The Daily Dozen: April 6, 2015 Edition

Hello all you Greedy Pinstripers out there...today was the beginning of the 2015 Major League Baseball season for the New York Yankees and in turn is the RETURN of the Daily Dozen: Twelve Takeaways from Today's Game...

1. For the first time since 1995, the New Yankees Roster does not include a man named Derek Jeter.  It's a sad day indeed..especially with his replacement Didi Gregorious (I know, it just falls of the tongue so smoothly, doesn't it?) having a lackluster first day in Pinstripes.  But you know, in order for the Yankees to move on with their new "Royal-esque" approach, the Core Four needed to be retired.

2. Mr. Joe Torre got to throw out the first pitch today.  It seems like the animosity between Torre in the Steinbrenners is completely gone now...at least publicly.

Joe Torre knows how to pitch in the Bronx (Photo Credit: CBSlocal.com)

3. An error by Chase Headley opened the Floodgates for the Jays.  I wonder if A-Rod would have made the play, or if he would have broken his hip playing 3rd base to begin with.

4. Masahiro Tanaka.  Not such a good start of the season for #TanakaTime, but it is a long season.  It will have to be in order to get that 9.00 ERA down.  He probably would have done just that if it were May instead of April.  The Binder had him on a strict 90-pitch count, which with the Yankees bullpen isn't such a bad idea.  An interesting stat I saw from Mr. Lou DiPietro of the YES Network ~ Tanaka gave up as many runs today to the Blue Jays (5) as he did in 18.1 innings against them last season.  I'm personally looking forward to those shutouts coming in his next 2 games against Toronto to even that stat line out.

5. Six Ks are not equal to Five Rs.  I know this due to my advanced Science degree.  Check out this equation below, which tells you what 6 Ks are really worth:

                  6K = R^5 - sin^2 / tan (sqrt of xHRs)

In case you missed it, that was the important part of Tanaka's line through 4 innings pitched.

6. Kevin Pillar.  Seriously...the guy's name is Kevin Pillar...is this just Kevin Millar in disguise?  The dude went 2 for 4 today and of course is a lifetime .239 hitter.  Of course.

(Photo Credit: JaysProspects.com)

I'm not sure if they resemble each other or not...but knowing
what a prankster Millar is...(Photo Credit: KevinMillar.com)

7. Speaking of "OF COURSE"... The curse of the ex-Yankees continues this season with Russell Martin adding 2 very important RBI in the Tanaka-killer 3rd inning.  We miss you Russell...

8. Isn't it IRONIC...don't you think?  Alex Rodriguez became the first baserunner for the Yankees this season batting 7th in the lineup after missing the entire 2014 season.  It's like rain on your wedding day.  Mr. A-Rod went 1-2 with a walk and is batting .500 with a 0.667 OBP to start his 2015 foray into what could be a COMEBACK PLAYER OF THE YEAR type season or one that fizzles him into obscurity...let's hope as Yankees fans for the former.  For what it's worth, the Yankees fans on hand today seemed to welcome him back with open arms.  Maybe it was the lack of Bronx Bombing last year that made them happy to see him...?

I can't tell if Alanis is amused or not...

9. Chris Martin's Debut.  Speaking of the Yankees Bullpen.  Mr. Martin (the "other" Martin in the game today) came into the game in the 5th to relieve #TanakaTime...he only recorded 3 strikeouts on 17 pitches to record a perfect inning in his Yankees debut...not too shabby!  I'll probably be following him on the morrow on Twitter...

