Enough is Enough!!!

It’s time to give Sonny Gray the ✖️. Sonny Gray once again was a Major disappointment. 1IP 5 hits 2 ER. 0Ks. It’s time the Yankees bite the bullet and shut down Gary for the rest of the year.  It’s what’s best for the team. Sonny is living up to his late name Gray, more then his first name Sonny. Whether any one will admit it within in the Yankees but Mr Gray is not what we signed on for.  Luckily his bad outing didn’t kill us today. The Yankees still managed to pull out the W, with a 7-2 showing vs the Rangers. The Bronx Bombers were powered by Stanton’s 30th jack of the season, and Didi’s 21st long ball.
Sorry for the short post was actually typing this up 6 hours ago and had issues with apple.  While it was corrected took Apple four hours to figure it out, thus I’m kinda shot.  Don’t worry I’ll be back tomorrow ready to go.  Have a great night!
Let’s G⚾️ Yankees!!
James C Palma                                                                        Email: JamesCPalma@Yahoo.com                                Twitter: @JamesCPalmaRemeber if you are reading this on the MLB News App. Be Sure To Check Us Out at TheGreedyPinstripes.Com

Fan Time......

Hello there Readers and Followers, how are you all doing? It’s that time again, and today I am proud to be conducting my 1st Fan Time Interview with a random fan. Also due to a overwhelming interest from many more fans, you will be treated to a few of these this week. 😎

Jay: Hello sir please tell us about yourself. 

Fan: My name is Robert Roman. I was born and raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I currently live in Beaverton, OR. I’ve been a Pediatric ICU nurse for 7 years. Let’s go Yankees!

Jay: Well hello Mr. Rob, pleasure having you today. Let’s begin. 

How long have you been a Yankee Fan ?

Rob: Been a Yankees fan since birth! 1980! First onesie my mom put on me was a pinstripe onesie! LOL!

Jay: Very cool we are born in the same year.   

1st Yankee memory you remember ??

Rob: First Yankee memory...getting a signed baseball from Lou Pinella when I was a patient at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in NYC. I was only 4 or 5 years old, in the pediatric ward with really bad asthma, and he came in to see all of us, and sign balls and stuff. Still have it!

Jay: That is amazing. The Yankees have always been good about doing things like this. I bet that made you very happy? Rob: I was ecstatic! Pinella was always one of my parent’s favorite Yankees from those late 70’s teams. So I had a great appreciation for who he was, and what he meant to the franchise.

Jay: Very cool! Biggest Yankee memory you have?

Rob: So many BIG Yankee memories! One would have to be being in the stadium for game 4 of the 1999 World Series! So awesome getting to see them celebrate winning the championship in person. 

Jay: What A Night!! Rob: Close second and third would be being at World Series game 1 in 1998 for Tino’s grand slam, and World Series game 5 for Brosius’ game tying homer in the bottom of the ninth after Tino did the same thing the night before! The old ballpark was just so dang electric! I miss it!

Jay: Favorite all time Yankee and Why?Rob: Favorite all time is easily “Donnie Baseball”, Don Mattingly! He was/is the epitome of what a Yankees player should be! Played his butt off every day of his career, and woulda been a sure fire HOF’er had his back not cut him down.

Jay: Do the Yankees win the division or Wild Card? Why? 

Rob: I’m thinking it’s another wild card year for them this year. They’re having a great season, but Boston is just playing at a historic clip. Not much you can do about that, except beat them in October!

Jay: In your opinion what’s the Best trade deadline move the Yankees made ? 

Rob: It’s looking like Lance Lynn right now with how well he’s pitched since getting here. By season’s end, I suspect it’ll be between him and J.A. Happ.

Jay: Does the injury to Judge or Sanchez hurt us more? 

