No Fight in this "Dog"...

Credit:  Tony Avelar-Associated Press

A’s 5, Yankees 2…

A funny thing happened on our way to a fun and exciting season.  We got our butts kicked by the American League’s worst team. The season-high losing streak has now reached five games (three in a row to the lowly A's) as the agony on the West Coast continues.  

After the return of the “batting practice” pitcher (Masahiro Tanaka), the Yankees thrust a Triple A pitcher into the role of stopper later today.  It’s going to be a very long flight back to New York for the Yankees if they can’t at least salvage the final game of the four game series.

Masahiro Tanaka’s performance yesterday showed me that I really hope that he opts out of his contract at the end of the year.  But unfortunately, the worse he pitches, the more foolish he’d walk away from guaranteed money that he’d be unable to top on the open market.  Tanaka is no ace and I am becoming very pessimistic about his chances to reclaim any resemblance of a top of the rotation guy.

Tanaka did strike out 10 batters, when the A’s weren’t sending the pitches out of the park (three home runs in the first four innings).  In fact, Tanaka is the only pitcher in the last 100 years to strike out at least ten while allowing three homers in four innings or less.  It’s not exactly a record that I’d be proud of.

After the Yankees failed to score any runs in the top of the first inning despite a runner in scoring position, the A’s Matt Joyce hopped on the first pitch thrown by Tanaka and homered to right-center.  Tanaka struck out the next 3 batters to end the first (giving the false illusion that the homer was an aberration).  

The next inning, the Yankees took a 2-1 lead when they scored two runs on three successive singles and a sac fly against A’s starter Jesse Hahn.  But it was temporary.  In the bottom of the 2nd, Ryon Healy blasted a shot to left center to tie the game.  Like the inning before, Tanaka subsequently recorded all three outs by strikeout, leaving runners at first and second through a double and a walk which followed the homer.  Tanaka faced the minimum of three batters in the third (one by strikeout), but Ryon Healy opened the fourth with his second home run of the game.  The A’s had the lead for good, 3-2.  It was another inning of all three outs recorded by strikeout, but sadly they were mixed in with four singles that produced two more runs.  5-2, A’s.

Credit:  Getty Images

Tanaka (5-7, 6.34 ERA) didn’t come back for the fifth inning, and he was replaced by Domingo German who finished up the game (protecting the other tired arms in the bullpen).  German did an admirable job with four scoreless innings (6 strikeouts of his own) but the Yankees offense was silent for the remainder of the game.  Swinging strikeouts in the 9th by Chris Carter, Gary Sanchez and Austin Romine ended the game (leaving Ronald Torreyes, who had singled and taken second on defensive indifference, stranded).  

The Boston Red Sox missed out on an opportunity to tie the Yankees (38-28) for the AL East lead and they remain one game back thanks to their 7-1 loss to the Houston Astros.  The Red Sox seem to be having their own Tanaka-like problems with last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner, Rick Porcello (3-9, 5.05 ERA).  The Tampa Bay Rays and the Baltimore Orioles both won so they are 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 games behind, respectively.  

Luis Cessa will be on the mound for the Yankees later today, making his season debut.  The Yankees bullpen will be at its strongest for the first time in a long time with the expected activation of closer Aroldis Chapman.  I am hopeful that the return of Tyler Clippard to the 7th inning allows him to be more effective with the pressurized latter innings under the control of Dellin Betances and Chapman.  

Odds & Ends…

Since his elevation to the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 28th, first baseman/outfielder Cody Bellinger, son of former Yankees pitcher Clay Bellinger, has been on a home-run tear.  He already has four multi-homer games, and his 19th home run yesterday matched Gary Sanchez’s MLB record for most home runs in a player’s first 49 games.  The Dodger Days for first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, currently on the DL with a degenerative disc in his lower back, appear to be numbered.

Credit:  Jeff Roberson-Associated Press

The Yankees received a scare yesterday when top prospect Gleyber Torres was pulled from the game with an injury suffered on a headfirst slide at home plate.  He has been diagnosed with a hyperextended elbow.  X-rays performed after the game were negative.  He’ll undergo further medical evaluation before returning to Scranton.  Hopefully all is well except for a few days of rest.

I hadn’t really seen a list yet, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported this weekend that the Yankees must place the following players on the 40-man roster between now and November 20th or risk losing them in the Rule 5 draft:  Gleyber Torres, Albert Abreu, Domingo Acevedo, Tyler Wade, Zack Littell, Thairo Estrada, Clint Frazier, Dustin Fowler, Ian Clarkin, Billy McKinney and J.P. Feyereisen.  It would seem that the abundance of talented prospects requiring protection will be a factor in the days leading up the trading deadline next month.  