10. So what is the chance...?  What is the chance of winning the World Series after going 0-1?  A quick glance at the last TEN World Series Champs revealed the following:

2014 San Francisco Giants...won their first game
2013 Boston Red Sux...won their first game
2012 San Francisco Giants...went 0-3 to start the season
2011 St. Louis Cardinals...went 0-2 to start the season and 2-6...they were awful
2010 San Francisco Giants...won their first 3 games
2009 New York Yankees...lost their first 2 games and were 15-17 by May 12th...left for dead
2008 Philadelphia Phillies...lost their first 2 games and were 8-10 by April 19th
2007 Boston Red Sux...lost the first game of the season
2006 St. Louis Cardinals...won their first 3 games
2005 Chicago White Sox...won their first 2 games

So...it's 50/50 in terms of the last 10 World Series Champions...that's right...the first game doesn't really count...it's what they do in the next 161 that really matters...here's to a 161-1 season!  A big shout out to BaseballReference.com for having these stats so readily available.  Love that site...

Is #28 coming to a Bronx near you?

11. How about that bullpen, ehh?  5 innings of 1 run ball will go a looooong way to giving the Yankees a shot at winning.  But then again, if the Yankees are counting on 5 innings of relief every day they are probably in for a losing season.

12. What kind of season will Brett "The Hitman" Gardner have?  Well, right now he's on pace to hit 162 home runs.  Sounds crazy right, but so did the thought of him hitting 17 dingers last season.  I think he'll end up with right around 25 for the year, which would look mighty nice next to 60 stolen bases.  One can wish, right??

"HULK....SMAAAAASH"

Tanaka staying optimistic after tough Opening Day

After lasting just four innings and allowing four earned runs Monday against the Blue Jays, Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka isn't making excuses.

"I was in bad counts," Tanaka said during a press conference following the 6-1 loss. "And obviously that's going to give an advantage to the batters."

Tanaka surrendered five hits and five total runs in the defeat -- each of which came in the Blue Jays' half of the third. He gave up a two-run single to Russell Martin and a two-run home run to Edwin Encarnacion in the frame, striking out six while walking two.

Tanaka has said in recent weeks he's hoping to use his sinker more in an attempt to induce more ground balls, but denied the notion that the new strategy contributed to his bad numbers.

"No, I don't think that has anything to do with it," he said.

Tanaka fanned three of the first four Blue Jays he faced in his outing, but struggled with his command from then on. In all, he threw just 50 of 82 pitches for strikes on the afternoon -- raising his early 2015 ERA to a hefty 9.00.

Tanaka still looks at his performance positively, however, and says he saw some good signs outside of his rough third inning. 

"Overall, I think my pitches were good," Tanaka said. "Obviously, the results in the third inning weren't the ones I wanted. But looking back to the first two innings, I think I was pitching well."

And though his start Monday was disappointing at best, Tanaka assures he can get back to his old ways. 

"If I'm able to make some adjustments, then I should be able to get back into the form that I want," he said.

Recap: Blue Jays 6, Yankees 1

Masahiro Tanaka had a rough first start of the season, surrendering four earned runs in just four innings as the Yankees fell to the Blue Jays, 6-1, on Opening Day Monday at Yankee Stadium.

Tanaka's Woes: Tanaka cruised through this one's first two innings, but struggled greatly with his command in the Blue Jays' half of third. He let Toronto's eight and nine hitters reach before a Chase Headley throwing error, a Russell Martin two-run single and an Edwin Encarnacion two-run homer put the visitors up 5-0 -- eventually causing Tanaka's day to end prematurely.

Offense Flustered: The Yankees mustered just three hits in six innings against Drew Hutchison, and didn't register a baserunner until the bottom of the third. Their lone run on the afternoon came on a solo shot from Brett Gardner in the sixth -- a line drive to right-center that just had enough on it to find the seats.

A-Rod's Return to the Bronx: Alex Rodriguez walked to lead-off the third and singled to lead-off the fifth -- his first hit since late 2013. In the seventh, Rodriguez laced one hard into the right-center field gap off Aaron Loup, but Jose Bautista was able to run it down for the out.

Bullpen Impresses: Chris Martin struck out each of the three hitters he faced in the fifth and David Carpenter tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings -- likely the best performances from the Yankees' relief core in the contest. Elsewhere, Chasen Shreve allowed a run in an inning and a third and Esmil Rogers recorded the last out of the ninth -- Rogers having entered the game after a trio of walks by Justin Wilson. 

