Another Reason To Be Excited About The Future

While I was already excited about the future of the Yankees, the recent decision to part ways with Joe Girardi has increased it.

Let me start by touching upon the reasons I was excited before....

1. The Yankees are stocked with young stars. Aaron Judge is not only an MVP candidate after his rookie season, but is also a finalist for the Gold Glove award. Among catchers with at least 400 plate appearances this season, Gary Sanchez was first in fWAR, first in wOBA, first in SLG, first in home runs, and first in RBI. Luis Severino, in his first full season as a starter, was third in the AL in fWAR, third in ERA, and fourth in strikeouts per nine innings. And then you have other youngsters like Greg Bird and Jordan Montgomery. Not to mention that Sonny Gray is young and under team control for two more seasons, and Didi Gregorius is in the same boat while being a prime candidate for a contract extension (although the Yankees are not keen on contract extensions).

2. While there are already youngsters in the Majors making big contributions, that doesn't mean there aren't more on the way. Gleyber Torres is the #1 prospect in baseball, and will likely make his MLB debut sometime in 2018. Chance Adams will likely debut next season too, while other good pitching prospects like Justus Sheffield are not far behind. Then there's Miguel Andujar, who could very well be the team's long-term answer at third base (this could be dependent on the team ridding themselves of Starlin Castro, of course).

3. This is the area that has me a little concerned. Emphasis on "little".

I believe young players need veterans to guide the start of their careers. For example, Matt Holliday had a well-documented impact on Aaron Judge this season. Adjusting to the spotlight, particularly in New York, is extremely difficult. So to see a player like Judge handle things in stride like he did should be enough to tell you that some veteran presence is a good thing.

That's an area where CC Sabathia has been big for the team. Sure, we haven't heard much about the interaction between CC and youngsters like Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery, but I'm sure some of CC's knowledge has been shared with them. And as long as the team has a starting spot to fill, and he's still effective, then Sabathia should be brought back.

But on the offensive side of things that veteran presence isn't so obvious. The 22+ years of experience in MLB from Brett Gardner, Chase Headley, and Didi Gregorius should be there for the kids of today and the future. But is it really? I'd like to know, because until then I'm just a little concerned here.

4. I have faith in Brian Cashman and the front office (btw, the fact that Brian Cashman had much to do with the decision to let Joe Girardi go tells you he's returning as the general manager). I know Brian has his share of detractors, but I'm not among them. What Cash has done the past few years is extraordinary. Before the 2016 trades of Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman the Yankees farm system was middle of the road, but after those trades MLB.com ranked them second. Brian was also able to get the Yankees a young, strong, cost-controlled starter in Sonny Gray without giving up that much (Fowler, Kaprielian, and Mateo are not bad prospects, but each has questions about their futures). And how about the trade for Didi? That worked out pretty well, didn't it? Or how about holding onto top prospects who have made it possible for the Yankees to not only build a winner, but have a winning team right away? Has Cash made some mistakes (Chris Carter)? Sure. But his pros significantly outweigh his cons.

And that brings us back to the first line of this post... the Yankees' new manager.

I wasn't against Joe Girardi, but I wasn't for him either. I saw the good... I saw the bad. My faith in Girardi as the manager mainly revolved around the fact that the front office had faith in him. Was that wishful thinking on my part? I really don't know. There are numerous articles out there talking about all the good and bad things Joe Girardi did for the Yankees, so I really don't want to repeat all of that.

My faith again is in the hands of the front office, and I feel good about that. Because the front office has made it so the future of this team is brighter than it's been since 1996. They could very well hire some guy that flat-out stinks, but seeing how well the vast majority of their decisions have worked recently, I feel good about what will happen. Especially since it's been made clear that they were not on board with the "binder" thing that many people hated about Joe Girardi's managing style.

To wrap things up, I'll never be happy about the Yankees losing, no matter what the circumstances surrounding the loss are. Losing in the American League Championship Series, especially being one win away from winning the pennant with two games to go, hurts. But the fact that this team, and by "team" I'm talking about players, coaches, and front office, lost gives them motivation to be even better in 2018. They may not be the underdogs they were in 2017, but they still have something to prove.

Weekly Check In: Aaron Judge

Another Yankees bites the dust to injury and another Yankees prospect is still sitting in Triple-A chomping at the bit trying to claw his way to the Major Leagues. I’ll never understand why the Yankees do what they do in the prospects department and I’ll never understand why they rely on veterans no matter the circumstance but in the same breath I am under no illusions that I know more as a fan than the people in the organization.

So we’ll save the Yankees front office second guessing for another day, and trust me another day will come, and instead we’ll focus on what the Yankees are doing right. Aaron Judge is doing better in Triple-A than he did in 2015 and at one point he went on a home run streak that undoubtedly opened up eyes in the Bronx.

