Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Meet Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera!


Steiner Yankees Sports, a friend and partner of us here on The Greedy Pinstripes, are hosting an event that us as Yankees fan absolutely cannot afford to miss. The even will showcase two Yankees legends Alex Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera under one roof in the Hudson Theater at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in New York City. Everything you need to know about the event should be in the picture above. Head over to Steiner Yankees Sports to get your tickets for this event on November, 6.

Here is the official write up from Yankees Steiner Sports:

"They are two of the biggest names and best players in MLB history. Yankees' DH Alex Rodriguez is a 14 time All-Star who is no stranger to the spotlight. Not only is he Major League Baseball's active home run leader on the heels of catching Babe Ruth for third all time, he is also the newest member of baseball's 3000 hit club. Join us as he takes the stage with five time World Series Champion and MLB's all-time saves leader Mariano Rivera. Hear firsthand from these Yankee greats. This package includes 1 mezzanine seat ticket."

Masahiro Tanaka Has Successful Elbow Surgery


The New York Yankees announced that Masahiro Tanaka has had successful elbow surgery this week, no it's not Tommy John surgery. Tanaka had a bone spur removed from his right elbow that stemmed back, reportedly, from his days in Japan and has nothing (did you see that, NOTHING) to do with his partially torn ulnar collateral ligament he suffered in 2014.

The recovery time for the surgery is six weeks plus a throwing program so Tanaka shouldn't have any issues being ready before Spring Training 2016.

Sports Illustrated: World's Angriest Fans, New York Yankees Edition

Each week Sports Illustrated interviews a fan of a different team that is absolutely fed up and angry with his or her current sports team, this week was an angry fan of the New York Yankees. CLICK HERE for the article source as SI deserves a few clicks for their hard work or see below for the entire interview with Yankees angry fan (and Greedy Pinstripes follower on Twitter) Slugger Bro (Mike).



The New York Yankees seldom are underdogs, but they began 2015 on the heels of a two-year playoff drought — which, in the Bronx, qualifies as an excuse to burn things. So, when buoyed by a renaissance year from Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees turned out to be not only good but certifiably dominant, their fans rejoiced. Then, somehow, it all went horribly wrong. At the July 31 trade deadline, the Yankees held a commanding six-game lead in the AL East. By the time the regular season came to a close, New York had surrendered the divisional title to the Toronto Blue Jays. Forced into a one-game wild-card scenario against the Houston Astros in the Bronx, the Yankees were shut out 4-0.

Mike has had enough, and he intends to let the neighbors know about it.

Raised in the Bronx by a family of Yankee lifers, Mike has regularly made a point of watching all 162 games. Sometimes he watches one twice, just to see how the other team’s announcers called the game.

He’s the guy who once punched through a wall when the Yankees blew a game in the ninth. The guy perpetually inclined to scream less-than-polite statements at his beloved Bombers when things aren’t going well:

Mike, you might imagine, did not enjoy 2015 much.

“The team started off playing like dogs---, making errors all over the place,” Mike said. “As the year went on, they heated up and went on a nice roll. I actually got my hopes up that maybe this could be a special year ... and then in typical fashion, they ended the year losing game after game and blowing their division lead.

“On the last game they played this year, I sat in my room alone drinking away as the team went on to get eliminated in front of all their fans in Yankee Stadium without scoring a single run.”


Most of Mike’s complaints boil down to GM Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi.

“First off, the overrated idiotic general manager, who fake Yankees fans that watch a handful of games a season defend, signed Stephen Drew to play second base for us despite the fact that we have a young talented player named [Rob] Refsnyder ready to play," Mike said. "Stephen Drew then goes on to hit like .170 all year, which is disgustingly bad and EMBARASSING.

“No way in hell the Yankees of old allow some bum to hit under .200 for them.

“Then there's the manager, Joe Girardi, who is more full of s--- than anyone I have ever seen in my life. He constantly makes excuses and lies after games in his press conferences. They treat the fans like we’re idiots. I’ve had enough of it.”

As the wild-card game came to a close, Mike seemed torn between despair and relief.



That he blames Girardi and Cashman for the wild-card loss is made abundantly clear, but Mike’s loathing of the 2015 Yankees goes well beyond that.Still, he has no intention of giving up.

