Monday, September 7, 2015

Yankees Labor Day Open Thread


I hope everyone had a great Labor Day, I know I did. I did exactly what you're supposed to do on the holiday, I hung out with the family and I rested and relaxed. I hope you guys had a great day and a great, long weekend. We go back to the grind and back to work tomorrow(and if your job is anything like mine you'll end up paying for the day off all week long) so it's to bed early for me tonight. Tonight I leave you with a music recommendation out of my own personal collection, See You Again by Wiz Khalifa.

Nathan Eovaldi Shutdown for Two Weeks w/ Elbow Inflammation


The New York Yankees announced today that right-handed starting pitcher and wins leader Nathan Eovaldi will be shut down for at least two weeks as he battles a bout with elbow inflammation. There is roughly four weeks left in the season so Eovaldi should be back barring any set backs before the end of the regular season. CC Sabathia is expected back on Wednesday completing the Yankees five man rotation. This, in a word, sucks.

Yankees May Lose Assistant GM Billy Eppler to LA

The New York Yankees have one of the hottest commodities in all of Major League Baseball when it comes to potential and future general managers around the league. Last season we heard the name of Billy Eppler, the assistant GM to Yankees GM Brian Cashman, come up in almost every GM job opening discussion and that has carried over to the 2015 season as well. The New York Yankees were fortunate enough to hold onto Eppler last season but they may not be as lucky this time around, especially with GM vacancies in Milwaukee with the Brewers, Detroit with the Tigers and especially with the vacancy left behind with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim when the organization decided to relieve Jerry DiPoto of his duties.

The Angels have already asked for permission to talk to Eppler although it is unclear whether the Yankees granted them that permission. Eppler is a great and progressive mind so it would be tough to lose him but the Yankees seem content with Cashman so it's hard to blame a guy for wanting to further his career.


Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles 9/7


The New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles are ready to face off head-to-head this afternoon in some Labor Day Baseball inside Yankee Stadium. The last time the Yankees sent Michael Pineda to the mound on a holiday to face off against the Baltimore Orioles the New York right-hander struck out 16 in a Mother's Day victory and are hoping for a little deja vu today in the Bronx. Opposing Pineda on the mound this afternoon is Wei-Yin Chen for the Orioles. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN and MLB TV.

New York is still at home inside Yankee Stadium so you still have a shot at clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to join them there. If you can't join the team the Bronx then join us on Twitter by giving @GreedyStripes a follow to root for the Yankees all season long.

Labor Day Baseball is as American as it gets. Go Yankees!

ICYMI: Riddle Me This, What if Alex Rodriguez Can Still Play Baseball?

This post went live on the blog on March 1, 2015 SEEN HERE. 


What does it mean for the New York Yankees if Alex Rodriguez pulls a 2009, a year where he started the season late because of his first hip surgery and still finished with 30 home runs and 100 RBI on the nose, and can still play baseball in 2015? We all know the stories of the Yankees third baseman being suspended for all of 2014, missing almost all of 2013 with various lower leg injuries and another hip surgery and the fact that he is 40 years old this season but what if? New York plans on having him spend the majority of his time as a designated hitter and a first baseman which can take some wear and tear, fatigue etc. off his body this season which could conceivably keep him fresher at the plate.

What if? I know it’s a terrible thing to bank on a question mark but I don’t think the Yankees are doing that. With the Chase Headley signing and the Garrett Jones acquisition Rodriguez basically has to play himself into the starting lineup most days. Alex showed opposite field power in his limited at bats in 2013 and I find that encouraging that he can still time a fastball and hit home runs after the second hip surgery and without PED’s. Will he hit 50 again? Lord no, but I don’t think 20 is out of the question and 20 home runs and 60-70 RBI out of the bottom of the lineup is a huge improvement over what Yankees DH’s have done over the past two or three seasons.


If Alex can do what I went over above and the team can get the rest of the team to live up to the back of their baseball cards this team is a playoff team. I didn’t say World Series winner, I didn’t say division winner, I said playoff team so keep that in mind before sending hate mail. New York had lesser teams each of the last two seasons and barely missed the second Wild Card in the American League. A lot of what if’s, I know, but this is the time for what if’s, hope and maybe a little bit of luck for Mr. Rodriguez and for the Yankees, finally.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles 9/7


The New York Yankees are fresh off their series with the Tampa Bay Rays and are ready to stay home to play host to the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles are still hanging around in the second Wild Card chase for the American League while the Yankees take a step forward and a step back in the American League East Division race. Looking to get some consistency out of the team falls on the shoulder and the right arm of Michael Pineda today when he faces off against Wei-Yin Chen for the Orioles. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, ESPN and MLB TV.


