Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 4/25


Game time and rivalry renewed ladies and gentleman as the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox play their first series of the 2017 season tonight inside Fenway Park. The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound to start the series opener while the Red Sox will counter with Rick Porcello. The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET inside Fenway Park and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV while you can also follow along on WFAN.


Follow along and interact with us on Twitter all season long by giving @GreedyStripes a follow. As always, Go Yankees!

USA Today’s Weekly MLB Power Rankings


Another week down in this 2017 Major League Baseball season and another week of MLB Power Rankings brought to you here from the USA Today Sports publication. I just like the USA Today and I really can’t describe why. Their work is non-bias, or as close as you can get in my opinion, and they really put in the work and the research. You can always spot a place that puts stuff out there for views and you can also see a spot that takes pride in their work and the USA Today is definitely the latter and not the former. With that I once again bring you their weekly power rankings and, spoiler alert, once again it was a good week for the New York Yankees.

Last week the New York Yankees were the biggest risers in the league according to the rankings and they kept on rising this week as well climbing three spots from the #11 spot into the Top 10 with the 8th overall position. This week the biggest rise went to the St. Louis Cardinals who rose eight spots to the #15 spot while the Minnesota Twins were the biggest fall of the week falling 11 spots all the way down to the #26 position. Ouch.

The Top Five teams in the league according to the rankings are the Washington Nationals who unseated the now #2 ranked Chicago Cubs while the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians followed in descending order. The five worst teams in the league according to the rankings are the Minnesota Twins at #26, the Toronto Blue Jays, the Chicago White Sox, the San Diego Padres and the #30 ranked Atlanta Braves. Again, ouch.

The more these rankings go on the larger the sample size gets and the truer and clearer the picture that is depicted gets. To see the Yankees continue to climb really excites me and just cements to me what I have been saying since the offseason and since spring training, that this team can surprise people this season. And they have. And they will continue to. Bet.


Good Things Happen To Those Who Wait...



Unfortunately, the Boston Red Sox have announced tonight's game at Fenway Park against the beloved New York Yankees has been postponed.  It will be made up as part of a double-header on July 16th.  Let's hope for more cooperative weather tomorrow!

On a side note, the group headed by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Yankees Legend Derek Jeter has won the auction for the purchase of the Miami Marlins according to Bloomberg (quoting an unnamed source).  No details on the purchase price.  I guess Marlins manager Don Mattingly now has to call him Mr Jeter...

Quick Hit: Most Popular Jersey Sales & Gary Sanchez


The most popular jersey’s to be sold in Major League Baseball have been released from the league recently and the New York Yankees have a player in the Top 10. In less than a year Gary Sanchez has gone from a prospect to the leader of the Yankees which has equated to his #24 jersey being the ninth most popular jersey sold in all of Major League Baseball and the highest selling jersey in all of the American League. Congratulations to him.

Here is the complete Top 10 List:

Corey Seager, Dodgers

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 4/25


For the first time in this 2017 Major League Baseball season one of the game’s biggest rivalry kicks off for another season. It’s good old fashioned hate as the New York Yankees make the trip to Bean Town to take on their American League East division rivals in the Boston Red Sox inside historic Fenway Park. The water boy and the bat boy could be the pitching matchup for the evening and these games would still be entertaining but tonight we have a pretty nice pitching matchup as the Yankees send the future of their rotation to the mound in Luis Severino while the Red Sox counter with last year’s American League Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello. Let’s get to it.




Severino has pitched much better as of late including an 11 strikeout performance two starts ago followed up by eight innings and 10 strikeouts in his last start against the Chicago White Sox. Severino did not earn the win in those eight innings but he did keep the Yankees in the game all night long which has to be a confidence builder for him after not notching a victory at all as a starter in 2016.



Porcello’s season has not started out as well as his 2016 campaign and it seems like the right-hander is struggling for any sort of consistency. Porcello notched a victory in his first start before losing each of his next two starts followed by another victory in his last start. In the start against Toronto the 2016 AL Cy Young Award winner gave up three unearned runs on six hits. Will the Yankees get the losing version or the winning version of Porcello tonight? Who knows? Not even Porcello, probably.





The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET inside Fenway Park and can be seen on the YES Network in New York, NESN in Boston, MLB Network nationally and on MLB TV wherever you and your device are. You can also follow along on the radio by giving John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman a listen on WFAN.