“It’s probably going to be damaging to my mental health,” he said.

Future tense. Interesting.

The World’s Angriest Fan: Quick questions

Your name:
Mike
Your team:
New York Yankees
Three words to describe your feelings as a fan right now:
• Disgusted
• Angry
• Disrespected
Three words to describe your team right now:
• Hopeless
• Embarrassing
• Pathetic
Draw the team:

Anything else to add?


They need to fire the GM and manager already.

Until next week (or season), go Yankees!

Watch Game 2 of the 2000 World Series Just Because


Watch Game 2 of the 2000 World Series between the New York Yankees and the New York Mets. Why? Just because, because you have that 2:00 feeling. This is the game that Roger Clemens threw, or didn't throw, a broken bat at Mets catcher Mike Piazza inciting a riot of sorts in New York. Enjoy.

Possible Replacements for Gary Tuck and Jeff Pentland


Late Sunday night it was announced that the New York Yankees would not be bringing back their hitting coach Jeff Pentland or their bullpen coach Gary Tuck for the 2016 season. In 2016 New York will have their third hitting coach in as many years and their second bullpen coach in three years with the departures of Pentland and Tuck. Surely the Yankees have a list of possible replacements and I will take my best educated guess at this list here for you today in order of likelihood of being hired by the club.

Hitting Coach:

Alan Cockrell
Marcus Thames
James Rowson
Jason Giambi
Dave Magadan

Bullpen Coach:

Mike Harkey
Scott Aldred

Mets 2B Daniel Murphy is Not The Answer


It's funny how in a market and with a fan base like New York you can go from a "scrub" or a "loser" to a "hero" and a free agent target just like that in the snap of a finger. The New York Mets and their fan base has been down on second baseman Daniel Murphy for much of the 2015 season and his tenure in Queens but now since the left-handed hitter is hitting in the postseason the media, the bloggers and the fans are going nutso. The talk of offering him a qualifying offer has already been thrown around and now many of those same media members, bloggers and fans want Murphy on the New York Yankees in 2016. I may be crazy, and you know at the end of the day I may be wrong, but I can't see a scenario where Murphy is the answer for New York in 2016.

First and foremost, and this was mentioned in the first paragraph, Murphy is a left-handed hitter that would "thrive" inside Yankee Stadium. The Yankees are far too left-handed and were exposed at the end of the 2015 season and into the AL Wild Card Game against Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros. The Yankees need a more balanced lineup and that is achieved by leaving the platoon of Dustin Ackley and Robert Refsnyder to fight it out at the position all season long. Especially considering that the New York Mets may offer Murphy salary arbitration and a qualifying offer worth one year and $15.8 million. Is Murphy worth a first round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft? I think not.

Murphy has done well hitting around .280 with mediocre defense during his time in New York but the last thing the Yankees need is another infielder and another player on the wrong side of 30-years old. Save the draft pick, continue the youth movement and win with defense. Not Daniel Murphy.

Baseball America Scouting Report on Gary Sanchez


Baseball America has released a ton of free content this offseason and has been very good to the New York Yankees specifically. Baseball American has spoken well of many of the Yankees top prospects in their Top 20 Prospect rankings for every minor league affiliate and has now moved on to specific players with the first being the Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez.

HERE IS THE LINK for the FREE scouting report or see below.



Former Phillies scout Therron Brockish reprises his role for BA with weekly scouting reports from the Arizona Fall League. Brockish has more than 20 years of experience as a college coach and as an amateur scout. He served as an assistant coach at Wayne State, Ball State and Arizona Christian and as head coach at Iowa Western CC, and he worked for six years as an area scout with the Philadelphia Phillies, signing big leaguers Jason Donald, Tuffy Gosewisch and Lou Marson during that time.

The Arizona Fall League began its 2015 campaign with home runs flying, mirroring what’s happening in the major league postseason.

In Peoria, the Javelinas hosted the Surprise Saguaros. The first home run of the AFL season belonged to Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who belted a 420-foot shot to left field in the first inning to give the Saguaros a 3-0 lead.

