TBT: Masahiro Tanaka’s Partially Torn UCL & Why You Should Chill the F Out

 Throwback Thursday, Masahiro Tanaka and his partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right throwing elbow edition. Over two years ago I told everyone to "chill the F out" over it, how does it look two years later? Enjoy! 

ORIGINAL POST SEEN HERE

You know what Daniel Burch hasn’t done in a while? Rant (or talk in the third person while Daniel Burch is on the subject). He hasn’t ranted in a while, although he has come close, but that is all about to change. I have been hearing it for years, and I have argued against it for years, but for whatever reason this is not registering in some people’s heads. I am so sick and damn tired of hearing about Masahiro Tanaka’s partially torn ulnar collateral ligament and I am even more tired of hearing it used as an excuse for every time the guy throws a ball out of the zone, let alone struggles in a start. The partially torn UCL is not the reason for all his struggles and you are not smarter than a team of doctors that advised against him getting Tommy John surgery. Deal with it and get over yourselves people.

Let’s start at the beginning, the diagnosis.

Tanaka was diagnosed back in 2014 with a slight tear of his ulnar collateral ligament. Tanaka visited three different doctors including Yankees team doctor Christopher Ahmad and Tommy John surgery specialist and expert Dr. James Andrews and all three doctors came to the same conclusion, the need for Tommy John surgery and a new ulnar collateral ligament was not needed. While each doctor had their own plan for how to treat and how to rehab the elbow the consensus was the same, no surgery. The Yankees ultimately decided on a platelet-rich injection on the elbow and rest and rehab, a treatment that at least to date has worked for Tanaka’s particular case.

Despite this diagnosis there are still fans, not doctors, who say the most outrageous and off-base things about Tanaka, his elbow, and about Tommy John surgery in general.

“Tanaka cannot pitch at a high level with a partially torn UCL!”

WRONG! Now that this is out of the way let me tell you all a story. There once was a man named Adam Wainwright who not only pitched once with a small tear, like Tanaka’s, in his UCL, but he did it twice. Wainwright dominated Major League hitters for six seasons before needing the surgery which included 182 games, 99 of them as a starting pitcher, 874 total innings including 233 innings pitched in 2009 alone, and a second place (2010) and third place (2009) finish in the National League Cy Young Award vote. Wainwright was first diagnosed with the partial tear in his UCL as a High School pitcher where doctors advised against surgery. Wainwright tore his UCL partially again while in Triple-A and was once again advised against an ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery. Both times Wainwright took the conservative route, like Tanaka, and came back throwing harder and stronger than ever. Wainwright pitched for six seasons with a partially torn UCL before completely blowing out his elbow and requiring the surgery.

“So, Tanaka will need the surgery eventually.”

No, not necessarily. Tanaka was never ridden like a horse like Wainwright was and has never approached 233 innings in a Major League season. Tanaka also sat out ten weeks after the diagnosis where Wainwright sat out only six weeks while Tanaka also received a platelet-rich plasma injection to promote healing in the elbow where Wainwright did not. Tanaka was closely monitored by a team of doctors and is still monitored closely to this day by the New York Yankees. Tanaka had multiple checkups after the diagnosis and every time he was told that there was no new damage to the elbow or the ligament.

“Why not just get the surgery done, sit out a year and come back strong in the final two seasons of his contract?”

If it were only that simple. While the success rate for Tommy John surgeries are as good as they ever were it doesn’t mean that they are 100%. Not yet, anyway. For every success story with a pitcher coming back in 15 months or so and coming back stronger and better than ever there are horror stories that contradict that line of thinking. It seemingly took Ryan Madson three-or-four years to fully recover from his Tommy John surgery, and he is just a reliever who isn’t relied upon every fifth day like Tanaka. Also, it is worth mentioning that there’s a ton of instances and stories of pitchers NEVER coming back or being the same after a torn UCL surgery. Why just go cutting on a ligament and take that chance when it has deemed unnecessary by a team, not just one, of doctors? Why take the risk? You don’t. Getting what is deemed as an unnecessary surgery like having your tonsils removed or a circumcision is one thing, having the ligament that essentially holds your elbow together ripped out and replaced for no good damn reason is another.

“But, but, but, Wainwright needed the surgery eventually. Tanaka will too!”

Wrong again, Yankees fans. Let me tell you another story. A story about a man many know as “King Felix” but a man I prefer to call Felix Hernandez. Hernandez has been pitching with a torn ulnar collateral ligament for God knows how long. Bob Nightengale of the USA Today has reported on it and Andy Van Slyke opened up about it in that interview about three years back where he claimed the Los Angeles Dodgers wanted to trade Yasiel Puig. It seems to be common knowledge around the league, yet Hernandez has yet to undergo the ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery. And, FYI, Felix’s velocity did drop to around 92 MPH, yes. It was AFTER his velocity drop that he found his changeup and truly morphed into the “King” that he was nicknamed recently. The velocity drop did not coincide with the partially torn UCL, not even close.

“I know more than Daniel Burch.”

No, you don’t. Next.

