Sunday, July 26, 2015

Weekend Finale Open Thread


Monday's suck but I think I may despise Sunday night's more and more these days. First and foremost I am dreading the Monday morning which keeps me from wanting to do ANYTHING on Sunday night and secondly the Yankees game is usually long over by now. I miss the Sunday Night ESPN games and broadcasts for whatever reason. The Yankees were very successful in them, it was fun to bash John Kruk and Curt Schilling on Twitter, the banter and mentions on our Twitter (@GreedyStripes) went crazy and it was just fun. Oh well, it's just as fun winning on a Sunday afternoon I guess. Anyway this is it for the night, an open thread for you guys.

I leave you tonight with this song from my own personal collection and it's a little something different then what I normally post. The name of the song is "Your Love" by The Outfield. Enjoy.

Yankees will use 6th Starter in Texas


The New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi and pitching coach larry Rothschild have seemingly made it their mission this season to give their starting pitchers as much rest as humanly possible. Why wouldn't they? Masahiro Tanaka has the injury concern with his partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, Michael Pineda's shoulder and innings limit is always a concern, CC Sabathia had knee surgery over the offseason as he deals with a degenerative knee condition and Ivan Nova has only made a handful of starts since returning off the disabled list from Tommy John surgery. While the idea of using a sixth starter at times, Adam Warren, and a spot starter at other times, maybe Bryan Mitchell, seems great on paper is it necessarily the best idea for this team in the middle of a penannt race?

Girardi announced before the series with the Minnesota Twins this weekend that the team did not have their rotation set beyond this weekend's series. With the series now all but over it is going to be interesting to see what direction the team goes in. You would assume that the team would want to insert a spot-starter before Tanaka's start on Tuesday to give him and the rest of the rotation an extra day of rest although that could become a bit problematic. Mitchell, the man who was sent down to Triple-A to get stretched out as a starter with the RailRiders, just pitched on Saturday seemingly making him unavailable to pitch again before Thursday.

Will the Yankees maybe be willing to use a combination of Chris Capuano and Adam Warren for one start or simply let everyone pitch on regular rest this time around? When you look at the stats for Pineda specifically on extra rest or more than four days rest you would hope the team allows him to pitch without the extra rest next time out.

Luis Severino pitched on Friday night making him seemingly making him available for a start on Wednesday while Branden Pinder could be used as a fresh arm if needed in the Yankees bullpen. Who knows what is going to happen, stay tuned.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins 7/26


Sunday afternoon game time Yankees family, let's get it. Hopefully the offense, much like they did on Friday night, doesn't lull us all into a nice little Sunday afternoon nap. Anyway, the Yankees will face off with the Minnesota Twins in the finale of their three game set in just a few minutes inside Target Field this weekend. New York will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to face off against the Twins starter Kyle Gibson. The game will be played at 2:10 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, Fox Sports North and MLB TV.

After this game you have just seven more opportunities, four games in Texas and three games in Chicago against the White Sox, to click the Yankees tickets link at the top of the blog to grab your Yankees tickets before the team returns home to Yankee Stadium. Until then be sure to jump on Twitter and give @GreedyStripes a follow to root for the home team while they are playing out west.

I am definitely interested in this start for Eovaldi as I wonder if he will make yet another good start for New York or whether I'll be stuck defending him on Twitter on Monday morning. Either way, Go Yankees!

Mat Latos to the Yankees?


The July 31st trade deadline is just around the corner and the New York Yankees are expected to add at least one player before the deadline closes. New York seemingly wants an upgrade over Stephen Drew at second base, even if that means calling Robert Refsnyder back up, and may also look to upgrade their starting pitching. New York has been linked to just about every starting pitcher on the market including Johnny Cueto, Cole Hamels and David Price but one name we're not hearing enough about is the Miami Marlins RHP Mat Latos. There is probably a good reason for that too.

This weekend the rumors began that New York was scouting and somewhat interested in the Marlins starter Latos. Latos, at the time of this writing, has posted a 4-6 record with a 4.48 ERA while striking out 74 batters in a shade over 84 innings pitched. Keep in mind that Latos pitches in a pretty pitching friendly Marlins Park and also faces the oppoising team's starting pitcher once every time through the order before we start comparing those numbers to current Yankees starters. An old rule that I used to go by, and whether it is really accurate or not is anyone's guess, is that you add a full run to his ERA after going from the National League to the American League with non-ace starting pitchers. If this holds true that would put Latos more closer to a 5.48 ERA than a 4.48 ERA if he was pitching inside Yankee Stadium in 2015.

Latos is not an ace, he is closer to a third starter with the Yankees and maybe a number two starter in the National League even with his struggles and injury history this season, but he would be a nice fall back option for New York. Latos may never start on an Opening Day for New York, and he's a free agent after 2015, but if the Yankees make the playoffs you have to think right now he would start a potential Game Three of Game Four in a seven game series and that at least means something.

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Minnesota Twins 7/26


The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins will finish off their three game set this afternoon inside Minnesota's Target Field with another great pitching matchup. The Yankees will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound looking for yet another good start for the club while Kyle Gibson makes the start for the home town Twins. The game will be played at 2:10 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, Fox Sports North and MLB TV.


