Saturday, September 17, 2016

The Greedy Pinstripes Saturday Night Open Thread


It’s Saturday night and the Yankees game for the day is in the books, what does one do with their time? Do they read a book? Spend time with family? Catch up on the new American Horror Story or the hilarious show “Atlanta” starring and produced by Donald Glover? Cut the grass while it’s not 115 degrees outside? I don’t know, I haven’t made up my mind yet. While I do I leave you with this open thread for the evening to discuss whatever you’d like.


Enjoy the rest of your evening Yankees family and we’ll be back at it strong again tomorrow for the finale in Boston. I’m not ready to give up on this playoff push just yet and neither should you. This is still an exciting team that has all the pieces necessary to make another run. Just have to do it. 

Stick A Fork In 'Em, Yanks Are Done With 6-5 Loss to Boston

On a beautiful day in Boston, the Yankees once again blew a late lead to the Red Sox, resulting in their third straight loss to Boston. Although Brian Mitchell and David Price started for their respective teams, neither would factor into the final decision as Mitchell pitched well and Price did not. But once again, the Yankees fell victim to more shoddy bullpen work which resulted in there sixth loss in the last seven games.

While Price and Mitchell kept the game scoreless through the first two frames, the Yankees were first to hit the scoreboard in the top of the third. Austin Romine led off the inning with a soft single to left, scoring on a Brett Gardner one-out triple to the triangle in dead center(420-ft from home), making it a 1-0 game. After a Jacoby Ellsbury ground out, Baby Bomber Gary Sanchez obliterated a Price cutter over the Green Monster and onto Landsdown Street for a two run shot that widened the Yankee lead to three.

But, the Red Sox would go on to get two of those runs back in the bottom of the frame. Highly touted rookie Andrew Benintendi smoked a double off the top of the wall in centerfield to lead off the frame, scoring on a Xander Bogarts one-out rocket double to center, pulling Boston to within two. After Bogarts advanced to third on a wild pitch, David Ortiz grounded out softly to second base, scoring Bogarts to close the gap, 3-2.

Just as the Sox put up two runs in the bottom of the third, so too did the Bombers in the top of the fourth. After a Billy Butler strike out to begin the inning, Didi Gregorius hit a soft single to right, advancing to second on a Chase Headley ground ball single to left. The next batter Austin Romine belted a double over the head of Benintendi and off the Monster, scoring both Gregorius and Headley to put the Yankees back up by three.

Side Note: Rob Refsnyder struck out once again with a runner on third and less than two outs.   And with Starlin Castro going down with an apparent hamstring injury after lacing a double in the top of the fifth, Refsnyder is going to see plenty more at-bats and needs to be much more productive in these spots if he plans on being a part of the Yankee Youth Movement.


In a game where two-run innings seemed to be the theme of the game, the Red Sox put another two-spot on the Yankees in the bottom of the fifth. After Jackie Bradley Jr. led off the frame with a walk, Bogarts blasted his 20th homer of the season; a two-out, two-run blast into the seats atop the Green Monster that pulled the Sox back to within one, 5-4. The longball would spell the end of Mitchell's afternoon as he was pulled for right-hander Luis Severino.

The Red Sox kept the offensive pressure on, completing their comeback as they tied the game and then took the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Xander Bogarts recorded his third extra base hit of the day. another rocket double to centerfield to leadoff the seventh. Severino was pulled for Tommy Layne, who immediately got David Ortiz to pop out to left, however still advancing Bogarts from second to third. Layne was then pulled for Adam Warren, who proceeded to serve up a ground ball single to Mookie Betts that bounced over the head of Gregorius and into left field, scoring Bogarts and tying the game at five. Hanley Ramirez followed with a sharp single to left, advancing Betts to second base. After a Travis Shaw ground out that advanced both runners up a base, Warren chucked a wild pitch during Sandy Leon's at-bat, scoring Betts from third to give the Red Sox their first lead of the afternoon at 6-5, where it unfortunately would remain for the rest of the game.

The Yankees will try to salvage the fourth and final game against the Red Sox tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 PM/EST and can be seen on ESPN as the Sunday Night Game of the Week.

Who Wants to Talk About Beer?

Fall Selections Highlight Pork Roll Festival Draft Selection


The 2016 Trenton Thunder World Famous Case's Pork Roll Eating Championship will host a wide variety of fun-filled activities, including a corn hole tournament presented by Sonic, and a draft beer selection for the ages when it takes place on Saturday, September 24 from 12-4pm at ARM & HAMMER Park.