Rob: It’s been tough not having both of them in the lineup, but losing Judge is proving to be more problematic because of what it’s doing to the rest of the lineup. Our bench is shorter because we have to play Stanton, Hicks, and Gardner more frequently. And having to play Shane Robinson on the occasions we do has definitely shortened the lineup.

Jay: Who from next years free agent class do you sign ? Why ?

Rob: I suppose it would have to be a starting pitcher. Patrick Corbin seems like a good one to pursue. I wouldn’t be surprised if we sniff around on Dallas Keuchel too. He’s always pitched well in NY against us. I’d be interested to see if that would translate to success on our staff.

Jay: Very nice id love to have Corbin, have always been a fan. I think I’d stay away from Keuchel I see signs that say this is more than just a down year. No interest in Bryce Harper ? 

Rob: Not terribly interested in Harper OR Machado for that matter. They’re both going to command a King’s ransom on the open market, and I think our money is best spent shoring up our rotation. Besides, in a few years time, we’ve gotta start paying our own superstars too!

Jay: Very true I am still interested in Harper myself :)

What is your all time Yankee team using only players you have seen play ? (Tv or live) lineup and all. Full 25 man roster.....players can’t play out of position.  

Rob: Hmmm.......25 Man Roster of Yankees I’ve Seen Play:

Starting Lineup

LF: Rickey Henderson

SS: Derek Jeter

2B: Robinson Cano

3B: Alex Rodriguez

1B: Don Mattingly

RF: Dave Winfield

DH: Hideki Matsui

C: Jorge Posada

CF: Bernie WilliamsBench (assuming I can put anybody here)

Mike Stanley - C/1B

Willie Randolph - 2B/SS

Paul O’Neil - RF

Brett Gardner - OF

Starting Pitchers

Ron Guidry

Jimmy Key

David Cone

Andy Pettitte

CC Sabathia

(So many lefties! LOL!)

Bullpen

Mariano Rivera

Goose Gossage

Dave Righetti

Dellin Betances

Jeff Nelson

Mike Stanton

Ramiro Mendoza (ultimate swing man!)Jay: That he was Mendoza was money💲💲

Like it man!! Very interesting. Lineup should produce plenty of offense. Pitching staff would be shut down, and the bullpen would be lights out. However I think for me I’d have to take out one of the guys and add John Wetteland. 

The following questions are the fun True or False part of Fan Time.  

Jay: Sonny Gray deserves another start?

Rob: False - Sonny doesn’t deserve another start unless Lynn or Happ struggle

Jay: Stanton Hits 50 HRs ? 

Rob: False - Stanton probably finished with 42-45 HR’s

Jay: Judge still Hits 40 HRs ? 

Rob: False - Judge probably doesn’t see the field again until mid-September unfortunately

Jay: The yanks break the record for team Home Runs ? 

Rob: False - they’ve fallen off the pace for the HR record, plus Sanchez and Judge STILL aren’t in the lineup.

Jay: Yankees have 4 players with more then 30 Home Runs?

Rob: False - there will be quite a few with 20+ though!

Jay: Yankees Win the World Series ? 

Rob: True - I genuinely feel like we’re going to hit our stride with a couple of weeks left in the season, and ride that wave to a WS championship.

Jay: Greg Bird hits 25 Home Runs?

Rob: False - Bird might get to 20 if he gets hot though!

Jay: Sevy Wins CY Young ? 

Rob: False - Sevy’s recent streak of bad starts will keep him out of the running.

Jay: Even with Sale hitting the DL ? Don’t you think that helped Sevy’s case ? 

Rob: I think Sale’s injury helped the Astros pitching staff’s case for the Cy Young, more than Sevy’s to be honest! Lol!

Jay: Hope Not.....Brett Gardner is a Yankee next Year? 

Rob: False - This answer is totally dependent on Clint Frazier’s health going into next season. If he is, then he’s our 4th OF. If not, we might bring Gardy back for one more season.

Jay: Any Final thoughts on the Yankees this year or next ?

