Game Thread: Rays @ Yankees 7/26

The Yankees host the Rays for an important series this weekend at Yankees Stadium. CC Sabathia and Jeremy Hellickson is the pitching match up and it can been on MY 9 and MLB TV. CC Sabathia has been struggling the last month or so and looks to rebound today at home. Jeremy Hellickson has a nice win total with nine but has almost a five ERA to go with it so maybe the Yankees can hit him around a little bit. Go Yankees!

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Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees 7/26

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays start a very important three game weekend series tonight in Yankees Stadium. The Yankees are chasing the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East standings so a sweep would be huge to make up ground in the standings. The Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off with Jeremy Hellickson for the Rays. The game will be televised at 7:05 pm ET on MY9 and MLB TV.

Game 103 Lineup: Rays vs. Yankees

Here is your starting lineup!

Brett Gardner CF
Ichiro Suzuki RF
Robinson Cano 2B
Alfonso Soriano LF
Lyle Overbay 1B
Travis Hafner DH
Eduardo Nunez SS
Brent Lillibridge 3B
Austin Romine C

CC Sabathia LHP

Some Notes:

-- Derek Jeter will run the bases again today and will get checked out by a doctor before tomorrow's game. If he's cleared he can play tomorrow afternoon.

-- The Yankees (obviously by the lineup) traded for Alfonso Soriano from the Cubs. The Yankees sent RHP Corey Black (who was in A-Ball) over to Chicago.

Yankees re-acquire Alfonso Soriano in trade w/Cubs

Next February, it will be an even ten years since the Yankees decided to trade for Rangers star shortstop Alex Rodriguez. At first, a deal with Boston was vetoed by the Commissioner's Office, so Texas turned their attention to what New York had to offer.

Seeing the potential success A-Rod could bring to the team on and off the field, the Bombers parted with their fan favorite Dominican second baseman Alfonso Soriano, along with a player to be named later. That "PTBNL" ended up being infielder Joaquin Arias, selected from a pool of prospects that included international signee Robinson Cano.

To say the least, things haven't quite worked out for the Yanks. However, they have now made a move to bring this controversial and monumental decade in franchise history full circle.

So, here it is. The Yankees have re-acquired Alfonso Soriano in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. Chicago has agreed to pay 18 of the 25 million dollars still owed to Soriano, and in exchange pitching prospect Corey Black will be heading to the Windy City.

"Sori" is a different player than he was when he last wore the pinstripes. No longer a speed demon, leadoff hitter, nor infielder, Soriano has played left field since his one and only season with the Washington Nationals in 2006. He has managed to stay mostly healthy throughout his career, as now at 37 years old Sori has been a lock for at least 20 home runs, 70 RBI, and a slugging percentage in the .400s each year.

So far in 2013, the seven-time All-Star is batting .254 with 17 home runs and 51 RBI, which instantly makes him the Yankees' best [active] right-handed hitter. Yet, sabermetrics suggest this won't be that big of a boost to the lineup (0.7 WAR, 100 wRC+). Defensively he is also a liability, perhaps even worse than Raul Ibanez who faked his way as an everyday left fielder in 2012.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Soriano's deal runs through 2014, so he now joins Ichiro and Vernon Wells as another old, washed-up outfielder that is practically irremovable considering all the money owed to him by now both Chicago and the Yankees.

This is not to say Soriano can't be a somewhat productive player for this year and next, but it's unlikely he will be as productive as a younger, perhaps cheaper alternative (Shin-Soo Choo, Carlos Beltran, and Jason Kubel to name a few).

However in the interim, as in the rest of this season, this definitely will help out the Yankees lineup. They are desperately searching for power from the right side of the plate and it appears Soriano can provide that. He will likely bat in the middle of the order, and probably will DH more often than not with Vernon Wells still being a capable defensive outfielder.

But, this probably can't won't be a season-changing addition, and certainly without Derek Jeter, Curtis Granderson, [maybe A-Rod] and perhaps another bat via trade, this deal could go down as a useless one.

It will be nice to see an old face back in pinstripes, but it may be nothing more than that. Don't expect an offensive turnaround with Soriano now in the fold; as mentioned it will take a lot more than him to get this team back into legitimate playoff contention.

Still, let's all welcome back to the Yankees Alfonso Soriano. Hopefully he proves me wrong.

Soriano Is In The Fold, Now Get Michael Young

Obviously I think the Yankees brass answered the question of whether or not they would be going for it this trading deadline season. With Alfonso Soriano now in the fold for the Yankees is it time for the Yankees to pounce on Michael Young of the Phillies?

The Phillies have lost four in a row and are now eight games behind the Atlanta Braves in the AL East. Even with the two wild cards the Phillies are even farther behind those teams for the Wild Card. The Phillies may be willing to deal now with only six days left until the July trading deadline is up.

Now obviously the Phillies could put Michael Young on waivers and trade him in August but there is no guarantee that a team could not block the Yankees from claiming him. Either way Alfonso Soriano may be our best right handed hitter on the team now but if we acquired Michael Young I think Soriano would immediately drop the second best and we need all the offensive upgrades and versatility that we can get.

Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap For 7/25

RiverDogs’ Win Streak Comes to an End

Greensboro scores last four runs of the game to take series opener

CHARLESTON, SC – The Greensboro Grasshoppers took advantage of four Charleston errors to win the series opener 8-4 on Fridaynight at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in front of 4,914 fans. The loss snapped a six-game win streak for the RiverDogs.

