8/2 Yankees Game Preview vs. Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will play this afternoon in the second game of a three game set at Fenway Park this weekend. The Yankees will send rookie Shane Greene to the mound to get his first taste of the rivalry and he will face off with Allen Webster for the Red Sox. The game will be played at 4:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, Fox Sports 1, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN. 

Greene has given the Yankees some stability in the rotation since joining the starting squad and has put up a 2-1 record with a 3.33 ERA in four starts. Greene allowed just three runs on eight hits to the Toronto Blue Jays last time out and was given a no decision last time out. 

Webster is coming off his first win of the season last time out against the Tampa Bay Rays where he allowed two runs on three hits and five walks. Webster is the Red Sox 5th best prospect and was called up to replace the traded Jake Peavy in the rotation. 

Get your Yankees tickets to see the game if you're in the Boston area or snag you a pair for next week when the Yankees return home to host the Detroit Tigers in a four game set. We won't charge you fees and we won't charge shipping either making this a great deal. Buy now. 

Go Yankees!!

The Masahiro Tanaka Decision To Come Monday

As we all know Masahiro Tanaka has a slight tear in his right ulnar collateral ligament. Tanaka saw four doctors and all four doctors, including Dr. James Andrews, suggested rest and rehab over surgery for now. Tanaka received an injection in the elbow and the magic number all along has been three weeks before re-evaluating and making another decision on the elbow. That three week magic number is Monday so the Yankees should soon know the future of their 25 year old right hander.

If the Yankees get bad news I truly think they will try and add something, however marginal, to replace Chris Capuano. If the Yankees get good news and can get Tanaka back sometime in August along with Michael Pineda the pitching staff begins to look pretty good. With a healthy Pineda and Tanaka you are looking at Hiroki Kuroda, Brandon McCarthy, and Shane Greene filling out the rest of the rotation. That is a pretty gritty and tough rotation. It's not the Oakland Athletics or the Detroit Tigers but it's good enough to win the AL East.

Understanding August Waiver Trades

The July 31st trading deadline has come and gone but that does not mean team's are done making traded. Trades can be done for the rest of the season they are just a little trickier and harder to understand. That's why we're here, you're welcome.

Any player that is traded needs to clear revocable waivers first. Either the player is claimed by a team or he clears waivers. Teams want their players to clear waivers because once they clear once they can be traded to any team for the rest of the season. If the player is claimed the team has three options, they can pull their player back, work out a trade with the team who claimed him, or simply give the player and his contract away to the team that claimed him.

The waiver claim period lasts 47 hours and goes by worst record to best record in the players league (American or National) and then record worst to first in the other league. Teams can block other teams from claiming without any repercussions. When a player is claimed the team has two full days to trade the player or pull him back off waivers regardless of what day of the week it is.

A team can place their player on waivers a second time if they pull him back the first time but this time the waivers are not revocable. In terms even a Boston Red Sox fan could understand the second time around whoever claims him gets him. Players on the disabled list cannot be placed on waivers so therefor cannot be traded.

Finally, for all the playoff teams, any player acquired after the 31st of August is not eligible for the postseason. Now you know, carry on.

Rules For A Good GM: Don't Be Like Ruben Amaro Jr.

More than once I have spoken on the blog about how the Yankees general manager Brian Cashman needs to be more like Boston's GM Ben Cherington. One general manager that Cashman should not try to emulate is Ruben Amaro Jr. in Philadelphia. In short, Amaro is an idiot plain and simple. The Phillies had very tradeable pieces at the trading deadline including, but not limited to, Marlon Byrd, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and AJ Burnett. Amaro traded none of them, actually he didn't make a single move on Thursday, and now we find out why.

Amaro asked the Yankees for either Luis Severino or Aaron Judge in return for Byrd. Say what? Byrd and who else? Who the hell does this guy think he is and who the hell does he thinks he is trading? No wonder Philadelphia collapsed the way they did. Geeze. Good luck with that.