Rob: Final thoughts? Here’s hoping this is just the beginning of a dominant run for this ball club! We’re VERY young, super talented, and have a few more pieces coming up the line to join these guys in the coming years. It’s definitely exciting being a Yankees fan right now!

Jay: Boy I hope you are right. I do feel the same way but in baseball you just never know.

That about wraps things up it was a pleasure having you. Thank You for your time.   

Rob: Thanks for having me Jay! It was great chatting about the Bombers with you! Let’s go Yankees!

Jay: Your Welcome!! & Yes Let’s G⚾️ Yankees!!!

As always I can be reached at JamesCPalma@Yahoo.Com                                    or on Twitter @JamesCPalmaRemember if you are reading this is the MLB News App be sure to Check us out at TheGreedyPinstripes.Com 

Saving Private Britton...

Photo Credit: AP (Rich Schultz)

Yanks Overcome Weather & Rangers for the Win…

It was raining and we had a closer with a bum knee on the mound who has shown an inability to consistently throw strikes (recently). A walk, a single, and a hit by pitch had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the ninth inning for Aroldis Chapman. He fell behind the next hitter, Jurickson Profar, on a 3-1 count. With the Yankees leading by two, a misplaced pitch could have brought the Rangers within one and the bases still juiced. Fortunately, the Cuban Missile rose to the occasion and delivered two well-placed four-seam fastballs to send the Rangers back to their NYC hotel on a losing note. Yankees win, 5-3.

Credit to Lance Lynn. I can’t say I was too excited when the Yankees acquired him last month (it felt kinda like ‘Jaime Garcia Revisited’) but this guy has a mental toughness that I did not know or expect. I guess if I had been paying better attention to the St Louis Cardinals the last few years, I would have known but the Cards are not exactly high on my priority list. Lynn didn’t provide the Yankees with length since he was gone after five innings and 99 pitches, but at least he held the Rangers to only one run on five hits. He issued three free passes but at least he struck out eight. If he had given up three or four runs, the Yankees most likely would have lost this game. He may not have gotten the win (thanks to Zach Britton’s meltdown), but he put his team in position to win. That’s all you can ask.  

Photo Credit: NY Post (Corey Sipkin)

As for Britton, I am not going to rip the guy. He missed most of the season after rupturing his right Achilles while sprinting during an off-season workout last December. He was still working himself back to form when the Yankees acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles. With the Yankees, his role changed from closer to basically seventh inning setup. The other night, after Chad Green had given up a couple of runs, he placed some of the blame on his role change. The same can be said for Britton. He’s a pro, and he is only a couple seasons removed from being the most elite reliever in baseball before injuries derailed him. I think as he rounds back into form, he’ll give the Yankees the pitcher they thought they were acquiring from the O’s.  

Nevertheless, the seventh inning was ugly. After retiring the first two batters, Britton loaded the bases on a couple of hits and a walk. He then walked future Hall of Famer Adrian Beltre to cut the Yankees’ lead to 3-2. Exit Britton and enter Dellin Betances. A balk on the big guy tied the game and removed Lynn’s ability to get the win.  

There will be better days for Britton. I have faith and confidence he’ll get this right. Although Britton is quick to admit that his troubles have been “self-inflicted”, Manager Aaron Boone remains in his corner (as he should). If the Yankees make it to October, I have no doubt Britton will come up huge.  

For most of the season, I’ve been supportive of Gleyber Torres for AL Rookie of the Year over Shohei Otani of the Los Angeles Angels. But yesterday showed the real ROY should be Miguel Andujar. His two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh restored the Yankees’ two-run lead which ultimately gave the Yankees (and ironically Dellin Betances) the much-needed win. 17 homers, 55 RBI, .296/.329/.511, .841 OPS, all those extra base hits. And to think I actually wanted the Yankees to re-sign Todd Frazier last winter.  ESPN projects Andujar’s final stats to read 24 homers and 77 RBIs with the nearly .300 batting average. Sign me up all day long. That’s better production than we’ve seen out of third base for a long time or before age caught up with Alex Rodriguez.  