The Ultimate Beer Special will allow fans of age to purchase a 12oz cup for $15 and refill the cup for just $1 throughout the festival. The craft selections for the event are:
- Double Nickel IPA (Pennsauken Township, NJ)
- Double Nickel Vienna Lager (Pennsauken Township, NJ)
- Blue Point Oktoberfest (Patchogue, NY)
- Blue Point Pumpkin Ale (Patchogue, NY)
- Brooklyn Oktoberfest (New York, NY)
- Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale (Seattle, WA)
- Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany)
- Shipyard Pumpkinhead (Portland, ME)
- Spatan Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany)
- Strongbow Gold Apple Hard Cider (London, England)
- Victory Festbier (Downingtwon, PA)
In addition to the craft selections, Bud Light (draft and bottles), Budweiser (draft and bottles), and Michelob Ultra (draft) will be available at ARM & HAMMER Park.

For full descriptions of the craft selections and The Ultimate Beer Special, CLICK HERE.

The Trenton Thunder World Famous Case's Pork Roll Eating Championship will take place on Saturday, September 24 from 12-4pm at ARM & HAMMER Park. For tickets and information on the fun and games happening during the festival, visit www.EatPorkRoll.com.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 9/17


Here we go ladies and gentleman, afternoon baseball in historic Fenway Park between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The calendar reads “September” and both teams are in the hunt for the postseason and it just doesn’t get any better than this ladies and gentleman. It doesn’t. In the matchup this afternoon the New York Yankees will send Bryan Mitchell to the mound to face off with David Price for the Red Sox. Rivalry renewed. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Fenway Park and can be seen on FOX.

The Yankees have one more tomorrow in Fenway Park as the team finished their final road trip of the regular season. If they don’t start winning a lot more than they are losing it may be the final road games of the season, period. Follow along and root them on for more road games this season, because that means they made the postseason, along with us by either liking our page on Facebook or by giving our twitter handle @GreedyStripes a follow.

Need a win, get a win stopped working apparently so we are now left with throwing crap against the wall and seeing what sticks. Quick, how fast can you all grow a mustache? I joke, Go Yankees!


Yankees Starting Pitching Options for 2017


I have to say and admit on this Saturday morning that I am a tad bit depressed and down-and-out today for obvious reasons. The Yankees losing that series to the Dodgers in the Bronx hurt, especially after sticking around late in the third game only to throw the game, literally, but not as much as that loss in Boston hurt on Thursday night. I’m far from giving up hope but I have to admit I have been looking ahead a little more, at least in my writing, to the 2017 season than I should including this post which will hopefully showcase the Yankees starting pitching options for next season.

The rotation locks seem to be ace Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia the final year of his contract and Michael Pineda unless he’s traded this offseason leaving New York with two gaping holes or two opportunities for the youth movement to continue and spread, whichever way you want to look at it. Who can fill those slots?

I think Luis Cessa has done enough to convince the Yankees to try him out in the rotation, hasn’t he? I mean as a starter the guy has been great. Sure, Cessa has been a bit too prone to the home run but he has kept the Yankees in every game he has started and only has one loss to his credit coming into the weekend series with Boston. I think Cessa has done enough to warrant at least an extended look in the rotation next season even as a fifth starter leaving a whole lot of options and potentially just one roster spot for all of them to fight over.

Who would fight for that last spot? Chad Green should be healthy and ready to go in spring training while Luis Severino and Bryan Mitchell should also go down to the final weekend of spring training fighting for either a bullpen spot or a starting rotation spot but there are a few names that may sneak up on you between now and March. Names like Chance Adams who will finish the season in Double-A with the Trenton Thunder, James Kaprielian who finished the season on the Triple-A disabled list, Jordan Montgomery who we showcased this morning in the weekly prospects check in, and Dietrich Enns who needs to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft anyway this offseason.

I went out on a limb and predicted that Adams would be the first draft pick from the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft to hit the Major Leagues last year but that was when he was a relief pitcher. Adams has since been converted to a starting pitcher and has done exceptionally well this season with the Tampa Yankees and Trenton Thunder. At just 22-years old Adams may not start the year in the Yankees rotation, he’ll likely start back in Double-A or get the bump to Triple-A, but by about June or July he could be ready to make an impact in a big way for the Yankees.

We touched on Montgomery earlier in our weekly showcase post but I couldn’t make a post about the potential 2017 arms for New York without mentioning him. Montgomery began the season in Double-A with the Trenton Thunder and has ended his season in Triple-A with the RailRiders and combined to pitch to a 2.13 ERA with an 8.7 K/9 ratio in 139.1 innings. Montgomery will likely be back in Triple-A to begin the 2017 season but with injuries and the unknown I won’t be the one to count him out of the running for the last rotation spot next season. He’s that good.

