Thursday, June 28, 2018

OFF DAY Walk-Up Music Recommendation



Off day! Much needed and well-deserved if you ask me for the boys in pinstripes. This gives the left arm of Aroldis Chapman a day to rest, the groin of Gary Sanchez a day to heal, and the bat of Gleyber Torres to cool down before it literally catches fire. The MLB schedule makers, with the help of Mother Nature, were not kind to the Yankees in June so a day to rest and prepare before the Red Sox come to town is likely just what the doctor ordered.

With the day off today let’s take a quick listen to the song that plays inside those Yankee Stadium speakers every time one of my personal favorite Yankees comes up to the plate, Greg Bird.

The name of the song is “20 Min” and the artist’s name is Lil Uzi Vert. I have to admit I have never heard of this song or this artist, so this will be a learning experience for me as well. Enjoy.


Hypothetical: Scranton RailRiders vs. New York Mets – Who Wins?



Hypothetical, but serious question. If the New York Mets were to play the Scranton-Wilkes Barre RailRiders in a seven-game series who do you think would win the series? Let’s analyze and discuss.


RailRiders 25-Man Roster:

C: Kyle Higashioka
1B: Tyler Austin
2B: Tyler Wade
SS: Thairo Estrada
3B: Brandon Drury
LF: Billy McKinney
CF: Shane Robinson
RF: Clint Frazier
DH: Mike Ford

BN: Wilkin Castillo
BN: L.J. Mazilli
BN: Ronald Torreyes
BN: Mark Payton

SP: Justus Sheffield
SP: Chance Adams
SP: Erik Swanson
SP: Josh Rogers
SP: Brady Lail

CL: Cody Carroll
RP: David Hale
RP: Tommy Kahnle
RP: J.P. Feyereisen
RP: Giovanny Gallegos
RP: Nestor Cortes
RP: Daniel Camarena  Oliver Perez

BOLDED players are currently on the Yankees 40-man roster




Mets 25-Man Roster:

C: Devin Mesoraco
1B: Wilmer Flores
2B: Asdrubal Cabrera
SS: Amed Rosario
3B: Todd Frazier
LF: Yoenis Cespedes
CF: Michael Conforto
RF: Jay Bruce
DH: Dominic Smith

BN: Brandon Nimmo
BN: Jose Reyes
BN: Kevin Plawecki
BN: Jose Bautista

SP: Jacob deGrom
SP: Noah Syndergaard
SP: Steven Matz
SP: Jason Vargas
SP: Zack Wheeler

CL: Jeurys Familia
RP: Jerry Blevins
RP: Anthony Swarzak
RP: Robert Gsellman
RP: Chris Beck
RP: Tim Peterson
RP: Drew Smith




Game 1

Jacob deGrom vs. Justus Sheffield

If the RailRiders were going to steal a game in this series I truly think it would be in Game One behind Justus Sheffield. The Mets would undoubtedly come into the series confident and would possibly overlook the Yankees Triple-A affiliate, so just because I am going to give Scranton the victory and the early 1-0 series victory.

Scranton leads series 1-0



Game 2

Noah Syndergaard vs. Chance Adams

Chance Adams has struggled throughout much of his Triple-A career with his command and control and that will be the key reason why Scranton will fall in Game Two. Syndergaard is a tough pitcher to give a lead to, but that is exactly what Chance would do presumably under the bright lights and in front of all the eyes watching on this big stage.

Series even 1-1




Game 3

Steven Matz vs. Erik Swanson

Erik Swanson has taken many by surprise this season with his great pitching. Swanson has seemingly come out of nowhere this season and has broken out leading the RailRiders to victory after victory, a trend that will continue tonight in Game Three. Swanson was dominant and Matz made that one mistake to Clint Frazier that cost the team the victory in the middle innings.

Scranton leads the series 2-1



Game 4

Jason Vargas vs. Josh Rogers

To be completely honest I had to Google who the Mets 4th starter was, that’s how unimpressed with that other team from New York I am. Rogers has pitched well in Triple-A, but many wonder if his stuff will translate well into the Majors as a starter. Vargas did just enough to win behind a strong night from Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes to even the series.

