.0
W/L: 0-1
ERA: 0.00
K: 7
BB: 7
WHIP: 1.00


This Day in New York Yankees History 10/30: Joe Replaces Joe


On this day in 2007 the New York Yankees signed manager Joe Girardi to a three year deal worth $7,500,000 to replace longtime manager Joe Torre. Girardi was coming off of a Manager of the Year award with the Miami Marlins in 2006 and beat out coaches Don Mattingly and Tony Pena for the job. Girardi would be the Yankees 42nd manager in their storied history.


Also on this day in 2001 President George W. Bush became the eight President to attend a World Series game and the first since Dwight D. Eisenhower to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. This all obviously came on the heels of the September 11th terrorists attacks. Bush brought the nation back together with his thumbs up and his perfect strike off the mound. 'Merica!

Thursday, October 29, 2015

World Series Off Night Open Thread


The World Series is off tonight so I plan on taking the rest of the night off as well. I'm not traveling to Citi Field and New York City unfortunately but the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals are. I'm sure most of the players are on their phones, watching a movie or listening to music while they travel, speaking of music some friends of mine have a band that I think you all should listen to. This isn't come garage band, two of the three members of this band used to be signed to Capitol Records, but they are trying to branch out on their own to accomplish their dream. As my buddies it's the least I can do to at least leave you with a link to listen to a few of their news songs off their EP Quarter Life Come Up by Southern Gentleman. 

If you like the Southern Gentleman then head over to iTunes and grab their album, it's less than $7.

Gary Sanchez Named AFL Hitter of the Week


Gary Sanchez has been named the Arizona Fall League's Hitter of the Week for this week, congratulations to the New York Yankees catching prospect. Sanchez hit .421 with nine RBI in four games this week. Sanchez leads the AFL in hits (16), home runs (5), RBI (15) and total bases (33).

Three Yankees In Running for Gold Glove Awards


Three members of the New York Yankees are in the running for the American League Gold Glove Awards in 2015. Those three players are shortstop Didi Gregorius, first baseman Mark Teixeira and left fielder Brett Gardner. Here is the rest of the field courtesy of Lohud. 



AMERICAN LEAGUE

Pitcher: Mark Buehrle (Blue Jays), Sonny Gray (A’s), Dallas Keuchel (Astros)

Catcher: Jason Castro (Astros), Russell Martin (Blue Jays), Salvador Perez (Royals)

First base: Eric Hosmer (Royals), Mike Napoli (Rangers), Mark Teixeira (Yankees)

Second base: Jose Altuve (Astros), Brian Dozier (Twins), Ian Kinsler (Tigers)

Third base: Adrian Beltre (Rangers), Evan Longoria (Rays), Manny Machado (Orioles)

Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox), Alcides Escobar (Royals), Didi Gregorius (Yankees)

Left field: Yoenis Cespedes (formerly Tigers), Brett Gardner (Yankees), Alex Gordon (Royals)

Center field: Kevin Kiermaier (Rays), Kevin Pillar (Blue Jays), Mike Trout (Angels)

Right field: Kole Calhoun (Angels), J.D. Martinez (Tigers), Josh Reddick (A’s)



NATIONAL LEAGUE

Pitcher: Jake Arrieta (Cubs), Gerrit Cole (Pirates), Zack Greinke (Dodgers)

Catcher: Yadier Molina (Cardinals), Buster Posey (Giants), Wilson Ramos (Nationals)

First base: Brandon Belt (Giants), Paul Goldschmidt (D-backs), Adrian Gonzalez (Dodgers)

Second base: Dee Gordon (Marlins), DJ LeMahieu (Rockies), Brandon Phillips (Reds)

Third base: Nolan Arenado (Rockies), Matt Duffy (Giants), Todd Frazier (Reds)

Shortstop: Brandon Crawford (Giants), Adeiny Hechavarria (Marlins), Andrelton Simmons (Braves)

Left field: Starling Marte (Pirates), Justin Upton (Padres), Christian Yelich (Marlins)

Center field: Billy Hamilton (Reds), Andrew McCutchen (Pirates), A.J. Pollock (D-backs)

Right field: Curtis Granderson (Mets), Bryce Harper (Nationals), Jason Heyward (Cardinals)

Scratch Don Mattingly off the Yankees Hitting Coach Wish List


Don Mattingly has officially signed a four-year deal with the Miami Marlins to be their new manager for the ball club. Mattingly will take over a young and talented team led by Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon, Jose Fernandez and others in hopes of toppling the top two teams I the National League East Division, the New York Mets and the Washington Nationals. The Miami job was basically Mattingly’s to lose all along and Mattingly didn’t lose it unfortunately.

I say unfortunately because I, as a fan, wanted to see Mattingly return to the city where he spent his entire playing career but I have to admit that I never fully expected the reunion of Don Mattingly and the New York Yankees to happen. I never lost hope but Mattingly deserves to manage and he can manage in Miami, good for him.


