Sunday, June 7, 2015

Recap: Yankees 6, Angels 2

CC Sabathia threw six innings of two-run ball and the Yankees completed a weekend sweep of the Angels, 6-2, today at Yankee Stadium.

Sabathia Good Again: The veteran left-hander surrendered back-to-back solo homers to Mike Trout and Albert Pujols in the first, but settled in from there en route to his third win of the season. He allowed just five hits while striking out seven, helping him earn his first W in the Bronx since September of 2013.

A Loud Comeback: Down 2-1 heading into the fifth, the Yankees were looking to stage a rally with the bottom of their order due up -- a feat they would accomplish perfectly with a four-spot off C.J. Wilson. The struggling Chris Young began the onslaught with a solo shot to left, followed shortly by a big three-run blast from Brett Gardner to break the tie.

Pirela's Milestone Day: Rookie second baseman Jose Pirela clubbed his first career home run, a solo bomb to left-center, in the seventh -- stretching the Yankees' lead to four and knocking Wilson out of the game. Pirela -- who went 2-for-3 on his productive afternoon -- also doubled to start off the third, scoring later in the inning when Didi Gregorius grounded to second.

Bullpen Stays Effective: It seems to be a pretty common belief that Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller are two of baseball's best relievers, but just in case you need more convincing, the duo made sure to dominate this one's final stages. Indeed, the so-called "Twin Towers" retired all six men they faced in the contest's last two innings -- impressively striking out five to maintain their All-Star numbers.

Too Many Choice Words: After inducing a clutch inning-ending double play in the sixth, Sabathia confronted home plate umpire Dan Bellino about the latter's strike zone -- quickly resulting in a heated argument and an ejection of Sabathia. Sabathia was apparently upset that an earlier 1-1 pitch to Kole Calhoun had been ruled a ball, though nothing ultimately came of L.A.'s threat.

Next Up: The Yankees will take another off-day tomorrow, resuming this homestand on Monday with the first of two against the Nationals. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET, with Masahiro Tanaka (3-1, 2.76 ERA) opposing Max Scherzer (6-4, 1.85 ERA).

Sunday Night Open Thread


The Yankees game is over and it's now Sunday night so it sounds like the perfect time for a Sunday Night Open Thread here on the blog. The Yankees are fresh off a three game set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and are entering an off day tomorrow with the MLB Draft going down at 8:00 pm ET. We have plenty of mock drafts to look at, scouting reports to read and preparations to make for draft night so I leave you with this open thread tonight to chat about it all.

Who should the Yankees draft with their pair of first round picks? Pitching or hitting? College or high school? Game Two of the NBA Finals is set to kick off here in about an hour with the Golden State Warriors leading the series 1-0 over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Talk about any of that or anything else you'd like, have fun with it.

I leave you tonight with another musical recommendation. I have received a complaint or two that I am only posting one genre of music in these so I decided to switch it up a little bit with some Hoodie Allen. The name of the song is All About It and it features Ed Sheeran. Enjoy.

Baseball America: MLB Mock Draft 2015: Version 5.0


Baseball America's FREE Mock Draft V.5:

Baseball America's John Manuel has released his fifth mock draft heading up until tomorrow's MLB First Year Player's Draft and much like all the other mocks floating around the internet there is no consistency in it. Manuel has the Dodgers getting both Brady Aiken Jacob Nix pulling a 2014 Houston Astros draft strategy while Arizona is taking Tyler Stephenson, not Dansby Swanson, first overall. Mike Matuella from Duke is not drafted in the first round of this draft upstate New York product Garrett Whitley headed to Colorado with the #27 pick overall.

I know you guys didn't come to hear about the Dodgers or the Diamondbacks or even the Rockies here you want to know who the Yankees got with the #16 and the #30 picks so here are the writeups on those players via Manuel. Be sure to head over and click the link to give Manuel a view to show appreciate for his great and all his hard work. 



16. New York has been linked to upstate New York outfielder Garrett Whitley, but the Yankees’ draft successes in the Damon Oppenheimer era have come on the mound, not at the plate. Some Yankee fans will find this a conservative choice, but Ponce has real helium. He’s athletic, has a plus breaking ball and a durable 6-foot-5, 235-pound frame, plus he has a strong Cape Cod League track record. In a tough draft for college starters, Ponce fits well in the middle of the first round.

Selection: Cody Ponce, rhp, Cal Poly Pomona




30. Yankees: With an extra pick, the Yankees can be aggressive with a tough sign such as Donnie Everett, the Tennessee righty who ranks among the hardest throwers in the prep class.

Selection: Donnie Everett, rhp, Clarksville (Tenn.) HS

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6/7


For the final time this weekend the New York Yankees will make the trip out to the Bronx to play host to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim inside the great Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off against a familiar face for the Angels in CJ Wilson. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees will play host to Bryce Harper, Max Scherzer and the Washington Nationals at Yankee Stadium next week with Masahiro Tanaka taking the ball for the first game for New York. You are going to want to head out to the Bronx to see the Tanaka vs. Scherzer pitching matchup so get your Yankees tickets right here on the blog by clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog. If you can't make it then simply jump on Twitter and follow @GreedyStripes to interact during the game because it's almost like being there.

