Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Atlanta Braves 3/31

Uh oh ladies and gentleman but I think we just had the return of the game thread here on the blog. These are exciting times as we finish off the exhibition season and begin the real season on Sunday. Tonight the Atlanta Braves break in their newly built SunTrust Park with an exhibition game against the New York Yankees. This should be fun, these games always are. The Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound for his final spring tune-up before the regular season while the Braves will counter with the ageless one Bartolo Colon.

Pineda has not faced this group of Braves much as the Atlanta offense has a whopping 11 at-bats against the right-hander combined during his career. Pineda is entering a contract season though in 2017 and we as Yankees fans may be in for a treat as we watch him throw this season for no other reason than that. Players tend to do better in their contract seasons, period, so maybe this will be the season Pineda finally puts it all together. Only time will tell.

Colon on the other hand has seen this Yankees offense quite a bit as he has bounced around the league during his career to varying degrees of results. Starlin Castro, Jacoby Ellsbury, Matt Holliday and Gary Sanchez have all hit above .300 against Colon albeit in small sample sizes, especially the sample size for the Yankees catcher. Like Pineda though none of these stats matter once the bright lights go on and the game gets started so let’s get to it.

The game will be played at 7:35 pm ET inside SunTrust Park in Atlanta and can be seen on the YES Network locally in New York, Fox Sports South in the Atlanta area and MLB Network if you’re out of either market. Enjoy and Go Yankees!

SunTrust Park Could Change the League

The New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves play an exhibition game tonight in Atlanta down at the newly built SunTrust Park. While I tried my best to get tickets to the game they kept their tickets, which were only made available to season ticket holders, tight to their chests this time around. Since I can’t be there tonight in person I figured I would talk about all the things I’ve read about SunTrust Park as I think it could change the way stadiums are built for the foreseeable future in the league. Or maybe I’m just looking too far into things as I tend to do sometimes. Either way come with me.

The Braves purchased “The Battery Atlanta” which is a 60-acre complex that will house the $622 million ballpark but that’s not all that will be there. There are restaurants, retail shops, residential areas, a concert hall and even a four-star hotel in the development as the Braves look to be a one-stop shop for all your needs when you come out to the ballpark. That I thought was interesting maybe more so than the green seats, the brick walls and the throwback feel the stadium brings to metro-Atlanta.

Now while the Braves aren’t the first organization to bring shops, eateries and living quarters in and around the ballpark they may have been the ones to do it the best. St. Louis, Boston and the Los Angeles based teams also have these accommodations but, and maybe I am just bias as a metro-Atlanta resident, it just feels like the Braves did it better. The Braves fans have always said that they absolutely loved Turner Field as there was an absolute ton to see and do inside the Stadium, and I would agree as I have been there more times than I can count now, but the outside of the stadium just always seemed… I don’t know… blah? Borderline dangerous maybe? I’ve seen one fan call the outside of Atlanta’s Turner Field “Bosnia, Georgia” before if that tells you anything but this new stadium just seems… I’m at a loss for a fancy vocabulary word here so I’ll just keep it simple and say “better.”

So I look forward to seeing the new stadium tonight on television and I truly look forward to seeing it live and in person with my children and that special someone in my life. As always. Enjoy the game tonight everyone.

So it Seems the Yankees Came Down to Georgia

Good morning everyone and Happy Friday to you all. The weekends aren’t as amazing as they used to be in my world, because reasons, but one day they will be again. Life has a funny way of working things out and the world has a way of letting you figure things out when you’re ready so I just remain patient and hopeful. While I pass the time while the world and life takes their sweet time trying to jump start this s*** I think I’ll watch a Yankees game tonight because New York is coming down to Georgia tonight to take on the Atlanta Braves.

I think the official blogger/journalist/news reporter/professional writer/displaced fan term for when your favorite team who only comes down to your new home town once every three or four years is “yay” but you guys can correct me if I’m wrong on that one. Until then, yay!!!!

YES Network Returns to Comcast, Finally

Yankees fans who have Comcast, don’t fret. The return is coming and it’s coming on March 31, 2017 as the YES Network makes its triumphant return to Comcast customers after missing the entire 2016 season. Conveniently the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves will play their exhibition game to open up newly built SunTrust Park in Atlanta on that day, or maybe not so conveniently.

Yankees Opening Day baseball will come on April 2 against the Tampa Bay Rays and can also be seen on YES at 1:10 pm ET. In face the first two weeks of baseball will all be on YES so Comcast customers get ready, the Yankees are finally coming back into your homes. It’s been too long. 

