Friday, June 12, 2015

BREAKING: Chase Headley Injured?

Chase Headley left the game with the Baltimore Orioles in the fifth inning and was replaced defensively by Brendan Ryan at third base. Headley committed an error the inning before and may have been injured on the play although nothing is confirmed at this time. The Yankees can ill-afford to lose another player let alone another infielder so fingers are crossed.

Yankees Sign 30th Overall Pick Kyle Holder

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 6/12


The planes have landed, the bags are unpacked, the lines are drawn on the field, the fans are packing the stadium and all this means it must be time for baseball between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees and Orioles start a three game set in Baltimore tonight with Michael Pineda taking the mound to face off with Ubaldo Jimenez. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

The Yankees his this series and an Interleague series with the Miami Marlins before they return home to the Bronx giving you plenty of time to have your Yankees Tickets in hand when the team comes back to Yankee Stadium. By clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog you can have those tickets and still have some money in your pocket for some peanuts or Cracker Jack (or beer) during the game since we don’t charge fees or shipping costs through our partnership with Ticket Monster. If you can’t make the game then that’s not a problem simply jump on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) or the comments section of the site to interact with us during each and every game.


That’s enough out of me for one day I will let Big Mike do my talking for me from here. Go Yankees!

Injured Yankees pitcher Nova might have a new weapon

Injured Yankees right-hander Ivan Nova might have found a new weapon during his recent rehab start in Tampa.

"I was throwing changeups like I'm a changeup person," Nova told The LoHud Yankees Blog. "I threw like 15, and I don't remember the last time I threw 15 changeups in 72 pitches or something like that."

Nova's arsenal has primarily consisted of a fastball, a curveball and a sinker since joining the Yankees -- though adding the change to it could bring some benefits. 

Fellow Yankee Michael Pineda, for example, only went off-speed six percent of the time in 2011 before raising that number to 14 percent this season -- an adjustment that has resulted in a weak opposing batting average of .272. That's 100 points lower than Nova's was last year, when his changeup usage was just four percent.

Indeed, history has shown that increased reliance on the pitch can lead to better statistics -- even if Nova doesn't want to throw it often.

"When I have (good) stretches, my fastball was working fine, working down in the zone. Sometimes in those moments, (though), I have to go two sinkers or two curveballs because I don't have the confidence to throw the changeup even in the good moments," Nova said. "You can put it two different ways: What would happen if I have that changeup every game? Do you think it would (make for) better moments, or you think it would be a bad moment?"

For the Yankees, the answer to that question is important. Nova has struggled to stay consistent in his career, but if he's not sure he can be effective with the changeup, it probably wouldn't be smart to risk failure.

Then again, Nova still has a start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scheduled for Saturday -- so the team should get a good look at its progress soon.

"(If) you know that changeup's going to be good against, say, a left-handed batter (who's) not too good against a changeup," Nova said. "If you know that, and you're feeling good, and you're feeling that pitch, why not (use it)?"

Twitter Poll: Over/Under Five Blown Saves


As we all know and have heard by now the New York Yankees lost their closer Andrew Miller for at least two weeks after he was placed on the 15 day disabled list with a left forearm strain. Dellin Betances has been slid into the closers role while everyone else will presumably take a step forward taking on more responsibilities along with it. The bridge to Betances may look a little scary now but the big, and I mean big, right hander will finally get his time to shine in the 9th inning. I have my own opinions on the matter but honestly I was more wondering what you thought about Betances’ shot in the 9th inning so I went to Twitter for this week’s Twitter poll. Betances will have five blown saves while Miller is on the shelf, over or under?





To be involved in our next Twitter poll head over to the app and give @GreedyStripes a follow and be on the lookout for our next Twitter Poll tweet. We will not use your answers without informing you first. 

Remembering a Muggy Night in 2012


As many of you know, or you may not know, I moved to metro Atlanta, Georgia from the Bronx, New York back in 1999 and get to see the Yankees live very few times these days. The Yankees came down to Atlanta in 2009 and of course I attended as many games as I could so I was excited to see them come back down in 2012. I am a very superstitious person in my nature so my line of thinking was “the last time the Yankees came to Atlanta they won the World Series” in 2009 so that made me all the more excited for 2012 trip to Turner Field. We all know the history of that season, Derek Jeter's ankle, the offense going to sleep in October and the eventual loss in the American League Championship Series in 2012 but that's not what this story is about. 