Photo Credit: AP (Bill Kostroun)

Despite the win, the Yankees (73-43) lost a half-game to the Boston Red Sox and now trail the AL East leaders by 9 1/2 games. The Red Sox took two from their 2018 punching bag, the lowly Baltimore Orioles, yesterday and they have Chris Sale on the mound for today’s series finale at Camden Yards. The Red Sox have forgotten how to lose. The Yankees maintained their 4 1/2 game lead on the Oakland A’s and 6 games on the Seattle Mariners in the Wild Card standings.  

The return of Chance Adams to Triple A did not go so well. After holding his own against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in his last start, he imploded in Durham, NC against the Bulls. Even though he wasn’t the loser, his final line was enough to keep him away from Yankee Stadium for awhile. 3 1/3 innings, eight hits, seven runs, four walks, two home runs allowed (including one to former Yankee Rob Refsnyder). The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders rallied in the ninth to take the lead but the Bulls won it with a walk-off two run homer by former Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Austin Meadows. Meadows, who came to the Tampa Bay Rays organization in the Chris Archer deal, had two home runs on the day.  

The Luke Voit acquisition has been a head-scratcher for most of us. I’ve seen the references that he is basically Tyler Austin but with an extra year of control. But he is not really doing anything for me. He has two hits in twelve at-bats for the Yankees and a couple of RBI’s. Meanwhile, Tyler Austin homered on Saturday in his debut with the Minnesota Twins. I haven’t seen anything to lead me to believe Voit deserves a spot on the active roster. With Neil Walker’s ability to play first base, I’d rather see Ronald Torreyes back in the Bronx. Another name that probably deserves stronger consideration over Voit is first baseman Ryan McBroom. The downside, and enough to keep him away from the Bronx, is that he does not have a place on the 40-man roster. McBroom got demoted to Double A when the Yankees acquired Voit, but he was elevated back to the RailRiders when Voit got the call for the Show. Between Double and Triple A, McBroom, acquired from the Blue Jays organization last summer for the aforementioned Rob Refsnyder, has hit .312/.354/.482, .836 OPS. He has 15 home runs and 54 ribbies with his time in Trenton and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 26 year-old is much more deserving of the Pinstripes than the weight room junkie Voit.   

Photo Credit: Todd Hiller

I’d love to see the Yankees dump outfielder Shane Robinson but that’s not going to happen as long as Giancarlo Stanton is nursing a tight left hamstring that has relegated him to strict DH duties. If the Yankees are not going to trade for outfield help, I can only hope that Clint Frazier gets healthy soon. At this point, I’d prefer Zack Zehner (SWB) or Trey Amburgey (Trenton) over Robinson but that darn 40-man roster will keep them away.   

I’ll be heading out to Coors Field soon to watch the Colorado Rockies host Manny Machado and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last night was a tough game to watch. The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but with no closer (Kenley Jansen was sent back to LA on Friday night with an irregular heartbeat), the Dodgers bullpen collapsed to set the stage for Rockies rookie infielder Ryan McMahon’s walk-off three-run bomb. So, despite our bullpen woes yesterday, it could have been much, much worse as the Dodger fans will attest. Hopefully today is a better day for the Dodger Blue.

Photo Credit: Getty Images (Joe Mahoney)

For the Yankees, they have a chance to take three of four from Texas with a win today. We want a win and we need a win. CC Sabathia (6-4, 3.49 ERA) gets the call. He’ll be opposed by Martin Perez (2-4, 6.15 ERA). Keep Ronald Guzman from crossing home plate and put more runs on the board than the Rangers, that’s all I ask. After the Yankees conclude today’s game, they’ll prepare for a classic pitcher’s duel tomorrow at Yankee Stadium when the New York Mets come to the Bronx for a single makeup game. Luis Severino against Jacob deGrom. It should be a great one. I am really hoping Sevy has put his recent struggles behind him.  