Mattingly will be Giancarlo Stanton’s eighth different manager since the beginning of the 2010 season, with a little stability in his life imagine what that kid could do. Congratulations to Mattingly but more so congratulations to the Miami Marlins organization and players, you guys got a good one. 

Manfred’s Hot Ticket Items for 2016


Earlier this week we praised Rob Manfred’s first season as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball and donned the season a success. You know us here at The Greedy Pinstripes by now, we take the time to celebrate what needs to be celebrated and we move on to the next one. Manfred can celebrate his successes in 2015 for now but soon he will have to begin focusing on the 2016 season. I wanted to make this a little easier for him, because I know deep in my heart he’s reading this either directly or having him read it for him indirectly, by laying out the hot ticket items that will be discussed, implemented or changed before the 2016 season.

The New CBA

The current collective bargaining agreement expires at the conclusion of the 2016 season and World Series, well like a month and a half later but who is counting, and it’s never too early to start discussing it now. The players will want this, the owners will want that and the sooner they begin to meet in the middle on the things the better in my opinion. Also this is going to be a huge factor in the decision making on a lot of the key note items below.

Minority Hiring in MLB

We touched on this once in its own post so we won’t spend much time here. MLB’s plan seems to be a long-term plan that begins at the bottom and works itself up. Major League Baseball has begun infiltrating the inner city’s youth and putting baseball academies, the RBI program etc. in trying to lure minorities to the game at a young age. That interest at a young age will turn many of those children, hopefully, into baseball players and then eventual managers, GM’s and owners. It’s a very long-term plan but it’s been in the works since the Bud Selig era so Manfred may end up getting the bulk of the credit for it.

Fan Safety

MLB will continue to talk about potentially adding nets down the first base and third base side of the fields much like they have behind home plate. This is already planning to be discussed at an owners meeting on November 18th and 19th. This seems to me to be a relatively small change and improvement to keep the fans safe. No fans, no revenue and no Major League Baseball.

Parity

Parity seems to be showing its ugly face in Major League Baseball and Manfred hopes it continues. The Top 9 teams in terms of payroll did not make the League Championship Series and the 13th highest payroll, Kansas City at $128.1 million, and the 19th highest payroll, the New York Mets at $109.6 million, made it to the 2015 World Series.

The Chase Utley Slide Rule

According to Manfred the whole “takeout the second baseman with a slide to break up the double play” or what am I referring to as the Chase Utley Rule was being talked about before the postseason. Preliminary discussions with the MLB Players Association have already taken place so this one is getting done one way or another.

Shortening or Changing the Schedule

There have been talks of going back to a 154-game schedule instead of the current 162-game schedule and there has also been talks of opening the season earlier to avoid November World Series games. Personally, being born on November 2, I like having World Series games being played on my birthday. I can remember AJ Burnett, my favorite pitcher (there is something about throwing a no-hitter with nine walks that intrigues me) pitching on my birthday with the Yankees on the cusp of clinching the 2009 World Series. That didn’t happen but it was still cool.


That’s just a few of the things Manfred will presumably talk about this winter, if I missed any please leave them in the comments section below or shoot me a tweet by following @GreedyStripes. 

Forcing Minority Hiring’s a Tough Sell in MLB


If the 2016 MLB season were to begin today Major League Baseball would not have any African-American managers in the game, something that Commissioner Rob Manfred wants to change. Lloyd McClendon was the only African-American manager in the league until the Seattle Mariners fired him this month after just two seasons at the helm and unless McClendon, or another African-American manager, finds a job before Opening Day 2016 MLB will be without one for the first time since 1987.

There are managerial openings in Miami, San Diego, Washington and Los Angeles so McClendon could latch on with one of those teams while former Astros manager Bo Porter has also interviewed with the Miami Marlins so it’s not likely that the season starts without a minority manager but it’s still possible. How do you fix this though?

There is already a rule in MLB that states that all teams must interview at least one minority candidate for a managerial vacancy, that doesn’t mean they will be hired though. How Manfred plans to expand the minority hiring’s, and not just African-American hiring’s mind you, remains to be seen but I just can’t see how it happens. Diversity and the opportunity is there in MLB and I firmly believe that in the year 2015, almost 2016, that racism is not a factor here much anymore so what is?


Can you force owners to hire minorities? Not likely, especially when it comes down to the Union vs. MLB. So what’s the answer? Unfortunately nobody has one and I don’t see how Rob Manfred could either.  Manfred already hired a company to provide support services for qualified candidates, specifically for minorities and women, to help them in the interview and preparations process so what more can he conceivably, and legally, do? The opportunities are there, however limited with just 30 MLB managers in the league, so I don’t know. Stay tuned. 

Joe Girardi & The 2010 Offseason That Could Have Changed Everything

The New York Yankees went into the offseason of the 2010 season after failing to defend their World Series crown and an early exit in the postseason. The Yankees faced much uncertainty that offseason like they do most winters but this winter was a little different as their manager Joe Girardi was a free agent.

