CC Sabathia's Knee Degeneration And The Road To 300

Just a few years ago many believed CC Sabathia had the best chance of any active pitcher to reach 300 wins. With 2,775 and 1/3 innings entering the 2015 season CC had pitched more innings by age 32 than any hurler of the last 40 years except Greg Maddux. Over the past two seasons CC's R knee has shown signs of all this mileage.

therehabreport.blogspot.com

New York Mets and New York Yankees Make a Trade?

Could the New York Yankees and the New York Mets hook up and make a trade this winter? John Harper of the New York Daily News seems to think so in his article, seen HERE. To paraphrase, and head over there to get the entire article and to give him some credit for his hard work, Harper wonders if the Yankees and Mets could match-up in a trade this winter. The Yankees would send both left fielder Brett Gardner and relief pitcher Andrew Miller to the Mets for a pair of young starting pitching prospects in Zack Wheeler and Rafael Montero and outfielder Alejandro De Aza. The Yankees would get two young starting pitching prospects and a ton of salary relief while also getting an outfielder to replace Gardner while the Mets get their center field replacement for Yoenis Cespedes and a true closer. Does it make sense?

On paper this makes a ton of sense, but only if you believe the Yankees won't compete in 2016. The Aroldis Chapman trade, to me anyway, shows that the team is at least going to try to compete next season. Trading Gardner for De Aza doesn't help the team immensely in my opinion while losing Miller makes the bullpen incredibly thin, again.

This makes a ton of sense for the Mets. They have four outfielders as it is, including Juan Lagares, and could limit Gardner's playing time to keep him healthy and fresh throughout the entire season. The team would also pair Miller with Juerys Familia to start the beginnings of their own little super bullpen. Where this deal doesn't make a ton of sense for the Yankees though is Montero and Wheeler.

Wheeler turns just 26-years old in May and is a potential ace, and at worst a #2 starter in my opinion, but the problem is the Yankees wouldn't know much about him until at least June of 2016. Wheeler is still out after having Tommy John surgery and while the surgery's success rate rises every year it's still far from 100%, ask Ryan Madson. This is a HUGE risk with an even HUGER reward for the Yankees. This pill could be swallowed if Montero wasn't coming off a season where he frustrated the Mets ownership and organization with what they described as a "mysterious shoulder injury."

Montero is a high-end arm that could either start or replace Miller in the bullpen but you have yet another question mark here due to injury. Also it's worth mentioning that De Aza would probably be the team's fourth outfielder while Aaron Hicks slides into left field. The team gets better defensively but De Aza making nearly $6 million on the bench irks me for some reason. Also I worry about the drop off in production from Gardner to Hicks.

At the end of the day should the Yankees pull the trigger on this 100% hypothetical trade offer? Absolutely. Talent like Montero and Wheeler don't become available often at all via trades and they usually come attached to emptying out your farm system, not a closer making $9 million annually and a 32-year old outfielder who may be on the way out of his prime. I worry about the 2016 version of the Yankees if the deal is made but if Hicks could step up and Montero could pitch the 7th inning in the Bronx I think the team is not that far off from another playoff appearance.

Imagine this starting rotation: Masahiro Tanaka, Zack Wheeler, Luis Severino, Michael Pineda and Nathan Eovaldi. All under 28-years old and all loaded with potential. If offered, make the deal.

Jason Stark's Strange But True Feats from 2015

Every season Jason Stark of ESPN releases a set of "Strange But True" feats from the previous season and also releases the same post just for the postseason. Unfortunately the Yankees, despite making the postseason, were not involved in the postseason strange but true posts but they were mentioned more than once in the regular season feats. Head on over to ESPN and check out Jason's article SEEN HERE and I am going to sample some of the Yankees related material here to garner interest. Be sure to check out his post for the entire post and all the Yankees related material, plus he deserves a click or two for his awesome work. Enjoy.

-- The Yankees faced four position players as pitchers this season. Chris Young, the former Yankees fourth outfielder, hit a home run off of Atlanta Braves (at the time) outfielder Jonny Gomes but struck out in the same season against Adam Rosales, a Texas Rangers infielder. The Yankees didn't just face positional players as pitchers though they also threw out some of their own including Brendan Ryan who pitched two scoreless innings for the team. The last position player to get six outs as a pitcher for the Yankees was Gene Michael in 1968.

