Recap: Yankees 3, Red Sox 1

Michael Pineda tossed six innings of one-run ball and the Yankees held off the Red Sox, 3-1, on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

Welcome Back to the Win Column: Pineda logged his first victory since July 10, yielding just four hits and an earned run while walking none and striking out seven. The consistent Yankees' righty -- making just his second start off the DL -- was solid all evening for the visitors, stranding the tying run at second in the fifth and fanning the dangerous David Ortiz thrice.

Just How They Drew it Up: Surging Yankees infielder Stephen Drew laced a go-ahead two-run double to left-center in the fifth, erasing an early 1-0 deficit and raising his batting average to .205. Red Sox first baseman Travis Shaw had committed a costly fielding error prior to the knock, letting a routine Didi Gregorius grounder get past him as runners reached second and third.

Tough to Tell: The Red Sox were threatening against Dellin Betances in the eighth, but their rally took a hit when Mookie Betts was caught stealing third. The play was reviewed and it looked like maybe -- again, maybe -- Chase Headley had forced Betts' foot off the bag, but the call ultimately stood and the frame ended shortly afterwards with another strikeout of Ortiz.

Gardnering: Brett Gardner gave the Yankees some insurance with a solo shot to right in the eighth, the outfielder's 13th long ball of the year and second at Fenway. The homer accounted for the Yankees' only earned run off Rick Porcello in the contest, the Sox starter having struck out 13 over eight innings.

Continuing to Impress: Ex-Red Sock Andrew Miller locked down his 29th save of the season in the ninth, striking out the side on 19 pitches. Miller's ERA in Pinstripes is now a dominant 1.90, second on the team to Betances' 1.31.

Next Up: The Yankees conclude their six-game road trip with the series finale on Wednesday, sending Masahiro Tanaka (10-6, 3.62 ERA) to the hill versus Boston's Henry Owens (2-1, 4.03 ERA). First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m. ET, airing live on YES and WFAN.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 9/1

Welcome to September baseball Yankees family as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox face off in their second game of the three game set inside Fenway Park. The New York Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound tonight in Boston to face off with the Red Sox starter Rick Porcello. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. Rivalry renewed tonight!

The Yankees will return home next week with their eyes on their first playoff appearance in three seasons and need your help in the stands to cheer them on. As we all know #SuitsDontCheer so click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and grab a pair of tickets to root for the home team live inside Yankee Stadium. If you can’t make it live then at least jump on Twitter and give @GreedyStripes a follow to root for the home team from afar and interact with us during each and every game this season.

Michael Pineda inside Fenway Park, thank goodness the game is not on ESPN. I’m not sure I can handle three or four more hours of year old pine tar talk. Go Yankees!

Yankees Announce Their Arizona Fall League Representatives

The New York Yankees have announced their representatives that will join the Surprise Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League this season and that list includes six members of the Yankees. New York will send two pitchers, one catcher, two infielders and an outfield to Arizona this winter. That list includes Chaz Hebert, Tyler Webb, Gary Sanchez, Eric Jagielo, Tyler Wade and Dustin Fowler.

The Jagielo decision makes a ton of sense for New York as they try to get their third baseman some work in after missing much of the season while the Sanchez, Wade, Fowler, Webb and Hebert picks are not really head-turners.  

Ranking All 30 MLB Team Uniforms

While I was at the ballpark on Saturday I had a nice discussion with a fellow Yankees fan regarding the best uniforms in Major League Baseball. His personal favorite was the simplicity of the Yankees pinstripes while mine was surprisingly not a New York team. Rather than me spoil it here I figured I would rank all 30 Major League Baseball team's uniforms, whether it be their home, away or alternative jersey's.

Please keep in mind that this is just my personal opinion and honestly a lot of these pieces are totally interchangeable. What's yours? Maybe just a Top 5? Leave them in the comments below!

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings

The New York Yankees had another up and down week that started off rough against the Houston Astros and ended especially well with a sweep in Atlanta. The team has seen their lead in the American League East Division race go by the wayside but have they seen their grip on a Top 6 spot in the USA Weekly MLB Power Rankings wave goodbye as well? Keep reading.

We start off at the top of the list like we always do with the #1 team, no surprise the top spot once again goes to the St. Louis Cardinals. The last spot in the rankings, again no surprise, goes to the #30 Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankees were 6^th last week in the rankings and after a 4-2 week the team finished with the # 8 ranking falling two spots.

To round out the American League East Division we have the Toronto Blue Jays at the #4 position while the Tampa Bay Rays have climbed to the #15 position. The Baltimore Orioles have fallen off the face of the map in the last two weeks and have fallen in the rankings as well all the way to the #17 position while the Boston Red Sox remain in the cellar at the #20 position.

The five best teams this week according to the rankings are the #1 St. Louis Cardinals, the Kansas City Royals, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Chicago Cubs. The five worst teams this week according to the rankings are the #26 Milwaukee Brewers, the Cincinnati Reds, the Colorado Rockies, the Miami Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies.

