Charleston Swats the Sand Gnats

Charleston Swats the Sand Gnats

RiverDogs end season long seven game losing streak with offensive outburst

SAVANNAH, GA – The Charleston RiverDogs ended their forgettable road trip on a high note as they ended their season long seven game losing streak by outlasting the Savannah Sand Gnats 9-7 at Historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah in South Atlantic League action.

With the win, the RiverDogs improve to 23-23 in the second half and 62-52 overall. With the loss, Savannah falls to 23-19 in the second half and 66-45 overall.

Charleston got on the board first Wednesday evening on an RBI single by Cito Culver scoring Angelo Gumbs. Gumbs finished his night 1-for-5 at the plate with three runs scored and an RBI. On the same play, the RiverDogs also ran themselves out of the inning as Greg Bird tried going first to third on the single ending the top of the first.

Savannah then took it from there scoring a pair of runs in both the first and second innings to take a 4-1 lead.

Following a scoreless third, the RiverDogs offense came alive for two runs in the fourth inning, three in the fifth, and another three in the sixth. During that stretch Savannah added three runs of their own in the bottom half of the fifth inning but it wasn’t enough to match Charleston’s offensive output.

The RiverDogs offense struck for ten hits on the evening with three players recording multiple hits on the night. Cito Culver led all hitters as he went 3-for-5 with two RBI’s on the evening. Greg Bird finished 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and two runs scored. Ty Afenir was the only other RiverDog to record multiple hits as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Charleston starter Daniel Camarena had a rough go of it, as the lefty lasted just 4.2 innings and allowed seven runs, four earned, on eight hits with four strikeouts. Picking up the victory was reliever Tyler Webb (2-1) who was solid in relief of starter Daniel Camarena. Webb went 2.1 innings in relief and allowed just one hit with three strikeouts. Lefty James Pazos relieved Tyler Webb in the eighth and sat the Sand Gnats down 1-2-3 all via strikeouts on just 10 pitches. Nailing down the save for the ninth time this season was righty Ben Paullus.

Offensively for the Sand Gnats, Brandon Nimmo led the way. The #5 prospect within the New York Mets organization according to MLB.com went 3-for-5 on the night with a double, two RBI’s and a run scored.

Savannah starter Marcos Camarena struggled as he lasted just five innings and he allowed six runs, five earned on six hits with a strikeout and two walks. Taking the loss was reliever Tyler Vanderheiden (4-2) who tossed just one inning in relief and allowed three runs on two hits with a strikeout and a walk.

Charleston will now head back to the friendly confines of The Joe. The RiverDogs will host the Rome Braves for four days followed by the Lexington Legends for three games. Starters for both Rome and Charleston are TBD for Thursday’s series opener. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm and you can purchase tickets by visiting www.riverdogs.com. You may also listen to each and every game live locally on ESPN AM910 or online at www.riverdogs.com.

Box Score:   http://atmilb.com/15cBLNY

--RIVERDOGS--

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

Four-run sixth costly for Staten Island Yankees

Four-run sixth costly for Yanks

By Courtney Nunes

Staten Island, NY – August 7th – The Staten Island Yankees were hit for four runs in the sixth inning on Wednesday night and fell to an eventual 6-5 loss to the State College Spikes.

In the top of the first, Giovanny Gallegos walked Spikes’ second baseman Brett Wiley with the bases loaded to give State College an early 1-0 advantage.

The Yankees claimed the lead in the fourth. Eric Jagielo led things off with a line drive single to right. Yeicok Calderon then walked before Brandon Thomas popped out to third base. Following, Mike Ford singled to plate Jagielo and knot the game at 1-1. Up next, Bubba Jones grounded into a force out, allowing Calderon to score.

Two frames later, the Spikes rallied for four runs to take a 5-2 lead. David Washington walked before Carson Kelly and Brett Wiley hit back-to-back singles. Washington was out after being hit by a batted ball. Luke Voit and Michael Schulze then each hit RBI singles to plate Kelly and Wiley.  Later in the inning, Cesar Valera hit a two-run double to score Schulze and Bosco – who had walked.