Girardi was hired for the 2008 season on a three year deal to replace the popular and legendary Joe Torre and promptly snapped the Yankees skid of 13 straight seasons of making the postseason. This was not exactly the way the Yankees wanted to say goodbye to Yankee Stadium and goodbye to Joe Torre but the team bounced back in 2009 to win the World Series. The Yankees were back in the playoffs in 2010 but failed to defend their crown leaving Girardi unsure about his job security.


The Chicago Cubs pursued Girardi hard and heavy this offseason but ultimately on this day Girardi signed a new three year deal to stay with the club. What would the state of the Yankees be in today if Girardi had not signed on with New York and went back to Chicago where he spent some of his playing career? Would the Yankees have made the playoffs in 2011 and the ALCS in 2012? Would the Yankees have missed the postseason in 2013 and 2014? Does the team win the AL Wild Card Game in 2015?Who knows! One thing I do know is that if he had not signed on with New York on this day in 2010 Joe Maddon would probably be donning pinstripes right about now.


It’s something to think about anyway as we head towards a long and cold, dark winter.

Commissioner Manfred’s First Year on the Job a Success


The 2015 Major League Baseball season marked the first season under the new tenure of Commissioner Rob Manfred and with the season just about in the books you have to label this first season as a success. Manfred took over for former Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig with the promise to change the game, maybe not radically but change nonetheless, while improving the game and keeping the most progressive and old school fans happy at the same time. It seemed impossible at the time but it looks like Manfred may have pulled off the impossible.

Manfred’s first agenda was to speed up the game with his new pace of play rules in both the minor leagues and the Major Leagues. Pitching clocks were installed in the minor leagues and experimented with in the Arizona Fall League with varying degrees of success while television time outs, commercials and the annoying “stepping out of the batter’s box to adjust your batting gloves, read the signs from the third base coach and spit in your hands even though you took a ball a foot off the plate” were eliminated from the majors. Excluding the postseason and the month of September, due to rosters expanding to 40 players from 25 players leading to a slew of pitching changes night in and night out, Manfred and his pace of play rules shaved about 15 minutes off a game every single night.

Attendance is up across the board once again in MLB and television deals are fruitful and as plentiful as the oceans on Earth. Baseball is a business and the money is definitely here and definitely being spent. Manfred also introduced a domestic violence policy to train and potentially stop a domestic violence case before it happens and Manfred has enjoyed a spike in youth and exciting young players to hit the game this season. Manfred watched as Alex Rodriguez made his comeback tour, the Yankees (which love them or hate them you have to admit that it’s good for the game when they are relevant) return to the postseason and the return of the Chicago Cubs as a power house team in the league.


What Manfred did not deal with is any major steroid suspensions, Ervin Santana maybe being the biggest name to be suspended this season, or fall outs of any kind. Manfred wasn’t a part of discussions to contract a team or two in the league, instead he is spear-heading a movement to play games in Cuba and Mexico while potentially adding another team or two somewhere down the line. When a manager leads his team to the World Series, much like Ned Yost and Terry Collins have in 2015, you have to push the right buttons more time than not and the same can be said for a Commissioner. Manfred pushed the right buttons this season but his job is far from done. He has the second base collision rule to work on and the collective bargaining agreement ends when the 2016 season does, but if the past is any indication of the future than Manfred, and Major League Baseball, will be just fine. 

Weekly AFL Check In: Domingo Acevedo


We have been checking in with the members of the New York Yankees that are down in the Arizona Fall League all week this week here on the blog and that continues this morning with another promising Yankees prospect. This all started off with Tyler Austin, the man who needed the AFL the most, and it continued to Gary Sanchez, the man tearing up the AFL. It continued on with Ian Clarkin, the biggest story of the AFL as far as Yankees fans are concerned after missing the entire regular season with an elbow injury and today we move on to probably the biggest prospect of the bunch, Domingo Acevedo.

Acevedo opened many eyes this season hitting 100+ MPH consistently this season and tearing up the lower levels of the minor leagues. Acevedo doesn’t have to build innings like Clarkin, or prove himself like Austin, or rebuild his value like Sanchez all he has to do is keep the hype train rolling… and early indications look like he can and then some. Check the stats out below:


Domingo Acevedo

G: 2
GS: 0
IP: 3.0
W/L: 1-0
ERA: 0.00
K: 3
BB: 0
WHIP: 1.00

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/29: Jeter Wins Clemente Award


On this day in 2009 Derek Jeter would win the Roberto Clemente Award which is given to the player who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, and community involvement. Jeter would be the 3rd Yankees to ever win the award, Ron Guidry and Don Baylor the other two, and would join 13 Hall of Fame players with the award.


Also on this day in 1991 the Yankees hired Buck Showalter to replace Stump Merrill as the Yankees manager. In four seasons, including the strike shortened 1994 season, Buck would compile a 313-268 (.539) record as a 36 year old manager. Buck would win the American League Manager of the Year Award and the AL East title in 1994 and would lead the Yankees to the playoffs in the first Wild Card series in 1995.