Rivalry renewed. Go Yankees!

Resumption of Baseball's Greatest Rivalry...

Credit:  Bain News Service/Library of Congress

As the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox get set to begin the latest chapter in their long, intense rivalry, I thought I’d look back.  The first official game pitting the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox occurred on April 14, 1913 at Fenway Park in Boston.  The Yankees organization began play in the American League in 1901 but they were known as the Baltimore Orioles (no relation).  After two years, the team ceased operations and was purchased by Frank Farrell and Bill Devery.  The new owners moved the franchise to New York, and gave the team the nickname of the Highlanders.  Although they would affectionately become known as the Yankees in subsequent years, the name was not officially changed until 1913.    

Similarly, the Red Sox went through several  name changes from the time of their inception (also in 1901).  They were known as the Boston Red Stockings and the Boston Americans before the name was changed to the Red Sox following the 1907 season.

So, although the two organizations have duked it out since 1901, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, by those names, didn’t officially begin until 1913.  

Sadly, the Boston won the first Yankees-Red Sox game, 2-1, behind the four-hit pitching of Smoky Joe Wood.  He struck out nine batters while pitching a complete game (but didn't they all back then).  The Yankees starter, Ray Caldwell, also went the distance, giving up eight hits and two runs.  The Red Sox scored the winning two runs on a double by left fielder Duffy Lewis.

For the inaugural game, the Yankees lineup featured the following players:

  • Bert Daniels, RF
  • Harry Wolter, CF
  • Roy Hartzell, 3B
  • Birdie Cree, LF
  • Hal Chase, 2B
  • Dutch Sterrett, 1B
  • Jeff Sweeney, C
  • Ralph Young, SS
  • Ray Caldwell, P

Of the names, Hal Chase is the one that stands out to me.  “Prince Hal” was primarily a first baseman and is credited with being the first star of the Highlanders/Yankees.  Babe Ruth considered him to be the best first baseman ever, but that was obviously before the days of Lou Gehrig.  Despite his excellent reputation as a baseball player (he was a smooth fielder), his name was tied with corruption for alleged involvement in gambling on baseball games and suspicious play in order to throw games.  Chase would be traded to the Chicago White Sox on June 1, 1913 for Babe Borton and Rollie Zeider.



It’s a sad tale in the long, storied history of the Yankees franchise.  As late sportswriter Fred Lieb said in describing Chase, “What a waste of skill and artistry.  He could think and move like a flash. Nature fitted him out to be a superstar.  But alas!  As Jim Price (then sports editor for The New York Press) told me in 1911, ‘He was born with a corkscrew brain’”.  It’s unfortunate that Chase went down that path.  He could have ensured a place in Cooperstown with his play, but his actions prevented entry to the Hall of Fame.  He was remorseful in later years, but no one really knows how many games were lost because of his deceit. 

New York would win the next day (April 15, 1913) against the Red Sox, 3-2, behind the pitching of Ray Keating for their first Yankees victory in the passionate rivalry.    

The Yankees had entered the 1913 season as a team with promise.  They were led by well known player/manager Frank Chance, but for various reasons and probably most importantly the games thrown by Chase, the Yankees finished seventh in the American League with a 57-94 record.  They escaped the cellar by one game over the St Louis Browns.  Chance would later manage the Red Sox for a single season in 1923. 

If we go back to the first ever game between the two franchises, the Baltimore Orioles beat the Boston Americans, 10-6, on April 26, 1901.  In 1901, Boston was a two-team city.  The National League team was known as the Boston Beaneaters.  I am sure that all of us have coined various nicknames on Boston over the years, but it would be hard to take any team seriously called the “Beaneaters”.  I guess I wouldn’t want to follow them.

Since those early games, the Yankees have compiled a 1169-973 against the Red Sox.  Their biggest victory occurred on June 19, 2000 when the Yankees pounded the Red Sox, 22-1 (scoring 16 runs in the final two innings, capped with a three run homer by Scott Brosius).  Currently, the Yankees have a three game winning streak against the Red Sox, thanks to a three-game sweep late last September.

In the all-important category, the Yankees lead the Red Sox in World Series championships, 27-7.