Okay, so again on a serious, and less cocky, note you can sum up this entire article in just a few sentences. Every elbow is different, every person is different, and everyone’s body is different. Just because Adam Wainwright was able to pitch through the elbow injury and didn’t immediately require the surgery doesn’t mean Tanaka will, although he has thus far. Just because Felix Hernandez has reportedly a 25% tear in his UCL and has yet to require the surgery it doesn’t mean that Tanaka won’t require the surgery. No one knows. What the point of this post was is to show people that their opinions mean very little in the grand scheme of things. Doctors told Tanaka not to get the surgery, specialists in fact, and I trust them way more than I trust a casual fan. I trust the specialists more than I trust my own knowledge and opinion, so please stop acting like you know more about Tanaka, his elbow, UCL’s, and Tommy John surgery than someone who went to school for the better part of a decade just to learn the trade. You don’t, and neither do I. Thank you for listening to my rant while learning a little bit about Tanaka, ulnar collateral ligaments and the history of pitching with a tear in it.

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners 9/8

And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners. In the middle game of their three-game weekend set the Yankees will send Lance Lynn to the mound looking to turn around some recent struggles while the Mariners will counter with Felix Hernandez. The game will be played at 9:10 pm ET inside Safeco Field in Seattle 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 Yankees all season long. Enjoy the game, send the King home crying, and go Yankees!!

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners 9/8

The Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees are back at it again tonight inside Safeco Field with the second of their three-game weekend set out on the West Coast. In the middle game of this series the Yankees will send Lance Lynn out to the mound looking to improve on his last four outings, while the Mariners will counter with Felix Hernandez. You know, it doesn’t matter if the Mariners and the Yankees played a one-game playoff, they always seem to land on the days that Hernandez is set to pitch. Something fishy smells here, I’m just saying, but regardless let’s get to it out here in Seattle.

Lynn has struggled over his last four starts for the Yankees posting an 0-2 record with a 9.16 ERA during that span, ouch. In his last start Lynn allowed six runs on nine hits in just 3.2 innings pitched against the Tigers in a loss, another ouch.

Hernandez was once thought of as a Yankees-killer, which could explain why he is staying in the rotation for tonight’s start against New York. Throughout his career Hernandez has posted a 10-7 record against the Yankees with a 3.00 ERA in 22 career starts.

The game will be played at 9:10 pm ET inside Safeco Field in Seattle 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, here’s to hoping that King Felix pitches more like the King’s jester tonight… and go Yankees!!

Hello… Book 2

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. Also, welcome back to the weekend. Boy, did I need a weekend, let me tell you about it. I say that sarcastically, it isn’t worth rehashing, not on a beautiful Saturday morning anyway. No work talk, or thoughts until Monday. Happy thoughts and no stress until then.

I wrote a second book, and this one only took me four months to write. I was and am pretty excited about it. I don’t expect anyone to buy it, but if you’re interested it can be found here on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Defiance-Undefeated-events-Daniel-Bartow/dp/1726120244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536326703&sr=8-1&keywords=defiance+undefeated

Everything I do, I do for you Kari. I love you, and I hope you know that with every ounce of your being.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/27: Mariners Lose 17 Straight Against New York

This is not really New York Yankees history that we probably want to remember, but on this day in 2011 the Seattle Mariners made history against the New York Yankees. The Mariners snapped a 17 game losing streak behind seven strong innings from Felix Hernandez and an offensive outburst. The M's would win 9-2 to get their first victory in three weeks.

Masahiro Tanaka’s Partially Torn UCL & Why You Should Chill the F Out

You know what Daniel Burch hasn’t done in a while? Rant (or talk in the third person while Daniel Burch is on the subject). He hasn’t ranted in a while, although he has come close, but that is all about to change. I have been hearing it for years, and I have argued against it for years, but for whatever reason this is not registering in some people’s heads. I am so sick and damn tired of hearing about Masahiro Tanaka’s partially torn ulnar collateral ligament and I am even more tired of hearing it used as an excuse for every time the guy throws a ball out of the zone, let alone struggles in a start. The partially torn UCL is not the reason for all his struggles and you are not smarter than a team of doctors that advised against him getting Tommy John surgery. Deal with it and get over yourselves people.

Let’s start at the beginning, the diagnosis.

Tanaka was diagnosed back in 2014 with a slight tear of his ulnar collateral ligament. Tanaka visited three different doctors including Yankees team doctor Christopher Ahmad and Tommy John surgery specialist and expert Dr. James Andrews and all three doctors came to the same conclusion, the need for Tommy John surgery and a new ulnar collateral ligament was not needed. While each doctor had their own plan for how to treat and how to rehab the elbow the consensus was the same, no surgery. The Yankees ultimately decided on a platelet-rich injection on the elbow and rest and rehab, a treatment that at least to date has worked for Tanaka’s particular case.

Despite this diagnosis there are still fans, not doctors, who say the most outrageous and off-base things about Tanaka, his elbow, and about Tommy John surgery in general.

“Tanaka cannot pitch at a high level with a partially torn UCL!”