Finally on this day in 1920 the Yankees hired ex-Boston Red Sox manager Ed Barrow to be their General Manager. Over the next quarter of a century the Yankees would see 14 American League pennants and 10 World Series Championships while Barrow would see a Hall of Fame induction.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Andrew Miller is the AL Reliever of the Year

Andrew Miller has been named the American League's Best Reliever for the 2015 season, congratulations to him. Miller finished the season with 36 saves in his first season as a closer in the league. Miller wins the Mariano Rivera Award while pitching for the New York Yankees, seems like fate to me.

World Series Game Two Open Thread


The World Series continues tonight with the second game inside Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium. While having to watch these games on Fox with Joe Buck in the middle of the night is not ideal it's the World Series and it only comes once a year. While we complain now we will all be missing baseball in a couple of weeks, I know I personally already miss it and I'm not without it yet. So here is your thread for the second game of the 2015 World Series and your thread for the night. Go crazy!

Who Gets a World Series Ring?


With the World Series in full swing and both the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals vying for their first World Series ring in nearly 30 years. Speaking of World Series rings I always find it interesting to see actually who gets a World Series ring when the team wins the championship. To simplify things, everyone gets a ring. Literally, everyone.

Dan Uggla won a World Series ring with the San Francisco Giants in 2014 despite playing in just four games with the club and despite going 0-for-11 with six strikeouts and two errors. The only saving grace for Uggla struggling so much is that Joe Panik was inserted into the lineup at second base and the team may not win that World Series ring for Uggla without Panik in the lineup.

In 2013 Boston Red Sox pitcher Brayan Villareal received a World Series ring after facing one batter, Marco Scutaro, and walking him on four pitches. The walk was with the bases loaded so it walked in a run and he was immediately relieved after the walk. No worries for him though, technically he is still a World Series champion.

It’s not just those types of scenarios and players that get the rings, it’s almost literally everyone. We’ve heard so many stories of a training assistant, a scout, and the water boy etc. getting a ring only to sell them on EBay a few years later. The bat boy probably gets a ring and so does the girl sweeping up all the sunflower seeds.


Imagine if the Yankees had won the World Series this season with all the players that were sent down, called up, designated for assignment, traded away, or casted off in some way, shape or form. Hell I bet even Hank and Hal Steinbrenner would get one, Randy Levine too. Might not be a bad thing that the team didn’t win a World Series in 2015, there would be no money left for 2016. I joke, kind of. 

Brian Cashman's Net Worth


Why? Because as a society we are inherently nosy, especially Yankees fans who like to boast about this being a $3.5 billion franchise. Here is Brian Cashman's net worth courtesy of Get Net Worth. Just how much is being the GM of the New York Yankees worth in the grand scheme of things?

Brian Cashman is an American Major League Baseball executive; he has a net worth of $9 million. 
Brian Cashman has earned his net worth as General Manager/Senior Vice President with the New York Yankees; he started as an intern with the New York Yankees organization in 1986. Cashman, was born in Rockville Centre, New York, he helped create the video game MLB Front Office Manager. And he made the Crain's New York Business 40 under 40 list for 1999. Brian Cashman Salary What is Brian Cashman's salary? $3 million

Brian McGuire Cashman (born July 3, 1967) is an American Major League Baseball executive for the New York Yankees. He has been their General Manager and Senior Vice President since 1998.
Cashman was born in Rockville Centre, New York and raised in Washingtonville, New York. He was raised in an Irish Catholic family. He moved with his family to Lexington, Kentucky, where his father John managed a farm that raised standardbreds for harness racing. He attended Lexington Catholic High School before moving to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School in 1985.

He attended The Catholic University of America, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1989. He was a four-year starter at second base and the leadoff hitter for the Cardinals' baseball team. He set a school record for most hits in a season, which has since been broken.

Cashman started with the New York Yankees organization as an intern in 1986. In February 1998, he was named Senior Vice-President and General Manager, succeeding Bob Watson.

During Cashman's tenure, the Yankees have won six American League pennants and four World Series championships. Despite the team's success, in 2005 Cashman considered leaving the Yankees due to conflicts with owner George Steinbrenner and organizational disputes between team officials in New York City and Tampa. The Washington Nationals were rumored to be interested in hiring Cashman, which would have brought him back to the city where he attended school. Instead, Cashman agreed to a new contract with the Yankees following the conclusion of the 2005 season which gave him more authority in personnel decisions and paid him an average of $1.3 million more over the following three years.

The Yankees Connection to the World Series


The 2015 World Series is underway now with the New York Mets and the Kansas City Royals fighting for the ultimate crown. Neither team has won a World Series in nearly 30 years, the last victory for the Royals coming in 1985 and the last victory for the Mets coming in 1986, but would either team be in the position to finally reward their players, fans and organization if it weren’t for the Yankees? Maybe not.

I may be putting on just a bit but it’s true, there are plenty of connections to the New York Yankees in this World Series. From players to coaches former members of the Bronx Bombers are everywhere and it may seem like the Mets and Royals are getting the last laughs on New York.