Staten Island added one run in the bottom of the eighth when Derek Toadvine and Mike O’Neill hit back-to-back doubles.

Wiley hit a home run in the ninth on a 2-0 pitch to make it 6-3.

Toadvine and O’Neill both walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, allowing two runs to score.

Relief pitcher Jhonny Polanco earned the win for the Spikes after tossing 2.0 scoreless innings and allowing just one hit. Cale Coshow, who pitched 2.0 frames of relief for Staten Island, suffered his second loss. He gave up four earned runs off five hits, walked two, and struck out one batter. Also, Jeff Rauh picked up his fourth save after going 0.2 hitless innings.

The Yankees will take on the State College Spikes again tomorrow at 11:00AM. RHP Rookie Davis (2-2, 2.48 ERA) will toe the mound for the Yankees, while RHP Juan Bautista (1-3, 3.89 ERA) is expected to get the ball for the Spikes. Tickets are on sale now by calling 718-720-9265, visiting the box office at Richmond County Bank Ballpark or www.siyanks.com.

Being posted with permission from the Staten Island Yankees organization. The original article can be seen HERE.  

Yankees blow two late leads in heartbreaking loss to White Sox, 6-5

Despite a solid 7.1 innings of three-run ball from CC Sabathia, the Yankees again lost to the White Sox last night in 12 innings, 6-5. With this loss, the Yankees have now lost 4 consecutive games to below .500 teams, lowering their overall record to an embarrassing, 57-56. 

This game started well for the Yankees, who had a 4-0 after the first 4 innings. Those 4 runs came on a two-run homer from Soriano, an RBI Single from Wells, and a solo homer from Nunez, his first of the season. After blowing that lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Yankees would retake the lead in the top of the twelfth, when Cano hit one over the wall. 

But in the bottom half of that twelfth inning, they would lose after Alejandro De Aza hit a walk-off, two-run triple off of Adam Warren. Yep, they actually managed to get swept this week. 

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/8

On this day in 1970 on Old Timer's Day the Yankees retired Casey Stengel's #37 jersey after Stengel won seven World Series championships in 12 seasons as the Yankees manager.

On this day in 1972 the Yankees signed a 30 year lease to continue playing at Yankees Stadium and begin plans to build the "new" Yankees Stadium. The Yankees would play their next two seasons playing their home games at Shea Stadium before entering the new Yankees Stadium for the 1976 season.

On this day in 2000 the Yankees went into the bottom of the 9th against the Oakland Athletics losing 3-2 and facing the A's closer Jason Isringhausen. Izzy threw just two pitches in the 9th inning with one going over the fence off of Bernie Williams bat and one going over the fence off of David Justice's bat. The Yankees would win the game 4-3.

Yanks hit lowpoint of season after back-breaking loss

[caption id="attachment_16410" align="aligncenter" width="594"] Joe made some questionable moves last night[/caption]

The Yankees season-killing road trip came to a merciful end last night in Chicago as the lowly White Sox finished off their 3-game sweep with a 6-5 win highlighted by 2 come from behind rallies in the 9th and 12th innings, when down to their final out both times.  The loss leaves them 6.5 games out of the 2nd Wild Card with 4 teams in front of them including KC and Cleveland as the Yanks dropped to 57-56.  At just 1 game over .500, it is their lowest point since April 14th when they were 6-5.

This game was especially frustrating because in some ways there were a lot of bright spots but the team floundered opportunities and Girardi made some puzzling decisions.  The offense has been brutal all year and coming into the game had gone 7 straight games without scoring more than 3 runs.  So when they erupted for 4 runs in the first 4 innings, things looked great with a 4-0 lead.  For the game they scored 5 runs on 3 HRs, 11 Hits and 8 Walks....a veritable offensive explosion for this team.  Eduardo Nunez had his best game of the season with his first HR, a Double to deep left-center, a line drive single to right, 2 Walks and a Stolen Base.  Now that he's healthy and Jeter is shelved again, Nunez has a chance to show if he's good enough to be in the team's future plans at SS and games like last night's showcase the potential he has.  Still just 26, his defense is vastly improved this year but he has to show some offensive consistency now.

