Monday, August 15, 2016

Baby Bombers Green, Judge Instrumental in Jays Series Opener

 As the New York Yankees hosted the Toronto Blue Jays in game one, anyone watching the game was treated to an absolute pitchers duel. Filling in for the injured Nathan Eovaldi tonight was young righty Chad Green, who had far and away his best start of his career as he tossed six sensational innings against one of the toughest lineups in all of baseball.  Taking the mound for Toronto was former NL Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, who himself pitched well tonight, allowing several more baserunners then his opposition, but got out of several sticky situations with his token nasty knuckleball.  New York ended up leaving a small village on the base paths(15 RLOB) in their game one win, a game that saw the Yankees pull back to within 5.5 games of first place in the AL East

While there was no scoring action, or really any offensive action to speak of as both Green and Dickey were dealing through the first three frames, there was a rare delay between the second and third innings. During Brian McCann's first at bat, McCann foul-tipped a ball off Homeplate Umpire Hunter  Wendelstedt's  Face mask. Yankees trainer Steve Donahue eventually came out of the dugout and escorted Wendelstedt to the clubhouse for concussion evaluation, leading to about a 10 minute delay as 2B Umpire Scott Berry went and put on the protective gear to take over behind the dish.

Although the Yanks had two runners on base in two out of the first three innings, it took a similar situation in the fourth for them to put the first and only run of the game on the board. Brian McCann and Gary Sanchez both worked one-out walks, and then rookie sensation Aaron Judge smacked his first career double to right, scoring McCann to put the Yankees on top by a 1-0 score.

Chad Green was absolutely fantastic tonight, not walking a single better and striking out a career-high 11 batters out of the 18 outs he recorded in his six brilliant shut out innings of two-hit work. Green was actually perfect through the first 4.1 innings, but Troy Tulowitzki broke up his perfecto with a humpback line drive to left for a one-out single in the top of the fifth. With Eovaldi's recent injury, the Yankees were desperately looking for someone to step up, and Mr. Green answered the call with authority tonight.

Tyler Clippard worked a perfect seventh, Adam Warren also got Toronto to go down in order, marking the seventh time in eight innings that the Blue Jays went down 1-2-3. Delin Betances made things interesting, however, as he walked Josh Thole to start the ninth. Junior Lake pinch ran for Thole, advancing to third on a Josh Donaldson single up the middle. But then the big man got Edwin Encarnacion to ground into a game-ending double-play, making it an even 20 wins by one run this season.

It's an M&M battle tomorrow as Michael Pineda and Marco Estrada face off in game two, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 PM/EST.




Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 8/15


The New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays are set to kick off their three game set inside Yankee Stadium tonight with a great pitching matchup. In the opener of this series the New York Yankees will send Chad Green to the mound to square off against a tough knuckle ball pitcher in RA Dickey. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network locally and MLB TV wherever you are.

The Yankees head west after this series so you have just two more chances this week to see Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin and a Aaron Hicks that has someone found a way to hit the damn ball lately which is awesome. Click the Yankees tickets link to secure your seats now and see the future of the team and the franchise live and in person.

Follow our Twitter account by giving @GreedyStripes a follow. Go Yankees!

The Cry For Homegrown Talent May Be Ill Advised: 2000


Another season and another World Series for the New York Yankees in the year 2000. This would be the last World Series the Yankees would win for nine more seasons after a couple heartbreaking losses in 2001 and 2003. Will this Yankees team be any different in the homegrown players department or will it be more of the same? Spoiler alert, it's going to be more of the same. Let's look:

Infield looks awfully familiar with Tino Martinez at first, Knoblauch at second, Brosius at third, Yankee farm hands Derek Jeter at shortstop and Jorge Posada behind the plate, and Jose Canseco(Athletics, Devil Rays) and Glenallen Hill (Cubs) getting the bulk of the DH time. Jim Leyritz did get some time as the designated hitter before Canseco was acquired dumped on the team.