Currently on the Mets roster the team boasts hitting coach Kevin Long (Yankees hitting coach from 2004-2014 including the minor leagues and Major Leagues), right fielder Curtis Granderson (Yankees center fielder from 2010-2013) and relief pitcher Tyler Clippard (Yankees farm hand and pitcher from 2003-2007). Currently on the Royals roster the team boasts pitching Dave Eiland (Yankees pitching coach from 2000-2010 including the minor leagues where he coached Ian Kennedy, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain among others).

Now the fun part, to play Devil’s Advocate. Would the Yankees be in the World Series if they had this cast of characters on their roster in 2015? Well we know what the offense did with Kevin Long when they have a suitable cast of characters but you have to think the team couldn’t have been much better with Long, the team had the second most potent offense in the league behind the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees offense would have been better with a healthy Mark Teixeira, not a new hitting coach. Down the stretch the pitching became the problem but I’m not sure the pitching coach, Larry Rothschild or Dave Eiland, could have fixed it. The team was wore down and the sample size was humongous, that’s what happens when you’re starting rotation only goes five innings a night.

Would Curtis Granderson help the Yankees offensive woes? Probably would, sure, but it would make the Yankees even more dependent on the home run or nothing. Carlos Beltran, presumably who Granderson would replace, would simply make the Yankees even more dependent on the long ball and even more left-handed. He may have added a few RBI and home runs along the way but New York is still likely shut out in the Wild Card Game. You can’t win a game when you don’t score any runs so having Clippard on the team would likely be a moot point as well, the problem was the offense.


It’s a great story to follow, former Yankees winning it all elsewhere, but it’s nothing to lose sleep over and it’s nothing to make you wonder if they are getting the last laugh on the team. Some decisions work out, some don’t and some only work out elsewhere. That’s life and that’s baseball. 

Mark Teixeira Isn’t “OK” With Anything


When I saw the now “infamous” article and tweet stating that the New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira would be “OK” with waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal this winter I can’t lie, I got a little bit excited. I didn’t bother to check the source, I thought maybe a responsible site like Yanks Go Yard would have done that for me (and that was not tongue in cheek, the site is responsible and a friend of The Greedy Pinstripes) but after doing some research and digging around one thing is clear, at least to me, and that is that Mark Teixeira isn’t “OK” with anything.

This is slowly becoming old news now, the story broke late in the week last week, but I wanted to wait this one out before I began to write about it. Why? Sometimes the little guys, no matter how much Joel Sherman doesn’t want to admit it, get the news first. I bring up Sherman specifically because we here at TGP had the Curtis Granderson to the Mets deal not only first, but 100% correct, days before Sherman stole the show. Sherman was credited for it and when I linked him to my blog post and tweets day before asking for accountability I was blocked and I am still blocked on his Twitter to this day. So with this instance I wanted to wait around to see if anyone would pick up on it, maybe even speculate on it, but I have seen nothing. Absolutely nothing. When you see smoke there is usually fire but in this case there isn’t a stick of wood to be found.

When no one is talking about something or none of the beat writers or experts are even talking about, trying to confirm, trying to fact check etc. that usually means it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and sounds like a duck. This is a duck! Mark Teixeira did not give the Yankees the green light to trade him and he definitely isn’t going to follow Billy Eppler to Los Angeles to play for the Angels alongside the monster contracts of CJ Wilson, Albert Pujols (who is also a first baseman) and Josh Hamilton (who is playing for the Texas Rangers).


This is a duck and it’s not happening. 

Weekly AFL Check In: Ian Clarkin


The weekly check in posts are back here on the blog and I, for one, can’t put into words how excited I am about it. We’ve already checked back in with Tyler Austin, the man who needs the Arizona Fall League the most, and Gary Sanchez, the man who is destroying the fall league and their pitching, but today we look at possibly the most interesting story of the AFL. Ian Clarkin, Top 10 prospect inside the New York Yankees organization.

Clarkin missed the entire 2015 season with some mystery elbow injury, which if I were a betting man I would say is a Masahiro Tanaka type partially torn UCL but that’s pure speculation, and didn’t make his debut this year until his first start last week in the AFL. Clarkin is back and he seems healthy, which is great news for the Yankees and the state of their farm system, and will look to build up some innings and some of his value with the Surprise Saguaros this fall.

Ian Clarkin

G: 2
GS: 2
IP: 8.0
W/L: 1-0
ERA: 4.50
K: 4
BB: 6
WHIP: 2.13

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/28: A Rod Opts Out


On this day in 2007 in the middle of Game 4 of the World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies we heard the news that Alex Rodriguez had opted out of his contract with the New York Yankees. The timing of the announcement as well as being a no show to receive the Hank Aaron Award, which honors the best offensive player in the league, did not sit well with MLB, Bud Selig, the fans, or the Yankees.