That's enough out of me because it's game time ladies and gents. Go Yankees!

Looking Back at the Yankees 2014 Draft


With the 2015 MLB First Year Player’s Draft just one day away I thought now would be a good time to take a look back at the haul the Yankees got in the 2014 version of the draft. It’s a complete crap shoot after the 10th round, or probably earlier to be honest, but I decided to recap the Yankees Top 10 picks in last year’s draft. Remember that the Yankees forfeited multiple first round picks last season when they signed Carlos Beltran and Jacoby Ellsbury. Here’s the list:

2nd Round - LHP Jacob Lindgren (Mississippi State)
3rd Round - RHP Austin DeCarr (Salisbury High School)
4th Round - LHP Jordan Montgomery (South Carolina)
5th Round - RHP Jordan Foley (Central Michigan)
6th Round - RHP Jonathan Holder (Mississippi State)
7th Round - CF Mark Payton (Texas)
8th Round - 1B Connor Spencer (University of California Irvine)
9th Round - SS Vince Conde (Vanderbilt)
10th Round - 2B Ty McFarland (James Madison University)

The Yankees currently showcase Lindgren in their major league bullpen while DeCarr skyrocketed towards the top of many prospects lists before this season. While Montgomery, Foley and Holder have been quiet the team has enjoyed more than they could have expected from Payton in his short professional career. The team will absolutely need more than one calendar year to judge how well they did in the draft obviously but for what the Yankees had to work with the early results look quite impressive for New York. Let’s hope they are twice as effective in this year’s draft with three picks in the first 60 picks overall.


New York, you’re on the clock.... almost. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6/6


Two games down and one more to go between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim inside the legendary Yankee Stadium. The Yankees bullpen imploded late in the game on Friday night but New York still held out for a victory and head into the Bronx looking for another tonight. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia, not Michael Pineda who's start has been skipped in order to save some innings on his arm, to the mound to face off with the Angels lefty CJ Wilson. The game will be plated at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.


  • Sabathia is replacing Michael Pineda in the rotation as the Yankees are skipping Big Mike's start. Sabathia has given up 11 runs across 8.1 innings in his last two starts so you definitely want him starting this afternoon against the Angels rather than facing off with Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals. 




  • Wilson is coming off a start in which he allowed five runs to the Tampa Bay Rays in a loss for the Angels. Wilson admitted to too many walks and too many hit batters in the loss, a trend that hopefully continues this afternoon in the Bronx.



The Yankees will stay home for a quick two game set with the Washington Nationals inside Yankee Stadium next week with a day off on Monday and Thursday before the team heads to Camden Yard to face off with the Baltimore Orioles. New York is also preparing for the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft that goes down tomorrow night on MLB Network so be sure to tune in for that. Go Yankees!

TGP Daily Poll: Yankees Draft Pitching in First Round


If you read 10 mock drafts for the 2015 MLB Draft you will likely see 10 different players the Yankees are taking at #16 and #30. I don’t pretend to know who the team will take but I have a feeling the team will take pitchers with both picks on Monday.


Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Luis Severino


The top prospect for the New York Yankees was recently called up to Triple-A Scranton with the RailRiders and made his second start with the team this week. Severino seems like he is on the fast track to the Bronx after spending just eight starts this season with the Double-A Trenton Thunder. Only the Yankees and Brian Cashman know how long the plan is to keep Severino down in Scranton before calling him up to the major leagues to help the Yankees starting rotation or bullpen but if he keeps pitching like this then it wont be long:

YearLevWLERAGSIPHRERHRBBSOWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9
2015AA-AAA223.101049.1412017214521.1157.50.42.69.5
2015AA223.32838.0321714210481.1057.60.52.411.4
2015AAA002.38211.19330441.1477.10.03.23.2

This Day In New York Yankees History 6/7: Damon Goes 6-6



On this day in 2008 Johnny Damon went off at the plate going 6-6 including a walk off single in a 12-11 Yankees comeback victory. Damon lit up his old team in the Kansas City Royals and became the first Yankee and the second player in Major League history to collect six hits at Yankee Stadium.



Also on this day in 2007 the New York Yankees would beat the Chicago White Sox 10-3 for Joe Torre's 2,000th victory as a manager. Torre won 257 games with the Braves, 286 games with the Mets, 351 games with the Cardinals, and 1,106 with the Yankees. Torre would also become the first manager to reach 2,000 wins and have 2,000 hits as a player.



Finally on this day in 1936 the New York Yankees and the Indians had a pretty uncommon anomaly happen in their 16 inning game. The Yankees would beat the Indians on this day 5-4 in extra innings at Yankee Stadium. What made this game special was that no pitcher in the game recorded a single strikeout in the game.

You can't predict baseball...