Saturday, May 16, 2015

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Kansas City Royals 5/16


For the second time this weekend the New York Yankees are on the road inside Kauffman Stadium to take on the Kansas City Royals. Tonight the fans will hopefully be entertained by a couple of left handed pitchers as CC Sabathia takes the mound to face off against Danny Duffy for the Royals. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV.

The Yankees are so close to returning home I can hear Bald Vinny and the Bleacher Creatures “Roll Call” now. Be prepared for when the team comes home with your #51 jerseys and your Yankees tickets in hand when the team welcomes the Texas Rangers to the Bronx. While I can’t help you, yet, with the t-shirts and jerseys I can help you with the tickets if you click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog. If you can’t make it to the Bronx then no problem just jump on the comments section and/or Twitter (@GreedyStripes) to interact with us during the game. I promise I won’t get too heated.

Jacoby Ellsbury is stepping to the plate and CC is looking for his second victory of the season so let’s all tune in together and root for the Yankees. Go Yankees!


Bryan Mitchell Called Up, Jose Ramirez Sent Down

People Are Actually Mad at Chase Whitley?


I touched on this a little bit in the comments section the site on an article written by my friend and co-owner (in that order) Bryan Van Dusen but I wanted to elaborate a little more in detail, also known as ramble a bit, here in an official post so all can see. It really blows my mind that people are legitimately angry with Chase Whitley right now because he hid an injury and tried to stay on the field to help the Yankees win. Was it a bone head move? Absolutely, but in today’s game and in today’s era and with today’s team the way it is structured it’s hard to be mad at the guy for what he did. Keep reading and I’ll explain it to you.

First and foremost in an era where players just simply ask for days off just because, because they want to ensure they will be healthy and productive because they are 130 games away from free agency, because they have the batting title lead and want to win the award, etc. etc. etc. you’re going to knock on a guy and question his intelligence and even go as far as to compare him to Carl Pavano because he wanted to stay in the game and pitch through it? More importantly Whitley thought he could pitch through it and stay on the field the more the games went on and the more the weather outside heated up and frankly he had a lot of positives to base that line of thinking off of, again keep reading.

Whitley was bombed at the beginning of his last start as the Baltimore Orioles went all Bronx Bombers on the young right hander early and often in the contest. In the first four innings Whitley allowed four runs on a trio of home runs from Jimmy Paredes, Chris Davis and Alejandra De Aza of the Orioles before settling down. We can only presume at this time that the injury caused his bad showing in the Bronx last week but if you look at the box score inning by inning you may see a shocking revelation. Whitley got better, sharper and more dominant as the game went on. Whitley finished with 5.2 innings pitched on that afternoon and really saved the bullpen as much as he could on that specific afternoon. If Whitley had left the contest after all the home runs and not looked more like himself for parts of four innings then yes, he’s an idiot. He’s not only putting himself in danger but he is a detriment to the team but that’s not how it went down.

Whitley put the team first and while it may have cost him a chunk of his season, or hell even his career, I am hardly mad at him for making the decision. It’s his elbow and it’s his career and again if he thought he could pitch through it and still be effective then my hat is tipped to him for trying to gut it out. It wasn’t the smartest decision in the world but the great Mariano Rivera did the same exact thing at the end of his final season and never said a word until after he was retired. The difference between it being a good decision and “showing heart” and “being a true Yankee” and being an idiot is if the risky decision pays off in the end.


Troy Tulowitzki Just Wants to be the Good Guy

There will be no “Scarface” type scene in Colorado this season when Troy Tulowitzki is screaming at the fans and the Rockies ownership and front office to “say goodnight to the bad guy” as Tulo announced he would not be requesting a trade from the team this season. It was brought up earlier in the week that the Rockies shortstop may request a trade from the team after four straight losing seasons and a losing streak this season that has already surpassed ten games in a row. Tulo eventually announced that he met with his agent and decided he would stick it out with the only professional team he has ever known but I personally think that was only because Tulowitzki wants to be the good guy in the situation.