WRONG! Now that this is out of the way let me tell you all a story. There once was a man named Adam Wainwright who not only pitched once with a small tear, like Tanaka’s, in his UCL, but he did it twice. Wainwright dominated Major League hitters for six seasons before needing the surgery which included 182 games, 99 of them as a starting pitcher, 874 total innings including 233 innings pitched in 2009 alone, and a second place (2010) and third place (2009) finish in the National League Cy Young Award vote. Wainwright was first diagnosed with the partial tear in his UCL as a High School pitcher where doctors advised against surgery. Wainwright tore his UCL partially again while in Triple-A and was once again advised against an ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery. Both times Wainwright took the conservative route, like Tanaka, and came back throwing harder and stronger than ever. Wainwright pitched for six seasons with a partially torn UCL before completely blowing out his elbow and requiring the surgery.

“So, Tanaka will need the surgery eventually.”

No, not necessarily. Tanaka was never ridden like a horse like Wainwright was and has never approached 233 innings in a Major League season. Tanaka also sat out ten weeks after the diagnosis where Wainwright sat out only six weeks while Tanaka also received a platelet-rich plasma injection to promote healing in the elbow where Wainwright did not. Tanaka was closely monitored by a team of doctors and is still monitored closely to this day by the New York Yankees. Tanaka had multiple checkups after the diagnosis and every time he was told that there was no new damage to the elbow or the ligament.

“Why not just get the surgery done, sit out a year and come back strong in the final two seasons of his contract?”

If it were only that simple. While the success rate for Tommy John surgeries are as good as they ever were it doesn’t mean that they are 100%. Not yet, anyway. For every success story with a pitcher coming back in 15 months or so and coming back stronger and better than ever there are horror stories that contradict that line of thinking. It seemingly took Ryan Madson three-or-four years to fully recover from his Tommy John surgery, and he is just a reliever who isn’t relied upon every fifth day like Tanaka. Also, it is worth mentioning that there’s a ton of instances and stories of pitchers NEVER coming back or being the same after a torn UCL surgery. Why just go cutting on a ligament and take that chance when it has deemed unnecessary by a team, not just one, of doctors? Why take the risk? You don’t. Getting what is deemed as an unnecessary surgery like having your tonsils removed or a circumcision is one thing, having the ligament that essentially holds your elbow together ripped out and replaced for no good damn reason is another.

“But, but, but, Wainwright needed the surgery eventually. Tanaka will too!”

Wrong again, Yankees fans. Let me tell you another story. A story about a man many know as “King Felix” but a man I prefer to call Felix Hernandez. Hernandez has been pitching with a torn ulnar collateral ligament for God knows how long. Bob Nightengale of the USA Today has reported on it and Andy Van Slyke opened up about it in that interview about three years back where he claimed the Los Angeles Dodgers wanted to trade Yasiel Puig. It seems to be common knowledge around the league, yet Hernandez has yet to undergo the ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery. And, FYI, Felix’s velocity did drop to around 92 MPH, yes. It was AFTER his velocity drop that he found his changeup and truly morphed into the “King” that he was nicknamed recently. The velocity drop did not coincide with the partially torn UCL, not even close.

“I know more than Daniel Burch.”

No, you don’t. Next.

Okay, so again on a serious, and less cocky, note you can sum up this entire article in just a few sentences. Every elbow is different, every person is different, and everyone’s body is different. Just because Adam Wainwright was able to pitch through the elbow injury and didn’t immediately require the surgery doesn’t mean Tanaka will, although he has thus far. Just because Felix Hernandez has reportedly a 25% tear in his UCL and has yet to require the surgery it doesn’t mean that Tanaka won’t require the surgery. No one knows. What the point of this post was is to show people that their opinions mean very little in the grand scheme of things. Doctors told Tanaka not to get the surgery, specialists in fact, and I trust them way more than I trust a casual fan. I trust the specialists more than I trust my own knowledge and opinion, so please stop acting like you know more about Tanaka, his elbow, UCL’s, and Tommy John surgery than someone who went to school for the better part of a decade just to learn the trade. You don’t, and neither do I. Thank you for listening to my rant while learning a little bit about Tanaka, ulnar collateral ligaments and the history of pitching with a tear in it.

Daniel Burch out. Oh, and little p…. edgy enough for you?

Should/Will the Yankees Be “In” On Any of These Players Who Cleared Waivers?

The August waiver wire trade deadline may be a bit more complicated for teams to pull off deals but it doesn’t necessarily make it impossible, especially if that player you’re looking to acquire clears waivers. There have been more than a few notable veteran players that have already cleared waivers, and keep in mind that not every team releases the name of every player that clears waivers and are not obligated to do so either, which leaves me wondering if the Yankees should be or will be interested in any of them. Before we jump into the list though and talk about any potential trades for the Bombers I will preface the post by saying that Hal Steinbrenner, the Yankees principal owner, has stated that the Yankees payroll is now frozen. No more payroll will be added in 2017, period. Keep that in mind when suggesting or thinking about potential trades this season.

The most current and up to date list that I have of players that has cleared revocable waivers includes Jay Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Justin Verlander, Chris Davis, RA Dickey, Jim Johnson, Bryce Harper, Joey Votto, Justin Upton, Felix Hernandez, Brandon Crawford, Yoenis Cespedes, Asdrubal Cabrera, Neil Walker and AJ Ramos. This list admittedly may be out of date due to teams not releasing who has cleared waivers but this is the most current list according to MLB Trade Rumors so for the sake of simplicity and this post we will go with it.