The Yankees have a slew of arms that need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft in 2017 and atop the list may be Dietrich Enns. Enns broke out in a big way last year and while he has continued to pitch exceptionally well in 2017 many scouts believe he is destined to be a spot starter or long reliever in the Major Leagues. The problem is I read those exact same things about Luis Cessa and Chad Green when Brian Cashman traded for them last winter so again, I’m not going to be the one to count him out.

The final arm we can discuss is a name we discussed in full detail at the beginning of the 2016 season, James Kaprielian. Kaprielian was expected to make his MLB debut in 2016 but an elbow injury ended his season prematurely. It is thought that the Yankees will send him to the Arizona Fall League to get some innings in hopes of having him ready for the 2017 season. For that reason alone it seems unlikely that Kaprielian will break camp with the club but if he can make his return in the AFL and pitch lights out in Spring Training he may be driving the Scranton Shuttle in 2017. Just a thought.


So there you have it, spring training 2017 should be fun shouldn’t it? So many serviceable and talented arms and simply not enough rotation spots to fill them all. That’s the best problem to have. I’m not looking ahead though, I still have my eyes on the prize in 2016 but it’s still fun to take a peak around the curtain labeled 2017 every once in a while anyway. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 9/17


The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are back at it again today in the third of their four-game set this weekend inside Fenway Park. What a start to the series we were treated to on Thursday night although Yankees fans everywhere were left shaking their heads at the end of the night. Friday night we watched two young guns go at it head-to-head and today we see a pesky old friend named David Price. Happy, happy. Joy, joy. Or as I like to say; sarcasm, sarcasm. Opposing the Red Sox ace on the mound today for the Yankees will be Bryan Mitchell.

Mitchell will be making his third start of the season this afternoon inside Fenway Park after a great debut followed by some struggles last time out against the Dodgers. Mitchell allowed six runs, although only two of them were earned runs, on eight hits in just 2.1 innings pitched.

Price on the other hand is red hot posting a 7-0 record in his last seven starts with a 2.16 ERA. Price is pushing the Red Sox to the postseason and to an AL East Division title but he will have to improve on his 1-2 record and 7.79 ERA against New York this season to do so.


The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Fenway Park, let’s make sure all the doors are closed this time fellas, and can be seen on FOX. It might also be able to be seen on MLB TV but I doubt it. Blackout rules still confused me, I’ll admit it.  Another thing I’ll admit is despite the season and career statistics the Yankees have against David Price I never feel truly comfortable or confident. We need a win Yankees family, let’s not mince words, so let’s get a win against Price and the Red Sox this afternoon. Go Yankees!

Weekly Prospects Check In: Jordan Montgomery


Jordan Montgomery has made leaps and bounds this season for the New York Yankees and may be knocking on the door to the Bronx as soon as next season because of it. Montgomery has quietly become one of the best starting pitching prospects the Yankees have down in the minor leagues and was last seen starting Game One of the Triple-A Championship series for the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders. Even in the minor leagues and even at an affiliate like Scranton who is fighting for the Governors Cup that has to mean a lot in terms of what the team, the manager and the organization thinks of you, right?


Montgomery has opened some eyes finally and it looks like his season is over after a stellar 2016 campaign. Here is the official stat line for the Yankees stud right-hander. Enjoy and hello Saturday!

YearAgeLevWLERAGGSCGSHOIPHRERHRBBSOWHIPH9HR9BB9SO9
201623AA-AAA1452.13252511139.112239335451341.1997.90.32.98.7
201623AA942.55191911102.1943529536971.2708.30.43.28.5
201623AAA510.97660037.0284409371.0006.80.02.29.0

This Day In New York Yankees History 9/17: The All-Time Hits Leader In Yankee Stadium is Derek Jeter


The final season of the old Yankee Stadium, or better known as the House that Ruth Built, was 2008 before it was demolished and turned into a parking lot for the new Yankee Stadium that we see today. Yankee Stadium had one more milestone in it's blood before being demolished as on this day in 2008 Derek Jeter became the All-Time hits leader in Yankee Stadium. Jeter passes Lou Gehrig with a first inning single in a 6-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. Jeter would accomplish the feat with his 1,270th hit in the 85 year old ballpark in the Bronx.

Also on this day in 1977 Yankees DH Dave Kingman became the first player to hit a home run for four different teams in one season. The veteran would have a total of 26 home runs that season including nine for the Mets, eleven for the Padres, two for the Angels, and four for the Yankees.