Sunday, March 8, 2015

Recap: Yankees 3, Nationals 2


Alex Rodriguez went 1-for-2 in his first start at third base and Adam Warren looked solid again Sunday as the Yankees topped the Nationals, 3-2, in a pitching-dominated matchup at Steinbrenner Field.

A-Rod on Defense: Rodriguez fielded just one ball during his five innings of work -- a sharply-hit grounder off the bat of Tyler Moore in the fourth. He made that play cleanly, and on offense, connected on a bloop double in the second when the Nationals appeared to miscommunicate.

Warren Bounces Back After Rough First Inning: Warren surrendered a solo home run to Washington's Michael Taylor on the first pitch of this contest, but for the most part, still performed well in three innings. He gave up just four hits while striking out one -- retiring five consecutive from the end of the first to the beginning of the third. 

Pirela Shows Off His Speed: Manning second base for most of the afternoon, Jose Pirela contributed to two of the three Yankees runs -- doubling and crossing home in the third before legging out a go-ahead infield hit in the fourth. All in all, Pirela went 2-for-3 on the day -- flying out sharply to right in his final at-bat in the seventh.

Miller, Betances, and Severino Impress: Andrew Miller threw a 1-2-3 fourth inning and Dellin Betances a two-strikeout, one-hit fifth in this one -- the first time this spring the two have pitched in the same game. After they left the mound, youngster Luis Severino took over and fanned three more in 1 1/3 frames -- giving up a run in the seventh after allowing a walk and a single.

Another Late Rally: With two outs and nobody on in their half of the eighth, the Yankees got three straight singles from Kyle Roller, Aaron Judge and Cole Figueroa to take a 3-2 lead -- one they would hang onto for good after Jared Burton pitched a perfect ninth. The hits all came off Nationals' reliever Mitch Lively, and helped Double-A prospect Wilking Rodriguez earn the win.

Notable Starters: Brett Gardner went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI single -- his first hit in Tampa this spring. As for Brian McCann, he singled in the fourth and later scored on the aforementioned knock by Pirela -- having gone first-to-third on a Kevin Frandsen throwing error. 

Next Up: Michael Pineda will make his preseason debut for the Yankees when they take on the Rays and right-hander Nathan Karns on Monday -- Karns' second outing of the month. Mark Teixeira, Stephen Drew, Didi Gregorius and Chase Headley are all expected to be in the Pinstripes' lineup -- with first pitch set to come at 1:05 p.m. ET.

Yankees Have Added 13 to Spring Training Camp


The New York Yankees have added a total of 13 players to their major league spring training camp this week presumably to help with split squad games and the everyday grind of the schedule. Many "wrongs" have been righted with these call ups although many of these players are expected to go back down as soon as tomorrow. According to the transactions page on Yankees.com the following players have been added to Yankees camp:

LHP Matt Tracy
3B Dante Bichette Jr.
OF Michael O'Neill
OF Taylor Dugas
C Alvaro Noriega
RHP Caleb Cotham
RHP Mark Montgomery
3B Eric Jagielo
RHP Jaron Long
RHP Cesar Vargas
LHP Fred Lewis
SS Tyler Wade
RHP Taylor Garrison

Spring Game Thread: Washington Nationals @ New York Yankees


It's hard to believe that this is already the sixth game of the New York Yankees Spring Training schedule. This afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field the New York Yankees will play host to the Washington Nationals in their first match up of the Grapefruit League season.

On the mound for New York is Adam Warren who will be making his second start of the spring and he will be facing off against Doug Fister for the Nationals. Be sure to check that game out if you can.

Go Yankees!!

Yankees Have Come Closest to Acquiring Cole Hamels


It is no secret that the Philadelphia Phillies are looking to trade both left handed starting pitchers they have in Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. While Lee has to prove that he and his elbow are healthy Hamels may be the most attractive trade piece that is currently available at 31 years old. Many teams have presumably made offers and phone calls to Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. but apparently the Yankees have come closest to acquiring the LHP.

Whether this is posturing to try and fetch more out of the Boston Red Sox, who have shown a ton of interest in Hamels services, or if the report is honest remains to be seen. Conveniently the report does not mention any names coming out of the Yankees farm system but you have to think that package starts with Luis Severino, Aaron Judge and Robert Refsnyder and ends with probably Gary Sanchez and another prospect like Ian Clarkin. That's a ton, especially with the state of the farm system as it is being pretty top heavy right now, and honestly I don't think it's worth it. 

If the Yankees wanted a front line starting pitcher they could have signed one for just money in the offseason, why would the team trade away prospects to acquire one now in March? It doesn't make sense but the fact remains that Hamels makes the Yankees one of the best teams in the American League East and possibly in all of the American League. 