The Yankees don’t need an outfielder, in fact when Tyler Austin and Aaron Hicks return from their rehab assignments the team may have too many outfielders and not enough roster spots to accommodate them all, meaning that you can immediately mark Bruce, Granderson, Harper, Upton and Cespedes off the list for New York. The Orioles are unlikely to trade Davis within the division, especially to the Yankees, and you have that whole no more payroll thing marking him off the list as well. Votto has a full no-trade clause and is owed a ton of money throughout the end of his contract, #PayrollFreeze, and the same can be said for the Tigers starter Justin Verlander who may be a member of the Houston Astros before this post even goes live.

Taking those names off the list leaves Dickey, a hard no, Johnson, a former AL saves leader and an attractive setup man option, Hernandez, yes please but #PayrollFreeze, Brandon Crawford, this move was purely procedural and the Giants are not going to move him, Cabrera, no thank you, Walker, no thank you, and Ramos, another dependable bullpen arm that New York may or may not need. Looking at the list it looks like the only options New York really has at this time is Jim Johnson, AJ Ramos or maybe Felix Hernandez. The Mariners seem willing to go for it in 2017 as the team has a Wild Card spot in their sights though making the Hernandez trade less and less likely, although not impossible given his salary and the salary restraints in Seattle right now.

Do the Yankees really need Ramos or Johnson? I mean, sure, it would be nice to get greedy and acquire one or both of them but neither are a real need. Both, though, will cost real prospects and that’s just not something I am willing to do and is not something I think the Yankees are willing to do either to be completely honest. Also, as much as I hate to admit this, the Hernandez trade opportunity is likely a pipe dream. Again, I am not completely counting it out but I just can’t see New York pulling this off or Seattle willing to make the trade. Hernandez hasn’t been Hernandez in 2017, he has struggled some and battled injuries including the bursitis that he learned about and was diagnosed with yesterday, which is one of the only reasons I have hope but that payroll freeze is really going to get in the way. Conceivably the Yankees could include better prospects and have Seattle kick in his salary like they did with the Minnesota Twins and Jaime Garcia but that seems unlikely as well.

Who knows what is going to happen between now and August 31^st but as it stands right now it looks like all the Yankees heavy lifting is all but done. Brian Cashman is likely just sitting on a beach somewhere sipping on fruity drinks with little paper umbrellas floating in the glass, and he deserves to be after what he did for the team before the July 31^st trading deadline. Brace yourselves Yankees family, winter is coming to the Bronx and it won’t include any fresh, new characters to kill off two episodes in. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/27: Mariners Lose 17 Straight Against New York

This is not really New York Yankees history that we probably want to remember but on this day in 2011 the Seattle Mariners made history against us. The Mariners snapped a 17 game losing streak behind seven strong innings from Felix Hernandez and an offensive outburst. The M's would win 9-2 to get their first victory in three weeks.

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners 7/21

The New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners will continue their four-game extended weekend set tonight with the second game of the series. It’s all downhill from here Yankees fans and I think you know exactly what I mean. After facing off with the always tough Felix Hernandez last night the pitching matchups, at least on paper, get a bit easier for New York starting tonight with the Mariners starter Andrew Moore. Now I’m not trying to be disrespectful and I am not trying to write off Moore or any of the other Seattle starters that will toe the rubber in this series but I am more so merely complimenting Hernandez on always being tough and always being especially tough against the Yankees. New York will send CC Sabathia to the mound to counter Moore in the contest. It should be another fun one here for New York, let’s just hope the offense made the trip over this time around.

Sabathia was great in his last start against the Boston Red Sox holding the Yankees division rival to just two hits and no runs in six innings of work in the first game of the doubleheader. Sabathia did walk five in the outing which limited the number of innings he could pitch but was overall effective in a much-needed win for New York.

Moore started out his MLB career with three solid starts for the Mariners before taking a step back a bit in his last start against the Chicago White Sox. In the start Moore allowed five runs on six hits including six home runs in a loss to the White Sox. Moore will be making his fourth home start already of his young MLB career and will look to improve on his 1-1 record and 3.86 ERA inside Safeco Field in his career.

The game will be played at 10:10 pm ET inside Safeco Field in Seattle and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN. Finally, a west coast game on the weekend that I can actually stay up and watch. What happened to some good old fashioned east coast bias? I’m looking at you MLB schedule makers. Enjoy the game and Go Yankees!!!

Just Winning Games in Seattle...

Credit:  Elaine Thompson/AP

Yankees 4, Mariners 1...

The Yankees took manager Joe Girardi's biggest concern ("just winning games") to heart as they defeated the Seattle Mariners on late night TV.  Of course, it didn't hurt to have perhaps the best Yankees starting pitcher (Luis Severino) on the mound.  Felix Hernandez is tough but I had the confidence in Sevy to persevere.

Credit:  Elaine Thompson/AP

The first innings of games, lately, always seem to be so tough.  King Felix easily dispatched the first three Yanks to move to the bottom of the first.  Ben Gamel ripped a one-out double to left (why did we get rid of him one day after being named the 2016 International League MVP again?...I know, the glut of outfielders but still, he has been very solid for the M's).  Robinson Cano hit an infield grounder that caught Gamel off second (out in a rundown...great athleticism by Sevy to start the play).  The deadly Nelson Cruz came up and singled to left to move Cano to second.  Corey Seager's big brother Kyle was next but Sevy dialed up the heat to 99 mph and punched Seager out to end the threat.  I am so tired starting games in the hole so it was great to see the Yankees escape without allowing any runs despite the two hits.  