The biggest rise of the week went to the Minnesota Twins who rose three spots to the #13 position while the biggest fall of the week went to the Baltimore Orioles who fell three spots all the way to the #17 position. The August trade deadline has come and gone and so has much of the trading that will go on for the remainder of the season. We’ve had a month of sample size to evaluate these teams since the July 31^st trade deadline and without any major moves happening in August I think we are beginning to see a much clearer picture of how each teams rank this season. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 9/1

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox face off head-to-head tonight in the second game of a three game set between these two clubs inside Fenway Park. These two teams are going in totally opposite directions with the Yankees eyes on the prize that is the playoffs and a potential American League East Division crown while the Red Sox are hoping for a collapse from the Baltimore Orioles to aid the team in climbing out of last place in the division. Both teams tend to bring their best when they face off against each other despite their respected team records and I expect nothing short of the same tonight in Boston. The Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound tonight looking to propel the Yankees to another victory while the Red Sox counter with Rick Porcello. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV.

• Pineda heads into this start looking to snap a three game losing streak against the Seattle Mariners, the Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros. During that streak Pineda has given up a combined 14 earned runs and 20 hits to the tune of a 7.88 ERA, a trend that will have to reverse itself tonight if the Yankees want a chance at victory.

• Porcello is making just his second start since coming off the disabled list and will make his first start against the Yankees this season. In his last start Porcello dominated the Chicago White Sox throwing seven shutout innings while grabbing the victory.

The Yankees are taking full advantage of this little lull in their schedule and are tacking on as many wins as they can, this needs to continue tonight inside Fenway Park. No one around the league is doing the Yankees any favors, especially the Toronto Blue Jays, so every winnable game is almost like a must win to this team at this point. Pineda will pitch on regular rest tonight so the Yankees, if he’s on, have a great shot to win. Go Yankees!

Yankees Reinforcements on the Way

The New York Yankees have announced their first wave of reinforcements and September call ups to be uniform before tonight’s game and that list includes eight players, four of which will require a roster move to be called up. That list includes catcher Austin Romine, second baseman Robert Refsnyder, utility man Jose Pirela, second baseman/outfielder Dustin Ackley, outfielder and pinch runner Rico Noel, right-handed relief pitchers Andrew Bailey and Caleb Cotham and left-handed relief pitcher James Pazos.

Romine was removed off the 40 man roster after spring training but will be added back this month after an injury to Gary Sanchez will likely end his season. The obvious move here is to add Sanchez to the 60 day DL and shut him down for the season unfortunately.

Rico Noel will be listed as an outfielder but the only reason he is here is to steal a base or two late in a game. Noel has 23 stolen bases this season and 283 stolen bases in his minor league career and will likely be added with Cole Figueroa DFA.

Bailey and Pazos both join a deep Yankees bullpen that will be tough to manage for Girardi in the sense that there will likely not be enough innings to match the talent at his disposal. Two roster moves need to be made and part of me believes that Tyler Austin’s days on the 40 man roster may be up as he loses in a numbers game. The other move may involve Domingo German, maybe a phantom 60 day DL trip?
 Who knows?

Refsnyder, Pirela, Ackley and Cotham are already on the 40 man roster so no roster moves will need to be made to accommodate these four. Nick Rumbelow and Nick Goody will also be up when their ten day cool down period expires after being optioned to Triple-A earlier last week.

Understanding Revocable Waivers & What David Robertson Could Have Meant to the Yankees

When news broke yesterday that the New York Yankees had claimed a former member of their team off revocable waivers my twitter mentions absolutely blew up. Many were wondering why Yankees GM Brian Cashman was going after another high priced reliever when there were more pressing needs and others were wondering when Robertson was going to make his first appearance back in Yankees pinstripes. Revocable waivers don’t work like that ladies and gentleman and I’d be surprised if Cashman didn’t claim about 99 other pitchers that were on waivers during August. The only reason you’re hearing about David Robertson being claimed by the Yankees is because of one of two things, his contract or the fact that he’s a former Yankees star.

I’ve heard rumors and read blog posts stating that some teams place their entire active roster on waivers at one point or another in the month of July, it’s procedural at this point. If the player is claimed and you don’t want to lose them or don’t want to trade him to the claiming team then you pull him back, simple as that. If the Yankees claimed the last relief pitcher in the Colorado Rockies pen you wouldn’t hear about it, why? Because it doesn’t garner clicks and it doesn’t sell newspapers. This is the reason we’ll never know how many guys Cashman claimed and tried to acquire and this is why we’ll never know why teams like the Baltimore Orioles claim guys with no intention other than to keep them from falling to the Yankees, that’s how this show works.

If you want to kill Cashman for not acquiring talent this season then kill him for not acquiring it before the July 31^st trade deadline, not the August 31^st trade deadline. Big and meaningful moves rarely happen in August because of these games that teams often like to play. Keep so and so away from this team, keep this GM from bettering his team and simply claim the guy so the next time around the waivers are not revocable. It’s all a set of mind games in August which should put the emphasis more on the July 31^st trading deadline for all GM’s around the league.