Also on this day in 1979 Dick Howser replaces Billy Martin as the Yankees manager. Howser would lead the Yankees to a 103-59 record with an American League East championship although he was fired by George Steinbrenner when he was swept in the playoffs by the Kansas City Royals.


On this day in 1953 Red Barber quit his job as the broadcaster of the Brookyln Dodgers and would find a new job with the New York Yankees. The man nicknamed "The Old Red Head" was upset with Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley over money and lack of support.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

World Series Game One Open Thread


The New York Mets have had five days off and have made the trip to Missouri to face off with the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series. After the American League won the 2015 All-Star Game this season the AL earned home-field advantage in the series meaning four of the potential seven games in this series will be played inside KC's Kauffman Stadium. The first game of those potential seven games comes in just about an hour on FOX.

Here's your thread for the night, World Series Game One thread. Enjoy and Go Royals.. I guess.

Watch Game 6 of the 1986 World Series


The "Bill Buckner Game" was probably more enjoyable to watch than this one because of the historical impact, well that and the continuation of the Curse of the Bambino, but this one will do as well as the New York Mets clinch the 1986 World Series victory over the Boston Red Sox. 

Watch Game 7 of the 1985 World Series


The game the Kansas City Royals won to clinch the 1985 World Series over the St. Louis Cardinals. 

MLB the Last Time the Kansas City Royals Won the World Series


The last time the Kansas City Royals won the World Series was the 1985 season, the year I was born, and boy have things changed since then. Before the 2015 version of the Kansas City Royals face off with the latest edition of the New York Mets let's take a look at what the state of Major League Baseball looked like the last time the Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 1985.

Kansas City won the American League West Division over the California Angels by just one game to reach the postseason and faced off with the mega-team of the American League in the Toronto Blue Jays with 99 victories. Meanwhile the St. Louis Cardinals led Major League Baseball in victories in 1985 with 101 victories winning the National League East Division by three games over the New York Mets.

For the first time ever the ALCS and NLCS were a best-of-seven series and the Kansas City Royals took on the Toronto Blue Jays while the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers faced off in the National League. Kansas City defeated Toronto in seven games to reach the World Series while it took St. Louis just six games to send the Dodgers home for the long winter.

It took seven games but Brett Saberhagen and the Kansas City Royals took care of business on the road to win the 1985 World Series. Kansas City was on top of the baseball world.



The 1985 season was generally business as usual but Pete Rose did break Ty Cobb's all-time Major League hits record with his 4,192nd hit of his career. On September 11, 1985 Rose became the hit king while Don Mattingly of the Yankees and Willie McGee of the Cardinals won the AL and NL MVP awards. Meanwhile Bret Saberhagen of the Royals and Dwight Gooden of the Mets won their respective Cy Young Awards in 1985 while Ozzie Guillen of the White Sox and Vince Coleman of the Cardinals won the Rookies of the Year awards in the league.

A lot has changed since the 1985 season and a lot has changed since either the Kansas City Royals or the New York Mets won a World Series but, sticking with the common thread of this article, that is about to change. Tune in tonight as the 2015 World Series kicks off inside Kauffman Stadium.

MLB the Last Time the New York Mets Won the World Series


The last time the New York Mets won the World Series was the 1986 season and boy have things changed since then. Before the 2015 version of the New York Mets face off with the latest edition of the Kansas City Royals let's take a look at what the state of Major League Baseball looked like the last time the New York Mets won the World Series in 1986.

In 1986 the Mets were the super team of the league winning 108 games while winning the National League East Division by 21.5 games of the Philadelphia Phillies. Meanwhile in the American League the Boston Red Sox won the American League East Division with 95 victories and won the American League pennant setting up the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets World Series of 1986.

We all remember the ball that "got through Buckner" giving the Mets the championship, it was a great moment and a great piece of Major League history. Ray Knight jumping into his teammates arms, the Mets were World Series champions and the Red Sox were still cursed.



Some of the highlights from the 1986 season was Roger Clemens striking out 20 batters in a game on April 29, San Diego Padres manager Steve Boros was ejected before the first pitch of the game after showing the umpire a video of a controversial call from the night before on June, 6 and on Opening Day 1986 at Tiger Stadium the Boston Red Sox leadoff man Dwight Evans hit a home run off Tigers starter Jack Morris on the first pitch of the Major League season.

Roger Clemens and Mike Schmidt won the AL and NL MVP Awards while Clemens also took home the AL Cy Young Award. In the NL Mike Scott of the Houston Astros won the Cy Young Award for his league. Jose Canseco of the A's and Todd Worrell of the Cardinals won the Rookie of the Year Awards for their respective leagues while the Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award went to the Yankees righty Dave Righetti and Todd Worrell of the St. Louis Cardinals.

A lot has changed since the 1986 season and a lot has changed since either the Kansas City Royals or the New York Mets won a World Series but, sticking with the common thread of this article, that is about to change. Tune in tonight as the 2015 World Series kicks off inside Kauffman Stadium.