  • Pineda will look to gather some of the magic he had from earlier in the season when he struck out 16 Baltimore Orioles on Mother's Day in a Yankees victory. Pineda is looking for his 11th win of the season this afternoon and will look to improve on his 3-1 record in seven career starts against the Baltimore Orioles.




  • Chen has been easily the best starter and the ace for the a Baltimore Orioles team that is struggling to stay afloat in the American League playoff chase. Chen, a left-handed starting pitcher, was pushed back to this afternoon to avoid the extremely right-handed heavy lineup in Toronto. 


New York needs a win and Baltimore needs a win, that's the best part about September baseball. The grind that is a 162-game schedule and marathon is now a sprint and every single game is all the more important. Labor Day is a major holiday in the United States and the Yankees are a Major League team which sounds like a recipe for a victory. Go Yankees!

Happy Labor Day from The Greedy Pinstripes


Labor Day was designed by the United States and Canadian governments to honor the working class and the laborers that go to work every single day in the country thus making the country the great place that we all enjoy. Labor Day has been a thing since 1887 and has spread to over 80 countries now that honor their laborers and workers every single season.

Labor Day has simply gone from a day off for the American worker or a day to be honored to Labor Day deals, shopping and Yankees baseball. Well Yankees baseball for some of us anyway. So I want to thank everyone for their hard work and contribution to the greatness that is America and I want to wish everyone a day full of rest, good food and a Yankees victory.

Happy Labor Day from everyone here at The Greedy Pinstripes, enjoy your day.

Weekly Check In: Nate Mikolas


Yesterday morning we showcased a pair of Pulaski Yankees that have led the team to the Appalachian League Playoffs in rookie ball and today we will do the same with their teammate Nate Mikolas. Mikolas may be the biggest name and the biggest star of the Pulaski Yankees this season after taking a bit of a step back from the Staten Island Yankees in 2014. Mikolas was a 3rd round draft pick in the 2012 MLB First year Players Draft and the Yankees may finally be seeing some of the dividends for drafting the young outfielder that early.

Mikolas spent two seasons with the Gulf Coast Yankees after being drafted out of High School by the Yankees and made the big step to Staten Island in 2014. Mikolas has gone from a .225 hitter in the New York-Penn League to flirting with a .300 average in Pulaski showing the Yankees that the organization made the correct decision.

YearTmGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
2015Pulaski522224055843322551.285.374.409.783

This Day In Derek Jeter Day & New York Yankees History 9/7



On this day in 2014 the New York Yankees honored the great Derek Jeter in a pre-game ceremony at Yankee Stadium. 2014 marked the final season of Jeter's 20-season career, all with the Yankees, and came with a plaque inside Monument Park.

Also on this day in 1974 the Yankees Graig Nettles was suspended for ten games after stuffing his bat with six super balls. The bat was shattered by a pitch and found by the Detroit Tigers catcher Bill Frehan. Nettles claims the bat was given to him as a gift by a fan in Chicago and hit a home run with the bat in this game for the only run of the game. The Yankees would beat Detroit 1-0 while playing in Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was being renovated.

Also on this day in 1955 the Yankees Whitey Ford becomes only the fifth major league pitcher to throw consecutive one hitters. In his last start Ford held the Washington Senators to one hit, a seventh inning bloop single by Carlos Paula. In this start Ford held the Athletics to one hit in a 2-1 Yankees victory.

Also on this day in 1952 Johnny Mize hit a pinch hit grand slam to give the Yankees a 5-1 win over the Washington Senators. With the home run Mize would have the honor of hitting a home run in all 15 big league stadiums presently in use.

And finally on this day in 1908 the Washington Senators Walter Johnson continued to dominate the Yankees with his third victory in four days over the Bronx Bombers. In those three games Johnson allowed a total of zero runs to the Bronx Bombers. Johnson started the dominance with a six hit performance on Friday blanking the Yankees. Johnson pitched the very next day allowing only four hits and no runs on Saturday. The Yankees were not allowed to play on Sundays so Johnson had to wait to hold the Yankees to two hits in the first game of a Monday Labor Day doubleheader at Yankee Stadium for the third consecutive shutout.