The Mariners got their hits against Sevy but pushing them across the plate was a different story.  The M's threatened in the fourth with the game still in a scoreless tie.  Kyle Seager opened with a double just fair down the third base line (glad he didn't do that in the first inning).  Danny Valencia followed with a solid single to center to put runners at the corners with no outs.  Sevy was able to retire Mitch Haniger on a pop-up and Jarrod Dyson on a shallow center fly out after falling behind 3-0, before walking Mike Zunino to load the bases.  Fortunately, Jean Segura, in a long at-bat, hit a grounder to Didi Gregorius who flipped the ball to Starlin Castro to force Zunino out at second to end the inning.  

In the 6th inning with one out, Brett Gardner drilled a 'no doubt about it' homer right center, his 16th to match Matt Holliday and Todd Frazier, giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  He was fortunate as King Felix was still going strong, recording all outs in the 6th by strikeout.  But on the other side, Sevy was still holding the M's off the board.

Credit:  Getty Images

Former Yankee James Pazos replaced King Felix in the top of the 8th.  After Jacoby Ellsbury weakly grounded out to Pazos with a broken bat, Chase Headley singled to center on a ball deflected off the tip of Robinson Cano's glove.  Brett Gardner hit into a fielder's choice but a fielding error by Jean Segura (he would have easily had the force out at second but was unable to successfully pull the ball out of his glove) allowed Gardy to reach base with Headley safe at second.  Tony Zych replaced Pazos and promptly walked Gary Sanchez on a full count to load the bases.  A single to right by Aaron Judge scored Headley and it was 2-0 Yankees.  Unfortunately, Matt Holliday hit into an inning-ending double play so the Yankees were unable to further cash in with the bases full of Yanks.

Dellin Betances replaced Sevy in the 8th and ran into a little trouble.  After hitting Kyle Seager with a pitch, Danny Valencia singled to right to move Seager to second.  With one out and the tying run at the plate, Mitch Haniger hit into a force out at second (a play challenged by the M's after Castro bobbled the ball on the exchange but upheld by the umps).  Seager moved to third.  Betances reared back and struck out Jarrod Dyson to leave Seager stranded. 

The Yankees picked up a couple of huge insurance runs in the 9th courtesy of Robinson Cano.  Didi Gregorius and Todd Frazier hit one-out singles off M's reliever Max Povse.  After Jacoby Ellsbury flied out to left (sure seemed like the Yankees were always having to work around Ellsbury outs), Chase Headley reached first base on a throwing error by Cano.  Both Gregorius and Frazier scored on the play.  Thanks Robby!  To Cano's defense, first baseman Danny Valencia gave up too early and didn't try to reach out to catch Cano's wide throw from shallow right.

It was off to the 9th and Aroldis Chapman with the Yankees leading 4-0.  Chapman's control issues continued as he walked the first batter, Mike Zunino.  Zunino was replaced by pinch-runner Guillermo Heredia.  A wild pitch by Chapman moved to Heredia to second.  Chapman struck out Jean Segura and Ben Gamel, with Heredia taking third, before Robinson Cano laced a double to the center field wall bringing Heredia home to score.  Chapman was able to secure the final out when Nelson Cruz flied out to right.  The Yankees win...a much needed victory.

Credit:  Getty Images

Hats off to Luis Severino (6-4) for delivering an ace-like performance against one of the AL's best starting pitchers.  Although he gave up 8 hits and a walk in 7 innings, he held the M's scoreless while striking out 6.  King Felix held the Yanks to 3 hits and struck out 9, but one of those hits was the Gardy homer which gave the Yanks the lead they would not relinquish.  I had confidence going into this game with Sevy on the mound and he did not disappoint.

Todd Frazier was 1-for-4 in his first Yankees start with a run scored.  Neither David Robertson nor Tommy Kahnle made an appearance in this game although Chapman was giving me reasons to wish that it was D-Rob on the mound in the 9th.  Joe Girardi must have thought the same thing as he had Robertson up in the pen after Chapman's wild pitch.

Ben Gamel was hitless in his next four at-bats after the first inning double, striking out three times. Robby Cano, Dontcha Know!, was 3-for-5 with the lone Mariners RBI.

Credit:  Elaine Thompson/AP

The Yankees (49-45) picked up on a game on the Boston Red Sox in the AL East standings and trail by 3 1/2 games.  The Red Sox lost 8-6 to the Toronto Blue Jays.  The Yanks are a game behind the idle Tampa Bay Rays (tied in the loss column).  

The Yankees go for their 50th win tonight with CC Sabathia (8-3, 3.54 ERA) on the mound facing Andrew Moore (1-1, 5.25 ERA). Sabathia was moved up from Saturday as Masahiro Tanaka was pushed back a day.  The Mariners announced a change for their scheduled starter on Sunday.  Yovani Gallardo (4-7, 5.59 ERA) will replace Sam Gaviglio in the match-up against Luis Cessa.

Odds & Ends...