I remember a warm and muggy night on this day in 2012 when the Yankees were playing in the second game of a three game set at Turner Field in Atlanta. The Yankees had the bases loaded and Alex Rodriguez was at the plate while I sat in my usual box seats, fourth row Yankee side of the field. The Braves were winning 4-0 and my phone was blowing up with texts and Facebook posts about the Braves whooping the Yankees, the Yankees suck, omg Braves, Braves, Braves while I was there at the stadium and how the streak was ready to come to an end. That streak involves the Yankees win/loss record with me in attendance. I am 29 years old and I have seen tons of Yankees games live in the Bronx, in Tampa and now in Atlanta and the team has never lost a game while I was in attendance. While I have to admit my hopes were low at that point and my phone was one more #RISPFAIL away from being thrown onto the field before a funny thing happened, the Yankees rallied.

The Yankees loaded the bases with Rodriguez coming to the plate while I was wearing my A Rod jersey, something I was reluctant to do after the steroid admission but I was saving my Cano jersey for the next night, which seemed like fate to me. The Braves had shutdown reliever Jonny Venters on the mound which made me far from confident, Venters was awesome, which was only compounded when the count went full. Then something amazing happened, A Rod connected.... pandemonium. 


Alex had hit his 23rd career grand slam tying a 74 year old major league record held by the Yankees Lou Gehrig. A Rod tied the game in the 8th inning and the Yankees ended up winning the game 6-4. The Facebook posts stopped, the texts went silent and I witnessed history. While I was at the next game the next night I ended up talking to the camera man at the stadium and he gave me the press release for the game the night before. Truth be told the only reason I think he gave us the release was because my wife was in a low cut dress and he thought she was hot, but hey I'll take it and took it as a compliment. I saw history and now have history in my hands and it all happened on a muggy night in Atlanta on this day in 2012. It was Craig Kimbrel bobblehead night as well which was awesome because my two sons now have a bobblehead of the Braves all-time saves leader. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 6/12


The New York Yankees are rested and in Baltimore tonight to take on the Baltimore Orioles inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards. The Yankees will play in one of the most beautiful ballparks in all of Major League Baseball three times this weekend with the first game coming tonight in Baltimore. The Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound to face off with the Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

  • Pineda is making his first start in almost two weeks after having his start skipped last time out. New York wants to limit the innings on their stud RHP’s arm as much as they can this season in order to keep him fresh and healthy in September and for a potential playoff run. Pineda is 0-1 in his career with a 4.50 ERA with at least six days rest so let’s see how he looks with 11 days of rest tonight in Baltimore.


  • Jimenez is coming off his fourth consecutive no-decision of the season and has not seen a victory since he started on May 11. Jimenez went five innings allowing just one run on six hits and five strikeouts against the Cleveland Indians but it was his season-high six walks that led to the no-decision. 



The Yankees have a three game set with their American league East rivals before heading down to Miami for an Interleague matchup with Giancarlo Stanton and the Marlins. These are the games that the Yankees need to win and take advantage of if they want to make it into the postseason in 2015. New York has to beat the teams they are expected to beat, i.e. the Orioles and the Marlins, and hang around with the tougher teams in the league i.e. the Washington Nationals, because that’s what good teams do and that’s what playoff teams do. Here’s to hoping the Yankees continue the “good team” trend all the way to the playoffs tonight in Baltimore. Go Yankees!


My Plan to Temporarily Replace Andrew Miller


Andrew Miller is on the disabled list, Dellin Betances is the team’s new closer and Chris Martin was called up to take Miller’s roster spot in the bullpen. This much we do know but what we don’t know is how the bridge to Betances is going to hold up over the next three weeks or so while Miller is on the disabled list. Have no fear Yankees family as I have a plan to get us by until Miller returns like I always do, whether the Yankees listen to and follow it is another story for another blog post though unfortunately.

