Can't Predict Baseball: Ty Cobb Beats Up A Cripple

On this day in 1912 Ty Cobb grew tired of listening to heckling by Yankee fans and jumped into the stands near the Tigers dugout at Hilltop Park and pummeled a handicapped fan. Otto Blotz was the man who could not defend himself against the "Georgia Peach" as he only had one hand. Class act right there.

On this day in 2005 the White Sox did not have the lead in a game when they are beaten by the Baltimore Orioles 6-2. This is the first time this season the White Sox did not have a lead in a game establishing a new major league record with 37 straight games to start a season and tied the 1934 New York Yankees and the 1942 St. Louis Cardinals for the third longest span in major league history.

Quick Hit: It's Time To Move Solarte Up In The Order

Heading into play yesterday the New York Yankees had the player with the highest batting average in all of the American League. His name is not Jacoby Ellsbury, it's not Brian McCann, it's not Derek Jeter, or Carlos Beltran, or even Brett Gardner. His name is Yangervis Solarte and he is doing most of his damage at the bottom of the lineup. It's time to move Solarte up in the lineup.

Solarte is the real deal, this is not a two week thing anymore. Solarte has hit the cover off the ball all spring and all season long. Even when he "came back down to Earth" he was still better than a lot of players on the team with the bat and with his glove. I know this won't be the popular opinion but the time has come to put Solarte in the #2 hole and move Jeter down a tad, maybe even flip flop. 

I know it will never happen but for the good of the team just imagine this lineup(when healthy):

Jacoby Ellsbury (L)

Yangervis Solarte (S)

Carlos Beltran (S)

Alfonso Soriano (R)

Mark Teixeira (S)

Brian McCann (L)

Derek Jeter (R)

Brian Roberts (S)

Brett Gardner (L)

This gives you two leadoff batters with Ellsbury at the top and Gardner at the bottom. This lineup also gives other managers a fit when trying to matchup with all those switch hitters. There is plenty of pop in the middle of the lineup, there is plenty of line drive and extra base hit power at the top of the order with Solarte and Ellsbury, and there is speed all throughout the lineup. It will never happen, especially in Jeter's final season, but it's fun to think about anyway I guess. 

Trenton Thunder Game Recap 5/14

Thunder Drop Pitcher's Duel to Erie, 2-1

The Trenton Thunder followed Tuesday's loss with a second-consecutive defeat at the hands of the Erie SeaWolves Wednesday night, 2-1, in front of 3,319 fans at ARM & HAMMER Park.

Trenton scored first on the back of Peter O'Brien's fourth home run in five games with the Thunder. Facing Erie starting pitcher Jeff Ferrell in the bottom of the second inning, the right-handed hitting O'Brien launched a ball the other way with two outs and no one on for a 1-0 lead.

That would be the lone blemish on the night for Ferrell who allowed one run in 7.0 IP on seven hits and four strikeouts to improve to 3-2 on the season.

The loss goes to Manny Banuelos who went just 0.2 innings before being removed from the ballgame as he hit a pitch limit. The Mexican southpaw entered with a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning and got the first batter before allowing five of the next six to reach. With the ballgame tied 1-1 and the bases loaded, Erie shortstop Eugenio Suarez ran the count full before drawing the walk to score the go-ahead- and game-winning- run.

Starting pitcher Bryan Mitchell made his first start since April 22, and retired eight of the nine batters he faced. Mitchell, who was on a pitch limit was removed after walking SeaWolves catcher Craig Albernaz with two outs in the third. Trenton's righty struck out three and walked one in 2.2 hitless innings.

Trenton's relievers were strong in defeat with Tyler Webb (1.1 IP), Manny Barreda (2.1 IP) and Pat Venditte (2.0 IP) all posting scoreless outings out of the Thunder bullpen.

The Thunder outhit the SeaWolves 8-to-4, but two-hit games from O'Brien and Gamel were not enough offense for a victory.

The three-game series concludes Thursday morning when the Thunder take on the SeaWolves with a scheduled 10:35 a.m. first pitch. The game can be heard on www.trentonthunder.com or on 91.3 FM WTSR with the Trenton Thunder Pre-Game Show beginning at 10:15 a.m.