Go Yankees!

Andújar, Stanton Go Boom as Yanks Win!

Miguel Andujar’s Home was difference as the Yanks beat the Rangers 5-3, on a wet Saturday afternoon. The rain did not keep the fans away as there was a reported 45,933 in attendance. Not bad seeing as the stadium holds 47,422. Dellin Betances picked up the Win pitching 1 1/3 of a inning, with 2Ks to go along with zeros. Starter Lance Lynn was okay today 5.0IP with 3 Walks, 5 hits, and 8 Ks. Chapman picked up his 30th save, 1 walk 1 hit and 2Ks. Greg Bird doubled twice, and Stanton blasted his 29th HR of the season. I for one am thrilled to have Stanton on this team, and knew he would get out of the funk he was in earlier this year. Giancarlo’s HR produced his 75th RBI. With 279 AVG 29 HRS and 75 RBI you can sign me up 7 days a week and twice on Sunday.  

The Yankees have rebounded nicely since being swept by the hated Red Sox. They took all 3 from the White Sox, and have grabbed 2 of 3 from Texas so far in this 4 game series. The series concludes tomorrow @ 1:05 PM ET C. C. Sabathia 6-4 3.49 ERA goes against Martin Perez 2-4 6.15 ERA. The Yanks however can not afford to take anyone lightly, and must play every game with passion and pride. That is if the still want to win the division.  

Let’s G⚾️Yankees!!

As always I can be reached at JamesCPalma@Yahoo.Com & now you can follow me on Twitter @JamesCPalmaIf you are reading on the MLB News App please be sure to check us out at TheGreedyPinstripes.Com 

Jacoby Ellsbury and the Yankees Literal Insurance Policy

The New York Yankees announces earlier this week that they would be without their center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury for the remainder of the 2018 season after the lefty tore his labrum in his left hip. Ellsbury, who has not played a game thus far this season, will miss the entire season and will miss the fifth year in his seven-year contract that the New York Yankees handed him worth $153 million when Robinson Cano jetted to the Seattle Mariners via free agency. With two years left on his contract you would think the Yankees would be wanting him to get back on the field as healthy and as soon as possible, well you would think that until you realized just what the team had to gain via the insurance policy that they took out on Ellsbury when they signed him to his monster contract.

Ellsbury is set to make $21 million in 2018 and will earn every dime of it despite not playing in a single inning for the Major League club this season. Luckily for the Yankees they took out an insurance policy that would reimburse the team $15,857,142.86 according to Wallace Matthews of ESPN and Forbes.com. Reportedly the Yankees signed a similar insurance policy on Ellsbury that the New York Mets took out on third baseman David Wright, a policy that cost the team $2 million but would pay up to 75% of his salary if he were physically unable to play on the field in any given season. The policy does not kick in until a player has missed at least 60 games in any given season.

Now while I am not a conspiracy theorist one has to wonder if either Ellsbury, the Yankees, or a combination of the two are really slowing down his recovery process and timetable. Ellsbury went down in spring training with an oblique injury and has seen various other, less serious, injuries keep him out of Major League action including, but not limited to, a hip issue that required a cortisone shot, plantar fasciitis, “back issues” and then ultimately the torn labrum in his hip that ended his season. Ellsbury never stood a chance this season, and it makes you wonder why when both he and the Yankees benefit from it, both financially and in the Yankees case with the all-important roster spot on the Major League team.

I am sure there are procedures and policies and such that prevent against what basically equates to insurance fraud, but damn things look a little fishy right now as we look back… right? Oh well, here’s to 2019 and a speedy recovery for Ellsbury… so the team can dump him and trade him before the season with any luck and a healthy bill of health. Here’s to hoping, and here’s to the eating of salaries.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers 8/11

And just like that it is game time here in the Bronx between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers. In the third game of their four-game weekend set the Yankees will send Lance Lynn out to the mound to make his second start for New York while the Rangers will counter with Drew Hutchison. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and can be seen on the YES Network locally and MLB Network nationally. 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, get another victory, and go Yankees!!