I've been reading columns that feel the Yankees overpaid to acquire Todd Frazier, David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle.  After watching yesterday's acquisition of reliever and former Yankee David Phelps by the Seattle Mariners, I am starting to think the Yankees may have underpaid.  For Phelps alone, the Miami Marlins acquired four players.  Three of the players rank in the Mariners list of Top 30 Prospects according to MLB.com.  OF Brayan Hernandez rates the highest at #6.  RHP Brandon Miller is #16 and RHP Pablo Lopez is #22.  The Marlins also acquired RHP Lukas Schiraldi, son of former Major Leaguer Calvin Schiraldi.  Granted, the Yankees have a stronger farm system so #6 on the Mariners' list does not equal #6 on the Yankees list but this is still a very  good haul by the Marlins.  I know that one scout referred to them as "just guys" but I am also a believer in 'expect the unexpected'.  Suddenly, losing OF Blake Rutherford, LHP Ian Clarkin, and OF Tito Polo (along with the inconsequential Tyler Clippard) seems like a very small price to pay for a strong third base upgrade and two bullpen power arms.  I guess that we'll be seeing David Phelps very soon unless the Yankees can avoid giving the Mariners any late inning leads to work with.   

Credit:  Gary Landers/AP

Todd Frazier is now saying that he'll stay with #29 rather than ask Paul O'Neill if he can use #21.  If I was O'Neill, I'd probably reach out to Frazier and say, "It's okay, Kid...you've worn the number out of respect for me and for my original team (the Reds).  Please take #21 and wear it with pride".  There's no doubt Frazier will do the number justice.  

GM Brian Cashman has said that Clint Frazier will be optioned to Triple A when Aaron Hicks returns in a few weeks.  I know that he'll be back in September, but it does kind of stink that a douche like Jacoby Ellsbury gets to keep his seat at the grownups' table while Frazier has to go have a seat with the kids.  I hope that Frazier continues to make this a very hard decision for the Yankees.

Have a great Friday!  Let's just keep winning games in Seattle.  Go Yankees!

Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners 7/20

If a game is played in the middle of the night for us East Coast people and no one is awake to see it because it’s a weekday…. Did the game really happen? Well we are about to find out as the New York Yankees are in Seattle about to kick off a four-game series with the Seattle Mariners inside Safeco Field. In the opener of the four-game extended weekend set the Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound to square off with Felix Hernandez for the Mariners. The game will be played at 10:10 pm ET inside Safeco Field and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along on the radio and in your cars by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman.

Follow us on twitter by giving @GreedyStripes a follow and enjoy the game. As always, Go Yankees!!!

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Seattle Mariners 7/20

I have said this many times before, truth be told I have probably said it every single time the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners square off but only because it’s true, but it doesn’t matter if these two teams match up for a one-game series or a four-game series there will always be a Felix Hernandez sighting for the Mariners. I’ve seen it, I believe it was a couple seasons back where the Yankees and Mariners made up a rained out game and had a short one-game series and Hernandez started the game for Seattle. It is ridiculous that the Yankees can never miss this guy, and that is only because he is such a Yankee-killer. In the start tonight the Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound looking to match zeros with Hernandez. Should be a fun one, enjoy.

Severino will draw a tough opponent tonight with Hernandez going for the Mariners meaning that the All-Star will have to be at the top of his game tonight. Severino has struggled against some of these Mariners, albeit in an extremely small sample size, including against Robinson Cano who owns a .667 batting average against him in just three at-bats. Like I said, extremely small sample size.

Hernandez has made five starts since coming off the disabled list and has posted a 3-1 record with a 3.72 ERA including wins in his previous two starts. Hernandez missed two months with shoulder bursitis but has come off the DL just in time to pick on an old foe and be a thorn in the side of the Yankees. Hernandez has made 20 career starts against the Yankees and has a 10-6 record and a 3.13 ERA to show for it.

The game will be played at 10:10 pm ET inside Safeco Field in Seattle and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. You can also follow along in your cars and on the radio by tuning into the WFAN broadcast with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman. Enjoy the game and Go Yankees!!!

All Rise for Aaron Judge in the Judge’s Chambers

All Rise for the Judge! Court is now in session in The Judge’s Chambers here inside Yankee Stadium. On Monday night court opened up inside Yankee Stadium as three rows inside Yankee Stadium turned into The Judge’s Chambers. A total of 18 fans were seen wearing black judicial robes with the Yankees logo on the front and Judge’s number 99 on the back honoring the Yankees rookie right fielder.

This is not uncommon around the league for fans to turn entire sections of the ballpark into a dedicated section for a player. Remember Mannywood in left field inside Dodger Stadium? Remember the King’s Court for Felix Hernandez out in Seattle? Well it’s kind of like that although in those sections any fans can buy tickets and sit there while the Yankees will choose certain fans to sit there. Obviously wearing an Aaron Judge jersey or t-shirt or a judicial robe will get chosen along with their families which could be kind of interesting. Those chosen will be given Styrofoam gavels stamped with “All Rise!” on the side to tap against the bench. The robes stay in the section.

I can see this section being turned into a place for charity groups, birthday parties, Little League teams etc. can go and hang out and be honored while honoring the Judge.

