This Day In New York Yankees History 10/4:#TooManyDamnHRs

The 2009 New York Yankees squad could beat you just about any way they wanted. They had great defense, timely hitting, pitching, and the power to simply outslug you. The power was on full display on this day in 2009 on the last day of the season when Alex Rodriguez hit a three run home run to cap off a ten run sixth inning. Alex’s home run was the teams 243rd of the season, a new Yankees franchise record. A Rod went deep later in the inning as well with the bases loaded to finish the season with exactly 30 home runs and 100 RBI.


Also less notable marks for this day include Dave Righetti extending his major league record saves total for one season to 46 in a doubleheader sweep of the Red Sox in 1986, Hank Bauer extended his World Series hitting streak to 17 games on this day in 1958, and Mickey Mantle became only the fourth Yankee to ever hit a World Series grand slam on this day in 1953.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics

And just like that playoff baseball has returned to us all and returned to the Bronx, New York as the New York Yankees and Yankee Stadium play host to the Oakland Athletics. One game to decide a season. One game to decide the fate of both clubs. One game to decide it all. The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound with the pressure of protecting Yankee Stadium and continuing their season while the Athletics will send Liam Hendriks to the mound looking to play the spoiler. Neither team wants to go home and neither team wants their seasons to end here, but which team wants it just a little more? Let’s find out.

The game will be played at 8:00 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and can be seen on TBS.

Follow us on Twitter, @GreedyStripes, and “Like” us on Facebook, The Greedy Pinstripes, to keep up with us and the New York Yankees all season long. Enjoy the game, put up a five-spot in the first inning, and go Yankees!!

2018 Playoffs: Oakland Athletics Offense vs. Luis Severino - Career

Will we see Luis Severino circa the 2017 AL Wild Card Game against the Minnesota Twins inside Yankee Stadium tonight? Or will we see dominant, young ace right-hander Severino tonight inside Yankee Stadium against the Oakland Athletics? Stay tuned...

All stats and images courtesy of ESPN and Baseball Reference.

2018 Playoffs: New York Yankees Offense vs. Liam Hendriks - Career

How does this bode for the Yankees, and for Hendricks, tonight in the Bronx? Stay tuned...

All stats and images courtesy of ESPN.com and Baseball Reference

New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics 2018 Showdown

The New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics are set to face off head-to-head tonight in a one-game, win-or-go-home playoff scenario to decide the American League Wild Card winner. What has happened before tonight means very little in the grand scheme of things, it is the “second season” after all once the postseason begins, but for fun and for informational purposes we will take a look at what the Yankees and Athletics did against one another during the regular season. Will it tell us what is likely to happen tonight in the Bronx? Who knows, but it could… so let’s take a look.

Team Game-by-Game Schedule

Gm#	Date	Tm		Opp	W/L	R	RA	Win	Loss	Save
38	Friday, May 11	NYY		OAK	L	5	10	Graveman	Gray	Treinen
39	Saturday, May 12	NYY		OAK	W-wo	7	6	Cole	Hatcher
40	Sunday, May 13	NYY		OAK	W	6	2	Severino	Anderson
138	Monday, Sep 3	NYY	@	OAK	L	3	6	Cahill	Sabathia	Treinen
139	Tuesday, Sep 4	NYY	@	OAK	W	5	1	Robertson	Rodney
140	Wednesday, Sep 5	NYY	@	OAK	L	2	8	Fiers	Severino

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

As you can see these games were played so far apart that it was a bit of a tale of two seasons. The New York Yankees were steamrolling the entire league when the first three games were played and eventually won two-of-three in New York for another series win. In the second series the games were played without Aaron Judge in the Yankees lineup and inside the Oakland Coliseum. The A’s took care of their homefield winning two-of-three against New York to even the series at three games each.

Who wins tonight? History would say the New York Yankees, but I, for one, will not be the person who counts out the Oakland A's, no matter how confident in the Baby Bombers I am. 

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics

The New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics will kick off the American League Wild Card Playoff Round and the 2018 American League Postseason tonight in the Bronx. Get excited. Whether you believe this is a playoff game or not is irrelevant as the 2018 postseason officially kicks off tonight to everyone who makes those decisions and to everyone whose opinion matters, so leave your negative thoughts about the contest at the door. The second season has begun, let’s get to it.

In the game tonight the Yankees have named Luis Severino as their Wild Card Game starter while the Athletics have decided to counter the Yankees right-hander with Liam Hendriks.

Severino will start his second consecutive Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium hoping for better results in this start than his last. Severino was knocked out in the first inning against the Minnesota Twins in the 2017 American League Wild Card Game after allowing three runs on two home runs in an eventual Yankees come-from-behind victory. None of that tonight. Nothing but zeroes, please and thanks. Severino, a 24-year old right-hander, was 19-8 this season with a 3.39 ERA and 220 strikeouts, although the righty was 14-2 at the All-Star Break before a second half collapse of sorts.

Hendriks has been a relief pitcher for the Athletics here in 2018, but he is no stranger to the life of a starting pitcher. Hendricks has seen his season ride a roller coaster after being designated for assignment and clearing waivers in June, only to come back and start the biggest game to date for the Athletics here in 2018. Hendricks, a 29-year old right-hander, was 0-1 with a 4.13 ERA in 25 appearances this season,

The game will be played at 8:00 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium in the Bronx and can be seen on TBS.

