Monday, April 27, 2015

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 4/27


The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays are ready to face off for their second series this month with the first games coming in Tropicana Field and these three games coming inside of Yankee Stadium. Tonight the Yankee Stadium faithful will watch as Adam Warren will pitch for the Yankees and Nathan Karns will pitch for the Rays. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

Get your Yankees tickets before the team heads back out on the road by clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of our blog. We can offer you cheap tickets without fees or shipping costs through our partnership with Ticket Monster. If you can't make it out this week then be sure to jump on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) or our comments section on the site to interact with us during the games.

I'm done for the day, Adam Warren will take it from here. Go Yankees!

Mark Teixeira: American League Player of the Week


Congratulations goes out to Mark Teixeira who won the Player of the Week Award for the American League last week. Teixeira hit .333 with five home runs and 10 RBI in his last 10 games last week including three home runs in his last series against the New York Mets.

Congrats Mr. Teixeira, you were on the mark last week.

Yankees Use 6th Starter Finally in Chase Whitley


Chase Whitley has been announced as the starting pitcher in the second game of this three game set between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. Pitching Whitley now essentially gives the rest of the Yankees starters an extra day of rest heading into the finale in the Bronx and for this weekend inside Fenway Park. Masahiro Tanaka, Tuesday's originally scheduled starter, will pitch the finale on Wednesday afternoon leaving Michael Pineda, CC Sabathia and Nathan Eovaldi to pitch in Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox this weekend.

This move makes sense in a lot of ways as the Yankees will start a 17 games in 17 days stretch on Friday and could use all the rest they can get going forward. It also gives the team their second best pitcher in Pineda an opportunity against a tough team in Boston and keeps Adam Warren out of Fenway on Sunday Night on ESPN.

Most Popular Article of the Week: Hypothetical Yankees Team After 2016: Prospects


The New York Yankees and owner Hal Steinbrenner have already put the bug in the ear of Yankees GM Brian Cashman that the team would once again attempt to get under the luxury TAX threshold either after the 2016 or 2017 season. Let’s have a little bit of fun here and pretend that the Yankees actually go from within to fill in most of the roster holes on the team to achieve this goal. What would the Yankees team look like in key positions with a prospect humpers (trademark pending) dream going out there on Opening Day 2017 for the New York Yankees?

SP: Masahiro Tanaka
SP: Michael Pineda
SP: Nathan Eovaldi
SP: Luis Severino
SP: CC Sabathia (assuming his shoulder holds up and his option triggers)

C: Brian McCann
1B: Greg Bird
2B: Robert Refsnyder
SS: Didi Gregorius
3B: Chase Headley
LF: Brett Gardner
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury
RF: Aaron Judge
DH: Alex Rodriguez

BN: Jose Pirela
BN: Jorge Mateo
BN: Ramon Flores
BN: John Ryan Murphy


RP: Chase Whitley
RP: Justin Wilson
RP: David Carpenter
RP: Jacob Lindgren
RP: Adam Warren
RP: Dellin Betances

CP: Andrew Miller

ICYMI: Early Team Leaders

By Bryan Van Dusen:

While I was aware of some of the following things, I decided to look a little further into Yankees statistics, and here's what I FOUND...

The three men that are tied for the team lead in home runs are Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixiera, and Stephen Drew. While Tex isn't a big surprise, who thought ARod would be hitting like this? A .411 OBP? An OPS of .600? Oh, and Stephen freakin Drew? Seriously? Plenty of fans didn't even want two of these three guys on the team (possibly all three if you include those that would rather see Greg Bird than Teixiera at first).

"Can you get off my back, ALREADY?"

Only two Yankees have hit triples this year. Would that be Brett Gardner and Jacoby Ellsbury? No. Well, one of them is Brett or Jacoby, right? Nope. One of those guys is Brian McCann, a man not known for being "fleet of foot", while the other player with a triple has only appeared in 7 of the team's 14 games... Garrett Jones.

Chris Young, the same guy that hit .200 for the Oakland Athletics last season, currently leads the Yankees in batting average at .344.

