This Day In Yankees History 4/26: An A-Bomb, From A-Rod, Again & Again & Again

On this day in 2005 Alex Rodriguez hit home runs in his first three at bats becoming only the 11th player in Major League history to knock in 10 or more RBI's in a single game. A Rod would come up one RBI short of the American League record of 11 by fellow Yankee Tony Lazzeri in 1936. A Rod would come up two RBI's short of the Major League record of 12 set by Jim Bottomley in 1924 and Mark Whiten in 1993.

Also on this day in 1961 Roger Maris would hit his first of his record breaking 61 home runs in that magical season. It took Roger eleven Yankees games before he hit his first home run against the Detroit Tigers in old Tiger Stadium.

Remembering Game Two of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 2 of the 2000 World Series.

The New York Yankees would send Roger Clemens to the mound in Game 2 to face off with Mets pitcher Mike Hampton. Roger Clemens was already not a favorite in the Mets clubhouse after this seasons match up in Interleague play where Clemens hit Mets catcher Mike Piazza in the head with a fastball that gave him a concussion and landed him on the disabled list. The bad blood came back when in Mike Piazza's first at bat Roger Clemens sawed off Piazza's bat with a fastball that went foul. A large piece of the bat came flying towards Clemens and he would pick up the bat and throw it down the first base line in the general direction of Mike Piazza. Clemens said after the game that he did not see Piazza running down the base line when he threw the bat but that did not placate Mike Piazza. The Yankees would take a 6-0 lead into the 9th inning when Mike Piazza would get some sort of pay back when he hit a home run against Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson later in the game but the Yankees would ultimately win the game 6-5 to take a 2-0 lead in the Subway World Series. Roger Clemens would take the victory and Mike Hampton would take the loss.

This would be the Yankees 10th consecutive World Series game victory tying the longest American League winning streak in World Series history.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. New York Mets 4/25

I had to tell all my friends, family and followers that are fans of the New York Mets that I was temporarily rescinding my friendship this weekend for games like today. It is game time as the New York Yankees play host to the New York Mets in the Subway Series. This will be the second game of the three game set this weekend in the Bronx and Yankee Stadium and it will showcase CC Sabathia on the mound for the Yankees and Matt Harvey on the mound for the Mets. The past ace vs. the current ace will go face to face at 4:05 pm ET and can be seen on SNY, Fox Sports 1, WPIX Channel 11 and MLB TV.

Get your Yankees tickets here on the blog for the Subway Series finale tomorrow in the Bronx or for any game this week against the Tampa Bay Rays. Through our partnership with Ticket Monster and by clicking our Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog you will receive your tickets fast without all those shipping costs and handling fees associated with the price. Plus we’ll give you a slight 5% discount on top of that just for being a Greedy Pinstripes reader so you can’t really go wrong there. If you’d rather stay at home and watch the game on the couch or in your man room then jump on Twitter (@GreedyStripes) or our comments section to chat with us during the game. We put the social back into social media and would love to interact with as many of you as we can.

With that said I’ll let Mr. Sabathia have the stage. Go Yankees! #BeatTheMets

Giving Didi Gregorius a Chance

This is going to sound really rich coming from a guy that co-owns a blog called The Greedy Pinstripes but here I am once again trying to squeeze some forgiveness and patience out of my fellow Yankees fans. Let’s be frank here and not waste too much time beating around the bush, Didi Gregorius has sucked in his first three weeks or so as a member of the Yankees. He hasn’t hit the ball, he hasn’t run the bases well, he hasn’t done well with simple fundamentals and Baseball 101 and he especially hasn’t played defense very well. That much we know but what a lot of us don’t know apparently is how to be patient with a guy who is struggling out of the gate.

You’re all reading this because you’re a fan of my work and the work of my TGP family (and we truly do appreciate each and every one of you just as an FYI) but I wonder how many of you starting reading on Day One and are still here. This blog sucked in its first three or four weeks (months) of existence but you know, we grew from it and we made it better. Now we touch thousands of people a day not only on the blog but on Twitter as well. Who here reading this jumped into a car when they were 16 and could drive like Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon in their first three weeks? You may have matched them on the speed but I’m sure the precision and such wasn’t there. You may be thinking how that’s a bad example, that Didi has been playing minor league baseball and splitting time with Chris Owings in Arizona in the major leagues but what many forget is that this was the first time Gregorius was ever on an Opening Day roster. I could keep going on and on forever on things you weren’t especially good at and you could counter with a million and one arguments, arguments I’m not looking for here. Playing in the major leagues every single day in New York is totally different them playing once a week in Arizona or playing every day in some minor league stadium that you took a bus to get to.