What an honor for a kid who has been in the Major Leagues for just a few short months between last season and this season but if you pay attention to the Yankees and head out to the games you know why the Yankees are honoring him so soon. He interacts with the Yankees fans on Twitter and Instagram and he has played catch with fans in the stands on more than one occasion. You can always see him giving kids baseballs in the stands in-between innings and such and he just treats the game how you’re supposed to treat it in my opinion, like a game. This isn’t a job for Judge and that mindset is just part of what makes Judge truly special.

Congratulations to him and I look forward to seeing everyone in The Judge’s Chambers this season and beyond. If anyone sits in those seats and wants to be covered here on the blog with your pictures showcased on the blog then contact me on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) or by shooting me an email at thegreedypinstripes at gmail dot com.

My Thoughts on Masahiro Tanaka, Opt-Out Clauses and Conflicting Reports

Holy conflicting reports Batman. At the beginning of the day yesterday I read that if Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka opted out of his contract after the 2017 season that the New York Yankees would not pursue him only to read a complete 180 by the time I went to bed. One news publication has it that the Yankees won’t pursue and another, albeit by citing Randy Levine of all people as their source, says the Yankees haven’t made that decision and never said they wouldn’t pursue the Japanese-born right-hander. So which is it? Here are my thoughts on the matter.

Tanaka signed a huge deal worth $155 million when he came to the United States from Japan that included the opt-out clause after the 2017 season as a safety net for Tanaka. No one knew if Tanaka would like playing in New York or if he would rather play on the West Coast like many Japanese-born players do since it is closer to their homes in Japan so the Yankees gave him the opt-out clause that likely sealed the deal for his decision to come here. In Tanaka’s first season after signing the monster deal the righty suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow that would normally require a season-ending and potentially career threatening Tommy John surgery. The Yankees, under the advice of many doctors and specialists including Dr. James Andrews, decided a rest and rehab program would be the best route to handle it and the team and Tanaka did just that despite varying degrees of criticism.

To date, and I am knocking on wood as I type this, Tanaka’s elbow has been fine and the diagnosis from the doctors looks to be a good one but as we all know pitchers are fragile in nature. Any pitcher at any time could suffer a torn UCL and require Tommy John surgery without any signs or warnings, see the very durable Bronson Arroyo as a prime example of this, so it makes sense that the Yankees may be weary and decide to let his “ticking time bomb” of an elbow be someone else’s problem if he opts out but I still don’t buy it.

After the season Michael Pineda is already coming off the books and so is CC Sabathia so losing Tanaka as well would leave the Yankees with exactly zero reliable starting pitchers for the 2018 season. Zero. James Kaprielian cannot be relied upon as he is already battling a second round of elbow concerns this season after missing most of last season with the same injury, Luis Severino has been inconsistent as a starter at best as has Chad Green and Luis Cessa, and as much as I love them as a fan Jordan Montgomery, Bryan Mitchell and Chance Adams have yet to prove themselves at the Major League level just yet. Granted they haven’t been given a huge shot, or no shot at all in the cases of Montgomery and Adams, but they wouldn’t give even me the warm and fuzzy feeling if all three of them started out next season in the Yankees starting rotation. I’m sorry but it’s the truth.

The free agent market looks barren at best for starting pitchers next season, especially considering that the Yankees plan on getting under the luxury tax threshold after this season, and the trade market requires prospects that the Yankees and Brian Cashman just don’t seem willing to part with at this time. It’s a bit of a Catch 22. Do you save money by using your farm system at the Major League level only to get under the cap and blow everyone out of the water for the likes of Bryce Harper and Manny Machado or do you trade those prospects for proven, and more expensive, pieces like Jose Quintana and continue to rebuild while also trying to win? Honestly I’m glad I’m not the one making those decisions because I don’t truly know what I would do.

I have been on board with trading for Quintana all winter long and I won’t back away from that for obvious reasons. He’s been great, he is still young and his contract is extremely cheap for what you would get back from the lefty. The Yankees need to do it now though because he will only get more expensive, prospects wise, as the year goes on. If they are truly worried about Tanaka opting out then they need to pounce on Plan B now, to improve the team and to show Tanaka that they are serious about moving on if he decides to opt-out and hold the opt-out over the teams head for more money.

Ultimately I think I would bring Tanaka back because not every pitcher and player is made for New York but Tanaka has shown that he is. You can’t really put a number on that in my opinion. Sure there are concerns with his elbow but using history as an indicator of the future you could conceivably say that about any and all pitchers that the Yankees throw out there on a day-to-day basis. Some pitchers have never required Tommy John surgery after partial tears of their UCL like Tanaka (Felix Hernandez and Ervin Santana) while some pitched for what seems like forever (Adam Wainwright) before the problem popped up again so who really knows? The human body is an amazing, and yet very unpredictable, thing. It truly is.

Expect Jorge Mateo Traded This Offseason

The New York Yankees made it their mission, and the personal mission of GM Brian Cashman, this summer to rebuild the farm system and stockpile the minor leagues with as much talent as possible. That included bringing in outfielder Clint Frazier, left-handed pitcher Justus Sheffield, reliever Ben Heller, and shortstop Gleyber Torres to name a few leaving the team's former top prospects seemingly on the back burner. Jorge Mateo broke out in 2015 and broke out in a big way hitting for contact and stealing 82 bases for the Tampa Yankees. That success has not carried over to the 2016 season and I truly believe we can expect to see Mateo moved during this coming offseason.