Weekly AFL Check In: Gary Sanchez


Gary Sanchez ended the 2015 minor league season on a high note, before the hamstring injury of course, and that high note earned him a September call up and his Major League debut in September. The time for Sanchez may be now and the Yankees realize this which led the team to send Sanchez to the Arizona Fall League along with a slew of his teammates to the Surprise Saguaros. Sanchez, along with yesterday's check in Tyler Austin, will have all the Yankees eyes on him this fall so what's a few more eyes being added here on the blog.


Gary Sanchez

Games: 7
At Bats: 30
AVG: .467
OBP: .469
SLG: .933
OPS: 1.402
H: 14
HR: 4
RBI: 14
BB: 1
K: 3

This Day In New York Yankees History 10/27: 1999 Yankees Win!


On this day in 1999 the Yankees completed a sweep of their second consecutive World Series beating the Braves in four games. Roger Clemens led the Yankees to the 4-1 victory in Game 4 that ended the Fall Classic. The Braves become only the second team in World Series history joining the 1910-1919 New York Giants to lose four World Series in one decade.

Also on this day in 1954 Joe DiMaggio and his wife Marilyn Monroe decided to get a divorce after just 274 days as a married couple. This was a disaster waiting to happen from the beginning as this was well known to be a stormy marriage. Marilyn filed the papers citing mental cruelty as the reasoning. Say it ain't so Joe.

Monday, October 26, 2015

One Year Ago Today: Oscar Tavares Passes Away


On this day in 2014 the St. Louis Cardinals top prospect Oscar Taveras and girlfriend Edilia Arvelo passed away in a car accident in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Taveras was 22-years old and taken far too young from this world. RIP to him and once again let's watch the St. Louis Cardinals tribute to him by clicking the video above. 

Yankees Replace Billy Eppler, Sort Of


The New York Yankees lost their assistant GM to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Billy Eppler this offseason but the team has wasted zero time in replacing him, sort of. Eppler was the assistant GM to Yankees GM Brian Cashman and will be replaced by former Major League player Tim Naehring. Naehring will likely sit at the same desk that Eppler sat at but he will not have the fancy plaque with the title of assistant GM attached to his name.

Naehring was hired as a scout by the team in 2007 and has been one of Cashman’s most trusted advisors on players the Yankees should look at acquiring. Naehring recommended Didi Gregorius to Cashman this winter and has been involved in other top tier signings and trades for the Yankees in his nine seasons with the team.


Naehring, 48-years old, played eight Major League seasons with the Boston Red Sox from 1990-1997 and retired at only 30-years old due to injury. Naehring entered the Cincinnati Reds organization after retiring as a director of player development before being moved to minor league field coordinator. Naehring was let go after a shakeup in Cincinnati following the 2007 season and has been with the Yankees ever since. Now he’s taking the next step to the top, congratulations to him. 

MLB Hot Stove 7 Worst Yankees Contracts


MLB Network's show Hot Stove named their seven worst contracts in New York Yankees history and unfortunately this was pretty hard to look at. Of course we all knew, and agree, that Alex Rodriguez's contract was going to top the list but the rest of the list is pretty interesting, take a look.

7. Jose Contreras four years $32 million
6. Jaret Wright three years $21 million
5. Hideki Irabu four years $12.8 million plus $3 million sent to the San Diego Padres
4. Roger Clemens one year (prorated, worked out to be four months) $18.7 million
3. Carl Pavano four years $40 million
2. Kei Igawa five years $20 million plus $26 million posting fee
1. Alex Rodriguez ten years $275 million

ICYMI: Were They Worth It?

From Bryan Van Dusen:





For a while after The Greedy Pinstripes opened, I would constantly write about salaries. I pretty much became obsessed with the team's total payroll, and how their players fit into it. I would write about how much money was allegedly on the books, and whether they would or would not sign one player or another. It took me a while to realize what many others already knew... it was a waste of time. Not only did I not know how much the team was willing to spend, but it ultimately didn't matter to me as a fan because I was not the one writing the payroll checks.
"There are people that still write checks? Hello! It's called a debit card!"

I don't mean to say that I've completely abandoned the idea of player salaries and the team's payroll. I'm not going to waste my time saying the team could sign Jason Heyward, David Price, and others, while putting big money players like Carlos Beltran on the bench. Major League Baseball is a business, which means the league and its teams are out to make money, therefore team owners are going to treat it as such.

One thing I bring up often when talking about money is the Dollar Values done at Fangraphs. No, I don't think it's a perfect formula, but I do believe it's a good way to measure a player's worth. For example, Fangraphs lists Bryce Harper as being worth $75.9 million last season. You may say he's probably only worth like $70 million, but the fact is he's one of... if not the most valuable hitter in MLB.

So I decided to take a look at the Dollar Values placed on players from the 2015 Yankees. You're probably going to notice that the following chart doesn't include every player that spent time on the team's Active Roster this season, but it does cover those that spent a significant amount of time on it.


Let's start with those that actually cost the team money last season.