I’m not defending the guy, he’s sucked bottom line, and I’m not asking you to respect or even like the guy. All I’m asking is to show the guy a little bit of patience. He’s a sensitive person (yes baseball players are people too) that wears his heart on his sleeve and when he’s playing well would be the poster child for the New York Yankees and their image. What is not helping is the “Der-ek Je-ter” chants and the constant tagging of him of Twitter to tell him how bad he sucks. You’ll catch more flies with honey then you will with shit and (excuse my language) many out there are just throwing the latter and none of the former. Give the guy a chance, if he’s still struggling in June or July then have at it if it makes you feel better but this constant attack is only compounding, not helping, the problem. 

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. New York Mets 4/25

The New York Mets and the New York Yankees face off once again today as a part of the Subway Series in the Bronx. Last night we were all entertained by the Michael Pineda and Jacob deGrom pitching matchup and today we have another one to look forward to when the Yankees send CC Sabathia to the mound to face off against the Mets ace Matt Harvey. Keep in mind that Harvey suffered an extremely mild ankle sprain in his last start and has some fluid building up in the ankle and rather than skipping a start in April to make sure he’s okay for the long haul he will make the start today in the Bronx. Maybe it’s the Joe Girardi in me talking but that sounds like you’re asking for trouble but as long as that trouble works out in the Yankees favor then I’m all for it. The game will be played at 4:05 pm ET and can be seen on SNY, WPIX Channel 11, Fox Sports 1 and MLB TV.

• Sabathia is coming off easily his best start of the 2015 season after he pitched a complete game against the Detroit Tigers last time out. Sabathia allowed just two runs over eight innings however his Yankees teammates could only muster one run off Alfredo Simon in the loss for New York. Sabathia has pitched much better than his 0-3 record shows and he hopes to improve on his 3-1 record and 2.14 career ERA against the Mets.

• Harvey was sick in his last start against the Miami Marlins plus he hurt his ankle and was still able to improve his 2015 season record to 3-0. Harvey has never pitched in the Bronx or Yankee Stadium and will be making his debut later on this afternoon.

Sabathia has looked better and better with each start this season and is finally giving some length to Girardi and the Yankees bullpen. Sabathia may not throw a complete game and give up just two runs today like he did against the mighty Detroit Tigers but if he can keep the team close I feel good about the Yankees chances against that young Mets bullpen. Only one way to find out and that’s to watch the game. Go Yankees!

#BeatTheMets

Remembering Game One of the 2000 Subway World Series

The 2000 World Series featured the New York Yankees and the New York Mets facing off in the World Series for the first time in their history. This was the first Subway Series since 1956 when the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees faced off. Let's take the time to remember Game 1 of the 2000 World Series.

The Yankees sent Andy Pettitte to the mound to face off against the Mets Al Leiter on a very important date in baseball history, October 21st. This was the day that Carlton Fisk hit his home run in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series and on the same day the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series on this day in 1980. Both starting pitchers had shut outs going into the 6th inning until David Justice knocked a two run double to put the Yankees up 2-0. Andy Pettitte would quickly lose the lead in the 7th after hit after hit off the savvy lefty including an Edgardo Alfonzo hit to give the Mets the 3-2 lead. Chuck Knoblauch would have a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 9th inning off Mets closer Armando Benitez to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Jose Vizcaino would be the unlikeliest of heroes when he would knock in Tino Martinez with his fourth hit of the game to give the Yankees a 4-3 victory and a 1-0 lead in the Subway World Series. Mike Stanton would get the win and Mets pitcher Turk Wendell would take the loss.

