Hello… Mother’s Day Weekend

Good morning everyone and a Happy Friday to everyone reading this on this beautiful morning. This is a special weekend for us all, it is Mother’s Day weekend! Some may be thinking, well my mother passed away or I don’t really have a relationship with my mother, and while that sucks it still is fine. You know why? A person doesn’t have to carry you and grow you in their body for nine months to be considered a mother, or even your mother. Sometimes your Aunt has to pick up the slack, or your grandmother, or a beautiful blonde haired, blue-eyed vixen with an insatiable desire for love has to come in and remind you just how awesome you are. Hell, there are even single father’s out there who have to be both, so never feel like you are alone. Ever. But especially on this day and this weekend.

Make it special and have a great day and a great weekend everyone. Especially you, the mother that my children always needed. The woman in my life I always dreamed for and never even knew it. My rock, my mountain, my world, my everything. My Kari. I love you and I hope you have the very best Mother’s Day.

Text from Derek Jeter’s Speech on Derek Jeter Day

Hey all and Happy Tuesday afternoon. In case you missed it over the weekend, and shame on you if you did while turning in your Yankees fandom cards at the door, the New York Yankees retired their final single digit number in their franchise’s storied history when Derek Jeter saw his #2 retired inside Monument Park. Jeter was never a huge talker during his playing career and he hasn’t been much for words since heading into retirement aside from the occasional blog post on the Players Tribune but he did address the Yankees crowd before Sunday’s second game of a double-header with the Houston Astros. Here is what Jeter had to say in his own words.

“First of all, I just want to say happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there, especially my mom, my grandmother, my sister and my wife, who is very soon going to be a mother. So happy Mother's Day.

What do you say on a day like this? You know, I'll start with thank you to George Steinbrenner and the Steinbrenner family for giving me the opportunity to play my entire career for the only team I ever wanted to play for.

I want to thank my managers, coaches, teammates, support staff, those of you that are here today and those of you who aren't for being with me along that the entire journey.

I want to thank my family for their love, support, honesty and more importantly their presence at everything I did both on and off the field.

And the fans — wow — I want to thank you guys for pushing me, challenging me, for making me accountable, more importantly for embracing me since day one.

You know, I was asked recently by someone, they said if you could trade places with one person, who would it be? And I say this very humbly, there isn't a person or player I would trade places with that's playing now or ever. And the reason why I say that is because I got a chance to play for a first-class organization and in front of the greatest fans in the history of sports.

You know, you play here in New York for 20 years, you know I learned that time flies, memories fade, but family is forever, and I'll be eternally grateful to be a part of the Yankees' family. So I can't thank you guys enough. Thank you very much.”

So it Seems Tomorrow is Derek Jeter Day

If you guys have been reading this season you know I have been taking a tiny step back from the blog from time to time to enjoy my children and my life outside the blog. That usually includes me going pretty quiet over the weekends so just in case I’m not around on Sunday for Mother’s Day, and honestly I am not expecting to be unfortunately, I wanted to take the time today to honor and cover Derek Jeter Day. Just in case.

So today on the eve of Derek Jeter Day it is Derek Jeter Day here on The Greedy Pinstripes. Have a great Saturday everyone and enjoy the content. 

So it Seems the Weekend is Back!

Good morning everyone and Happy Friday! It is finally the weekend, we made it. The New York Yankees continue their four-game set in the Bronx this weekend with the Houston Astros while also welcoming Derek Jeter back to the Bronx for Derek Jeter Day on Sunday. It’s also Mother’s Day on Sunday so be sure to wish that special someone in your life a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday. Do something nice if you can because if it weren’t for you mother you wouldn’t be reading this today. Remember all those “I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it” threats? Maybe those were just for me, LOL.

I hope everyone has a great weekend and if we don’t speak between now and then I hope everyone has a great Mother’s Day. Thank you to all the mothers out there, the Aunts or grandmothers picking up and being mothers and a huge thank you to all the single dads out there that are having to be both on this day. You are truly appreciated.

Love you guys, especially you. Hey you. 

Jesus Montero, Michael Pineda & Is It Safe to Declare a Winner NOW?

Since January 23, 2012 fans of the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners have been discussing a certain trade between the two clubs trying to find, as we fans tend to do, a winner and a loser. At the time Michael Pineda was a top pitching prospect fresh off a strong rookie year in Seattle while Jesus Montero was fresh off making his MLB debut as a September call up in the Bronx. Yankees fans had waited patiently, or rather impatiently at times, for Montero’s arrival and he arrived in a big way in New York hitting his first home run almost immediately so it left a bitter taste in some people’s mouth when he was traded for Pineda on that day in January of 2012. Ever since then the fans have bantered and argued over who the winner is, is it safe to finally declare the Yankees the winner now?

Both players have been suspended with their new teams, Pineda for blatant use of pine tar against the Boston Red Sox and Montero for illegal steroid and PED use, and both players have been injured as well, Pineda’s shoulder that cost him two seasons and Montero’s left knee, but it has been Pineda that has made an impact at the major league level. Both players have reportedly come into spring training camp overweight and out of shape but only one has attempted to attack a scout for offering him an ice cream sandwich on a hot day in the minor leagues, which was Montero. That’s before you factor in WAR which has Pineda at 4.4 and Montero at -0.8.

Montero has not been able to crack a struggling offense desperate for power, especially right-handed power, with any sort of consistency in Seattle while Pineda has become a staple in the New York Yankees starting rotation. Pineda has shown flashes of brilliance and dominance, see the Mother’s Day game against the Baltimore Orioles and all those strikeouts for an example of that, while Montero is looking to platoon, not start, at first base once again for Seattle this season. Montero was traded when he was a catcher optimizing his value, his value as a soft hitting first baseman is little to none in terms of WAR, trade value or projections.

This is not a post to prop up Pineda, he will do that on his own, nor is it a post to dog on Montero, I like Montero and I wish him nothing but the best, but it is a declaration of victory in my eyes for the New York Yankees. Remember, a blog is a place for opinions and this is mine. As Pineda enters his prime he is seemingly getting better and better while Montero is simply just holding on but remember, in some eyes Brian Cashman doesn’t have an earthly clue what he is doing.