With the win, the RiverDogs fall to 18-12 in the second half and 57-41 overall. Charleston stays in second place behind the Lexington Legends. With the win, Greensboro improves to 16-16 in the second half and 49-52 overall.

It was not a pretty game with the two teams combining to throw an incredible 479 pitches. Also, neither starting pitcher made it past the fourth inning.

Charleston got the scoring started early with a solo homer by Cito Culver, his eighth of the year, in the bottom of the first inning to go up 1-0. Greensboro tied it up in the top of the second though on a two-out RBI single by Jose Behar.

Mt. Pleasant, SC native and former College of Charleston star Daniel Aldrich made his home debut for Charleston in front of dozens of family and friends, and in his first at-bat he tripled to right field in the bottom of the second. The very next batter Nick McCoy then doubled down the left field line to score Aldrich and put the RiverDogs back on top 2-1. McCoy had a great game reaching base all five time he went to plate with a single, double, two walks, and a hit by pitch.

A three-run top of the third inning saw Greensboro take their first lead of the game at 4-2, but that wouldn’t last long.

Dante Bichette, Jr. crushed a monster homer over the left field wall, his ninth long ball of the year, to tie the game at 4-4 in the home half of the third inning. However, the Grasshoppers yet again answered right back with another three runs in the top of the fourth and go up 7-4.

Both starters struggled with Charleston’s Evan Rutckyj leaving after 3 innings. He allowed four hits, four runs only one of which was earned, one walk and four strikeouts. Greensboro’s starting pitch Daniel Oliver last just a bit longer going 3.2 innings. He gave up four runs on six hits, four walks and seven strikeouts. Neither starter factored in the decision.

The first guy out of the bullpen for each team took the decision with Luis Niebla for the ‘Dogs falling to 4-6 with the loss and Sean Donatello going to 1-0 for Greensboro with the win. Niebla allowed three runs, only one earned, on two hits in three innings of work with one walk and three strikeouts. Donatello was very good and did not allow a hit and walked just two in 2.1 scoreless innings of work.

The Grasshoppers added a run in the top of the eighth inning off RiverDogs reliever Adam Smith to make it 8-4, and never looked back. Smith gave up the one run on one hit and two walks while also hitting a batter and striking out one. Derek Varnadore pitched a scoreless ninth inning for Charleston.

Starter turned reliever Mason Hope got the final nine outs for Greensboro without allowing a run on three hits and walked three.

Greg Bird also had another great game for the RiverDogs going 1-2 with a single, a run scored, and three walks.

BALLPARK FUN: Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Yankees, was in attendance. Jackson received a standing ovation before the end of the fifth inning.

COMING UP: Game two of this four game set against Greensboro Friday night at 7:05 at The Joe. RHP Vicente Campos (1-2, 3.57 ERA) will be on the mound for Charleston and Greensboro will start RHP Ramon Del Orbe (5-6, 4.95 ERA). Fans can listen to the game live locally on ESPN Radio 910AM or online at www.riverdogs.com.

Box Score:   http://atmilb.com/146J14s 

--RIVERDOGS--

Being posted with permission from the Charleston Riverdogs organization. The original article can be seen HERE.

UPDATE: Jump On The Bandwagon Now Yankees Fans

Our record since posting this picture and declaring that the New York Yankees comeback starts now. 

2-1 as of 7/25

RailRiders, Randy Ruiz win record-breaking game: Notes & Report

MOOSIC — Thursday was Super Hero Night at PNC Field.

It took a franchise-record-breaking 20 innings to find one, but Randy Ruiz finally emerged as the super hero, ending the painstakingly long game with a walk-off home run.

Ruiz, dubbed (by me) as the Chris Davis of the International League, launched the game-winning home run minutes before the game reached five and a half hours.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders won the game largely because of strong pitching, defeating the Toledo Mud Hens, 2-1.

Seven relief pitchers combined for 13 scoreless innings, highlighted by Josh Spence's 3.1 inning frame, however Jim Miller ultimately goes down as the game's winning pitcher, improving to 1-5.

Notes

• The game ended at about 12:30 a.m. and the RailRiders will leave for Newark, NJ at 2:30 a.m. to travel by bus for a flight to tomorrow's game in Louisville.
• Detroit Tigers' hot prospect Avisail Garcia ended the night 0-for-9 ... his average suffered greatly, but still sits at .385.
• Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's catcher J.R. Murphy caught all 20 innings, throwing out two runners and went 2-for-5 with three walks at the plate.
• The game could have easily ended in nine innings, with RailRiders starter David Huff getting the win, if not for Cody Grice losing a fly ball in the sky/lights and letting the Mud Hens getting on the board.

Don't forget to follow me on Twitter, @GrumpsDugout, for all RailRiders updates. I'll follow back all Greedy Stripes readers!

Soriano On A Red-Eye To New York

It's hasn't officially been announced, and the particulars of the trade aren't known, but Paul Sullivan tweeted that Alfronso Soriano is on a red-eye flight to New York.

The belief is that the Cubs will pay half of the $25 million remaining on Soriano's contract, which runs through next season. While the Yankees will send a low-level prospect to Chicago.

As soon as we know for sure, we'll pass the information along to you.

This Day In New York Yankees History 7/26

On this day in 1933 Joe DiMaggio saw his 61 game hit streak come to an end against the Oakland Oaks. This amazing hitting streak was the minor league record and was done in the Pacific Coast League. The 19 year old San Francisco Seal's outfielder shattered the previous record of 49 straight minor league games set by Jack Ness in 1914.