Sunday, July 19, 2015

Recap: Yankees 2, Mariners 1

CC Sabathia tossed six innings of one-run ball and the Yankees snuck past the Mariners, 2-1, in the series finale Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Just Like '09: Sabathia logged arguably his best outing of the season in this one, holding Seattle to just six hits while walking one and striking out seven. The inconsistent lefty fanned four consecutive in the third and fourth, only experiencing issues when an Austin Jackson single plated a run in the fifth.

Welcome Back: Down 1-0 and in danger of blowing a golden opportunity in the sixth, the Yankees got a big offensive boost from a returning veteran.

Carlos Beltran, just activated off the DL, laced a clutch RBI single to left off the Mariners' Felix Hernandez -- driving in Brett Gardner and evening the score. The Yankees had had men on the corners with one out prior to a strikeout of Brian McCann, which brought up Beltran as the club's last hope in the frame. 

Guess his critics will have to leave him alone for the day.

The Gluten-Free Diet is Paying Off: Mark Teixeira continue his All-Star campaign with a go-ahead solo shot in the eighth, a liner to the short porch in right off the struggling Fernando Rodney. The Yankees have now gone deep in each of their last eight games, the longest such streak in the division. 

20-for-20: Andrew Miller really seems to like ninth innings.

After allowing just one baserunner in Friday's contest, the Yankees' closer breezed through the M's lower third on Sunday -- striking out Dustin Ackley and Chris Taylor swinging before ending it with a Mike Zunino flyout. In all, Miller threw just 13 pitches in the inning -- earning him his twentieth save in as many opportunities.

That total is tied for the sixth-highest in the American League, though Miller was injured from June 10 to July 8.

Pulling Away: Still too early to say they've won it, but the Yankees' grasp on the AL East is certainly getting serious. With their two victories this weekend, New York has jumped out to a commanding four-game lead over the second-place Orioles -- their lone above .500 rival at the moment.

Next Up: The Yankees will resume this homestand on Tuesday when they host those Orioles in the first of a three-game set -- beginning at 7:05 p.m. ET and airing live on MLB Network. Nathan Eovaldi (9-2, 4.50 ERA) will start for the Pinstripes hoping for a fifth straight positive decision, facing always-solid O's ace Wei-Yin Chen (4-5, 2.78 ERA).

Weekend Finale Open Thread


The New York Yankees game is over, the series with the Seattle Mariners is over and so is the weekend unfortunately. Where does the time go, I mean really? Anyway I leave you with another open thread tonight to chat about anything you'd like. The Yankees series with the Seattle Mariners, the upcoming series with the Baltimore Orioles in the Bronx, the state of the world and the universe, anything you want. Just have fun!

Like every open thread I leave you with a music recommendation out of my own personal collection. The name of the song tonight is "Hesitate" and the song by is by Stone Sour.

Forbes Has Yankees Ranked 2nd Most Valuable in Sports


According to the latest Forbes financial ranking the New York Yankees are still the most valuable franchise in all of Major League Baseball and ranked second in all of professional sports. The Yankees are valued at $3.2 billion second only to Real Madrid who is valued at $3.26 billion according to the list SEEN HERE. 

The Dallas Cowboys are also valued at $3.2 billion with Barcelona is ranked fourth at $3.16 billion while Manchester United is valued at $3.1 billion. I almost feel bad for making fun of soccer.

Here is a direct quote from the article linked above:



The Yankees lead a group of 12 MLB teams, up from six last year, in the top 50. Credit the massive influx of TV money, both nationally and locally, for soaring baseball values. The Yankees were one of the first teams to recognize the importance of TV with their launch of the YES Network in 2002. It has been the most-watched regional sports network in 11 of the past 12 years. Yankee Global Enterprises retains 20% of the RSN with Fox owning 80% after upping their stake in 2014.

The value of the Yankees is up 28%, and the team moved up two spots to tie for second place. The 27-time world champions missed the postseason for the second consecutive season in 2014 and only the third time since 1994, but the Bronx Bombers still finished tops in the American League in attendance, averaging 42,520 fans per game. The Yankees generated $676 million in revenue before deducting for $90 million in revenue-sharing payments and $78 million in bond payments that go towards stadium debt.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners 7/19


The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners will face off this afternoon in the finale of their three game series this weekend at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound for his first start of the second half to face off with a thorn in the backside of the Yankees over his career, the Mariners ace Felix Hernandez. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV.

The Yankees are off tomorrow with one more home series against the Baltimore Orioles before heading out on the road for a while so after today you have three more chances to click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and root for your Yankees at home in the Bronx. If you can't make it to Yankee Stadium then simply jump on Twitter and give @GreedyStripes a follow to root for the home team along with us.