Could you imagine though? A 2015 Yankees bullpen and beyond with Andrew Miller closing games, Dellin Betances pitching the 8^th, David Robertson pitching the 7^th and some combination of Chasen Shreve, Justin Wilson and Adam Warren in the 6^th inning and prior? Game, set and match. Too bad this was all to block the Toronto Blue Jays and not about improving the team, it would have been nice to have a four or five headed monster in that bullpen. 

Quick Hit: What is a Deep Bone Bruise & How Do You Treat One?

Mark Teixeira has been bothered for more than two weeks now by a deep bone bruise that was suffered when he fouled a ball off his shin on August 17th. The great thing about the internet is that if you don't know what a deep bone bruise is or how to treat one you can simply Google it or head over to WebMD.com and diagnose it yourself. Diagnosing injuries and symptoms is fun as long as you're not diagnosing yourself, who would have thought that when your left arm itches and you're tired it could be a possible symptom of cancer, so I decided to look at what a deep bone bruise is and look at just what the Yankees are doing to treat it.

"What is a deep bone bruise?" from WebMD.com:

A bone bruise is a traumatic injury one sustains from a forceful impact during sports, accidents or a direct hit. It is characterized by severe pain that can last for weeks or months, and the best way to help the healing process is to rest, support, and protect the bone or joint involved and to apply conventional treatments for trauma.

"How do you treat a deep bone bruise?" from LiveStrong.com:

Bone bruises are painful and often make daily activities difficult. Bleeding inside a bone -- damage to the bone marrow or the innermost layer of a bone -- may be classified as a bone bruise. These injuries are typically caused by trauma and can take several weeks or even months to fully heal, depending on the area of the body affected. Treatments such as heat, cold, elevation and activity modification can decrease symptoms caused by the injury. Follow your doctor's specific instructions to help your bone bruise heal.

Rest

Rest is often part of the initial treatment for a bone bruise. This allows the body to generate new bone tissue without stressing the injured area, as stress could cause the bone to break. Injuries to the leg or foot may require the use of crutches to reduce the amount of weight placed on the injured bone. A brace, cast or sling may be used to rest bone bruises in the upper extremity. In some cases, you may be able to continue athletic activities while wearing a splint or using athletic tape to support the injured area.

Weekly Check In: Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge learned the disappointing news probably at the same time that we all did, the New York Yankees are not planning on calling up their top positional prospect during September call ups this season. The Yankees are faced with a bit of a 40 man roster crunch and have a handful of prospects, Ben Gamel and Jake Cave who are specifically outfielders, which they have to protect from the Rule 5 Draft this winter. Judge hasn’t exactly tore up Triple-A since his promotion either so it may be in his best interest to take the time off and mentally and physically prepare for the 2016 season.

Judge has an outside shot of starting the 2016 season in the Bronx in a similar role to what Greg Bird is in when both Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez are healthy, although admittedly a lot can happen between now and then. New York could opt to rotate Judge in and out of right and left field to give others a day off or half of a day off as a DH while slowing transitioning him into the Major Leagues or they could always opt for another half season in Triple-A with Scranton. Either way Judge is knocking at the door and the Bronx may not be big enough to hold him, Carlos Beltran and the rest of the Yankees outfield options in 2016. 

Year	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AA-AAA	117	506	60	115	24	20	71	7	51	135	.258	.334	.460	.794
2015	AA	63	280	36	71	16	12	44	1	24	70	.284	.350	.516	.866
2015	AAA	54	226	24	44	8	8	27	6	27	65	.224	.314	.388	.702

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Michael O’Neill & Jordan Montgomery Named FSL Player & Pitcher of the Week

OF Michael O'Neill and LHP Jordan Montgomery Named FSL Player & Pitcher of the Week Tampa, Fla. - The Florida State League named Tampa Yankees OF Michael O'Neill Player of the Week and LHP Jordan Montgomery Pitcher of the Week today. This honor was for games played August 24 - 30, 2015. O'Neill played in four (4) games and collected eight (8) hits in 13 plate appearances for a .615 batting average. He had two (2) doubles, one (1) triple, and one (1) homerun. He scored six (6) times with four (4) RBI's. His OBP was .706 and slugging percentage was 1.154. This is the third year of professional baseball for the 2013 First-Year Player Draft Pick (3rd round) from Powell, OH. Montgomery pitched in one (1) game for a total of six (6) perfect innings. He struck out eight (8) batters. This is the second year of professional baseball for the 2014 First-Year Player Draft Pick (4th Round) from Sumter, South Carolina.

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/1: September Call Up Day

Surprisingly not much has happened on September call ups day in New York Yankees history but one bit of notable news happened on this day in 1931 when Lou Gehrig continued to hit grand slams. Gehrig's bases loaded blast would be his third in four days as the Yankees would beat the Boston Red Sox 5-1 at Yankee Stadium.

Also on this day in 1947 the Giants would break the 1936 Yankees record for most home runs hit in one season by a team. The New York Giants would break the record with the 185 team home runs and would finish the season with 221.