Capuano Decent, But Yanks' Offense Struggles Again in Loss to Red Sox

Chris Capuano threw 6 1/3 innings of four-run ball and Carlos Beltran collected two RBI, but since the Red Sox were able to cross home in the bottom of the seventh the Yankees lost to Boston tonight, 4-3, in the series opener at Fenway. 

At times in this evening's contest, as you see by that close final score, New York did appear to gain some momentum, getting a solo homer from Beltran in the fourth that made it 2-1 and another RBI Single from #36 in the sixth that made it 3-2.

Still, after Capuano allowed a man to get to second with one out in Boston's half of the seventh, Dustin Pedroia drove in the insurance run to bring it to 4-2, essentially ending the ballgame.

Yes, in the top of the eighth the Yankees got a home run from Derek Jeter and put men on the corners with two outs, but since Sox CF Mookie Betts still robbed Jacoby Ellsbury of an extra-base hit following Jeter's shot and Chase Headley grounded out to end the frame the Bombers did fall eventually, with Boston rookie Anthony Ranaudo (6 IP, 2 ER) getting the W in his MLB debut.

This Day In New York Yankees History 8/2: Teixeira Sets New MLB Record For Teix Messages

Many switch hitters have played this game of baseball but none have had more games in which they hit a home run from both sides of the plate than Mark Teixeira. Teixeira sent a Teix message on this day in 2011 from both sides of the plate for the 12th time in his career. The amazing part was that the two home runs game in a rain shortened victory in Chicago. Teixeira passed Eddie Murray and Chili Davis for the record.

Also on this day in 2007 the Yankees started an inning by giving up eight runs to the Chicago White Sox in a single frame. The Yankees would answer in the bottom of the inning by scoring eight runs of their own to tie the game in an eventual 13-9 loss. This marks only the second time in major league history that eight or more runs were scored in the same inning by each team.

Finally on this day in 1979 the Yankees captain Thurman Munson is killed when the Cessna Citation I/SP jet he is learning to fly crashes near a Canton-Akron airport. The Yankees catcher had been learning to fly for over two years so he could get home to his family in Ohio during off days. Munson was 32.

Open Game Thread 8/1: Yankees vs. Red Sox

Welcome to August baseball and tonight's open thread for the game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox tonight in Fenway Park. The Yankees will send former Red Sox pitcher Chris Capuano to the mound with backup from former Red Sox players Jacoby Ellsbury and Stephen Drew to face off with Anthony Raduano for the Red Sox. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

Remember to get your tickets to see the newest members of the Yankees either in Boston this weekend or next week when the Yankees start another home stand. Follow us on Twitter by following @GreedyStripes and like our page on Facebook by searching for The Greedy Pinstripes.

It's an open thread and there should be plenty to talk about so light up that comments section tonight. Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of your evening. Go Yankees!

Cashman Confident Drew Can Play Second Base

When the Yankees first acquired INF Stephen Drew from the Red Sox yesterday, many people wondered if he could adequately play second base.

The 31-year-old veteran, who's hit just .176 with four home runs and 11 RBI this season after signing with Boston in late May, has never played a position other than shortstop, worrying some that cutting Brian Roberts could turn out to be a mistake. 

Nonetheless, Yanks GM Brian Cashman is confident Drew can make the adjustment, telling the NYDN's Mark Feinsand shortly after the deal was completed that Drew's abilities "will allow him" to handle it.

“We believe in Stephen’s abilities, we certainly have a great deal of respect for his athleticism,” Cashman said. “We’re asking for him to accept a new challenge and we believe that his abilities will allow him to do that. We’ll see how it unfolds.”

So far in 2014, unsurprisingly, Drew has committed just two errors to Roberts' ten, pretty much proving the former's defensive superiority.

Still, that dismal batting average and RBI total are also things that need to be considered when assessing Drew, as the 2013 World Series Champ's been about as unproductive as one can be over the last couple of months. 