Bryan Mitchell Has Been Working This Winter


Bryan Mitchell seemingly is not part of the New York Yankees starting rotation plan but after seeing him make his spring debut on Friday maybe he should be. Mitchell has made more than a few adjustments this winter and they were on full display in his game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

One scout who was unnamed but has supposedly been following Mitchell for a while has mentioned that his curveball is much tighter and seemingly easier to control. Mitchell was asked about it after the game and said he made no changes to the curveball and simply just got more consistent with it, either way it looked great.

Mitchell has also added somewhat of a mystery pitch as Joe Girardi and company have called it a cutter while Mitchell thinks of it more as a slider. Mitchell has thrown a cutter in the past but has presumably changed the grip on it to get different, and it looks like better, results.

Chris Capuano is currently the Yankees fifth starter but Mitchell is already making his case to get the spot and send the big lefty to the bullpen. I don't think it will happen when the Yankees break camp but honestly if both pitchers look like they did on Friday then maybe it should.

Meet a Prospect: Mat Gamel


Mat Gamel is the latest prospect to come through the system of the New York Yankees after signing a minor league deal with the team late in the week. Mat joins his brother and current Yankees farm hand Ben Gamel who is spending his time in Double-A with the Trenton Thunder organization. Mat is a former first round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers and a former Top Prospect in the Brewers organization and will now fight for playing time with Mike Ford, Kyle Roller, Garrett Jones, Mark Texeira and others. Let's meet the guy who faces the uphill battle of staying healthy and winning playing time in the Bronx, Mat Gamel.

Mathew Lawrence Gamel was born on July 26, 1985 and spent his High School years at Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonsville, Florida. Gamel then attended Chipola College in Marianna, Florida where he caught the attention of the Milwaukee Brewers who drafted him in the 2005 Major League Baseball First Year Players Draft. Gamel had a fruitful minor league career with Milwaukee including a 33 game hitting streak in 2007 with the High-A Brevard County Manatees before being elected to the All-Stars Futures Game in 2008. Gamel was a September call up on September, 1 in 2008 and made his debut two days later when he struck out as a pinch hitter.

Gamel spent time bouncing back and forth for Milwaukee up until May of 2012 when the injury train hit him and possibly derailed his career. On May 22, 2012 Gamel had to go under the knife to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, more commonly known as an ACL, and missed the rest of the 2012 season. Gamel came to Spring Training camp in 2013 and actually tore the same ligament again causing him to miss the entire 2013 season as well. Milwaukee essentially gave up on Gamel after the 2013 season season and was put on waivers and claimed by the Chicago Cubs. Gamel's Cubs tenure did not last long as two months later he was non-tendered and granted his free agency.


Gamel latched on with the Atlanta Braves before the 2014 season but once again re-injured himseld during workouts before spring training was was subsequently released by Atlanta on February 18, 2014. Gamel did not play during the 2014 season and has now latched on with the New York Yankees for the 2015 season. Will he finally stay healthy and regain his top prospect status? Who knows but personally I cannot wait to find out. Welcome to the family Mat, almost literally since Ben is here, and we hope you enjoy your stay in the pinstripes.

TGP Daily Poll: Adam Warren Remains Flawless


Adam Warren did not allow a run in his first Grapefruit League start in the Spring Training opener and he will not allow a run in his second start either remaining flawless statistically.

Vote in our prediction poll on knoda.com

Update on the BYB Hub


We haven't done one of these updates in quite a while simply because it was the grind of the offseason. All the big free agents were signed, all the trades were done and we were all simply sitting and waiting at our windows on spring to begin. Spring has begun and the Yankees are already playing their sixth Grapefruit League game today so no better time then to give you an update on the BYB Hub.

If this is the first time you're reading about the BYB Hub what it was designed to be was a place for the unknown blogger and the up and comers to have a place to showcase their talents. There are plenty of writers out there that are extremely talented and just lack a place to showcase their talents. I know when we first started here we didn't have a hub set up by a well respected blogger like Mr. Robert Casey from Bleeding Yankee Blue and our site was built on hard work, dedication and lots and lots of hours of work. The Hub is designed to make that a little easier and better for everyone involved.

I expect this hub to explode this season and it already has 20 blogs being showcased including our own and over 4,000 views so if you're a blogger and you want potentially 4,000 views in the short time this hub has been up then give me a tweet @GreedyStripes or direct Mr. Casey directly on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu.

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/8


On this day in 1947 the New York Yankees beat the Dodgers 1-0 in Havana's new stadium delCerro. The Yankees Snuffy Stirnweiss had a tenth inning single which proved to be the game winning hit, the only Yankees hit of the game.

Also on this day in 1930 Babe Ruth signed a two year deal for $160,000 with the Yankees keeping him as the highest paid player of all time for his era. Ed Barrow, the Yankees General Manager at the time, said that "no one will ever be paid more." Alex Rodriguez and Clayton Kershaw say hello.