Rally Killer: With the Yankees threatening with men on first and second and two out in the eighth, Didi Gregorius was gunned down trying to steal third -- a mistake that garnered a seemingly-angry look by manager Joe Girardi. Girardi was seen talking to Gregorius following the play, apparently upset with the latter's decision to run. 

Next Up: Michael Pineda will take the hill for his 2015 debut when the Yankees host the Blue Jays again on Wednesday -- a matchup you can see live on YES and SNET. Knuckleballer R.A. Dickey is expected to oppose Pineda when the action begins at 7:05 p.m. ET -- Pineda's sixth career start versus the Jays. 

Ty Hensley Had Tommy John Surgery

So here I was checking Facebook before I went to take a shower and I read a post from my friend Marci Hensley, the mother of Yankees prospect Ty Hensley. Marci broke the news that Ty went under the knife last Tuesday to get Tommy John surgery performed by Dr. James Andrews. 

Another setback and another season lost for Ty. A damn shame, it's always the good ones that get the short straw in life and Ty is definitely one of the good guys. 

Most Popular Article of the Week: New York Yankees Pitching Totem Pole Depth Chart

With the Opening Day roster all but finalized for the New York Yankees the team now has a much clearer picture of what they have heading into next Monday’s first game and what they have in the minors if things were to go wrong. The Yankees held a camp long competition for the fifth starter’s spot since Chris Capuano injured his oblique muscle and had so much depth in the bullpen that almost everyone got an extended look this spring. Today we will focus on those two positions, the pitching side of things, when we look at the totem pole and the depth charts the team has.

As far as starting pitching goes Capuano should be back no later than a month into the season bumping (presumably) Adam Warren back to the pen. Warren, just like Esmil Rogers, came to camp as starters this season after spending the 2014 season in the bullpen and could easily slot back into the rotation in that order followed by Chase Whitley, Scott Baker and Bryan Mitchell in that order. Luis Severino is always a dark horse as well for the rotation heading into the season while players like Jose A. Ramirez have also started in the minor leagues and could be called upon in an emergency situation.

For the bullpen it is looking more and more like Justin Wilson and Chasen Shreve will start the season in the Bronx leaving Jacob Lindgren at the door knocking heading into 2015. Following Lindgren is an impressive list of potential relief pitchers including Andrew Bailey, Tyler Webb, Nick Rumbelow, Nick Goody, James Pazos and Mark Montgomery bringing up the rear.

The Yankees have an incredible amount of underrated depth heading into the 2015 season which leads me to believe that even if the injury bug hits the team once again this season, the team will be just fine. 

Opening Day Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 4/6

Welcome to Opening Day 2015 Yankees family as the New York Yankees play host to the Toronto Blue Jays. On the mound for the Yankees is their ace Masahiro Tanaka making his first career Opening Day start. Opposing him on the mound for Toronto will be Drew Hutchison who is also making his first Opening Day start of his career. The game is being played right now and can be seen on ESPN, the YES Network and of course MLB TV. Enjoy the game Yankees family.

We try and live tweet and comment every single game so be sure to join us in the comments section on the site or on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes. If you'd rather see the game live then you can click on our YANKEES TICKETS tab and buy your own with a TGP discount.

Enjoy the game Yankees family and as always, Go Yankees!!!

Things To Think About Regarding The 2015 Yankees

While "winning" is certainly the most important thing about the season, it would be a bald-faced lie to say it was the only important thing about this season.

"I could tell a better lie."

Hold on a second. "Bald-faced lie"? What the hell does that mean?

Most sources agree that the original expression, coined in the late 1600s, was actually barefaced lie. At that time, bare meant brazen or bold. At that time in history, almost all men sported a full set of whiskers, and it was considered quite daring or even audacious for a male to be clean-shaven, or barefaced. Eventually, the word for “hairless” went from bare to bald, and so did the description of a blatant fib.