Being posted with permission from the Trenton Thunder. The original post can be seen HERE. 

Charleston Riverdogs Game Recap 5/14

Late-Game Surge Not Enough for RiverDogs

Charleston erases a 3-0 deficit before Hickory's ninth-inning spurt wins the game

CHARLESTON, SC - The Charleston RiverDogs needed to overcome a three-run deficit and a power outage on Wednesday evening, but the Hickory Crawdads scored in their last at bat for a 5-3 win in front of 2,723 fans at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in South Atlantic League action.

The RiverDogs are now 20-18 while the Crawdads' record moves to 17-21. Also, Mike Ford's rally-starting single in the sixth inning extended his on-base streak to 11 straight games.

Hickory was aided by errors as the Crawdads took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Ryan Cordell reached on an error and reached third base after a stolen base with a throwing error. Ronald Guzman's single scored Cordell to put Hickory in front. Guzman stole second base and would score after a single from Travis Demerrite.

A sixth-inning home run pushed Hickory's lead to 3-0. RiverDogs southpaw Ian Clarkin had retired 11 straight batters but gave up a solo home run to Demerrite. Clarkin finished six innings of work with only one earned run allowed and he struck out four Crawdads.

Charleston rallied to tie the game at 3-3 in its half of the sixth. Tyler Wade's leadoff double preceded a pair of strikeouts from Hickory's Kelvin Vasquez. Ford followed with a single that brought in Wade, who slid around a tag attempt to get the RiverDogs on the scoreboard. Michael O'Neill extended the inning with his own single before Miguel Andujar and John Murphy each produced run-scoring singles that evened the score.

Despite the rally, the action slowed down in the seventh inning due to a power outage. The lights went out with two outs and a 1-1 count to Hickory shortstop Michael De Leon. After a 21-minute delay, De Leon grounded out on the first pitch of the game's resumption.

In the final inning, the Crawdads broke the tie with two outs to claim the victory. The second out came on a sacrifice fly from De Leon that brought in Jairo Beras for the go-ahead score. Evan Van Hoosier responded with a home run that stretched the lead to 5-3. In the bottom of the inning, Cody Kendall walked the potential tying runs but kept the RiverDogs scoreless.

Kendall's win pushes his record to 3-2. Omar Luis is 1-1 for Charleston following the loss.

BALLPARK FUN: Middle Child Awareness Night highlighted famous middle children that overcame the potential woes of being stuck between siblings. Peyton Manning and Owen Wilson are two of the most successful examples that were included. The Beech Hill Jugglers entertained the fans with several on-field routines at the game. Doby's Deck was filled with folks from Lowcountry Red Cross.

COMING UP: Game two of this three-game series is scheduled to start at 7:05pm on Thursday with Charleston LHP Caleb Smith (3-2, 0.84 ERA) squaring off against Hickory LHP Frank Lopez (3-1, 1.38 ERA). Visit the Ashley View Pub on Budweiser Thirsty Thursday, presented by 95SX, for $1 drafts, DJ Natty Heavy, and Wild Wing Café wing-eating contest. One lucky nurse will receive a $500 scholarship check on Nurses Night while Mozo will be prepared for a postgame concert adjacent to the Beer Garden, sponsored by Palmetto Brewery and Awendaw Green.Tickets may be purchased at the Riley Park Box Office, (843) 577-DOGS (3647) or on-line at www.riverdogs.com. If fans cannot make it to the ballpark, they are encouraged to tune in to all the action this year both home and away worldwide on www.riverdogs.com and locally on 1250 WTMA, the new radio home for RiverDogs baseball.

Box Score: http://atmilb.com/1mWezmo

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

This Day In New York Yankees History 5/15

On this day in 1941 Joe DiMaggio began his 56 game hitting streak, spoiler alert, with a hit against the White Sox Edgar Smith. DiMaggio would collect at least one hit in every single game until July 17. The streak would be ended in Cleveland with the help of a couple outstanding defensive plays at third base by Ken Keltner.

