Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 7/11



And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. In the finale of this four-game set the Yankees will send out troubled right-hander Sonny Gray to face off with fellow righty Dylan Bundy for the Orioles. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app, and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the team all season long. Enjoy the game, Sonny skies are upon us, and go Yankees!!



The 2018 Trade Deadline & The 2019 Rule 5 Draft



A lot of people may think I am looking ahead just a bit when I begin discussing the Rule 5 Draft that will not occur until sometime in December, after the 2018 regular season, but that couldn’t be the furthest thing from the case. In fact, I bet you that Brian Cashman, the Yankees general manager, also has his eye on the Rule 5 Draft when discussing potential trades for prospects at the July 31st trading deadline. The Yankees have a nice collection of prospects that will need to be protected this winter or that will be made available for anyone and their mother to select in the draft, so it might be imperative to look at trading a few of these guys now, if possible, to get something for them now rather than essentially and potentially nothing for them later.

Here is the list of players that will need to be protected after the season. Now while this is not a 100% complete list, I have hit the high notes and put down the most notable who need protection.


LHP Justus Sheffield
RHP Dillon Tate
RHP Chance Adams
RHP Cody Carroll
LHP Josh Rogers
LHP Stephen Tarpley
RHP Juan De Paula
3B/1B Dermis Garcia
C Donny Sands
INF Kyle Holder


The only person on this list who is untouchable in my eyes is Justus Sheffield. No, I would not trade him for Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard. No, I would not trade him for Madison Bumgarner. In fact, I am perfectly fine with adding him to the 40-man roster and calling him up on August 1st much like the Yankees did with Luis Severino back in 2015, I feel that confident in his abilities. The rest of the list is expendable and trade bait in my opinion. I don’t believe that anyone would take Donny Sands or Dermis Garcia if the Rule 5 Draft were to go down today, but clearly a lot can change between now and December. I also have my doubts that anyone would take and be willing to give Dillon Tate a year on their MLB roster as well, but weirder things have happened in this game.

Adding Triple-A experienced and close to MLB ready caliber starting pitching like Josh Rogers and Chance Adams to a deal could make or break a blockbuster, while having a late inning reliever like Cody Carroll could also look useful to a team who is looking to rebuild, like the New York Mets or the San Diego Padres. Stephen Tarpley, originally acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Ivan Nova deal, and Juan De Paula, acquired in the Ben Gamel deal with the Seattle Mariners, could also be sold as potential options in the future for any team who has a couple years of rebuilding ahead of them.


Kyle Holder, while not a sexy name now, was considered Major League ready defensively when the Yankees drafted him, but he had some catching up to do offensively after fully committing himself to baseball. Holder could conceivably be a defensive replacement, pinch runner, and bench piece for a National League team today, and he could be especially attractive to a team that thinks they can wait out his development with the bat.


Now, keep in mind that none of these guys alone will net the Yankees that ace starting pitcher that everyone seems to want. Sheffield could, albeit not alone, but none of these other players could headline a blockbuster deal. If, and when, these players are traded they will be as a part of a package for a player in my opinion, so keep that in mind when tempering expectations this summer.

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles 7/11



In the fourth and final game of this four-game set this week in Baltimore the Orioles will play host once again to the New York Yankees. Happy Sonny Gray Day. I’m sorry but for some reason I just feel confident about this start, I can’t put my finger on it as to why, but I do. In the start tonight the Yankees will send Sonny Gray to the mound to face off with Dylan Bundy for the Orioles. Let’s get to it here in Baltimore.

Gray has lost three straight starts which has lead Yankees pitching coach Larry Rothschild to work with the right-hander on his mechanics in between starts. Over his last three starts against the Rays, Red Sox and Blue Jays the Yankees righty has allowed 15 runs and 19 hits in 11 innings pitched combined for an astronomical 12.27 ERA.


Bundy will make his second start since coming off the disabled list tonight after allowing six runs in 3.3 innings against the Minnesota Twins in his first start. Prior to heading to the DL the Orioles right-hander was 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA in four June starts.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Oriole Park and Camden Yards and can be seen on the YES Network. You can also follow along with the game on MLB TV, with the MLB At-Bat app, and by tuning into the Yankees radio broadcast on WFAN with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.


Enjoy the game, leave Buck Showalter with a box of Kleenex for his tears, and go Yankees!!

Hello… Sonny Gray’s Final Chance



Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. Guess what day it is… guess what day it is… it’s Sonny Gray Day!!! I’m more excited for hump day if I am being honest, but that time has come again where Sonny Gray gets to take the mound for the New York Yankees. Now, I know that makes some people’s breakfast and coffee want to come back up, but I am not one of those people. I predicted that Gray would be the ace of the team before the season in my bold predictions post and while that couldn’t be further from the truth, I do truly believe that he still has time to turn it all around. How can I be so confident?

Remember the 1998 Yankees that won 114 games en route to the World Series? That team was dominant, much more dominant than this 2018 version of the team, but even that team had its flaws. Enter Hideki Irabu in his second season with the Yankees. Irabu pitched to a 4.06 ERA that season with more than a few clunkers along the way including a five start stretch in late August and into September that saw the right-hander give up seven, four, eight, six and five runs respectively in consecutive starts. Ouch.

I am not expecting this team to be the 1998 team, but I am still expecting a World Series championship out of this team. If the 1998 team and Irabu can do it, so can the 2018 Yankees and Sonny Gray. And if he doesn’t, especially tonight against the Baltimore Orioles, the worst team in the Major Leagues here in 2018, then this may be the last time we see Gray starting for the Yankees for a while. The Yankees weren’t afraid to send Luis Severino to the bullpen to gain his confidence back and figure it out, and they shouldn’t be afraid to do it with Sonny Gray either.

Sonny Gray’s final chance tonight, and you are my final love. My everything. I love you Kari.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/12: Denny Neagle


The New York Yankees had an absolutely loaded pitching staff in the late 90's and early 2000's but it was the off the radar type deals that really put New York over the edge and into the World Series in 2000 against the New York Mets. Deals like the Yankees made on this day in 2000 where Denny Neagle (8-2, 3.52 ERA) and outfielder Mike Frank were to sent to the Yankees and Drew Henson, Jackson Melian, Brian Reith, and Ed Yarnall (basically nobody) was sent to Cincinnati in return.

Also on this day in 1989 Major League Baseball lost another great arm as Louisiana Lightning Ron Guidry called it a career. Guidry finishes with a 170-91 record and a 3.29 ERA during his 14 year career, all with the Yankees. Guidry won the 1978 American League Cy Young Award unanimously after posting a 25-3 record with a 1.74 ERA. Incredible.