Setting Our Sights for the Wild Card...

Photo Credit: AP (Julie Jacobson)

Sadly, Boston shows no signs of slowing down…

Just when you think you might be able to trust Masahiro Tanaka, you can’t. Since his return from the disabled list in early July, Tanaka had given up no more than three runs in any start and had only allowed a grand total of six runs in five starts. Yet, on Friday night, he was hammered for six runs including three home runs in the Yankees’ 12-7 loss to the Texas Rangers. When you score seven runs against losing teams, you should win games, not lose them.

Meanwhile, the Boston Red Sox overcame an 8-3 deficit to crush the Baltimore Orioles, 19-12.  Boston, 82-35, is on pace to match the Yankees’ historic 1998 season when they won 114 games in the regular season. At their current winning percentage, the Red Sox project to 113 wins. This is not 1978 and the Red Sox are not going to collapse.  

Photo Credit: AP (Patrick Semansky)

With Boston's nine game lead in the AL East, the Yankees are headed for the one-and-out Wild Card playoff game. At the moment, their only competition for the Wild Card is the resurgent Oakland A’s and the Seattle Mariners. The A’s are only 4 1/2 games behind the Yankees, while the Mariners sit 6 games back.

Oakland has been very aggressive in rebuilding their bullpen in recent weeks. Their closer, former Washington National Blake Treinen, has had a breakout season. He currently has 29 saves to go with a 0.93 ERA in 48 games.  Behind Treinen, the A’s have added former New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia, former Yankees/Nationals reliever Shaun Kelley, and former Minnesota Twins closer Fernando Rodney. For the starting rotation, they’ve added former Detroit Tigers starter Mike Fiers, a target Yankee fans love to hate. None of the names shake fear but it shows the A’s are serious about their Wild Card run. There’s no question they have the talent to beat the Yankees in a one-game do-or-die playoff game.

I wish I could say that I am not worried like The Greedy Pinstripes’ Daniel Burch can, but I am worried. Sorry Daniel. We knew in the off-season the Yankees needed to add a quality starting pitcher and it didn’t happen. So, the team had to scramble in July to add Lance Lynn and J.A. Happ. Both guys have done fine jobs but neither is going to make a difference when the chips are on the line. When Aaron Judge was lost with the minor bone fracture, it was evident the Yankees needed to add a short-term bat for the outfield. But instead, the decision was made to roll with one of the few healthy outfielders in the system, journeyman Shane Robinson. The Yankees could have easily added a guy like former Yankee Curtis Granderson who would have filled a valuable void. His bat likes Yankee Stadium and has the track record to show it. He may not be the player he was during his Yankee days thanks to the terminal affliction known as aging but he is more than capable of giving the Yankees a supportive bat and a valuable bench player when Judge returns.  

The Mariners strengthened their bullpen with the addition of Adam Warren, a guy the Yankees certainly could have used the last couple of games. Warren was the winning pitcher in the M’s 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros last night. The Mariners also benefit from the return of Robinson Cano in a few days. Cano may not be eligible for the post-season but he’ll certainly help the Mariners make the push for October. He’s a valuable late season addition for Seattle. We’ll see if there is rust to shake off but I suspect that Cano will be ready to go.

Photo Credit:  The Herald, Everett, WA (Kevin Clark)

Please do not get me wrong. I like the 2018 New York Yankees. No one expected a historic season from the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees, despite their struggles, have won more games in Major League Baseball than any team other than the Red Sox and the Houston Astros. It is very possible they’ll go into a potential Wild Card game with over 100 wins. My only concern is that GM Brian Cashman could have done a better job (if that is possible). Everyone is so quick to give him credit for his genius but standing back, he’s had his share of misses. I like manager Aaron Boone but there’s no question we’ve paid a price for his inexperience.  