Judge is an authoritative figure with an absolute ton of power and word is that he has adjusted his batting stance a bit to better reach the inside part of the plate. It has also, whether by design or not, made him better and recognizing the breaking stuff off that plate that has terrorized him for much of his career making him a much better hitter. The improvements are there and it won’t be long before the Judge will be in the Bronx reigning terror on opposing pitching staffs. 

Year	Age	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	24	AAA	30	136	17	32	7	7	20	1	11	34	.260	.316	.488	.804

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Randy Levine & Donald Trump

Randy Levine and Donald Trump, what a combo. Very rarely do we mix politics and sports here on the blog, they usually don’t mix well, but today we will because someone in the Yankees front office is talking about it. Randy Levine, the President of the New York Yankees, is accusing GOP party insiders of “foul” play as they attempt to keep Trump from winning the presidential nomination. Dirty play in politics, say it ain’t so. Randy Levine complaining, say it ain’t so.

I’m not a big fan of Levine’s, you guys reading this probably already know that, but I am a fan of Trump. I don’t necessarily agree with or even like a lot of the things that Trump says for a plethora of reasons but there is one thing I like about Trump, he tells it like it is. He is not a politician and I truly believe that he will not be bought out if he wins the election. I think this country needs some radical change and I think the country needs someone who isn’t a politician, whether that be Bernie Sanders or Trump (or my original favorite Dr. Ben Carson). No president is going to get everything they promise to get done accomplished and a president with these radical ideas likely won’t get far but it will set the precedence and the tone for years to come. I’m thinking long term picture here but anyway I’m getting away from the point, here is the quote from Levine on the GOP and Trump:

"If a candidate garners the greatest number of votes, he or she should get the majority of delegates. That's the way elections are supposed to work," Levine wrote. "You win or lose on the field or at the ballot box. It is OK to play as a spoiler, as many teams do to affect the final standings, but if that is your goal you should acknowledge it."

This is going to go down to the wire, Game 162 if you will, and it’s going to get dirty. Watch it as it all unfolds because this is going to be one of the biggest elections of our lifetime’s folks. Oh and Randy Levine, shhhhhhhh. And everyone reading, please be nice in the comments section and on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) as my intention was not to incite a riot here. This post will likely decide whether more posts like it come on the blog. 

Some Details Behind the George M. Steinbrenner Field Renovations & Extension

The New York Yankees spent billions of dollars building the cathedral that is the newest version of Yankee Stadium and apparently with this front office that was just the beginning. The team announced that they have struck a deal to keep George M. Steinbrenner Field their spring training home through the 2046 season but they have also announced an estimated $40 million renovation plan for the stadium bearing the former Yankees owner’s name.

The Yankees have been in Tampa, Florida since the 1996 season after moving over from Fort Lauderdale and they will stay there at least 50 seasons with this new extension. The Hillsborough County tourist development tax, the Florida spring training program and the Yankees will each fit the bill for the renovations equally.

The renovations should begin almost immediately and are expected to be complete by next March in time for spring training. The list of renovations coming to the field include new outfield concourses that provide a 360-degree view of the field and additional shaded and gathering areas. I’m sure more will be released the closer we get to it so stay tuned because we’ll bring it to you. 

ICYMI: Yankees Respond to John Oliver on Thursday

John Oliver of HBO’s comedic show “Last Week with John Oliver” has been trolling the New York Yankees a bit during this first week of the baseball season and before the team left Yankee Stadium the organization finally responded to the comedian. We spoke about this yesterday that Oliver was out to send a message to the club and the fan base and that he needed to stop there or risk going overboard and counterproductive, well I can’t see him stopping now that the Yankees took the time to acknowledge him and respond to him.

In case you missed the whole story here is the Readers Digest version of it all. New York has been called “elitist a-holes” by Oliver after Lonn Trost basically said in not so many words that he didn’t want fans who couldn’t afford premium seats on a normal basis sitting with those who do. That and fraud was the reasoning behind the Yankees decision to stop taking print-at-home tickets and Oliver took offense to that. Oliver then purchased tickets and sold them to fans for a quarter if they agreed to dress up in costumes and attend the games.

All in all the crowd was protected by two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, scared by a pair of sharks, mesmerized by a pair of unicorns and terrified by a pair of dinosaurs prompting the Yankees organization to take notice via a message on the team’s videoboard. The message said “Thanks, John Oliver. Everyone is welcome at Yankee Stadium.”

Touche, Yankees and kudos. 