Why, thank you MentalFloss.com.

So, anyway, what could possibly be nearly as important as winning? This is the Yankees we're talking about. This team doesn't use the term "maybe next year" until the final out of their season is over with. 

And that's the problem... the final out of their past two seasons has occurred before the postseason. So while I'll be rooting for the Pinstripers to win ever single game, there are a few things I'll be keeping in mind...

1. The development of Refsnyder, Judge, Bird, Severino. I'm not expecting those guys to lead the team in another dynasty, but they could very well be the next version of the Core Four. In the past I've skipped over the posts about minor league games, but this year I'll be checking those results with a passion.
2. I made a comment in today's game thread about the health of Tanaka's elbow. I said that I'll be holding my breath on every pitch, as it could very well be his last of the season (and beyond). As sad as it would be, it would not be surprising for the camera to pan back to Masahiro after the pitch to see him holding his elbow in pain, with the name "Tommy John" being uttered over and over again in the post-game conference.
3. Tanaka's elbow is one of many reasons the word "health" will likely be said more times this season than at any point in the history of mankind. It's not like Michael Pineda's starts will be any easier to watch, as he too could come up lame after he throws his next pitch. Hell, ARod's legs could simply fall off of his hips after his next practice swing. Mark Teixeira? He could trim his toenails too short and need a few days to recover from the pain.
4. Speaking of possible injuries, there's a very good chance the Yankees have to make a big move in order to compete this season. If Masahiro Tanaka, or Michael Pineda, go down only a couple of weeks into the season, I fully expect them to ramp up talks with the Philadelphia Phillies about Cole Hamels. While that would be an interesting development, it would also be pretty darn scary too, as that could mean the Yankees trade away one of the four players I mentioned a few paragraphs earlier.

I'm sorry if some of those things bring you down, but you can't tell me this is the first time you've read or thought about them. 

And I can't stop saying that this is bound to be the craziest season I've seen for the Yankees. If someone were to ask me what I think of the 2015 season for them I'd simply shrug my shoulders, because expectations for them are all over the place. 

Opening Day Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 4/6

Welcome to Opening Day 2015 Yankees family as the New York Yankees welcome their American League East rivals to Yankee Stadium when the team plays host to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees finished in front of Toronto once again in 2014 and both teams added to their offense looking to improve in 2015. It should be a fun season and at sometimes a long season for both clubs in the AL East as the division looks wide open for the first time in a long time.

On the mound for the Yankees will be Masahiro Tanaka who draws his first career Opening Day start of his MLB career. In 2014 Tanaka went 13-5 with a 2.77 ERA in 20 starts during his rookie season. His season was cut short due to a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament that he rested and rehabbed rather than undergoing surgery. Tanaka came back at the end of 2014 and made two starts for the Yankees and looked sharp overall this spring with a slightly altered delivery and repertoire.

On the mound for the Blue Jays will be Drew Hutchison who will also be making his first career Opening Day start of his career. Hutchison, 24 years old, returned from Tommy John surgery in 2014 and posted an 11-13 record with a 4.48 ERA. While those stats are less than impressive for an Opening Day starter his 184 K's in 184.2 IP and the rest of his peripherals tell the rest of the story. Hutchison has a career 4.80 ERA at Yankee Stadium and may be faced with the Mark Buehrle type demons in his head if he doesn't pitch well against the Bronx Bombers soon.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on ESPN, the YES Network and on MLB TV all season long.

Yankees Complete History on Opening Day

The New York Yankees had their first Opening Day on 4/26/1901 and will play their 115th Opening Day this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. Masahiro Tanaka will be on the mound for the Yankees as he plays host to Drew Hutcison and the Toronto Blue Jays looking to improve their 79-37-1 all-time record on Opening Day.