  • Eovaldi has made the best of his last two months worth of starts as he continues to evolve from a guy that throws 100 MPH with a straight fastball to a true pitcher. Eovaldi doesn't go deep enough into games to be relied upon aisde from being a fourth or fifth starter, he hasn't made it past the sixth inning since June 10th, but he has been one of the more reliable starters in the last nine or so starts. 




  • Gibson was one of Minnesota's best pitchers in the first half of the season which was evident by his 0.86 ERA. The first half was then but the second half is a new season and Gibson struggled in his first start after the break. Gibson allowed six runs in five innings against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim which resulted in his first loss since June 21st. 



The Yankees will play this afternoon's getaway game before making the trip west to Texas to face off against the Texas Rangers in a four game set. New York needs to take advantage of this softer schedule by grabbing as many wins as possible and while also grabbing a player or two off the trade market. That continues this afternoon inside Target Field, Go Yankees!

Didi Gregorius Yankees Highlights Thus Far


Weekly Check In: Luis Severino


Luis Severino was on the Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre inactive list for much of the week due to being away with the birth of his first child, congratulations to Luis, Mrs. Luis and the new bundle of joy that was welcome to the world this week. Severino came back on Friday to make his latest start and was once again dominant for the RailRiders.

Severino is continuing to make it difficult to keep him down in the minor leagues for the Yankees by pitching well almost every single start. Severino may not be up until September, if then, but the right-hander is definitely making his case for the 2016 season.

YearLevWLERAGGSIPHRERHRBBSOWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9
2015AAA-AA822.60181893.1713227227881.0506.80.22.68.5
2015AA223.328838.0321714210481.1057.60.52.411.4
2015AAA602.11101055.1391513017401.0126.30.02.86.5

Recap: Yankees 8, Twins 5

Alex Rodriguez clubbed three home runs and the Yankees rallied themselves to a memorable win over the Twins, 8-5, on Saturday night at Target Field.

A-Rod Goes Off: The Yankees' DH hit a solo shot in the fourth, a two-run bomb in the seventh, and another solo blast in the ninth to tie the game -- leading New York back from a 5-0 third-inning defecit. His first two long balls were responsible for all but one of the Yankees' runs against starter Tommy Milone, though his third -- a line drive to straightaway center off closer Glen Perkins -- seemed to be what finally gave the team the upper hand.

A Starter in the Bullpen: His role with the Pinstripes has certainly been reduced since Ivan Nova's return, but Adam Warren nonetheless continues to contribute. Following CC Sabathia's removal with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth, Warren struck out Aaron Hicks to end the threat -- proceeding to throw two more scoreless frames afterward for his first victory in relief this season.

Murphy Hit a Home Run? What?: Yep, John Ryan Murphy went deep in this one. With the score still even at five and men on the corners in the ninth, the youngster launched a go-ahead three-run homer into the right-center field seats -- his first big fly of the year and second in the major leagues.

CC Struggles: Sabathia looked to be on the path to improvement prior to Saturday's outing, but his 5.2-inning, five-run performance was discouraging to say the least. The Twins cracked six hits off him while walking three times, raising the veteran's ERA to a hefty 5.38.

Other Help: Mark Teixeira essentially created a run by himself in the seventh, doubling to center and scoring on a shallow sac fly by Chase Headley. 

As usual, Andrew Miller had no problem earning the save in a 1-2-3 ninth -- the lefty's third consecutive appearance of 10 pitches or fewer.

Yankees' Record: 54-42.

Next Up: The Yankees and Twins conclude this weekend series with an afternoon finale on Sunday -- beginning at 2:10 p.m. ET and airing live on the YES Network. Nathan Eovaldi (9-2, 4.43 ERA) will start for the Yanks hoping to finish his month strongly, while surprise right-hander Kyle Gibson (8-7, 3.19 ERA) will get the ball for the Twins.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/26: Yankees Acquire Alfonso Soriano

Saying that the New York Yankees offense struggled last season is probably the understatement of the year so New York needed a savior. On this day they got one when they acquired Alfonso Soriano from the Chicago Cubs for minor league relief pitcher Corey Black. The 37 year old came back to New York with come cash from Cubs after making his major league debut with the Yankees way back in 1999. The Yankees ultimately traded him to the Texas Rangers before the 2004 season for Alex Rodriguez. Soriano would go on a tear and almost brought the Yankees all the way back to the postseason before falling just short in late September.

Also on this day in 1961 the Yankees made some history with the home run ball but it had nothing to do with Roger Maris surprisingly. Instead it was the Yankees Johnny Blanchard as he hit his fourth consecutive home run over three games to set a new major league record. The backup catcher of the Yankees hit two home runs on this day to help New York beat the White Sox 5-2.

Also on this day in 1939 the Bronx Bombers earned their names by scoring in every inning to beat the St. Louis Browns 14-1. This is only the second time in franchise history that the Yankees have achieved this feat.

Finally on this day in 1933 Joe DiMaggio showed the Yankees brass that he was made for long hitting streaks. As a minor league player Joe D saw his 61 game hitting streak come to an end in a PCL game against the Oakland Oaks. DiMaggio played for the San Francisco Seals as a 19 year old when he set a new minor league record destroying the mark of 49 consecutive games with a hit set by Jack Ness in 1914.