Mateo started out the season hitting exceptionally well but the Yankees shortstop prospect presumably thought he should be called up to Double-A Trenton and when he wasn't it affected both on the field and in the clubhouse. His batting line dipped and he was eventually suspended for two weeks and missed the XM Futures Game for an unspecified violation of team rules. We all speculated that it was because Mateo was not called up to Double-A but to this point that's all we can do, speculate. Either way Mateo took his suspension and we never heard anything about his attitude again this season but his stating line continued to slump.

Mateo slumped enough that the, and trust me he wasn't alone in this fact, Tampa Yankees lost in the postseason and went home earlier than most probably would have wanted to or expected to. The postseason awards and prospects lists began to be released almost immediately including the list by Keith Law that listed Mateo as one of the eight most disappointing prospects in the land. That list is behind a paywall.

The Yankees have surrounded him with superior talented shortstops and the team has an obvious and glaring needs for starting pitching heading into the 2017 season. When a team is intending to compete, and the Yankees are in 2017, you have to build from within but you also have to trade from a position of strength in order to fill in the gaps and shortstop and outfield look to be definite areas of strength right now for New York. Headlining that crop is a player they already tried to trade for Craig Kimbrel recently, Mateo.

Mateo is still talented enough and projected highly enough to be the centerpiece, and this is for merely an example's sake, in a Chris Sale or Felix Hernandez type deal. I'm not saying the Yankees will acquire a high-end ace like them but even as a solid #2 starter or a young piece a la the Michael Pineda trade all those years ago I can see Mateo, plus, plus going in the deal. The Yankees don't need to trade Mateo and likely won't just for the sake of trading him but if the right deal presents himself I cannot see Cashman turning it down. Not at all.

I am heading into the offseason fulling expecting Mateo to be traded for a solid, top-end starting pitcher. It's not a matter of "if" but "when" to me and you should feel the same way. Expect it, it's coming.

The Yankees Decision to Forego Tommy John Surgery w/ Masahiro Tanaka. Good Idea or Bad Idea?

When the New York Yankees decided to sign Masahiro Tanaka out of Japan a couple years back I doubt there were many Yankees fans that were happier than I was. I loved the idea of not only getting greedy and getting the top pitching arm on the free agent market but I also loved the fact that he was young, dominant and from Japan. See the Yankees had seemingly shied away from Japanese pitchers after the Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa debacles and for them to jump back into the pool and jump in face first into the deep end made me happy. So you can imagine how disappointed I was when I learned that Tanaka had a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right throwing elbow, usually a diagnosis like this is followed by the need for Tommy John surgery, and you can imagine how cautiously optimistic, yet extremely skeptical, I was when the team announced they would try a rest and rehab program rather than going under the knife. We are now almost two full seasons removed from that decision giving us enough of a sample size to determine whether the Yankees made the right choice avoiding the knife or if they should have went ahead and got the surgery done. 

I will preface any talk of Tanaka with the fact that every elbow is different, every tear is different and every injury is different. I only use comparisons in this post to show a similarity and possibility that the decision to not undergo surgery could have been the right one. With that said I just want to remind everyone that Ervin Santana had a similar diagnosis and has never required the surgery, the same can be said for the Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez who also pitches with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. One pitcher who eventually had the surgery, but it wasn’t until years later, was Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals so it’s not like the Yankees just flew by the seat of their pants on this decision, especially considering five doctors including the team doctor and Tommy John specialist Dr. James Andrews suggested the rehab program. 

All that and a buck buys you a coke if Tanaka doesn’t pitch well but thankfully for the Yankees he has done just that. Heading into his start today Tanaka has posted the following stat line in his Major League career via Baseball Reference: 

Year	Age	W	L	ERA	G	GS	CG	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA+	FIP	WHIP	H9	HR9	BB9	SO9
2015	26	12	7	3.51	24	24	1	154.0	126	66	60	25	27	139	114	3.98	0.994	7.4	1.5	1.6	8.1
2016	27	8	4	3.32	23	23	0	146.1	136	61	54	14	27	120	127	3.33	1.114	8.4	0.9	1.7	7.4

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Do those stats look like the stats of a pitcher who is holding back and nursing an injury to his elbow? If so can you imagine how good he would be if he had undergone the surgery? Which I will also warn you of the fact that no surgery is 100%, see Ryan Madson as a recent example of pitchers who struggle for years to come back from what many fans think is a routine surgery. Every elbow is different, every ligament is different and every injury is different. The rehab program will work for some, and in my opinion has worked for Tanaka, but for others it won’t. That’s life and that’s baseball but I think, for now anyway, we can finally put the rest the debate of whether the Yankees made the right decision or not skipping the surgery. It looks like they did make the right decision and the team, and Tanaka himself, are benefiting from it. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/27: Mariners Lose 17 Straight Against New York

This is not really New York Yankees history that we probably want to remember but on this day in 2011 the Seattle Mariners made history against us. The Mariners snapped a 17 game losing streak behind seven strong innings from Felix Hernandez and an offensive outburst. The M's would win 9-2 to get their first victory in three weeks.