Happy Father’s Day to all dads in the Yankees Universe!  I hope it’s a tremendous day for you, complete with a Yankees victory!  Enjoy!

In the Latest “Who Gives A F--- But It’s Still News for Whatever Reason” Segment

In my last post I had made a small comment about journalism. I didn’t get into much detail because I feel like I’ve said this a million times but for the million and first time here it is again. I hate journalism as a whole and journalism is pretty much why I began writing as much, on the scale and as passionately as I do. Journalism downright pisses me off because journalist will take anything and turn it into this full blown story and for one reason and one reason only. Money. Clicks on their websites, to keep their posh jobs at the New York Post and steal information from lower blog sites who report deals first only to pass it on as their own and then in turn block you when you ask (not demand) for some recognition, to sell newspapers or whatever the case may be. It’s the same recycled horse crap over and over again with a few words changed here or this stated a different way there and it’s annoying. It’s time to stop. Hence why we do what we do here on The Greedy Pinstripes but every once in a while I just get aggravated at the constant reminders of why I am here speaking to you today.

Example. Apparently former Yankees DH and third baseman Alex Rodriguez is dating television star and musician Jennifer Lopez. Last I checked, and when I say checked I mean I turned on the radio and the DJ was dishing about the latest celebrity gossip and I listened as I looked for music on my phone to listen to, Lopez was dating fellow musician Drake but I guess these things never last. Anyway, the couple are reportedly “excited” and “happy” about being together and seem to be “into each other” despite only being together “for a few weeks.” My thoughts…. Who cares? Let people be happy and leave them alone. If they want to be together, let them. This life is too short to not find your own happiness.

People over money people. Irresponsible journalism sucks and in the words of our President Donald Trump it makes you “fake news.” So just stop it. 

Hal Steinbrenner Discusses Selling the Yankees, Other Notes

So I may have just used the ultimate click bait for Yankees fans by saying that Hal Steinbrenner recently conducted an interview in which he discussed selling the Yankees, rookie outfielder Aaron Judge and other notes but it’s not a click bait if it’s true. Hal did in fact discuss the possibility of selling the Yankees and a plethora of other topics we’ll cover for you here but be warned, Hal isn’t likely to sell the team no matter what he says in this interview. Remember all those interviews where he said the Yankees had a World Series caliber team? Yeah his word and $15 bucks can get you a beer at Yankee Stadium but please, keep reading regardless.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post conducted the interview, yeah it took the possibility of Hal selling the team for me to break my protest of reading his garbage work, and when asked about the possibility of selling the team Hal shot it down immediately. Hal was quoted as saying in the interview that “I never considered selling three years ago when the future looked tough, why would I sell now that the future is bright? There is no consideration. I am excited for March to get here. I am excited for the next few years.” There goes that pipe dream.

Also in the interview Hal mentioned that he wanted to give Aaron Judge a chance to win the right field job in 2017 despite his struggles at times this season while the Yankees owner also felt comfortable with handing two of the vacant starting rotation spots to two of Luis Cessa, Chad Green, Bryan Mitchell, Luis Severino, Adam Warren, Chance Adams or James Kaprielian.

Finally in the interview Hal mentioned that he was very happy with manager Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman indicating that no moves would be made before their contracts run out after 2017. A man can dream though, can’t he?

While We Wait Link Dump for May 19th from the BYB Hub

There is only one thing, ONE THING, that’s good about having the New York Yankees play out on the West Coast. I tend to get a lot more things done with my extra three or four hours of my day. I am an early riser and I usually run all day long so staying up until 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM ET just to wake up at 5:00 AM to watch the Yankees is not my cup of tea but like I said I use these games as a way to catch up on things. I’m hoping you will do the same here tonight as I had this novel idea, why not do a link dump here giving you a chance to catch up on some reading while you wait for the Yankees game to begin or you start winding down before bed.

The DBacks lack tradition and it's annoying from Bleeding Yankee Blue. 

Digging for positives with this Yankees team by Lady At the Bat.

Jackie Bradley Jr. is the best outfielder in MLB by Section 36.

I’ve done this before showcasing Yankees-related material from major news publications like NJ.com, the USA Today and the New York Daily News but those guys get enough clicks anyway. When they aren’t getting enough clicks they come up with click baits like “Yankees frontrunners for Mike Trout” so I thought I would bring you some articles from true fans, websites that need some love and members of the BYB Hub. So enjoy and check out the BYB Hub at bybhub.blogspot.com. 

