Saturday, September 5, 2015

The Experience Behind a September Playoff Chase


The month of September and the week of the regular season that will be played in October is shaping up to be an exciting one as the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are going to go down to the wire to decide an American League East Division winner. Toronto may be in the driver’s seat right now but the Yankees are steadily putting the pressure on their neighbors and rivals from the north, can the Blue Jays handle the pressure or will they fold under it all? I know the stats I am about to unfold to you all mean relatively little in the grand scheme of things but I thought it would be worth showcasing just how much, or how little in most cases, the presumed starting offenses and rotations have in the playoffs.

The point of this exercise is to see whether New York’s veteran leadership and experience with the September grind and October push will help them in chasing down the Toronto Blue Jays. It will also be worth looking at to see if as the pressure builds and the games get later and later into the season whether the veteran, albeit inexperienced, leaders in Toronto can hold it all together. At the end of the day these numbers and stats mean relatively nothing, this is Major League Baseball after all, but that doesn’t make them any less interesting.





We all knew that Toronto had far less playoff experience than New York but I had no idea just how little. Again, having a veteran led team with Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Troy Tulowitzki, Russell Martin and probably the American League MVP Josh Donaldson probably makes all these numbers a moot point but you never know until you actually play the games. One thing is for certain it doesn’t look like the playoff atmosphere and lights are going to bother the inexperienced Didi Gregorius’s, Luis Severino’s or Greg Bird’s of the world so maybe, just maybe the Yankees have a shot at avoiding that one-game playoff Wild Card round and can wrap up this division late. Weirder things have happened, like the fact that Mark Buehrle and David Price both have more saves in the playoffs than the entire Yankees bullpen combined.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 9/5


The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays face off for the second time this afternoon as a part of their three game set this weekend in the Bronx. The Rays are struggling to keep their playoff hopes alive while the Yankees are in the driver’s seat in the American League Wild Card chase. The Yankees want that division crown though and would like to skip a one game playoff if at all possible so every game is being played and managed like a must win in the Bronx right now which is not a great sign for the Rays. New York will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound looking for his 15th win of the season while the Rays counter with Matt Moore. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on Fox Sports One and MLB TV.

The Toronto Blue Jays are coming to town and so are the Baltimore Orioles after tomorrow afternoon’s finale in this series so be sure to click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to see any of these uber-important games left this season. Also be sure to give @GreedyStripes a follow on Twitter to interact with us during each and every game and to root on your favorite Yankees on their march towards the playoffs.


Eovaldi hasn’t taken a loss since the middle of June and the Yankees don’t tend to lose with him on the mound so this has all the makings of being a very interesting contest for New York and their fans. Go Yankees!

Yankees International Signing Haul- UPDATED

Luis Medina

The New York Yankees went absolutely crazy during the 2014-2015 international signing period and now face harsh penalties which restrict their IFA signing for not only the 2015-2016 signing period but the 2016-2017 signing period as well. Every signing period begins on July 2nd every season so New York will not be able to sign an international free agent for more than $300,000 again until July 2nd, 2017.

While the Yankees approached $30 million spent in last year's IFA signing period that doesn't mean the team can't get great talent at a bargain, remember Luis Severino was signed for just $225,000 while Jorge Mateo was signed for only $250,000 in recent years, could the Yankees strike gold again with their freshest batch of prospects they brought in this season?

Right-Handed pitcher Luis Medina is the team's top international signing at 16-years old after signing a deal worth $280,000 plus $120,000 in scholarship money for schooling.Medina sits at 91-94 MPH on his fastball and even got as high as 96 MPH. Medina is extremely raw but that is expected out of a 16-year old arm but the promise is definitely there. Medina used up $280K of the $2.2628 million pool the Yankees were given.

Other less than notable signings were RHP Deivi Garcia ($100K), catcher Robert Espinosa ($50K), infielder Brian Jimenez ($50K), outfielder Vinicio Martinez ($50K) and unknown bonuses were handed out to 16-year old Heiner Moreno, third baseman Sandy Acevedo, second baseman Diego Duran, RHP Rony Garcia, shortstop Jesus Graterol, LHP Argelis Herrera, shortstop Brayan Jimenez, catcher Moises Lobo, shortstop Kleiber Maneiro, RHP Alex Mejias, RHP Luis Ojeda, RHP Elvis Peguero and third baseman Alfredo Pujols.

It's unclear whether we will ever hear these names again after this post goes live but you can't win the game if you're not playing. Medina is definitely a talent to watch and hopefully one day we can look back at this post and see talent elsewhere from this haul. Fingers crossed.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays 9/5


The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays continue their three game set head-to-head inside Yankee Stadium this afternoon with a day game in the Bronx. Day games after night games in New York usually mean two things, the ball will be flying out of the stadium all afternoon long and you can expect to see quite a few of your key veteran players sitting on the bench for this one. The Yankees will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound this afternoon to face off against an old face and familiar foe in Matt Moore for the Rays. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the Fox Sports One Network and MLB TV.