Atlanta Braves to Open SunTrust Park Against the Yankees

As a displaced Yankees fan living in Metro Atlanta, Georgia and as a Yankees fan that loves and misses his team like no other I only have one word to describe what I am just about to tell you. Hallelujah.

The New York Yankees are still very much in the playoff race in 2016 and presumably have not even thought about next month, let alone next year, but that hasn’t stopped the organization from making plans for the 2017 season. See the Atlanta Braves are opening a new stadium in 2017 called SunTrust Park and the team will open up and unveil the new stadium in an exhibition game at the end of spring training against none other than the Bronx Bombers.

The Braves say this game will only be available to season ticket holders but I say if I check StubHub and Ticket Monster enough I think I’ll find a pair of seats. The game will take place on March 31, 2017 and frankly I absolutely cannot wait. I’ll be there or you all have permission to take my Yankees fan card and burn it.

What great news this is! Awesome. 

New York Yankees Spring Training Open Thread 4/1

So what happened down at Yankees spring training camp today? Let's get caught back up!



CC Sabathia was officially named the team's 5th starter. His contract told us that.

Andrew Miller has been cleared to pitch through his wrist fracture in his non-throwing hand.

More to come after the Marlins and Yankees game that is set to kick off here in about 10 minutes.

Yankees ST: New York Yankees @ Miami Marlins 4/1

As the calendar turns to April, as we try and fend off April Fools Jokes and as the Yankees play their penultimate game in their spring training schedule today we reminisce. Robert Refsnyder has gone down and so has Aaron Judge, Jorge Mateo, Gary Sanchez and other top Yankees prospects but one constant has been today's starter for New York, Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi's final tuneup before the season comes today inside Marlins Park in the first of a two-game exhibition between the two clubs. Opposing Eovaldi tonight will be Jose Fernandez, the Marlins ace.

The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET and for whatever reason no major, national or local media outlet has picked up the game. That sucks. Enjoy and go Yankees!

Tampa Bay Rays Will Visit Cuba on March 22nd

The Tampa Bay Rays, along with a little help from President Barack Obama, will visit the native land of Cuba later this month to play the first exhibition MLB game on the countries soil in quite some time. Major League Baseball has announced that the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team will play an exhibition game between the two teams on March 22, 2016 inside the historic Estadio Latinamericano in Havana, Cuba.

The last time an MLB team was in Cuba was 1999 when the Baltimore Orioles took on the Cuban national team in Havana. This meeting will mark the first between the two countries since the U.S and Cuba announced plans to normalize relations between each other.

This is a historic event and an exciting event for all fans of the game. Frankly, I can’t wait!

TGP Daily Poll: Yankees Win in Front of Sell Out Crowd

The New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals finish their spring training schedules with an exhibition game in Washington at Nationals Park. The Yankees will win this game and end their exhibition season on a high note.

Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

MLB Exhibition Games inside Cuba May be Closer than You Think

When President Barack Obama announced that the United States government and the Cuban government would begin talks and actions to eliminate the embargo and improve diplomatic relations between the two countries the baseball community went into a frenzy. Major League Baseball, more than the NFL, the NBA, or any other sport combined sees more Cuban defectors come to the United States to play their game so many around the league, fans and owners alike, wondered what this could mean to the game. One interesting change and addition that could come of it could be having spring training games, exhibition games or even regular season games inside the country of Cuba. These changes were thought to be many years down the road but after Rob Manfred talked to the United State government about playing exhibition games in Cuba we may be closer than we originally thought.

Of course Manfred would be a fool to speculate on a time frame for this to happen, and apparently he isn’t a fool because he refused to specify a time frame when asked about the subject, the MLB Commissioner seems to be really pushing for this to happen. Why wouldn’t he? There was 25 Cuban born players in the major leagues last season including Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes and the American League Rookie of the Year Jose Abreu.

This wouldn’t be the first time MLB visited Cuba as the Baltimore Orioles played the Cuban national team in Havana in March of 1999 and major league teams visited Cuba a lot before Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959. Major League Baseball has hosted exhibition games in Panama and Mexico City while playing regular season games in Puerto Rico, Tokyo, Monterrey, Mexico, San Juan and Sydney just in the past 15 years ad with Cuba a mere 90 miles from the tip of Florida we may be adding Cuba to that already pretty impressive list very, very soon.