So what Yankees starter has the best ERA this season? Would it be the #1 starter Masahiro Tanaka? Their #2 starter Michael Pineda? CC Sabathia? No, no, and no. Nathan Eovaldi has the best ERA out of the five starters with a mark of 3.12.

Why stop with the Yankees? Let's look across MLB...

While Adrian Gonzalez leads MLB in batting average, I'm willing to bet that very few people outside of Coors Field have heard of the man with the next highest batting average in the league... DJ LeMauhieu.

Alongside the aforementioned Adrian Gonzalez, Adam Jones, Joey Votto, Paul Goldschmidt, Hanley Ramirez, and JD Martinez, the man tied for second in home runs in MLB is Luis Valbruena of the Houston Astros.

The MLB leader in ERA finished last season at 4.55. but has yet to give up a run in his first two starts this season. That man is the Texas Rangers' Nick Martinez.

Am I saying that Chris Young will be the Yankees best hitter by season's end? Will Nathan Eovaldi be the team's best starter? No... I'm not saying that at all. Just like I'd never say that DJ LeMauhieu will finish 2015 with the highest batting average in the league. Nor would I say that Luis Valbuena will be in the top three of home run hitters across MLB.

"Not even I believe that. Hell, I bet you didn't even know who I was."

Guys... it's been 14 games. That means that over 90% of regular season games remain to be played. Chances are Didi Gregorius will not have an OBP of .233. And before any of you start falling in love with Stephen Drew, you should realize that he's probably not going to be among the team's top home run hitters. Just like how Michael Pineda should finish the season with a sub-5.00 ERA.

I don't know about you, but the way this team started the season, I'm kinda psyched that they are 7-7. Not to mention that one of those wins came at the hands of a team tied with the most wins in MLB... the Tigers. And the Yankees are scoring runs! Who would have thought that would happen?

I'm saving my judgments for a little while longer. Perhaps you should too.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 4/27


The New York Yankees are fresh off their first installment of the Subway Series in 2015 and will finish their mini six game home stand with a three game series with the Tampa Bay Rays. That three game series starts tonight in the Bronx with the Yankees looking to continue their early season dominance over the Rays. The Yankees will send Adam Warren to the mound tonight looking to find some consistency as a starter this season and he will face off against the Rays starter Nathan Karns. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.


  • Warren has struggled this season as a starting pitcher but has benefited from some run support from his offense. Warren will need to settle down early and throw strikes if he wants to improve on his last start and give the Yankees some much needed innings. Chris Capuano is not that far off from returning so Warren's days in the rotation may be over anyway, stay tuned for that. 



  • Karns is coming off a start in which he threw 108 pitches in six innings against the Boston Red Sox. This was his third consecutive start throwing 100 pitches or more including the last time the Yankees and the Rays faced off. Karns is very home run prone allowing eight home runs in 21.2 innings at Tropicana Field this season.



The Yankees need to win games and series like this tonight if they have any plans of being around the playoff chase when the calendar changes to September so let's hope for a victory tonight. Karns did not pitch well against the Yankees last time out so that may be in the back of his head all night long along with the Yankee Stadium faithful. Go Yankees!

Please Sign Ricky Romero, Now


Ricky Romero was the sixth overall pick in the 2005 MLB FIrst Year Players Draft and was a thorn in the side of the New York Yankees for more than a couple seasons in his time with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays thought so highly of him that the team gave him a $30.1 million contract that ran through the 2015 season and included an option with a buyout for the 2016 season. How quickly the might fall though in Major League Baseball as this weekend the Blue Jays released Romero from his deal and will pay him his $7.5 million for the 2015 season and his $600K buyout for the 2016 season. It's time for the Yankees to pounce.

While Romero is far removed from his best season in 2011 when he posted a 2.92 ERA with a 7.1 K/9 ratio in 225 IP for Toronto but is still just 30 years old and left handed. Romero really hasn't pitched in the major leagues since 2012 and has battled various issues and injuries including the knee injury that ended his 2014 season after nine minor league starts. Now Romero could be had for the league minimum with the Blue Jays paying the remainder of his salary and would likely command just a minor league deal since he has yet to pitch in 2015. There's no such thing as a bad minor league deal, I've said it many times.