The solution is simple, activate Ivan Nova off the 60 day disabled list and plug him into the starting rotation this weekend in Baltimore. Let Nova start the Sunday game inside Camden Yards after reaching around 85 pitches in his rehab start on Monday. Pitching Sunday gives Nova five days of rest and would allow him to get around 90-100 pitches against the Orioles if he’s effective. Joe Girardi would then be able to move Warren into the 8th inning role with Martin and a combination of Chasen Shreve and Jacob Lindgren helping out in the 7th inning helping to bridge the gap to Betances. Girardi was not giving Warren a shot to go above 90 pitches anyway so the usual strain on the bullpen would be no less than it would be if Warren were to make the start on Sunday. If worse comes to worse you have Warren available for long relief help in the bullpen on Sunday and beyond for a few weeks since his arm is already stretched out.

I realize that Warren may be our third best starter this season behind Michael Pineda and Masahiro Tanaka and I also realize that Nova may never be the 16 game winner he was for the Yankees a couple years back but the move still needs to be made. Having Warren pitch seven great innings in the rotation means nothing if the lead is given up in the 8th inning consistently by the bullpen. Having Warren pitch seven great innings means little to nothing if Betances is unavailable to close on a particular day and the team is forced to take less proven pitchers with them into the 9th inning and roll the dice. Warren can start, he can pitch the 7th or 8th innings, he can be the long man and he has closed out games in New York making him the obvious choice to go to the bullpen while Nova takes his spot in the rotation.

If we were playing MLB The Show on PS4 I wouldn’t even suggest it but this is real life and the Yankees have a huge hole in their boat that is aptly named “The Bullpen” and Warren plugs that hole and then some. Make the move, even though you probably won’t.


TGP Daily Poll: The Bridge to Dellin Betances


The return of the TGP Daily Poll, finally, and the end of the draft related “prospect humping” (trademark pending) from the MLB First Year Player’s Draft, let’s get to it.

The bridge to Dellin Betances is shaky at best after the injury to Andrew Miller’s forearm. New York’s bullpen will blow at least two leads this week (Friday 6/12 – Friday 6/19) before Betances gets the ball.


Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Robert Refsnyder


Stephen Drew has been winning back a few of his fans this week after hitting multiple home runs in two separate games this week. While Drew’s biggest fan is probably his wife, who is showcased now in our Wives & Girlfriends section of the site, or his mother, who is not on the site unfortunately, but one man that is definitely not his fan is Robert Refsnyder. Refsnyder is hitting the ball well in Triple-A and improving on his defense more and more everyday while he bides his time waiting on a move to be made. At this point unless Drew completely falls off the edge of the world or an injury occurs it looks like Refsnyder will remain in Triple-A for most of, if not all of, the 2015 season.

Refsnyder looked great in spring training after a great 2014 campaign and looks just as solid here in 2015. The defense is a work in progress, we all know that, and it may be for the rest of his career but that’s only because New York moved him to the outfield. Refsnyder’s bat is potent and Refsnyder’s bat is ready but for now we’re left with just merely checking in on that bat every Friday rather than seeing it every night in the Bronx and that’s a shame, a damn shame.

Here’s those offensive statistics I was referring to:

YearLevGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015AAA5424226581232262533.272.350.371.721
And here are those defense statistics that are improving with every check in:


YearTmLevGChPOAEDPFld%RF/G
2015Scranton/Wilkes-BarreAAA2B512881101661235.9585.41

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/12: Lou Gehrig’s Final Game


On this day in 1939 Lou Gehrig plays his final game as a member of the New York Yankees while in an exhibition game. A record crowd of 23,864 fans filed into Ruppert Stadium to see the Kansas City Blues play the Yankees. Gehrig played three innings and batted eight while grounding out weakly to second base in his only at bat.

Alex Rodriguez did something pretty significant as well and it pertains to Gehrig as well but more on that later....

Also on this day in 1928 Lou Gehrig has a week of it by collecting fourteen total bases when he collected two triples and two home runs in the same game. The Yankees would beat the Chicago White Sox 15-7 in Comiskey Park behind Gehrig's outburst.

Finally the New York Highlanders, later to be named the New York Yankees, were never known for being a good team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. On this day in 1907 the Highlanders committed a total of 11 errors in one game, and that's not a typo. Eight different Highlanders committed an error in a 16-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The Highlanders shortstop Kid Elberfeld committed four errors by himself while playing in front of the home team at American League Park.


Also on this day in 1990 in a bit of non-Yankees related news Cal Ripken Jr. continued his attack of Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak while playing in his 1,308th consecutive game. Ripken would move into second place on the all-time list ahead of former Yankees and Red Sox shortstop Everett Scott. Scott played consecutively from 1918-1925.