I am anxious for the returns of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge, but the Yankees need to take care of business now. August is filled with losing teams on the schedule. The Yankees have the potential to have a very successful month despite starting it with a four-game sweep by the Red Sox but they can’t let 52 win teams like the Rangers crush them. Rookie Ronald Guzman looks like the greatest player who ever lived when he feasts on Yankees pitching, having accumulated six home runs already this season. Half of his season total are against the Pinstripers. He was the first rookie to hit three home runs in a game last night against the Yankees. That’s covering many years and players and is the strongest rookie performance against the Yankees since the A’s Reggie Jackson slugged six homers against his future team in 1968. This cannot happen if the Yankees expect to be successful. Ronald Guzman is no Reggie Jackson and the rest of the American League knows it. Apparently, the Yankees pitching staff didn’t get the memo.  To digress slightly, why is A.J. Cole on the MLB roster and Justus Sheffield is not?  Time to add Top Sheff to the 40-man and open a spot on the active roster by punting Cole.  

It sounds like we can add Neil Walker to the list of wounded. After last night’s game, Aaron Boone said that Walker tweaked his neck and was dealing with illness. I had wondered why he wasn’t in the lineup or why he wasn’t used to pinch hit but that explains it. As Joe Girardi would say, it’s not what you want. Fortunately, Walker is penciled into today’s lineup (outfield, no less) so hopefully his physical ailments were minor.  

I could care less if Jacoby Ellsbury is going to miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery for a torn hip labrum. I had not counted on the player and did not want to see his return potentially cost another player a valuable roster spot. As much as I would love for the Yankees to cut bait, the truth is they won’t as long as they can collect insurance on his salary. I get it. I am just ready for the day when the Yankees can finally give him his walking papers.  

I was very glad to hear that YES Network analyst Ken Singleton will return for another season after he had announced that 2018 would be his last. There is something so calming and reassuring about Singleton’s voice and his stories are so great to listen to. I’ve long been amazed that a former Yankees enemy (courtesy of his days in Baltimore) could excel calling Yankee games with no bitterness or regret.  He has exuded class and professionalism from the start and I’m glad he’ll be back in 2019 even if he will be carrying a much lighter load. In a season that has seen Michael Kay’s stock drop and Ryan Ruocco’s elevate, Singleton was been a voice of consistency.  

I was sorry to see Phil Hughes designated for assignment yesterday by the San Diego Padres. I had hoped the former Yankee would fare better in his native sunny Southern California but it was not meant to be. I’ve always liked the guy and I am hopeful that he can find a good home to make a difference even if it is in relief. I don’t really see a fit with the Yankees, but there are plenty of teams in need of help. I am not ready to see the end of Hughes career so hopefully this is just the next chapter in his book.  

I’ll be headed to see Manny Machado and the Los Angeles Dodgers take on the Colorado Rockies on Sunday at Coors Field in Denver. It should be a fun game. Former Yankee Rich Hill will get the start for the Dodgers. I was in LA last weekend and didn’t get the chance to see the Dodgers play the Houston Astros at Dodger Stadium so this is a good consolation prize. Manny remains a guy that I’d love to see the Yankees pursue in the off-season (dump Greg Bird and move Miguel Andujar to first to open third for Machado) and I’ll certainly be cheering for him on Sunday. 

Well, time for my voice of pessimism to close. Time for a new Yankees winning streak to start. Can we get another quality start from Lance Lynn? We’ll find out in a few hours. In Rangers starter Drew Hutchison’s last game, he gave up six runs in three innings to the Baltimore Orioles. We can do better.  

Go Yankees!