Enjoy the game, win the game or go home… and I am not ready to go home just yet, and for the love of God… go Yankees!!

Hello… Wild Card Playoff Game

Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. Yankees family, the playoffs begin tonight and they kick off in the Bronx and inside of Yankee Stadium. Stand up, all rise, and get ready to scream your little asses off. Oakland has never been here before, this collective team hasn’t anyway, and we, the fans, can take them out of it early with our cheers, screams, and enthusiasm. Shake the place tonight, and let’s win this damn game.

And baby, get ready… your return to watching baseball begins tonight. The things you do for me, and with me. I love you for and an appreciative of each and every one of them, and for you. I love you!

This Day in New York Yankees History 10/3: Wild Card Winners

As we learned yesterday in this same series the New York Yankees and the Colorado Rockies became the first ever set of Wild Card winning teams when a fourth playoff team was added to the mix. On this day in 1995 the first American League and National League Division Series were played with the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, and the Atlanta Braves winning the first ever games.


Also on this day in 1947 in Game 4 of the World Series the Yankees pitcher Bill Bevens came within one out of pitching the first no-hitter in World Series history. Cookie Lavagetto of the Dodgers came up with two outs in the ninth to pinch hit for Eddie Stanky and hit a two out double. The Dodgers would miraculously come back to win the game 3-2.

My Thoughts Heading Into the 2018 Postseason

Yes, the American League and National League Wild Card Games are postseason games. Major League Baseball says so and so does Baseball Reference. It doesn’t matter if you say so or think so, so keep that in mind before leaving the smart-ass comments in the comments section, on Twitter, and in my email. Thanks in advance.

The New York Yankees postseason push begins tomorrow night in the Bronx when the team plays host to the Oakland Athletics in a one-game playoff. The loser goes home and the winner travels to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox, the owners of the best record in the American League here in 2018. What are my thoughts heading into the postseason? I am confident. In fact, I am as confident as one can be who roots for a team that is about to have to play in a one-game do-or-die playoff game. Why?

The Yankees are built for a one-game playoff better than most, if not all, teams across Major League Baseball. The Yankees starters don’t have to give the team much length with such a deep, talented and now rested bullpen behind them. That’s why I never stressed much on whether it would be JA Happ, Masahiro Tanaka or Luis Severino starting in the game, because it didn’t matter. At the first sign of trouble the Yankees would/could bring in a battery of David Robertson, Chad Green, Dellin Betances, Zach Britton and Aroldis Chapman to potentially close out any game they need to. In a perfect world that is five or more shutout innings if every arm listed goes one inning. Green can go multiple innings, as can Robertson and Betances, while Britton and Chapman have as well in the past. That’s a whole lot of zeroes for the opposing team in my opinion.

The Yankees offense, albeit home run reliant sometimes, is explosive and it has been firing on all cylinders since the returns of Aaron Judge and Didi Gregorius. With the aforementioned bullpen and pitching situation across a one-game playoff the Yankees may only need one run to win, or they may go out there and score 15 runs for all we know. No lead for Oakland will be safe, especially in the Bronx, and it will be the Athletics, not the Yankees, who feel like they are further behind than they truly are with every run that the Bronx Bombers score.

The Yankees have been here before, much of the core from last season is here with a few new veterans thrown into the mix, while the Athletics have not been. The A’s are a great team, but there is a different intensity playing in August and September than there is in October, and Oakland has yet to experience that as a whole. One mistake can win or lose your season for you.

Assuming the Yankees get past the Athletics in the Wild Card round of the playoffs the team would travel to Boston to take on the Red Sox. Boston won the season series 10-9 here in 2018, but the Yankees recently took 2-of-3 from the Red Sox in Fenway Park over the final weekend of the season. Sure, the Red Sox had nothing left to play for except to maybe keep the Yankees from hosting a Wild Card game or from winning 100 games on the season, but New York held their own for much of the season regardless, both at home and in Boston. Truth be told I think the Yankees could beat the Red Sox in a seven-game series, but the five-game series benefits New York much more than it would the Red Sox. Having a reliable arm like JA Happ or Masahiro Tanaka potentially pitching twice in the series with Luis Severino and CC Sabathia pitching once each in the potential series I can’t say that I don’t feel confident about being able to win every single night in the series. Especially with that offense and especially with that bullpen. Speaking of bullpen’s, Boston’s bullpen sucks, so that can only help.

If the Yankees go further than the ALDS I will have much more to say, so I won’t get too far ahead of myself now just in case. I feel confident in this team as I have all season long, and I will remain confident in this team no matter where the playoffs and the schedule may take them. I love this team, and I don’t think any team in the American League wants to face the New York Yankees right now… and that is a great feeling as a fan.

Severino Starts the AL Wild Card Game for the Yankees

Aaron Boone has made the decision on who will start the American League Wild Card Game for the New York Yankees and it will be Luis Severino. Severino finished his 2018 season with a 19-8 record and a 3.39 ERA with 220 strikeouts and will get the nod despite being knocked out in the first inning of the Wild Card Game last year inside Yankee Stadium against the Minnesota Twins. Severino will look to rebound from a terrible second half and from a terrible AL Wild Card Game start in 2017 tomorrow night in the Bronx.

JA Happ, Masahiro Tanaka and Lance Lynn will join a nine-man Yankees bullpen for tomorrow night's game.