Cervelli Ecstatic To Still Be In New York.... Meme

"I wanna thank God for keeping me a Yankee!"

I've Got Til 5! - Trade Deadline Review

By now you've all read a bunch of reactions to the moves made by the Yankees yesterday. Well... here are five more!


1. While you have relievers out there that are sexy like Scarlett Johansson, the Yankees acquired Esmil Rogers... who's sexy like the chupacabra.

He's not just a beast. He's a sexy beast.

Source: Discovery.com

An ERA of 6.97, WHIP of 1.694, and FIP of 5.40 are hardly numbers worth getting excited about. And while Rogers is doing a decent job of getting out right-handed hitters this season (.250/.283/.409), he hasn't always been as effective (career .282/.338/.447). But his strikeout numbers aren't bad, he doesn't walk a ton of hitters, and he didn't cost anything to acquire. So perhaps he could at least eat some innings for the Yankees.


2. I wasn't a fan of acquiring Drew at first, as I didn't think he'd be of any help. For starters, his batting line of .176/.255/.328 is pretty sad. And secondly, while he may be a fine defender, he's playing out of position and therefore may not be much of an upgrade (if any) over Roberts.

Thanks to Daniel and others I've learned that Drew is hitting much better as of late. So as for his bat I'm not as concerned. However, I'm afraid that his transition to 2B isn't going to go smoothly. It's a shorter throw to first, and it's made at a different angle. And don't forget that turning a double play from that side of the bag is completely different too.

But with that said, this could turn out to be a very good pickup. And when I say "very good pickup" I'm not talking about for 2014... I'm talking about for 2015. You never know how a player is going to do in the bright lights of New York, making this an excellent audition to be the heir to Derek Jeter.


3. I wanted the Yankees to get Prado a long... long... time ago, so I was really happy when the news came across my phone.

"I was at work... don't tell my boss."

Source: Techlove7.com

While his hitting, particular the power part of it, is a little lower than expected, I still think this was an excellent trade for the Bombers. Not only is he a solid bat for the second half of the lineup, but his versatility will make Girardi's job so much easier when it comes to constructing a lineup. While the bulk of Martin's playing time has been spent at 3B, 2B, and LF, he's also played a significant amount of innings at 1B. He's even see over a hundred innings at SS.

You may not see RF in there, which is where he's slotted to play for the Yankees this season, but with all that experience around the diamond I don't see that as a problem at all. Furthermore, he won't be needed in CF since we have Ellsbury and Gardner to play there, and I think the battery is covered as well.


4. The question of what the 2015 Yankees will look like is a whole lot clearer after yesterday.

My crystal ball is telling me that Mark Teixeira will be at 1B, Martin Prado will move to 2B, Chase Headley will be at 3B (I want to see the Yankees release ARod... much more on that in the offseason), and Stephen Drew will take over at SS. Of course, Brian McCann will be the catcher, Brett Gardner will return to LF, and Jacoby Ellsbury will continue running down balls in CF.

That leaves the Yankees looking for an everyday RF (I see Beltran at DH most days), a starter or two (Sabathia, Pineda, and Phelps seem like good bets to be there on Opening Day, while Tanaka is a question mark due to his health, and Nova probably won't be ready until later in the season), and an arm or two for the bullpen (depending on whether the team re-signs Robertson).

Oh yeah.

Source: 2GuysTalkingMetsBaseball.com

5. The best part about all the moves the Yankees made yesterday is that they didn't trade any good prospects. To be more specific, they didn't trade any big prospects for players that aren't a sure thing to be a key part of the team now and in the future.

If Cashman dealt away some bigger names like Luis Severino for somebody like that Tulo guy, or Cole Hamels, then that would be cool. But if the return was somebody like pre-injury Cliff Lee, who's a bit of a question mark for the future, then I'd be a little ticked off. And with the history of the Yankees I don't think any of us would have been surprised by that.

But the Yankees have essentially improved the team now and for next season, and did so without getting rid anything significant. How sweet is that?