The outfield was a mess in 2000 before the Yankees acquired David Justice from the Cleveland Indians to finish the year as their every day left fielder. The Yankees had their locks at center field with Bernie Williams and Paul O'Neill in right field but left field was a mess. Clay Bellinger (Yankees), Lance Johnson (White Sox and Cubs), Felix Jose (Royals and Cardinals), Roberto Kelly (Yankees from 87-92), Ricky Ledee (Yankees), Luis Polonia (Angels), Shane Spencer, and Ryan Thompson (Mets) all spent time in left field.

The pitching staff didn't get much of an upgrade in 2000 over the 1999 team. Roger Clemens, Orlando Hernandez, David Cone, and Andy Pettitte were all there and they were joined by former Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves right hander David Cone.

The bullpen looked similar as well with mainstays Mike Stanton, Jeff Nelson, Jason Grimsley and Mariano Rivera getting the bulk of the calls from Joe Torre. The new guy this season was Randy Choate as he burst from the Yankees system to help out of the bullpen along with Ramiro Mendoza.

The Yankees used more and more homegrown talent in the bullpen but still relied on trades and free agency to collect their fourth World Series title in five seasons. Joe Torre, Tino Martinez, Paul O'Neill, Bernie Williams, Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, and Jim Leyritz among others would never see another World Series in Yankees pinstripes.

ICYMI: The Greedy Pinstripes Podcast featuring Matt Bove and Jacob Westendorf: Episode 1




Ladies and gentleman, the first ever Greedy Pinstripes podcast. In the podcast Matt Bove and Jacob Westendorf discuss Alex Rodriguez's retirement, Mark Teixeira's retirement, the Yankees strategy at the August 1st trading deadline and much, much more. Check it out and enjoy.


Leave your comments and feedback in the comments section or shoot us a tweet on Twitter @GreedyStripes with the hashtag #TGPpodcast.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Toronto Blue Jays 8/15


Here we go ladies and gentleman. If the New York Yankees are serious about making a run at the second Wild Card spot in the American League it may begin and end right here in the Bronx against one of the top teams in the American League East Division, the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees must have a mental block against these Blue Jays as Toronto has done well against New York in recent years but these aren't the same Yankees. The youth movement is here and that continues tonight with the first of a three-game set coming tonight. In the opener the Yankees will send Chad Green to the mound to square off with RA Dickey.

Green will essentially take the rotation spot of Nathan Eovaldi who went on the disabled list after suffering from some right elbow discomfort in his last start. Technically Luis Severino took Eovaldi's spot and this is Severino's turn in the rotation but who wants to equivocate over a day or two, right?

Dickey heads into this start fresh off his second shortest outing of the season and it came against the team that just left the Bronx, the Tampa Bay Rays. Dickey lasted just 4.1 innings due in large fact to the fact that the 41-year old righty has allowed four runs or more in four of his last five starts.


The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. This series doesn't have nearly the hype that those big series in September did last year but I think this is going to be a huge series for both teams. If New York continues to play well they can knock Toronto down a few notches and make their path to repeating in the AL East a little more difficult while the Blue Jays could make it equally as difficult for the Yankees to make a run at the final playoff spot in the American League. I like the idea of making things difficult for them while keeping the good times rolling. Go Yankees!

So Brian McCann Cleared Waivers, Now What?


The waiver wire trade deadline is set for August 31st and unlike the August 1st trading deadline this deadline is whole lot more complicated with a whole lot more moving parts. First a player must clear revocable waivers where he can be claimed, and revoked or brought back off waivers, before he can be traded and Brian McCann did just that this week. Will the Yankees trade him? Honestly, and I’ve written about this already this season, I don’t think that they should but for argument’s sake let’s say that they do. Here are a few teams presumably still looking for catching help that could bite on the right deal or a deal where the Yankees ate some salary.

Five teams immediately come to mind when I think of potential landing spots for McCann because these are the five teams that were most notably looking for catching help before the August 1st trading deadline but did not pull off a deal for one. That list includes the New York Mets, the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians. All these teams are playoff contenders with the exception of the Braves of course but Atlanta could want McCann for the same reasons I laid out over the weekend, you keep a veteran catcher during a rebuild to work with your young pitchers and to build relationships and confidence.