TGP Daily Poll: Matt Harvey’s Ankle Keeps Him Down

Matt Harvey takes the mound for the Mets on Saturday after suffering from a mild ankle sprain and some fluid buildup. Harvey will still make his start against the Yankees and CC Sabathia and will regret it in a loss for the Mets.

Vote in our prediction poll on Knoda.com

Weekly Check In: Robert Refsnyder

Now that we’re getting into a normal routine of these weekly check in’s now we can get back to checking on our favorite Yankees prospects. With Didi Gregorius struggling in the Bronx and Robert Refsnyder knocking on the door let’s see how long the Yankees can stand to keep their second baseman down in Scranton with the RailRiders.

Here’s what Refsnyder’s been up to so far this season: 

Year	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2015	AAA	12	54	4	11	2	0	0	3	3	9	.220	.264	.260	.524

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Recap: Yankees 6, Mets 1

Mark Teixeira carried on with his impressive week at the plate, clubbing a pair of upper-deck home runs off Mets starter Jacob deGrom to lift the Yankees past their crosstown rivals, 6-1, on Friday night at Yankee Stadium. 

Sending Tex Messages: Teixeira drilled his first homer of the contest with a runner on in the bottom of the first, crushing a fastball from deGrom over the right-field wall to put the Yankees up 2-0 early. Teixeira then went deep to right again in the third, just keeping another two-run drive fair to stretch the advantage to 5-0. 

Pineda's Gem: Coming off a mediocre outing in St. Petersburg Sunday, it was anyone's guess how Michael Pineda would perform against an improved Mets lineup -- seeing as the Mets had won 11 consecutive prior to Friday. Pineda held the visitors to just one run and five hits in 7 2/3 innings, however, destroying any doubt about his effectiveness with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Ellsbury's First Long Ball: Leading off the Yanks' half of the third after a trio of scoreless innings from Pineda, Jacoby Ellsbury gave the Yankees some more breathing room with a home run of his own -- a liner into the first section in right Curtis Granderson could only watch. It was Ellsbury's first four-bagger of the year, though his 20 hits still top all Yankees hitters. 

He Does it on Defense, Too: You would think his two blasts off an ace like deGrom would be enough to please Teixeira on the evening, but evidently, the Yankees first baseman wanted to excite defensively as well. With the Yankees up 6-0 in the top of the fith, Teixeira made a nice diving stop to rob Daniel Murphy of a double -- knocking the ball down with his glove before flipping to Pineda for the assist. 

Welcome Back, Grandy Man: Granderson, who hit .245 for the Yankees from 2010-2013, went 2-for-4 in his second return to the Bronx -- scoring the Mets' only run in the sixth on a Lucas Duda sac fly. He ended Pineda's start with a two-out double in the eighth, but was also a strikeout victim in the first.

Next Up: The Yankees and Mets continue this weekend series Saturday when the lone matinee of the set is played -- beginning at 4:05 p.m. ET and airing live on Fox Sports 1. CC Sabathia (0-3, 4.35 ERA) will get the start for the Yankees hoping to build off a strong eight innings Monday, opposing young Mets phenom Matt Harvey (3-0, 3.50 ERA).

This Day in New York Yankees History 4/25: Joe DiMaggio in Monument Park

On this day in 1999 the New York Yankees unveiled their fifth monument in Monument Park when a plaque honoring Joe DiMaggio was placed there. Joe D died the month prior at age 84 and joined Miller Huggins, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Mickey Mantle in Monument Park.

Also on this day in 1933 the benches cleared at Griffith Stadium between the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators. Yankee outfielder Ben Chapman spikes Buddy Myer and then responds by punching the Senators Jewish second baseman and hurling anti-Semitic remarks at the injured infielder. This was an ugly brawl that lasted 20 minutes and spread into the stands with over 300 fans getting into the action. Suspensions and fines followed for the player’s involvement.

Also on this day in 1933 Yankees rookie pitcher Russ Van Atta goes 4-4 and shuts out the Washington Senators 16-0 in his Major League debut. Kid seems like a keeper to me.

Finally on this day in 1904 Jack Chesbro and the New York Highlanders hand the Washington Senators their eight straight loss, making the Sens 0-8 to start the season, when New York won 4-1. Chesbro picked up his first of his record 41 wins he will get that season. Insane by today's standards.