Tulo is the face of the Colorado Rockies franchise but has made it abundantly clear that he is a fan of former Yankees captain Derek Jeter and the whole New York Yankees organization as a whole and would love to play in the Bronx. With Jeter’s former position and Tulowitzki’s current position, the shortstop position, in limbo with Didi Gregorius not yet living up to expectations some fans, including myself, have begun clamoring for Tulowitzki in the Bronx. Tulo wants to be in the Bronx, he has said as much in not so many words, but he does not want to disappoint the fans, the teammates, the friends and the relationships he has built in Colorado and who could blame him. He’s a selfless guy, I like that in a Yankee.

The casual fan does not want Tulowitzi because of his health concerns, his contract and what the team would have to give up to get him but I don’t think it’s going to be as bad as many think it will be if he is traded. Because of the injury concerns, which would be alleviated I think with a move to the American League and a move period out of the high elevations inside Coors Field, I think either the price tag will be lower than expected or the prospect haul will be lower than expected. If Colorado makes Tulo available they will either have to eat some of the salary to accommodate a trade, and in turn get more in return player wise, or trade him for substantially less than he is worth to completely get the contract off the books. Not many teams can, or will, take on the entire contract, for example the Mets are not going to be able to justify that contract on their end of year spreadsheet even with the added revenue, but the Yankees can. The Yankees ability to eat the contract, which if he was a free agent right now he would command much, much more than his current contract pays him at an offensively anemic position, will help them hold onto some of their top talent and still get a deal done if the discussions were ever to take place.


The stars are aligning for Tulo to be the good guy like he wants to be, the Rockies to be the villain like they have to be and for the New York Yankees to be the winner after six seasons. Get it done Cash, bring me the good guy. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Kansas City Royals 5/16


Tonight in Kansas City the New York Yankees face off with the Kansas City Royals for the second time in their three game set this weekend in what should be another great matchup of two starting pitchers. Tonight on the mound for the Yankees is LHP CC Sabathia fresh off his first victory of the season and he will be opposed by a fellow LHP in Danny Duffy for the Royals. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV.

  • Sabathia is fresh off his first victory of the season and his first victory in over a full calendar year last time out against the Tampa Bay Rays. Sabathia allowed four runs, three of them earned, on six hits in seven innings pitched compiling nine strikeouts. Sabathia has struck out 38 batters this season and walked 10 in a shade over 45 innings pitched this season.


  • Duffy is coming off his worst start of the season where he allowed six earned runs and six walks to the Texas Rangers in an 8-2 loss for Kansas City. Duffy has thrown 4.2 innings combined in his last two starts after struggling with his command, control and effectiveness. Hopefully he doesn’t find it tonight inside Kauffman Stadium against the Yankees.



The Yankees haven’t played their best baseball of late leaving many to wonder if it’s time for the mustaches to go. Frankly I was never a fan of them to begin with but I am a fan of winning more so than anything so I tolerated them but it’s funny to see just how superstitious baseball players and their fans can be. The Yankees have a couple missing pieces to their rotation right now the cavalry is on the way if the team can just stay healthy and stay atop the division I think they will be fine. That all begins tonight with a victory, go Yankees!

Is Michael Pineda Still The Yankees' Ace?

"Either there's something really interesting on the ground, or I just stunk up the joint."

When it comes to making a tribute video for Michael Pineda, I don't think anybody is going to use footage of last night's game.

The "ace" of the Yankees' pitching rotation had his worst game in a Yankees uniform, giving up ten hits and five earned runs over 5.1 innings.

While I haven't heard any overreaction to last night's start against the Royals, it actually surprises me. Yankees fans are not known for being patient people, and are prone to taking the smallest bit of bad news and exaggerating that to its negative extreme.

So I'm hear today to try and make sure that doesn't happen.