Another bright spot was the rebound of CC Sabathia.  Everyone knows how bad CC has been lately with the team losing all of his last 4 starts while he's allowed 22 Earned Runs in 19.2 IP  The big Ace finally pitched like one for the first 6 innings and despite giving up 2 runs in the 7th, left the game after 7.1 with a 4-3 lead - so all told, a positive outing for CC.  Hopefully it is something he can build upon although he had just 1 strikeout and the Sox hitters seemed to have good swings at his once dominating Changeup.  Many commentators have suggested that CC isn't getting enough of a difference between his FB and Change as there's only been a 5-6 MPH difference in velocity his last few starts.  There may be something to this......CC has always thrown a harder Change - more like a BP Fastball but over the last few yrs the difference from his FB has gotten less and less. In his early years with CLE there was a 8-10 MPH difference and in his first year in NY it was a 7.7 MPH difference.  Last yr it diminished to 6.3 and has been about the same this year.  As CC loses more velocity on his FB, a wider gap between his FB and Change would be advisable rather than the smaller gap we've seen.  There is little deception in the pitch right now and with batters not having to respect his diminished FB, it's a recipe for danger.  Hopefully CC cn make the necessary adjustment.

Say it Ain't So Joe

I've often scratched my head at some of Joe Girardi's in-game decisions over the years but by-in-large, he's done a solid job this year keeping the team in the race as long as it was with their pathetic lineup.  But last night, I constantly found myself disagreeing with Joe's strategy and decision-making.  Here are the 2 things that got me yelling at the TV set:

1) Clinging to a 4-3 lead, the Yanks had 1st and 2nd with 0 Outs in the top of the 8th inning and Lyle Overbay At Bat vs LHP David Purcey.  We all know Overbay has been anemic vs LHP hitting .202/.245/.309, 46 RC+.  This was a CLEAR bunting situation and Girardi had several options on who he wanted to bunt.  He could have left Overbay in who hasn't had a Sac Bunt in 2 years. He could have used RH hitters Nix, Adams or Chris Stewart or lefty hitter Ichiro.  Those 4 are perhaps the teams best bunters.  If for some reason, Joe didn't want to bunt then he should have used any of the aforementioned 4 players to Pinch Hit.  Any of those options would be better than what he elected to do, which was let Overbay swing away.  What followed was a weak grounder to 3rd for a tailor-made 5-5-3 Double Play and end of rally.  Brutal managing!

2) Going into the bottom of the 11th, with short-relievers Preston Claiborne, Shawn Kelley & Boone Logan all still available, Girardi elected to go with long-man Adam Warren. A questionable decision in my eyes with his trio of short relievers all available, why go to Warren there.  It worked out in the beginning as Warren threw a scoreless 11th and Cano led of the 12th with a HR to give the Yanks a 1-run lead.  At that point, I figured Joe would surely go to Claiborne or Kelley to close the game.  After all, Claiborne has allowed just 1 run in his last 10.1 IP and has a sterling 2.13 ERA on the season.  Instead, Warren pitched the 12th and after getting 2 outs, allowed 3 straight hits to win it for CHI including a 2-out triple to DeAza. With 2 on and 2 out, perhaps Logan could have been used against the lefty DeAza. Oh well.

There were a lot of other frustrating parts of the game....all of the missed opportunities to add on to the lead and the poor baserunning by Nix who was used as a pinch runner in the 11th for Romine.  With no outs and Gardner up, Joe finalyy called for a hit-and-run.  Gardner popped uo to very shallow RF and since the 2B Beckham was near the bag for the steal, he couldn't get back to make the catch.  However, Nix was caught in no-man's land and was sprinting back towards first when the ball landed.  he reversed direction when he saw Beckham fall down and the ball drop, but Nix fell flat on his face (literally) and couldn't get up in time to run to 2nd base and was forced out.  Instead of 2 on and no outs for Ichiro, ARod and Cano, the rally was stunted.  Just  frustrating loss to  sum up a frustrating season.