Randy Levine Battles StubHub, Makes Yankee Fans Look Bad

The ongoing battle between the secondary ticket market, specifically StubHub and the New York Yankees continued this week with the Bronx borough president Ruben Diaz Jr., StubHub representative and the Yankees Randy Levine having a war of words over the Yankees print-at-home ticket ban. You would think that Diaz, a lifelong Yankees fan who confessed his favorite player of all-time was Graig Nettles, would side with the Yankees but like many of us the new policy and the recent comments by the Yankees COO Lonn Trost has left a bitter taste in many of our mouths.

To put the entire squabble in a nutshell and to paraphrase Diaz is upset that the Yankees fans are being disrespected and slapped in the face, and they are, while Levine thinks it’s all because the Yankees no longer “comp” tickets for Diaz to conduct business with at Yankee Stadium. Levine went on to say in an interview that “I guess there are no greater problems in the Bronx that he needs to spend time on than ticketing.” Naturally Diaz’s camp denies being comped tickets by the Yankees and now the Bronx borough president is considering siding with StubHub.

Not that my vote matters but I am on StubHub’s side too. Just saying. 

Charleston Riverdogs Have New Front Office Staff

RiverDogs Add New Front Office Staffers Four additions bring youth and enthusiasm
CHARLESTON, SC – Charleston RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols has announced the hiring of four new staffers as the front office tackles an important offseason heading into the 20th season at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Matt Dean is the new “Voice of the RiverDogs” and media relations director while Nate Kurant is the new director of promotions.  Morgan Powell will be the new box office manager and Megan Blackman is the new office manager.

Dean, a 2015 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double-major of Life Sciences Communication and Agricultural Business Management, spent last season as the broadcast and media relations assistant for the RiverDogs’ sister team, the St. Paul Saints.  He served as the analyst and backup play-by-play man for the Saints’ home games.  Prior to that, Dean was an intern as ESPN Radio 100.5 FM in Madison and was a broadcaster for the BTN’s (Big Ten Network) student program.

Dean was recognized by the NCAA Football Student Radio Call of the Week (Nov. 17, 2014), honored by the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Sports Radio Story of the Year (2015) and was an Eagle Scout.

“Matt is a young talent whom I believe our listeners will thoroughly enjoy,” said RiverDogs General Manager Dave Echols.  “He spent a season with the St. Paul Saints, which gave him a solid background in broadcasting.  As ‘Voice of the RiverDogs, Matt will be an integral part of our 2015 season.”

Kurant, who will have the responsibilities of coordinating the RiverDogs’ promotional schedule, earned his undergraduate degree in Mass Communications in 2007 from the University of South Florida-St. Petersburg and added a masters in Journalism and Media Studies from USF-St. Petersburg in 2012.

For the past four seasons, Kurant served as the director of marketing and social media for the Dunedin (FL) Blue Jays where he created and developed marketing ideas to promote the organization to the local fan base and made the team more visible nationwide.  He created professional baseball’s first and only universal rain check, was a writer/graphic designer and a high school varsity baseball coach.  He also served in missions in Costa Rica, was an improv comedian and has a working knowledge of Spanish and English sign language.

“Nate comes to us with an impressive background in marketing and social media on the minor league baseball level,” Echols said.  “He possesses multiple skills, and we’ll utilize them as marketing and promotions are the backbone to the RiverDogs’ successes over the years.  I believe our fans will enjoy the results of Nate’s work.”  

For Powell, who is a native of Alpharetta, Ga., and who will handle the RiverDogs’ busy box office, comes to Charleston from the Pittsfield (Mass.) Suns, where she was the assistant general manager for the 2014 and ’15 seasons in charge of tickets.  She spent the 2013 campaign with the Hudson Valley (NY) Renegades as the box office manager and social media/marketing coordinator.  

Powell also served as an executive trainee for the rival Rome Braves in 2012 and spent two years as a media relations student intern at Auburn University, where she graduated with a degree in Public Relations in 2011.

“Morgan is another energetic, young professional whom our fans will enjoy interacting with,” Echols stated.  “She is experienced in box office management, and with our establishing a new attendance record in 2015, our fans will see a seamless transition in that area.”

Blackman, of Goose Creek, was a former RiverDogs special events intern, who most recently worked in the medical profession as a patient services representative and a physician’s office specialist.  A 2011 graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in Experimental Psychology, Blackman added a master’s in Health, Exercise and Sport Science at The Citadel.
“Megan has been an intern with our special events staff,” Echols added.  “She has an infectious and positive attitude, and she, too, will do a good job for us.”

The RiverDogs, the Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees, begin their season on April 7 with a seven-game homestand that features the rival Columbia Fireflies (April 7-10) and the Asheville Tourists (April 11-13).  Ticket information may be secured by contact the box office at 843/577-DOGS (3647) or online at www.riverdogs.com.