Michael Pineda's shoulder did not explode last night, causing that poor start. Pineda hasn't "lost it", and should be pulled from the rotation and put into the bullpen. I'll let Big Mike say it for me...
“It’s not my day,” Pineda said. “These games happen sometimes."
And "these games" don't just happen to mediocre and bad pitchers.

In 2012 David Price won the American League Cy Young Award, thanks to his only 20-win season along with an ERA of only 2.56. However, on August 27th, David gave up six earned runs and ten hits in just four innings of work.

Last season, on September 1st, AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber gave up five earned runs and seven hits. Earlier that season on May 7th, Clayton Kershaw, on his way to winning his third National League Cy Young Award in four years, gave up seven earned runs and six hits in just 1.2 innings.

My point is not to say Michael Pineda is on his way to winning the AL Cy Young Award, but that these games happen to even the best pitchers.

After Mike was removed from the game I didn't start begging for Masahiro Tanaka to return, as the Yankees no longer had a true anchor for the staff. I said "that sucks" and started thinking about the next game. Just like Pineda and every Yankees fan should do.

Whitley is Down, What Now?


Chase Whitley has been pitching through some elbow pain for “a while” now and finally left the game against the Rays on Thursday night in the second inning of the contest. The news is bad on Whitley and he will not be relied on for quite some time in the Yankees rotation after the injury begging the question what will the Yankees do now? The good news for the Yankees is if an injury is going to occur, which you hope it never does, it couldn’t have happened at a better time during the season. The cavalry is coming and once again the Yankees may be able to survive this with the depth and insurance that Brian Cashman has stockpiled this offseason.

Chris Capuano is fully stretched out and has made a start in Triple-A Scranton with the RailRiders meaning he could be activated and take Whitley’s spot while he is placed on the 15 day DL. Masahiro Tanaka is back and has thrown multiple bullpen sessions since being shut down with his forearm strain and wrist tendinitis and may only be a week or two away at most while the Yankees still have the likes of Bryan Mitchell sitting down in the minor leagues waiting for the call. Capuano has been confirmed as the starter on Sunday already in place of Whitley giving everyone else in the rotation an extra day of rest.

It’s unfortunate that the Yankees lost another starting and one with so much promise in Whitley but as cold as it sounds the show must go on, especially in New York. With Tanaka close, Capuano ready and Mitchell waiting in the wings the Yankees may not have the starting pitching depth they had this time last week but they have enough to get them by and keep them in first place and that may have to be enough.


TGP Daily Poll: Adam Warren & His Rotation Stay


With the injury to Chase Whitley the Yankees will likely turn to Chris Capuano in the starting rotation at least until Masahiro Tanaka gets back. With Capuano in the rotation Warren will remain in the rotation at least until Tanaka is healthy, which will be about two more weeks.


Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Jorge Mateo


Another week and another week full of stolen bases for the potential shortstop of the future for the New York Yankees, Jorge Mateo. Mateo continues to keep pace with Billy Hamilton for the all-time record for stolen bases in a single season of minor league ball while the bat continues to lack for the young shortstop. Whether the bat comes around or not remains to be seen but you absolutely cannot teach speed or base stealing and Mateo has both of those fundamentals already working for him at a young age. He may not get the publicity that Hamilton received as a minor leaguer with the Reds but that’s okay as long as he continues to produce at this rate:

YearLevGPARH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015A311321633511132761226.287.352.374.725

This Day in New York Yankees History 5/16: Yankees Come Back from 9-0 to Win


On this day in 2006 the New York Yankees overcame a nine run deficit for the fourth time in their history defeating the Rangers 14-13. The Yankees were down 9-0 after an inning and a half before Jorge Posada hit a two out, two run walk off home run to win the game.


Also on this day in 1932 Lefty Gomez throws a five hit shutout giving the Yankees their fourth consecutive shutout. Gomez joins Johnny Allen, George Pipgras, and Red Ruffing in the streak. The Yankees would beat Cleveland 8-0 on this night.