Sabathia vs. King Felix. This is either going to be really fun or really aggravating, no in between. Here's to hoping for the former. Go Yankees!

Robert Refsnyder Optioned, Carlos Beltran Activated



No words....

Can Alex Rodriguez Keep This Up?


Alex Rodriguez turns 40 years old later in the month and despite being at an age that usually spells the end of a Major League player Rodriguez has been one of the best Yankees bats in 2015. Rodriguez no longer has to wear down his body and specifically his lower half by playing in the field as he is the Yankees full-time DH but will that be enough for Rodriguez to keep this up for the rest of the 2015 season?

Alex has played basically every day for the Yankees this season but getting a half-day off essentially by not playing in the field Alex has remained healthy and fresh for the most part this season. When Alex starts wailing at pitches and missing pitches with consistency that he would normally smash you can tell he is wearing down and needs a day off but Joe Girardi has been good about giving all his players the days off that they need. Alex did not play at all in the 2014 season and played in just 17 games during the 2013 season due to a second hip surgery and various lower leg injuries meaning that Alex may or may not begin to wear down the longer this season carries on.

The good news for Rodriguez, snub or not, is that the Yankees DH is fresh off a four game All-Star break and gets a few days off here and there in National League parks. All in all with a manager that prioritizes days off for his players, the days off during Interleague Play and the fact that Rodriguez does not play in the field outside of an emergency I can't find a reason why Alex doesn't keep this fort the remainder of the season and push 30 home runs before it is all said and done.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners 7/19


For the third time this weekend the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners will face off head-to-head. The New York Yankees have played the Mariners well this series but Seattle has at least been in every single game. This afternoon the New York Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound hoping that his LHP arm will help neutralize the Mariners LHB while Felix Hernandez is likely to neutralize everyone he faces for the rest of this season including the Yankees today. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV.


  • Sabathia enters the second half well-rested after not making a start since July 8th. Sabathia hasn't been the ace of years past but has allowed four runs or fewer in six of his past seven starts and is still keeping the Yankees in games that he starts. 



  • Hernandez comes into this start against the New York Yankees fresh off throwing seven shutout innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Between that start and today Hernandez represented the American League in the All-Star Game for the sixth time in his career and begins the second half looking to improve on his 5-1 record and 1.37 ERA in seven career starts at Yankee Stadium. 


The Yankees are off tomorrow before staying home to play host to the Baltimore Orioles in a big series for both teams inside the American League East Division. New York looks well rested and primed to make a run in the second half with more games at home inside Yankee Stadium than they have out on the road. Go Yankees!

ICYMI: Gary Sanchez Promoted to Triple-A Scranton


The New York Yankees are continuing to be aggressive with their top prospects this season as Gary Sanchez joined the ranks of Greg Bird, Aaron Judge, Luis Severino and others this season with a promotion to the Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders.

Sanchez is replacing the now injured Austin Romine on the roster but he may do enough to keep the spot when Romine returns from the disabled list. Sanchez was hitting .262/.319/.476 with the Double-A Trenton Thunder before the promotion with 12 home runs. This is the second year that Sanchez was in Double-A and was still surprisingly young for the affiliate.

Weekly Check In: Luis Severino


We'll start with the good news for the Yankees top pitching prospect, Luis Severino. Severino has looked great since his call-up to Triple-A and has dominated batters like he had in every stop prior to Scranton. Severino is building innings, winning games, striking out batters and absolutely does not look over-matched or scared to be pitching in the top stop in the Yankees farm system.

The bad news for Severino could be that the Yankees pitching has looked exponentially better in the last couple of weeks. Masahiro Tanaka ended his winless-streak in his last three starts and actually dominated the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners in his last two starts. Michael Pineda has been a ton better as well in his last four or five starts while CC Sabathia looks to keep the good times rolling this afternoon in the Bronx.

Severino could be called up for the Yankees bullpen this season but unless you believe that New York will rid themselves of Chris Capuano, and I don't personally, the Yankees RHP may have to wait for a September call-up, if then.


YearLevWLERAGIPHRERHRBBSOHBPBKWPBFWHIP
2015AAA-AA722.451788.1652924225844123541.019
2015AA223.32838.0321714210482111571.105
2015AAA501.79950.1331210015362011970.954

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/19: Yankee Stadium Hosts An All Star Game

The New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium have not hosted many All Star games in their storied history but they did on this day in 1977. The eventual World Series champion Yankees hosted the midsummer classic at the old Yankee Stadium and the American League surrendered four runs in the first inning to get things started.

The National League would beat the American League 7-5 at the newly renovated "House that Ruth Built" to mark the sixth straight victory for the NL. The NL would also win their 14th in the last 15 All Star games to keep the string of dominance going. It's a good thing the Yankees didn't lose home field advantage in the World Series because of this.