New York has taken fliers on many pitchers in similar positions to Romero including Andrew Bailey most recently and it's time for Romero to be the 2015 and 2016 versions of Bailey. Sign the young man and hope he has something left on that left arm, and if he doesn't what is the loss? Hal Steinbrenner spends more than $500K a year at the Chinese restaurant every year.

Recap: Yankees 6, Mets 4

Alex Rodriguez inched ever closer to career home run #660, driving a John Niese offering just over the right-field wall in the first to help the Yankees beat the Mets, 6-4, on Sunday night at Yankee Stadium.

An A-Bomb: With the Yankees down 2-0 early against Niese, Rodriguez clubbed a 2-2 changeup into the Yanks' bullpen -- his fifth homer of the year and first since April 17. It landed on top of the wall before bouncing past, giving A-Rod one of his two RBI on the evening. 

Eovaldi Struggles: Coming off a solid outing in Detroit on Tuesday, Yankees starter Nathan Eovaldi had some trouble in this one's first few innings -- surrendering two earned runs in both the first and third to keep the Mets within striking distance. He allowed a solo shot to Curtis Granderson to start the first, ultimately finishing with just 4 1/3 innings and seven hits under his belt. 

Hits, Hits, and More Hits: The Yankees' bats went to work with two outs in the bottom of the second, tying and taking the advantage on a pair of run-scoring doubles by Gregorio Petit and Brett Gardner. A Chris Young RBI single and a Michael Cuddyer throwing error immediately followed Gardner's knock, further stretching the Yanks' new lead to 5-2. 

That Was Embarrassing: The Mets had a man on first in the sixth when third baseman Eric Campbell apparently forgot how many outs there were on a routine flyout to right -- rounding second and heading for third as Carlos Beltran made the easy catch. Campbell indeed seemed to think there were two outs in the frame when there was actually one, resulting in an effortless double play to end the threat. 

Bullpen Dominates: The Yankees' relief core didn't yield so much as a hit in 4 2/3 innings, retiring 12 of 16 total Mets to continue its great first month of the season. Chasen Shreve, Chris Martin and Justin Wilson recorded the first eight outs after Eovaldi's removal, with Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller pitching scoreless eighth and ninths. 

Next Up: The Yankees resume this homestand Monday when they battle the Rays in the first of three in the Bronx -- beginning at 7:05 p.m. ET and airing live on the YES Network. Adam Warren (1-1, 5.40 ERA) will get the nod for the Yankees looking to win his second straight, facing young Rays right-hander Nathan Karns (1-1, 5.32 ERA).

TGP Daily Poll: Yankees Beat Tampa Bay Again


The first time the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees faced off this season New York swept away the Rays inside Tropicana Field. This time they play inside Yankee Stadium but it won't matter, the Yankees will win the series again.

Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Jacob Lindgren


Jacob Lindgren is wasting away in Triple-A right now, let's be honest. He has nothing left to prove in the minor leagues and the Yankees are basically letting him rot in Scranton. It sucks so it's time to start beating that drum. The biggest issue is not one Yankees reliever is really stinking up the place to really push the issue, you know? Anyway let's be informed before we go to war against Brian Cashman and know what Lindgren has done this season for the RailRiders:

YearLevWLERAGIPHRERHRBBSOWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9
2015AAA012.2568.065204111.2506.80.04.512.4

This Day In New York Yankees History 4/27: Steinbrenner Sucks!


On this day in 1982 after Reggie Jackson left the New York Yankees via free agency for the California Angels he came back to Yankee Stadium and promptly hit a home run in a 3-1 Angels victory. The crowd was none to PLEASED and chants of "Steinbrenner Sucks" erupted while Jackson rounded the bases. FYI, George Steinbrenner the Yankees owner was in attendance in his press box on that day.


On this day in 1947 a crowd of 58,000 attended Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium to honor the Yankees legend. The crowd was treated to an old fashioned pitchers duel when the Washington Senators Sid Hudson beat the Yankees Spud Chandler 1-0.