New York Yankees & MLB Players Weekend Nicknames

MLB Players Weekend is this weekend across Major League Baseball which will include more than a few little changes and perks for players and for fans alike. The most notable change is baseball’s change of jersey’s and the inclusion of nicknames on the back, or in the case of the Yankees pinstripes… having names on the back at all. Here is a list of all the nicknames that can be found on the back of the New York Yankees this weekend during MLB Players Weekend.



Miguel Andujar: "PAPÁ"
Dellin Betances: "EL ACIDO"
Greg Bird: "BIRD"
Zach Britton: "ANGLADA"
Aroldis Chapman: "THE MISSILE"
A.J. Cole: "AJ"
Jacoby Ellsbury: "ELLSBURY"
Clint Frazier: "EL ROJO"
Brett Gardner: "GARDNER"
Sonny Gray: "PICKLES"
Didi Gregorius: "THE KNIGHT"
Chad Green: "GREENY"
J.A. Happ: "HAPPER"
Ben Heller: "HELLER"
Aaron Hicks: "HICKSIE"
Jonathan Holder: "HOLDY"
Aaron Judge: "JUDGE"
Lance Lynn: "MIA"
Jordan Montgomery: "MONTY"
David Robertson: "D-ROB"
Austin Romine: "RO"
CC Sabathia: "DUB"
Gary Sanchez: "KRAKEN"
Luis Severino: "SEVY"
Giancarlo Stanton: "G"
Masahiro Tanaka: "TANAKA TIME"
Gleyber Torres: "GT"
Luke Voit: "LOUIS"
Neil Walker: "WALKIE"

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers 8/11

The New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers will continue their four-game weekend set this afternoon in the Bronx with the third game of the series. In the start this afternoon the Yankees will send out Lance Lynn to the mound to make his second start for the Yankees while the Rangers will counter with Drew Hutchison. Let’s get to it here in the Bronx.

Lynn impressed Yankees fans in his first start since being acquired from the Minnesota Twins, even if it was against a Triple-A offense in the Chicago White Sox. In the start Lynn went 7.1 innings pitched allowing just two hits while retiring 19 straight batters at one point in the contest. This was the first time all season that Lynn had pitched into the eight inning.

Hutchison will also be making just his second start of the season for his new team after making his first start for Texas last Sunday against the Seattle Mariners. Hutchison did not fare as well as Lynn did in debut allowing six runs in three innings in a 9-5 loss to Seattle.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and can be seen on the YES Network locally and MLB Network nationally. 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, anyone miss Sonny Gray yet? Nope, me either…, and go Yankees!!

Hello… And Don’t Sweat the Division

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog, finally. Work has been insanely busy, but I have just one more week of training before I think I can call things back to “normal” around here, which in turn should return things back to normal here on the blog.

It seems like I missed a lot, some of it I hate to miss and some of it I am entirely okay with (the sweep at the hands of the Red Sox for instance), but at the end of the day I have come to one conclusion and one conclusion only. I am not going to sweat the division, and I’m not going to for a couple of reasons. One, the Yankees didn’t win the division last year and they, not the Red Sox, were one game from the World Series. Two, until someone a lot better at math tells me the Yankees don’t have a mathematical chance at winning the division… I still believe.

Including last night, the Yankees next 21 of 24 games are against teams with records under .500 with the three games not against teams under .500 with the Tampa Bay Rays who are hovering right at .500, which on paper should give the team a great chance at winning the vast majority of those. With the impending returns of Gary Sanchez and Aaron Judge for the stretch run as well as JA Happ coming off the disabled list to make his second start in Yankees pinstripes last night, I have to say I am confident that the team will at least not go down quietly and without a fight. It’s not over until we say it’s over, and even if it is… this team is built to win a one-game playoff series with Luis Severino on the mound, this offense, and that bullpen. Color me not worried.

And baby, it has been far too long since I have been able to scream to the masses my absolute adoration and love for you. I love you and you are my soulmate, I truly believe that. Stay well and stay mine.