The Goose is Still on the Loose

Goose Gossage has fallen into the trap that the media likes to set. Gossage was interviewed by ESPN’s Andrew Marchand earlier in the month and he had a few one-liners that became instant news headlines. He called Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Bautista a disgrace, with a few expletives thrown in between, and also called anyone who went to Harvard or studied analytics a “nerd.” Goose is talking again and he’s not holding back this time either, the Goose is still on the loose!

This time Goose was speaking with Kevin Kernan of the New York Post and he reiterated what he said in the ESPN interview. Goose also went out and took a shot at Cam Newton, the Carolina Panthers quarterback in the NFL, saying “it’s a shame, it breaks my heart to see the direction this game is going. What, do we want a bunch of Cam Newton’s running around?”

Goose also doesn’t like instant replay although he still does like using the “F” word just as an FYI. Goose was quoted as saying “Now you sit there for five minutes and wait for a f***ing replay. And half the time you can’t even tell.” Goose went on to also say “who’s died in the last 100 years because of a bad call? Well, they lost a World Series and the kid lost his perfect game. Who died? Leave the human element in the game. You cannot take the human element out of baseball because it is the fabric of the game.

Oh and Bryce Harper is fair game too. “What does this kid know? This kid doesn’t know squat about the game, and no respect for it.” And Goose what are you doing exactly? Representing the game, a kid’s game that many children follow, and representing the Yankees and the Hall of Fame by dropping f-bombs every other word in every interview that you are doing every other day? You didn’t hear my last post obviously or take it to heart so I’ll put it in a language you can understand and relate to.

Goose, shut the **** up. You’re embarrassing yourself nerd. You, my friend, are the disgrace and you are better than this. You’re a Yankee, an advocate for the game, an adult and a role model to children. Act like it or go home. And I don’t condone the use of that kind of language and frankly I only used it to drive home a point with you directly, truth be told I have the utmost respect for you as a person and as a ballplayer, but as a fan your act is getting old. Don’t give in to the machine that is the media because they don’t care about you or what you have to say. They just want you to get fired up, use the “F” word, and sell some papers or subscriptions to their blogs. That’s all. Be better than that. 

Quick Hit: Aroldis Chapman Seeks US Citizenship

The New York Yankees closer was recently suspended for 30 games under MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred’s new domestic violence policy but that is not stopping Aroldis Chapman from seeing his ultimate goal come to fruition, to become a legal citizen of the United States of America.

According to the New York Post Chapman has begun the long process of becoming a US citizen and started down that road last year. Chapman told the Post “I am in the process right now. Eventually, when I become a citizen, if it happens, it’s going to be something great. It’s a nice opportunity for me to become a U.S. citizen.”

This is in my very humble yet very bias opinion the greatest country in the world and I love it when people live out and fulfill the American dream. Good for Chapman on his potential citizenship and good for anyone else who does or tries, it’s just a small part of what makes this country great.

Beltran: Vets Will Stay On Starlin Castro, Also Talks Retirement

Carlos Beltran joined a lot of the Yankees fans recently in expressing his excitement for the team’s new starting second baseman Starlin Castro. Castro was traded to the New York Yankees for Adam Warren and Brendan Ryan at the winter meetings and Beltran believes, according to an interview and reports done by the New York Post, Castro is “going to be an important key for us this year.” Beltran also went on to say that “With the veterans we have, we’ll be on top of him, helping him become a better ballplayer.” Apparently the Yankees veterans are ready for a project.

Castro is just 25-years old and is already a three time All-Star that’s approaching 1,000 hits for his career. Castro is a career .281 hitter with a .725 OPS spending much of his time at shortstop for the Chicago Cubs. That’s expecting a lot out of a young kid to be better than that at age 25 but if any place and any team is going to motive a player it’s definitely New York, the New York Yankees and veterans like Beltran, Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and others.

Also in the article Beltran was asked if he knew when he was going to retire from MLB and the Yankees right fielder was non-committal. Beltran said it depended on how his 2016 went with his health and production. Beltran has one more year left on his three year deal with the Yankees and will either retire after this contract or play one more season if his body allows. With Alex Rodriguez under contract for one more season and Beltran’s knee’s making him more of a full-time DH than an outfielder at this point it seems likely that this is the final year for Beltran in pinstripes, either way.