The Mets currently employ Travis d’Arnaud at the position but judging by their attempt to acquire Jonathan Lucroy before the deadline you can see the team is not sold on him. The problem is the Mets system is pretty weak by all accounts, especially with MLB ready or close to MLB ready prospects, while the team is likely to also want the Yankees to eat some salary in any potential deal. The Yankees needs either salary relief and less prospects or good prospects for McCann and I can’t see the Mets giving the Bombers either unfortunately.

The Atlanta Braves are in the same boat as the Mets when it comes to the ability and willingness to eat salary. The Braves talked to the Yankees prior to the deadline about McCann and basically refused to take on the salary of their former catcher thus closing the door on any potential deal. The Braves have the prospects to get this done but the difference here is the Braves don’t have to get it done, and that will affect what they are willing to and will ultimately pay if a deal were to take place. I consider Atlanta to be a Plan B, Plan C or lower if the Yankees are simply motivated to move him just to move him.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are listed here because the Los Angeles Dodgers are always listed as interested for every available free agent and trade target. They are greedy like that and I can appreciate that personally. Anyway, the Dodgers do have some genuine interest in improving their team and especially improving their catching situation as they find themselves in a dog fight with the San Francisco Giants atop the NL West Division race. McCann makes their catching situation better and their offense much better almost immediately if a deal is made, and a deal could be made due to the fact that the Dodgers can afford to absorb the salary and they also have enough in their farm system to make the Yankees happy. Just no Yasiel Puig, please?

While the Dodgers are chasing down the Giants the Astros are going in the opposite direction in both the division standings and the Wild Card standings as well. Currently at the catcher position the Astros have a DH acting as a part-time catcher in Evan Gattis and a defensive-minded and defense-only catcher in Jason Castro so the need for an offensive catcher is extremely apparent. McCann would be a huge upgrade and a shot in the arm for Astros playoff push and Houston could absolutely afford to take the hit both in terms of salary and in terms of prospects.

Finally you have the Cleveland Indians, the Yankees couldn’t pillage their farm system one more time this season. Could they? The Brewers agreed to trade Jonathan Lucroy to the Indians before Lucroy refused to waive his no-trade clause and Cleveland never acquired a catcher before the deadline leaving these two teams once again a match for a potential trade. Brian Cashman has to be familiar with the Indians farm system and the Yankees seem to be motivated to move him so this could also be a potential landing spot for the Yankees catcher.


The Yankees have at least five potential landing spots for McCann now that he has cleared revocable waivers. McCann would obviously have to accept any trade because of his no-trade clause but the Yankees have options here. Does that necessarily mean a trade will happen? Lord no. That’s a lot of money left on the table and nothing is ever easy when a full no-trade clause is involved but the options are there and that is at least encouraging. 

Weekly Prospects Check In: Clint Frazier


What a weekend for Yankees prospects, huh? Gary Sanchez  had a nice couple of games against the Boston Red Sox to end the week before Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge hit their first MLB home run in their first MLB at bats. What made it special was they came back-to-back. You have to think that Clint Frazier, today's weekly check in post showcase, was salivating while watching, wasn't he?

So I bring you this morning the weekly stats from the Yankees top prospect, the Yankees top prospect who could be the next to ride the Scranton Shuttle and reach the Major Leagues this season.

YearAgeLevAffGPARH2BHRRBISBBBSOBAOBPSLGOPS
201621AA-AAACLE-NYY104454661082714511343105.269.341.455.797

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/15: Mantle's Funeral



My apologies in advance for the somber beginning to your Monday morning but on this day in 1995 the New York Yankees and many around baseball attended the funeral services for Mickey Mantle. At the request of the Mantle family Bob Costas delivered the eulogy for Mickey. I can't say anymore, just watch below and get goosebumps like I did. Happy Friday everyone and RIP Mickey Mantle.