HOPE Weeks Presents Birthday Wishes

The latest stop in the New York Yankees HOPE Week stop is spending some time with an organization called Birthday Wishes. Birthday Wishes throws birthday parties for homeless and less fortunate children in an effort to raise self esteem and help their families.

Homeless children that have birthdays this month spent the day at Yankees Stadium as the Yankees special guests. The children arrived at Gate 2 and entered through the center field entrance to walk to warning track and went into the Yankees dugout. In the dugout was Yankees manager Joe Girardi, Mariano Rivera, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Hiroki Kuroda, Phil Hughes, David Phelps, and bullpen coach Mike Harkey. The children were then given a surprise birthday party including live music, games, cake, and food.

CLICK HERE to read Chad Jennings write up about the Birthday Wishes organization.

The Yankees Are Interested In Kendrys Morales

I feel like I have ESPN or something right now because way back in January of 2012 when The Greedy Pinstripes was first getting its start I wrote about how I thought Kendrys Morales would make a ton of sense for the Yankees. I still hold on to that claim and now it seems like a few people are jumping on the bandwagon. Morales can play first base and outfield as well as DH so he can split time and platoon with the likes of Ichiro Suzuki, Lyle Overbay, and Travis Hafner. Morales is a switch hitter that can break up the left handed batters and has put up a triple slash of .279/.339/.462 with 13 home runs this season for the Seattle Mariners. Trade made sense back then and the trade makes sense now but will Brian Cashman be able to pull the trigger?

Travis Ishikawa Designated For Assignment

I know I am a little behind on this but the Yankees career for Travis Ishikawa is now all but over after being designated for assignment this morning. This move created the 25 man and 40 man roster spot for Derek Jeter to return to the big league club. Ishikawa will probably clear waivers and might go to AAA but if he doesn't... oh well.

Former Yankees Update Chad Gaudin

For Yankees starting pitcher Chad Gaudin is in some legal trouble and hot water after being accused of improperly touching a woman in Las Vegas. The San Francisco Giants pitchetr Guadin was arrested and charged with lewdness late Wednesday evening. Gaudin was said to be drunk and telling a woman on a gurney that she was gorgeous as he touched her face and her breast which is what caused the police being called.

Derek Jeter Removed From Game With Tightness In Quad

Well, it didn't take long for Derek Jeter to suffer an injury after his return. Although the severity of the injury is unknown.

When Brett Gardner pinch hit for Jeter in the 8th inning I didn't give it much thought. The game seemed to be in hand, so why not take DJ out? It may only be one at bat, but things can happen to even the healthiest of players when swinging, so being careful with somebody just returning from a long stint on the DL was fine by me.

Now we've learned that Derek felt some tightness in his right quadricep. Joe Girardi didn't seem worried about it, and I'm not overly concerned either, but the team sent the Captain for tests as a precaution. Jeter didn't play a whole lot before tonight's game, so having some tightness here or there is not a surprise at all. Let's just hope Jete is okay.

Meet A Prospect Aaron Judge

The New York Yankees used their second pick and 32nd overall pick in the first round in the 2013 MLB First Year Players Draft to pick outfielder Aaron Judge from Fresno State. Judge is a huge guy standing 6'7" and weighing in at 255 lbs mashing the ball from the right side. In his final season before the draft Judge went on to hit .369/.461/.655 with 12 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts. For such a big guy he will surprise you with his speed and athleticism to go with a strong throwing arm and unmatched power in this years draft.

Judge, even as big as he is, was athletic enough to stick at center field for the Fresno State baseball squad. Judge was so athletic that he was a three sport athlete and garnered many offers to come play college football and be a tight end before following his love of baseball all the way to Fresno State where both his parents attended. This is not the first time that Judge was drafted as he was previously drafted in the 35th round of the 2010 draft by the Oakland Athletics before taking his talents to Fresno State for three seasons.

Judge does not project to be a big time average guy but does not get the Adam Dunn comparisons quite yet either. Across the board many scouts see Judge as a .250 type hitter with project-able power but he will take his fare share of strike outs on the chin in the majors. Judge's power is undeniable, whether it has translated into college games or not, as it was apparent when he won the College Baseball Home Run Derby last season with eight home runs in the final round. Judge is a polished college bat that should move through the Yankees system rather quickly. Judge could be manning right field for the Yankees with his average speed, above average arm, and amazing power in just a few seasons and many years to come if he plays his cards right.

ETA 2016

Game Thread; Royals @ Yankees 7/11

The Yankees and the Royals are ready to finish up their four game set as the Yankees look to salvage something out of this series. Andy Pettitte and Ervin Santana is the pitching match up and it can be seen on YES, MLB Network, and MLB TV.  Pettitte ended his three game losing streak last time out but he still struggled and is really worrying me lately. Ervin Santana has not won in his last four outings but has been pitching his butt up with a sub three ERA. It is going to be a tough win especially with this offense lately but go Yankees!

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Kansas City Royals @ New York Yankees 7/11

The New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals will finish up their four game series today at Yankees Stadium in the Bronx. The Yankees will send Andy Pettitte to the mound in this getaway game and the Royals will send Ervin Santana to the mound. The game will be televised at 1:05 pm ET on YES, MLB Network, and MLB TV.

Vote David Robertson Into The All Star Game Today

I want to start this off by saying that I apologize for feeding you some wrong information yesterday. I was confused as to the voting for the final All Star game spot and thought that tweeting using the hash tag #HighSocksForVote would count any day but apparently they only count today. With that said get to twitter and tweet #HighSocksForVote to send David Robertson to the All Star game next week in Citifield in New York. Retweets also count towards the vote total so if you see some of your fellow tweeters tweeting this then please give them a simple and quick retweet. There is no maximum number of times you can vote so vote as much as you can or are comfortable with. If your not on twitter you should go get your brain examined and then head over to mlb.com, Yankees.com, or text the word "A3" to 89269 to vote for David. We will be posting the hash tag #HighSocksForVote all day long so follow us on twitter @GreedyStripes and let's send one of our own to the All Star game!

Game 92 Lineup: Royals vs. Yankees

It's the series and season finale between the Yankees and Royals. Look closely at the lineup. There's a name that might interest you.

Ichiro Suzuki CF
Derek Jeter DH
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells RF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Zoilo Almonte LF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Luis Cruz 3B
Austin Romine C

Andy Pettitte LHP

Some Notes:

-- Brett Gardner and Travis Hafner are unavailable to start today. Travis Hafner fouled off a ball onto his foot during batting practice yesterday and Brett Gardner was drilled in the ankle with a pitch during the game. Both are day-to-day.

-- Today is the last day to vote for the AL Final Vote. David Robertson is a candidate and if you have a Twitter, I suggest you get off this site, go to Twitter and tweet #HighSocksForVotes until 4 p.m.

-- Derek Jeter will speak to the media after the game. Not before. Not in the middle. After. Sorry, have to be clear about these things.

-- Joe Girardi admits that he brought Derek Jeter back early after the injuries to both Hafner and Gardner.