Game Thread: Yankees @ White Sox 8/7

The Yankees and the White Sox will finish their three game set up at US Cellular Field tonight on YES and MLB TV. CC Sabathia and Hector Santiago is the pitching match up in what is shaping up to be the classic trap game. The Yankees are off tomorrow before heading home for a weekend set with the Detroit Tigers so a win would be nice tonight in Chicago. CC Sabathia has been lit up for the better part of a month now and looks to bounce back against Santiago who is coming off a great start against the Tiger last time out.

Here  is the Yankees lineup
Brett Gardner CF
Alfonso Soriano LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells DH
Curtis Granderson RF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Lyle Overbay 1B
Austin Romine C

Follow us on twitter by following @GreedyStripes. Go Yankees!!

Alex Rodriguez Officially Appeals Biogenesis Suspension

Alex Rodriguez has filed all the appropriate paperwork and has officially appealed his suspension that was set to go into effect tomorrow. This was obviously a surprise to nobody who has been paying attention and not under a rock these past few weeks but it is news worthy nonetheless. Rodriguez will now take his fight against the 211 game suspension to an arbitrator which may take somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-30 days/games or as late as November or December according to some reports.

New York Yankees @ Chicago White Sox 8/7

The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox finish up their three game set at US Cellular Field tonight. The Yankees will send the highest paid 5th starter in the world CC Sabathia to the mound to face off with Hector Santiago for the White Sox. The game will be televised at 8:10 pm ET on YES and MLB TV.

Keeping An Eye On Austin Romine

For a while now I've said that the Yankees should go after Brian McCann this offseason.

Brian's hitting .280/.363/.523 this season with 16 home runs, and he hit .270/.351/.466 with 24 home runs in 2011. I'm giving him a break on his poor 2012 season, as he battled a number of injuries that season, and ended up needing shoulder surgery by the end of it. That surgery ended up costing him the first 45 games of this season, but since that time he's been the best hitter on the first-place Braves.

Not that there aren't any concerns surrounding McCann. Of course, there's the injury history. Is he completely healed form his shoulder woes? He also missed games due to thigh, knee, and trunk problems in 2012 too.

McCann's line-drive percentage is at a career high 24%, as is his home run percentage of 5.9%, compared to career marks of 19% and 4.1%. So his numbers are likely a bit higher than what can be expected over the next few years.

So what is another alternative to signing Brian McCann?

"What about me?"

Although Romine's season triple-slash of .215/.247/.323 immediately makes people take a stronger look at free agents like Brian McCann, you might be surprised to see what Austin's done lately.

In his last 28 plate appearances, Austin is batting .440/.500/.720 with four doubles and a home run. Besides an apparent change to his approach at the plate, Romine's defense is fairly good as well. His caught stealing percentage is at 30%, which is a bit above the MLB average of 26%.

Speaking of that caught stealing percentage, the way he threw out Alejandro De Aza in the first inning last night was incredible impressive. It wasn't an easy pitch to handle when it comes to trying to throw out a base stealer, the throw was hard, and the throw was right on the money.

By the way, Romine's hitting .286/.318/.476 with runners in scoring position this year. Compare that to the team's batting line of .250/.332/.368 and you'll see why those numbers shouldn't be dismissed. Honestly, if you should dismiss his batting line in this case, it's because of the small sample size (24 plate appearances). But I digress!

I'm going to be watching Austin Romine carefully from here on out, while advocating his use in most games. Because if he can turn into the everyday player many thought he could as a prospect, then the team could be in really good shape financially in order to build a strong team for 2014.

Game 113 Lineup: Yankees @ White Sox

Yankees try to salvage the final game of this three game set, so they bring in CC Sabathia who has been struggling of late. Here's your starting lineup!

Brett Gardner CF
Alfonso Soriano LF
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Vernon Wells DH
Curtis Granderson RF
Eduardo Nunez SS
Lyle Overbay 1B
Austin Romine C

LHP CC Sabathia