Series tied 2-2




Game 5

Jacob deGrom vs. Justus Sheffield

Sheffield cannot beat deGrom twice in a row, can he? Unfortunately, I have to say no. The RailRiders may have caught deGrom and the Mets by surprise in the first start, but I cannot see lightning striking twice. deGrom comes out with a victory and a bit of retribution.

Mets lead series 3-2



Game 6

Noah Syndergaard vs. Chance Adams

Chance Adams had a much better game in Game Six while Syndergaard matched him zero for zero late into the contest. Partly because we haven’t mentioned him yet, and partly because I want to see a seventh game in this hypothetical series, Brandon Drury comes up with the big home run late to send the series to a deciding and final game. RailRiders win.

Series tied 3-3



Game 7

Steven Matz vs. Erik Swanson

You didn’t really think I was going to let the New York Mets win, did you? Hell no. 13 runs later and another dominating performance by Erik Swanson later and the Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders have just beaten the New York Mets in a seven-game series. How embarrassing.




Rosters are all assuming health and is all hypothetical. This post was written in fun, take it that way and enjoy.

Predicting the 2018 Trade Deadline: Manny Machado



The Baltimore Orioles are not going anywhere here in 2018 and the team will undoubtedly be sellers before the July 31st trade deadline. The team will move veteran and expensive pieces as well as expiring contracts like the contracts of Zach Britton and Manny Machado. While we will undoubtedly talk about Britton before the end of the trade deadline, today is not his day. Today we will take advantage of the Yankees off-day and talk about the destination that Manny Machado is destined to visit before the deadline. Here’s a hint, the Yankees just beat up on them inside Citizens Bank Park this week.

The Philadelphia Phillies owner John S. Middleton has been very aggressive over the last calendar year and has vowed to continue being aggressive if the team is ready to compete here in 2018. The Phillies have plenty of money to spend, a young core to build around, and a good farm system to go out and get the players they feel they need to in order to bridge the gap. Middleton has been very open about the possibility of acquiring Machado for the pennant chase not only here this season but has also shown a huge willingness to keep Machado beyond the 2018 campaign as well. This seems like the perfect fit for the Orioles and the Phillies to make a deal.

It is the perfect storm for both sides as Baltimore kickstarts their rebuild while adding some top notch prospects to the farm system while the Phillies add one of the best shortstops in the game to a young team in the middle of a pennant chase. Machado will undoubtedly test the free agent market after the season, but you would have to think that the Phillies would have the leg up on other teams after Machado got to know the stadium, the fans, the players in Philadelphia, and the atmosphere surrounding it all.

The Phillies owner is dedicated to this rebuild and to building the team back up to the glory where it was back in the mid-to-late 2000’s. Machado is a huge piece to that puzzle potentially and I truly think at the end of the day the current Orioles shortstop will be manning the position in Philadelphia by season’s end.

July 2nd International Free Agent Signing Period Coming Soon…



Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog, and welcome to an off day. If it feels like the Yankees have been playing almost every single day during the month of June there is probably a good reason for it, because they have. Mother Nature has not been kind to the Bombers, but hopefully the trouble with the weather is behind the team and it will be nothing but sunny, and Sonny, skies from here on out.  

With the off day today, I wanted to take a look at the upcoming class of international free agents that are set to hit the market when the new signing period begins on July 2nd. The Yankees have an allocated IFA budget of $4,983,500 which was passed down from the league and are expected to be involved with many of the top international free agents on the market. Remember, a team can trade for up to 75% of their total allotment in trades in $250,000 increments meaning the Yankees could position themselves to have as much as $8,721,125 to spend on the international market this season.  

The Yankees already have verbal commitments with and are expected to sign Dominican outfielder Kevin Alcantara (10th best prospect) and Cuban right-handed starter Denny Larrondo (29th best prospect) while the team has also been linked to Dominican catchers Antonio Gomez (11th best prospect) and Agustin Ramirez (unranked by Baseball America and MLB.com).  