Brian Cashman Ranked 5th in Top 10 GM’s List

Depending on who you ask you can ask 100 people what they think about Brian Cashman and you are likely to get close to about 100 different answers. The organization obviously loves him, he’s entering his 18^th season as the team’s GM in 2016, and judging by Twitter the majority of the fans hate him. A lot of the beat writers and bloggers understand that no GM is going to bat 1.000, and of course there are some level-headed fans that do as well, and some even know how hard it is to actually make a deal in Major League Baseball. Overall the perception of Cashman is always changing because no one truly knows Cashman. Cashman served under King George, George Steinbrenner, and had his decisions and moves overruled or undermined while now his unlimited cash flow has been cut off by Hal Steinbrenner. Will the real Brian Cashman please stand up?

Many have tried to decipher how well Cashman does as a GM and the latest to try is Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Davidoff released a publication titles “Top 10 Current MLB General Managers in the Game” and Mr. Cashman made the list at #5. Davidoff’s exact quote was this:

“Ah, yes. Mr. Cashman. The mere refusal to advocate for his immediate firing draws venom from many fan corners. The Yankees haven’t won a playoff game since 2012, for crying out loud! Look at the other names on the list. Only (John) Mozeliak can relate to Cashman on one very important career track: in 18 years on the job, not once has Cashman made a “sell” trade, nor has he picked in the top half of the draft. Every other man ranked here has benefited greatly from playing the long game. Never has Cashman enjoyed an opportunity to do that. The decision to go crazy two winters ago, bringing aboard Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Masahiro Tanaka – as opposed to ramping it down upon the retirement of the Core Four – was driven by ownership, and it also reinforces considerable financial room for error that Cashman possesses.”

Well said Mr. Davidoff, well said indeed. To finish out the Top 10 list by Davidoff you have John Mozeliak of the St. Louis Cardinals in the top spot followed by Theo Epstein of the Chicago Cubs, Jon Daniels of the Texas Rangers and Brian Sabean of the San Francisco Giants.

Mark Teixeira Isn’t “OK” With Anything

When I saw the now “infamous” article and tweet stating that the New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira would be “OK” with waiving his no-trade clause to facilitate a deal this winter I can’t lie, I got a little bit excited. I didn’t bother to check the source, I thought maybe a responsible site like Yanks Go Yard would have done that for me (and that was not tongue in cheek, the site is responsible and a friend of The Greedy Pinstripes) but after doing some research and digging around one thing is clear, at least to me, and that is that Mark Teixeira isn’t “OK” with anything.

This is slowly becoming old news now, the story broke late in the week last week, but I wanted to wait this one out before I began to write about it. Why? Sometimes the little guys, no matter how much Joel Sherman doesn’t want to admit it, get the news first. I bring up Sherman specifically because we here at TGP had the Curtis Granderson to the Mets deal not only first, but 100% correct, days before Sherman stole the show. Sherman was credited for it and when I linked him to my blog post and tweets day before asking for accountability I was blocked and I am still blocked on his Twitter to this day. So with this instance I wanted to wait around to see if anyone would pick up on it, maybe even speculate on it, but I have seen nothing. Absolutely nothing. When you see smoke there is usually fire but in this case there isn’t a stick of wood to be found.

When no one is talking about something or none of the beat writers or experts are even talking about, trying to confirm, trying to fact check etc. that usually means it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and sounds like a duck. This is a duck! Mark Teixeira did not give the Yankees the green light to trade him and he definitely isn’t going to follow Billy Eppler to Los Angeles to play for the Angels alongside the monster contracts of CJ Wilson, Albert Pujols (who is also a first baseman) and Josh Hamilton (who is playing for the Texas Rangers).

This is a duck and it’s not happening. 

Greg Bird to Right Field? Brian Cashman Answers the Question

When the New York Yankees called up first base prospect Greg Bird many were left wondering how the team would get Bird enough at bats to justify the pause in his development. Sure Bird would be getting the Major League experience that cannot be duplicated without actually experiencing it first hand but playing every day, even in the minor leagues, may or may not have been more beneficial to Bird. Ironically and coincidentally Alex Rodriguez went on a cold streak and Mark Teixeira  injured his leg after fouling a ball off it plunging Bird into basically an every day role. Teixeira seems like he has nursed his leg back to health and Rodriguez will likely get all three games off in Atlanta after taking two nights off this past weekend seemingly once again leaving Bird without an every day spot in the lineup. The Yankees will have to get creative to get Bird those necessary at bats before rosters expand in September, could that creativity bring the team's best first base prospect to the outfield and specifically to right field?

In an interview seen on the New York Post, SEEN HERE, the Yankees GM Brian Cashman was asked that exact question and 100% put the question and speculation to bed emphatically.  Cashman shot down any chance of Bird playing in the outfield, outside of an emergency situation obviously, as long as Cashman is in charge of the personnel decisions in the Bronx.