Sabathia was the biggest waste for the Yankees in 2015, giving the team nearly $15 million less on the field than they gave him on his paycheck. Ellsbury wasn't much better, as the Yankees spent a little over $14 million more on him than he gave to the team. Drew was another waste for the team, as his salary was $3.7 million higher than what he gave the team in performance. While Tanaka is on the list of players that under-performed their salaries, if he could have made five or six more starts he would have likely covered his salary and then some. The teams loss with Headley was minimal, however I believe he'll make up for that during the last three years of his contract. Oh, and as for ARod, many would have taken him as a $64 million loss spread out over his final three years, so a loss of only $600,000 this season was fantastic.

Now for those that gave the Yankees more than the team gave them.

Take another look at that chart above. That list of "plusses" is pretty nice. Pineda (+26.1), Gregorius (+24.146), and Eovaldi (+21.9) would have been welcome by any owner in baseball. And, although a number of Yankees fans feel otherwise, Yankees brass has to love using young players. Just look at what young guys like Gregorius did... Betances (+18.692), Warren (+16.528), Wilson (+11.244), Bird (+6.9), Murphy (+4.981), Severino (+4.8), Heathcott (+2.1), and Refsnyder (+.7). Finally, you can add another $29 million for the Yankees, thanks to Gardner (+7.9), Miller (+6.9), Young (+6.9), McCann (+6.5), Nova (+.4), and Beltran (+.4) all outperforming their salaries.

You may have noticed that I haven't talked about Mark Teixeira. Even though he was technically a "loss" for the Yankees last season, if it wasn't for an injury he would have outplayed his salary by quite a bit.

In summary, how about that total? The team's total payroll for 2015 was a little under $218 million. The total for the players in that chart ($332.9 million) means the Yankees got around $115 million more out of their team than they had to pay. I would call that a big win for Hal and friends.

So if anybody brings up the Yankees eating a player's contract, or at least part of it in order to facilitate a trade (*cough*Ellsbury*cough*), you don't have to feel bad for Hal, Brian, Joe or anybody else employed by the New York Yankees.

"Yeah, we're all doing just fine."

Jim Hendry & Jeff Samardzija Could Be on the Way Out of New York

I won't leave you hanging for long because I know you're probably all a little confused by the title of the post. Jeff Samardzija is not a member of the New York Yankees so how could he possibly be on his way out of New York, right? You are right but it is also worth mentioning that Yankees special assistant and adviser to Brian Cashman and former Cubs front office member Jim Hendry was the man that signed Samardzija to his first Major League deal pulling him away from football and Notre Dame University and Hendry may also be on his way out of New York.

Cashman has already lost one of his top generals this season when his assistant GM Billy Eppler took the general manager position with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Hendry may be the next one on the way out. Hendry recently interviewed with the Philadelphia Phillies about a potential adviser role with the team. Hendry also interviewed with new team president Andy MacPhail for the vacant GM job left open by Ruben Amaro Jr. but the team eventually hired Matt Klentak for that position.

If Hendry leaves does he take the possibility of signing Samardzija with him? At the end of the day, maybe.

New York Yankees in the Awards


According to Major League Baseball there are 10 instances this season where the New York Yankees were considered to be award worthy. It's almost award season time, one more series stands between the players and a long offseason, and the Yankees are up for 10 awards. Should they win it and do they have a shot? Check them out below and decide for yourself.

The first Award is the Best Breakout Player where the Yankees Andrew Miller is nominated after his first full season as a closer in his career. Miller joins other hopefuls Chris Archer, Nolan Arenado, Jake Arrieta, Jeurys Familia and others.

Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira are both up for Best Comeback Player after strong 2015 seasons for the New York Yankees. Teixeira spent most of 2014 injured and ineffective while Rodriguez was suspended for the entire season with a steroid suspension. ARod and Teixeira join Chris Davis, Prince Fielder, Matt Harvey, Ryan Madson and others in the running for the award.

Joe Girardi is up for best manager after leading the Yankees to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Other managers up for consideration are Jeff Bannister of the Texas Rangers and both World Series managers Terry Collins of the Mets and Ned Yost of the Royals.

Brian Cashman is also under consideration for the Best Executive of the Year in 2015 but will face stiff competition with Alex Anthopoulos of the Toronto Blue Jays, Sandy Alderson of the Mets, Theo Epstein of the Cubs, Andrew Friedman of the Dodgers and others.

The Yankees Twitter account, @Yankees, is actually up for the best social media account believe it or not. I can't get those guys to acknowledge I exist for anything but hey, they must be being social with someone to be up for the award.

Alex Rodriguez's 3,000th hit is under consideration for the Best Moment of 2015, Jimmy Fallon is up for Best Team Celebrity Fan for his fandom of the Yankees and so is a kid who stole a foul ball away from Carlos Beltran on September, 24 against the Chicago White Sox. John Sterling could win Best Call on the radio for Greg Bird's home run against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 22 in the finale of the potential award ceremonies for the Yankees.

CLICK HERE to vote.