Here are MLB.com’s scouting reports on Alcantara and Larrondo:  

Alcantara has above-average speed — he’s been clocked consistently in the 6.4-6.6 second range in the 60-yard timed run — and it shows up on both sides of the ball. Alcantara is also a gamer. He performs well at the plate in a live setting and projects to hit for more power in the future. Scouts also rave about his good bat speed and high contact ratio. He hits the ball hard and often tops the 100-mph mark in exit velocity. 


Overall, Larrondo is an elite athlete with a projectable body and a quick arm. He has tight spin on his emerging curveball, his second-best pitch. The teenager is an aggressive strike-thrower with a working changeup that is expected to improve once he signs with a team and receives daily instruction in a club’s academy … The right-hander has touched 94 mph with his fastball and usually sits in the 91-to-92 mph range. 

Alcantara will turn 16 on July 12th, so he won’t be eligible to sign until then, while Larrondo and Gomez have already turned 16 making them eligible to sign when international signings open up on July 2nd.  

Hello… Poop In Your Pants?



Good morning Yankees family. What is a better way to start off a Thursday morning and a Yankees off day than to talk about some poop. No, I am serious. This is an interesting article and read that I heard about first while visiting Yahoo Sports and it involves Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Archie Bradley and the time that he pooped his pants before entering a MLB game.

He can tell the story better than I can so here is the story from Bradley to Yahoo Sports:

“I’ll just tell it. It was actually this year. I was warming up to go in a game. I knew I had the next hitter. I knew he was on deck. The at-bat was kinda taking a little bit, and as a bullpen guy in these big situations, I call ’em nervous pees. I don’t have to pee a lot, but I know I have to pee before I go in the game. I can’t believe I’m telling you this.

It’s a 2-2 count, and I’m like, ‘Man, I have to pee. I have to go pee.’ So, I run in our bathroom real quick, I’m ready to go. I’m trying to pee and I actually (expletive) my pants. Like, right before I’m about to go in the game, I pooped my pants. I’m like ‘Oh my gosh,’ like I know I’m a pitch away from going in the game, so I’m scrambling to clean myself up. I get it cleaned up the best I can, button my pants up, and our bullpen coach Mike Fetters says, ‘Hey, you’re in the game.’

“So, I’m jogging into the game to pitch with poop in my pants essentially… I did check the mirror. White pants, we’re at home. I actually told my teammates. I stepped out of the bathroom, ‘Hey, am I OK? I just (expletive) myself. I’m about to go in this game.’ They didn’t believe me until they, unfortunately, saw the mess in the bathroom because I didn’t have time. I had to go in the game.

“It was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been on the mound. And I actually had a good inning. I had a clean inning, and I walked in the dugout and I was like, ‘Guys, I just (expletive) myself.’ They didn’t believe me, and then the bullpen came in and they’re like ‘Oh my god, you have to see this.’ … I just felt awkward, uncomfortable and just gross.”


Baby, that is totally our kid in the future. I love you!!

This Day in New York Yankees History 6/28: Mariano Rivera's 500th Save

On this day in 2009 the great Mariano Rivera joined Trevor Hoffman in the 500 career saves club. The Yankees would beat the New York Mets 4-2 in Citi Field while Rivera got the save and his first and only RBI of his career with a bases loaded walk.

Also on this day in 1949 Joe DiMaggio finally came off the disabled list for the Yankees after missing the first 69 games of the season with a heel injury. Joe D would hit four home runs in a three game sweep of the Boston Red Sox fresh out of the box.

Also on this day in 1939 the New York Yankees established the major league record for most home runs hit in a game in a doubleheader with a total of 13. The Yankees would sweep the Philadelphia Athletics on this day by beating the A's 23-2 in game one with eight home runs and 10-0 off five home runs in game two.

Finally on this day in 1907 the Yankees had a catcher that gave up 13 stolen bases in one game, none other than Branch Rickey. While he was not a great catcher he was the man that brought Jackie Robinson to the game so he gets a pass in my book.