  • Eovaldi has not taken the loss in any of his last 13 starts thanks to great pitching and a ton of run support from the Yankees offense. Last time out Eovaldi was limited to just five innings after giving up five runs on eight hits but the Yankees were able to win the game 20-6 over the Atlanta Braves. Eovaldi is 9-0 with a very respectable 3.32 ERA since June 20th.


  • Moore returned off the disabled list from Tommy John surgery on July 2nd this season and made just six starts before being demoted to the minor leagues. Moore dominated pitchers in the minor leagues after finally finding his command, showcased by recording 16 of 18 outs in a single game by strikeout, which earned him a September call up. Moore is now making his first start since returning looking to improve on his 1-3 record and 8.78 ERA this season.



The Yankees face off against Chris Archer and these same Rays tomorrow afternoon in the finale of the three game series making this game almost a must win for the club. Facing off against Archer is always a tough task for the Yankees it seems like whether it is day or night so getting a win today would be huge for the team’s confidence and their standings in the American League East Division. The Yankees have the right man on the bump to do that today with their leader in wins taking the mound. I’m confident, what about you? Go Yankees!

Remembering & Honoring Cal Ripken Jr., The Iron Man


It was 19 years ago today that Cal Ripken Jr. went out onto the field in Oriole Park at Camden Yards against the New York Yankees like he had for the better part of over 2,000 games. Ripken had played in 2,129 consecutive games in his career before heading out for the bottom of the fifth inning. When Ripken went out to take his position the game became official, his 2,130th consecutive game. This is significant because Cal would tie the Yankees legend and "Iron Horse" Lou Gehrig.

Ripken received a standing ovation for over five minutes from the sellout crowd when he tied the record. Love or hate the Orioles but you just can't hate Cal Ripken Jr. Have a good Saturday Yankees family.

Weekly Check In: Jorge Mateo


Jorge Mateo survived another trading deadline thankfully and will remain with the organization at least through the remainder of the 2015 season. Brian Cashman has placed Mateo in the “untouchable” ring of Yankees prospects despite being reportedly willing to include him in a deal for Craig Kimbrel and Jedd Gyorko. Now with the trade winds no longer blowing in his ear he can prepare for a long offseason after a bit of a breakout season in 2015.

With the Low-A Charleston Riverdogs and the High-A Tampa Yankees Mateo has hit the ball better than most people expected and has ran up and down the bases basically at will. As you can see below Mateo has compiled a whopping 82 stolen bases between the two stops and even raised his overall batting average and on-base percentages to .278 and .345.


Mateo has defied the odds in 2015 and has shattered expectations so expect him to be all over post-season Top 100 prospects lists and at or near the top of almost every Yankees top prospects list. 

YearLevGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015A-A+1175006612523240824398.278.345.392.737
2015A96409519818233713680.268.338.378.716
2015A+2191152750711718.321.374.452.826

Tyler Wade Selected to the FSL Post-Season All-Star Team





Tampa, Fla. - The Florida State League End of Season All-Star Team for 2015 was announced today by League President Ken Carson. The team was selected by Field Managers, Official Scorers, and club Sports Writers representing the twelve (12) teams in the league.
Tyler Wade was selected as a shortstop for the 2015 FSL All-Star Team. Wade was promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder on August 5, 2015. During his time with the Tampa Yankees he led the team with 103 hits. He held a .280 batting average over 98 games with 11 doubles, five triples, two homeruns, 28 RBI and 31 stolen bases. He was selected to the 2015 FSL Mid-Season North Division All-Star Team.
Wade was selected by the New York Yankees in the fourth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Murrieta Valley High School in Murrieta, California.
The Tampa Yankees are the Single-A Advanced Affiliate of the New York Yankees. For more information about the Tampa Yankees call (813) 673-3055 or visit www.tybaseball.com.

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/5: Bob Sheppard Works His Final Game


Unknown to the Yankees, their fans, and Bob Sheppard at the time the "Voice of God" worked his last game as the team's P.A. announcer at Yankee Stadium in 2007. This was Sheppard's 4,500th time since taking over the job in 1951. Jim Hall and Paul Olden would replace Sheppard when the team moves to the new Yankee Stadium in 2009.

During the game Alex Rodriguez became only the fourth player in Yankees history to hit a home run twice in the same inning. What made this 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners even more spectacular was the fact that A Rod had gone to the hospital to have his sore right ankle examined and had to talk his way into the lineup before the game.

Also on this day in 1989 Deion Sanders, the Yankees rookie, hit a home run as the Yankees routed the Seattle Mariners 12-2. Five days later the rookie Atlanta Falcons player would make his NFL debut and would return a punt 68 yards for a touchdown. #Athlete.