Here is a direct quote from Mr. Cashman himself:

“First base is his skill set,” Cashman said. “The move to the outfield would not make sense. I am not running him down, but he is just not athletic enough for that. He is what he is.”

There you have it folks, no right field or any outfield for Bird. If he's not athletic enough to do it then he absolutely should not be out there. Bird was drafted as a catcher and forced to first base due to a back injury and if Cashman says Bird is not an outfielder then he's not an outfielder, and that's okay with me.

Carlos Beltran, You’re Worrying Me

* naturally this was written before last night's game where he did well. 

Carlos Beltran was one of the seemingly knee jerk reactions that the New York Yankees had when they lost out on free agent Robinson Cano just a couple winters ago. Beltran has waited patiently to play in a Yankees uniform for much of his career and when finally given the shot has really struggled in pinstripes. Last season was chalked up as a loss because of an ailing bone spur problem that bothered him and required offseason surgery to repair. Beltran is said to be healthy and feeling no pain and effects from the surgery but is still continuing to struggle at the bat not only this season but in the spring as well. When is it too early to start worrying about Beltran and what his lack of offense is doing to the New York Yankees?

When the Yankees hitting coach Jeff Pentland was asked this very question he responded that Beltran was “frustrated” and he’s “not used to struggling” according to the New York Post. Beltran has been a great hitter for his entire career, even when oft-injured with the Mets, but has struggled mightily since returning to New York. Beltran was batting .156 after hitting a double in Tuesday night’s game with four RBI in the Yankees first eight games. What also compounds the problem, and makes me worry, is that his on base percentage is only 20 points higher at .176 so without really looking he couldn’t have taken more than one or two walks this season.

Beltra turns 38 years old next week and is in the second year of a three year deal worth $45 million with the Yankees. Beltran is a career .281 hitter and has 373 home runs in his career and before coming to New York led the St. Louis Cardinals to the World Series with a .296 batting average, 24 home runs and 84 RBI. Those numbers with New York are a far cry from what the Yankees were expecting when they signed him and I don’t know about you guys but I’m beginning to worry. If he was taking his walks or having good at bats or even playing adequate defense that would be one thing, when a guy is struggling and leaving me struggling to find a redeeming factor and quality about him I tend to worry. Well Beltran, I’m worried. 

Prove me wrong, please?

Brian Cashman Says Retire the Captaincy

Brian Cashman told reporters earlier in the week that he thinks the job and honor of being the captain of the New York Yankees should be retired with Derek Jeter. This was probably just Cashman being politically correct and holding up Jeter a little higher than he should have been much like the country and the league did during his farewell tour last season but this is still a reach if I have ever seen one. Granted this is not Cashman’s decision to make and is ownership driven but still it begs the question, what has Jeter done that Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Don Mattingly, and others haven’t done that the captaincy needs to be retired?

I love Jeter and I have multiple #2 jerseys hanging on the wall of my man cave but Jeter is no Gehrig. Jeter wasn’t even a Joe DiMaggio or a Mickey Mantle let alone a Babe Ruth (on the field). Jeter is just a guy that came to the ballpark and did his job the right way and very well. He should be held up higher than some for the accomplishments that he has been a part of but retiring the captaincy is a whole new level.

Think before you speak Mr. Cashman, you’re not working for the New York Post. 

Jimmy Rollins Considered Trade to Mets but not Yankees

The New York Post, who as you know I am not entirely happy with at this particular minute, reported that former Phillies and current Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop considered waiving his no trade right to accept a trade to the New York Mets. One team that Rollins did not consider waiving his trade right for was the New York Yankees. Interesting.

Rollins did state that the only destination he actually wanted to go to was Los Angeles and was very happy to be a Dodgers player, and who could blame him, but the idea of being a Mets player at least intrigued him. Rollins mentioned the stockpile of young arms the Mets have as his reasoning behind it as he saw a bright future with the Metropolitans.

Rollins stated in that same interview that it would have been hard to replace Derek Jeter this late in his career and would have never gone to the Yankees for that reason. I get that because I don’t think anyone necessarily wanted to be the one to replace Jeter except for Troy Tulowitzki but someone has to do it. Long story short Rollins is in Los Angeles, Didi Gregorius is in New York and Wilmer Flores is written in pencil as the shortstop in Queens. 

Remember When the New York Post was Credible?

Remember when the New York Post was a credible and honorable news site and newspaper that New Yorkers could depend on? That all went out the window with the trashy low blow on Alex Rodriguez that apparently they deemed as appropriate and humorous. Newsflash, it wasn’t. It was irresponsible, unneeded and to use a baseball term, it was Bush League.

You used to be better than that. Anything for a purchase, a click or a view though right guys?