The Saguaros held a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. After Royals reliever Kevin McCarthy retired the first hitter, Mike Yastrzemski (Orioles) hit a line drive that cleared the wall in right center. After a single and a strikeout, Nick Torres (Padres) hit a two-run homer to left center to make it 5-4.

A hit batter and a double by Phoenix-area native D.J. Peterson (Mariners) drove in the tying run before McCarthy was pulled. Milwaukee reliever Damien Magnifico was greeted by an RBI single from Gabriel Quintana (Padres) to score Peterson for a 6-5 lead, which held up in the ninth. A total of eight homers were hit in the two AFL afternoon games.

Prospect Report
Born: Dec. 2, 1992. Ht.:6-2. Wt.:230. B-T: R-R.

ToolGrade
Hitting45/50
Power60
Fielding50
Speed30
Arm60
Hitting
Future Grade: 45/50
Sanchez’s offense has been steady if not spectacular in the minors so far; he’s a career .274/.339/.459 hitter in 2,157 minor league at-bats. His swing is powerful and generates great bat speed. He will strike out but probably not as much as one would think for a middle of the order bat, as he’s struck out in 21 percent of his minor league plate appearances. He still has some young hitter tendencies to swing at breaking balls out of the strike zone, but as he matures, so will his discipline at the plate. He looks like a guy that will hit in the .260-.270 range. A club will have to live with 100-plus strikeouts for some of the power potential.


Power
Future Grade: 60

Power is a tricky tool to grade. There are really two components of power: raw power and power production (power that translates into home runs and extra-base hits). Sanchez shows 70 raw power in batting practice, launching balls far over the fence to all fields. He hit 18 homers in 2015 between Double-A and Triple-A in 400 plate appearances. His raw power combined with his tendency to swing and miss some will likely result in 20-25 homers at the major league level in a full season. There is a learning curve in hitting major league pitching and he could produce as many as 30 homers in his prime years. He is definitely a guy who could be a run-producer at the major league level.


Run
Future Grade: 30
When grading catching tools, running speed is the least important tool for the catching position. Sanchez grades out near the bottom of the scale in this category. He has shown some base-stealing instincts as evidenced by his 30 stolen bases in six minor league seasons, but that won’t be a factor in whether or not he becomes a big league regular.


Defense
Future Grade: 50
Managers want a catcher who is solid defensively and can handle the pitching staff. Receiving and blocking move to the top of the list when grading catchers’ fielding tools. Sanchez is large physically by catching standards and provides a big target for pitchers to throw to. He has soft hands and showed good blocking skills. He was charged with one passed ball on Tuesday but it appeared to be caused by being crossed up by a new pitcher with a runner at second base. He had just two passed balls in 83 regular-season games in 2015 after yielding 10 in 83 games in ’14.


Arm Strength
Future Grade: 60


Although he had no stolen base attempts against him today, Sanchez flashed a 60 arm in between innings. He has good carry on his throws combined with a quick release. His pop times ranged from 1.9-2.0 range. He has had some success throwing out would-be base-stealers in the minors so far, throwing out 36 percent of opposing baserunners this season.

At 22 years old with six minor league seasons under his belt, Sanchez is on the 40-man roster and made his big league debut in September, going 0-for-2 as a pinch-hitter. The Yankees will have some important decisions to make regarding Sanchez, who could spend another year at Triple-A considering Brian McCann is signed through 2018 and John Ryan Murphy has established himself as a solid, low-cost backup. Sanchez may have to keep biding his time to become a regular in New York, but he also could present himself as a strong trade chip in the AFL.

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/20: Hell Freezes Over


On this day in 2004, Yankees fans close your eyes, the Boston Red Sox completed their historic comeback winning the ALCS is Game 7 after being down 3-0 to the New York Yankees. I think we all remember the Johnny Damon grand slam that pretty much sealed our fates, no?


Also on this day in 1964, just three days after resigning from the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals managers job, Johnny Keane signs on to replace Yogi Berra as the New York Yankees manager.


Finally on this day in 1931 the Commerce Comet Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma. Mantle was named after major league catcher Mickey Cochran with his dad not realizing that Cochran's real name is Gordon, not Mickey.