The Yankees sole tie in their history on Opening Day came on Opening Day 1910 when the team tied the Boston Red Sox 4-4. The Yankees have an all-time record of 14-10 against the Red Sox while the team owns a perfect 3-0 record against the Boston Americans in their history. The Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees opponents today, have only played against New York once on Opening Day in a game that the Bronx Bombers won by the final score of 3-2 in 2008. As far as the rest of the American League East goes New York has Opening Day records of 2-0 against the Tampa Bay Rays and 4-1 against the Baltimore Orioles. Long story short, the Yankees dominate the rest of the AL East on Opening Day in their history which means bad luck for the Blue Jays this afternoon.

The Yankees have never lost on Opening Day against the California Angels (1-0), Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2-0), Kansas City Royals (5-0) and the Texas Rangers (4-0). The biggest blowouts in Yankees Opening Day history include a 14-7 victory over the Washington Senators in 1950, a 19-1 victory over the Washington Senators in 1955, 11-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins in 1976, a 10-3 victory over the Texas Rangers in 1981, a 11-3 victory over the Cleveland Indians in 1987, an 8-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in 1988, a 17-13 victory over the Oakland Athletics in 1998 and a 12-3 victory over the Detroit Tigers in 1999.

New York has 14 shutout victories on Opening Day in their history with eight shutout losses with 16 one run victories and 12 one run losses all-time. The Yankees do not have a losing record against any team on Opening Day in their history but they do have .500 record against the Cleveland Indians (3-3), Detroit Tigers (3-3), Milwaukee Brewers (2-2) and the Oakland Athletics (1-1).

The Yankees are on a one year Opening Day winning streak after beating the Baltimore Orioles last season and have won four of their last five and 20 of their last 23 Opening Days including 11 straight Opening Day victories from 1998-2008. What does all this mean in terms of Opening Day 2015? I guess you're just going to have to watch to find out.

TGP Daily Poll: Yankees Win on Opening Day

Pretty straight forward, simple and to the point. It's Opening Day 2015 and the New York Yankees are going to win with Masahiro Tanaka on the mound.

Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Join The Greedy Pinstripes on Tap Sports Baseball 2015

Many of you took advantage of this in 2014 but now that it's Opening Day 2015 I offer the same to you all this year. I love the game Tap Sports Baseball because it's pretty simple, it's free and it's fun and addictive. The best part about it is you can play against your Facebook friends, other friends if you know their team names and just random opponents and AI. You can spend a ton of time playing this game because it's well done, polished and pretty legit for a free game.

Last year more than a few of you joined us on the 2014 version when we were pretty established and dominant but this time around I have played a total of four games before posting this. I'm a noob now so the teams will be equal this time around so jump on the game, search for an opponent, and join us by searching for our team name "GreedyPinstripes."

We look forward to seeing you all there and dominating you once again in 2015.

ICYMI: Spring Training News & Final Roster Decisions

The New York Yankees spring training is over and the roster decisions have finally been made.

Austin Romine has been designated for assignment and will likely be traded. I can't see him clearing waivers. John Ryan Murphy will be the team's backup catcher as expected.

Gregorio Petit won the last bench job before he played a single inning with the club and the decision was made official today.

Jose Pirela has been added to the seven day concussion DL retroactive to 4/2. He will be eligible to come off the DL on 4/9.

Chris Capuano has been placed on the 15 day DL retro active to 3/27 with a right quad strain.

Brendan Ryan has been placed on the 15 day DL retro active to 4/1 with a Grade II right calf strain.

Ivan Nova has been placed on the 15 day DL retro active to 3/27 with his Tommy John surgery.

This Day in New York Yankees History 4/6: Ron Blomberg

In 1973 the Yankees Ron Blomberg became the first designated hitter in major league history. In his first plate appearance the DH drew a walk off of Luis Tiant in a 15-5 loss at the hands of the bitter rival Boston
Red Sox.

Happy Opening Day 2015 ladies and gentleman!