For the three game series in Boston, the pitching match-ups will be:

  • Today:  Luis Severino (1-1) versus AL Cy Young winner Rick Porcello (1-2)
  • Wednesday:  Masahiro Tanaka (2-1) versus Boston ace Chris Sale (1-1)
  • Thursday:  CC Sabathia (2-1) versus Drew Pomeranz (1-1)

The only ex-Yankee we will see this series is former Yankees fourth outfielder Chris Young.  The former BoSox players on the Yankees roster are reliever Tommy Layne center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.  Austin Romine's dad, Kevin, is a former Red Sox outfielder.  

Of all the Yankees rivalries, there’s no doubt I enjoy Yankees-Red Sox the most.  It’s funny… I hate them the most, yet I prefer them over the Baltimore Orioles (modern version), Toronto Blue Jays, and Tampa Bay Rays.  I’m sure that doesn’t make any sense.  The Red Sox are a team that I love to hate, but my respect for the team and the organization has always been strong.  When the Yankees win by beating good Red Sox teams, it makes winning that much sweeter.  Somehow, when the Yankees are winning  and the Red Sox are not, it’s just not the same.  One of my favorite quotes is ‘to be the best, you have to beat the best’. 



Have a great Tuesday!  Let’s get this three game series started right!  Sevy, dominate the night!

Help Wanted: Game Recaps & Writers Needed


First of all I want to congratulate once again my friend and former colleague Benny Tomko on his promotion from The Greedy Pinstripes to Elite Sports New York. Those guys run a tight ship and a great publication over there and I couldn't be prouder when one of my guys or girls takes the next step in their writing goals and careers. Congrats again to Benny and as happy as I am for him because of the awesome job that he did it leaves a spot here on The Greedy Pinstripes. Help wanted ladies and gentleman, help wanted indeed.

We are looking for someone to write game recaps and whatever other content they feel like they can and will contribute. This is not a paying position, I don't make a penny off the site myself, but as you can see this can be the first step in your journey towards MLB Network and/or the YES Network (because eff ESPN).

Shoot me a tweet @GreedyStripes, send me an email at TheGreedyPinstripes at gmail.com or simply leave a comment here on the comments section of the post to apply. Thank you in advance

So it Seems the Crap Talking Has Begun


So as you guys may or may not know I have gone pretty quiet on most fronts. I don’t post on the blog nearly as much as I want to or as much as I used to but I also haven’t been commenting either. My life has just gotten crazy busy and it gets crazier and crazier every time I turn around so it’s nothing against you guys and I hope that everyone reading this understands. One thing that I have also cut out of my life is social media. I barely post on Twitter anymore and I have all but forgotten about Facebook but for some odd reason yesterday morning I decided to check out what I was missing… and I was quickly reminded of why I got off the social media platform.

The crap talking has already begun. My timeline was full of what people had for dinner, what my friends kids were doing, this person was sick, that person started a new relationship and there was this one absolutely stunning woman who posted this hilarious video about how the Starbucks new Unicorn Frappucino tasted like, and I quote, “dog sh*t.” What else I saw on the timeline was Red Sox fans, Yankees fans and Mets fans going at it on the Greedy Pinstripes Facebook page.

The Yankees had a “better record than the Muts” and the “Red Sux” better be scared and yada yada yada. Come on guys. It’s April. Talk like that in October. Get it together, you’re all better than that. Except for the Mets fans because the Mets suck! You have to at least appreciate witty sarcasm when it’s done right, no?


Have a great day everyone. 

This Day in New York Yankees History 4/25: Joe DiMaggio in Monument Park


On this day in 1999 the New York Yankees unveiled their fifth monument in Monument Park when a plaque honoring Joe DiMaggio was placed there. Joe D died the month prior at age 84 and joined Miller Huggins, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle in Monument Park.


Also on this day in 1933 the benches cleared at Griffith Stadium between the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators. Yankee outfielder Ben Chapman spikes Buddy Myer and then responds by punching the Senators Jewish second baseman and hurling anti-Semitic remarks at the injured infielder. This was an ugly brawl that lasted 20 minutes and spread into the stands with over 300 fans getting into the action. Suspensions and fines followed for the player’s involvement.


Also on this day in 1933 Yankees rookie pitcher Russ Van Atta goes 4-4 and shuts out the Washington Senators 16-0 in his Major League debut. Kid seems like a keeper to me.



Finally on this day in 1904 Jack Chesbro and the New York Highlanders hand the Washington Senators their eight straight loss, making the Sens 0-8 to start the season, when New York won 4-1. Chesbro picked up his first of his record 41 wins he will get that season. Insane by today's standards.