On this day in 1961 the George Steinbrenner owned Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League hired John McLendon, Jr. as their head coach. McLendon would be the first African American to be named to a top leadership position in any major professional sport. McLendon was well respected in the college ranks as a coach but would leave the job midway through the 1961-1962 ABL season due to interference from the front office.

Tanaka's shutout leads Yankees past Mets. 4-0

Money well spent.

In a year when just about everybody in the starting rotation has struggled, Masahiro Tanaka has acted as the Yankees' light at the end of the tunnel. 

The Japanese rookie, who came into tonight's start against the Mets 5-0 with a 2.57 ERA, threw the game of his young major league career, striking out eight in a full nine innings as the Yanks ended their six-game losing streak against Queens' team with a 4-0 win. 

In the outing, Tanaka surrendered just four hits, keeping his record perfect and lowering his ERA to an impressive, 2.17. 

On the offensive end of things this evening, Yangervis Solarte, Mark Teixeira, and Brian Roberts, three guys who have really hit the ball well lately, led the way, collecting two solo home runs and an RBI Triple respectively. 

In the top of the seventh, SS Derek Jeter, with the Bombers up 3-0, collected the much-needed dagger, dribbling a ball in front of home plate for a run-scoring infield single.

At that point, this contest was pretty much over, and the Pinstripes, despite all their injuries and struggles, went on to improve to 20-19, somehow just a 1/2 game out of first place. 

CC Sabathia Has Degenerative Knee Condition

Cashman: CC has degenerative changes in knee... Will have cortisone shot with stem cells tomorrow ... No timetable yet #Yankees
— Meredith Marakovits (@M_Marakovits) May 14, 2014

So much for the "latest" news on CC Sabathia's fluid build up in his knee that would only require rest to get over. Sabathia has a degenerative condition in his right knee that will require  a cortisone shot of stem cells tomorrow. Current and former Yankees Carlos Beltran and Hideki Matsui also had similar procedures and responded well to the treatment prolonging their careers. The bad news is there is no timetable for Sabathia to return to the mound but it seems like it will be much more than the 15 days originally prescribed.

Sabathia's knee is structurally fine and stable physically outside of the inflammation and the fluid build up so there is always that if you are looking for a silver lining.

Subway Series Game Thread: Yankees @ Mets 5/14

The New York Yankees and the New York Mets will take the subway and travel to Citi Field as the Subway Series shifts venues for tonight's game. The pitching matchup is Masahiro Tanaka for the Yankees facing off with the Mets Rafael Montero making his major league debut. The game will be played at 7:10 pm ET and can be seen on MY9, ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

The Yankees tickets in Flushing are actually cheaper than they were at Yankee Stadium so take advantage of that if you can. You can get your tickets for this game and every Yankees game right here on the blog through our friends at TiqIQ. Also remember to follow us on twitter, @GreedyStripes, where the conversation (and ranting lately) is always going on. Drop us a line in the comments section of the site and someone will be there to talk Yankees baseball as well.

Enjoy the night Yankees family and definitely enjoy the game.

Joe Torre Tells The Mets How It Is... Meme

Joe Torre knows who the king of New York is and it definitely is not the Mets. No matter what the record book says in the last six games against the Yankees, the Mets still suck.

Bryan Mitchell Activated Off Double-A Disabled List

The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, have announced a roster move prior to Wednesday's game against the Erie SeaWolves.
RHP Bryan Mitchell, 23, has been reinstated from the disabled list and is scheduled to startWednesday's ballgame. The right hander  is 1-2 with a 4.26 ERA and has not appeared in a game since April 22 and was placed on the disabled list April 25 (upper body).
He was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the week of April 14-20 (1 G, 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 12 K) in which he struck out a career-high 12 batters in his lone start April 14 at Akron. The 12 strikeouts were the most in a game for a Thunder starting pitcher since August 18, 2010 when Adam Warren struck out 15 batters vs. Bowie.
Mitchell was also optioned to New York Yankees 4/20 and warmed-up in the bullpen for NYY vs. Tampa 4/20 in the 12^th inning, but did not appear in ballgame. He was optioned back from the Yankees on 4/21.

Trenton had been playing with a 24-man active roster, and the move puts them at the league maximium 25 players.