-- Mark Buehrle beat the Yankees this season, this was the first time he did so in 11 seasons. Who could blame him if he retired this offseason? Buehrle went 148 games against the club without winning a game, that has to be some sort of record.

-- Didi Gregorius did something that his predecessor never did, he drove in six runs in a single game. I find that pretty hard to believe but Derek Jeter never drove in six runs in a single game, wow. Gregorius did it in his 120th MLB game while Jeter, including the postseason, played in 2,505 games and never did it. No Suzyn, you can't predict baseball.

-- The final bit of Yankees related news relates to the powerful offense led by Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira. The Yankees eclipsed the 20 run plateau not once but twice in a single game in 2015 , both times on the road to boot.

Ken Griffey, the Hall of Fame & the New York Yankees

Ken Griffey Jr. is in the Hall of Fame, waiting on the announcement is merely a formality at this point. Just elect the guy, he played in the steroid era but never had any allegations against him and he was the best player in the league for quite a few number of years. As a Yankees fan I was quite happy to see Griffey head to the National League and the Cincinnati Reds later on in his career and I was more happy to see him retire. Griffey killed the Yankees as most of the Seattle Mariners did at that time so I thought I would bring up that painful reminder of what he did against the Yankees in his career and what he did inside Yankee Stadium as a way to honor the Hall of Fame center fielder.

Cringe, then enjoy. 

Griffey Jr. vs. the Yankees:

I	Split	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
	New York Yankees	133	572	101	156	26	36	102	14	62	86	.311	.392	.595	.987

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Griffey Jr. inside Yankee Stadium:

I	Split	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
	NYY-Yankee Stad	65	278	45	76	8	19	53	8	21	42	.300	.360	.565	.925
	NYY-Yankee Stad3	2	9	1	2	0	1	1	0	1	1	.250	.333	.625	.958

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Today The Greedy Pinstripes Turns 4 Years Old!

We are about 12 hours away technically but it was on this day four long years ago that two friends of mine, Bryan Van Dusen and Jorge Maestre, approached me about starting our own shop. For years we had jumped around various sports forums and such, and I even tried to open my own sports forum with little luck, but one thing was for certain in all of us. We wanted our own shop and we wanted to do things our own way, different. For days we threw around ideas such as the Wives & Girlfriends section, the up-to-the-minute payroll and roster pages, the Mega Prediction Game and most importantly the name of the blog.

When we were deciding what to name the blog we had this thought process; If there was a list of 100 Yankees-related blogs, which could be easily done with all the competition around at the time, what name would allow us to stand out? We didn't want another generic Yankees blog and then we remembered my "Get Greedy" campaign from 2008. The Greedy Pinstripes were born and we bought the domain that night. Tonight, just four years ago.

Jorge has since gone his separate way and I personally miss him. I've reached out a few times, sent invites to be a part of the blog etc. and got little to no response. If you're reading this, once again Jorge, the olive branch is there... grab it. And to Bryan, thank you for pushing me to do this. You were right and I was wrong and there is a first time for everything.

To the fans, readers and followers thank you as well. This is a hobby, no one gets paid for this. Not even me. It's not worth it without your comments, your clicks and your tweets and such. Without your support, and I can only speak for myself here, this isn't worth it. The same goes to the writers here from past to present, you're awesome. You donate your time and efforts here for us and we appreciate you. I can't do it all alone and you guys make sure that I don't have to.

Thank you to everyone. The core group of people in the comments section, the people who support the Mega Prediction Game, the people who bookmark us and email us everyday, our Twitter followers, etc. This birthday is just as much for you as it is for us. I can go on all day so I'm just going to end it here before I do, thank you!

This Day in New York Yankees History 1/6: The Greedy Pinstripes is Born

On this day in 2009 the Cleveland Indians signed oft-injured starting pitcher Carl Pavano, formerly of the New York Yankees. Pavano signed a one year deal worth $1.5 million for his age 32 season after only making 26 starts for the Yankees in four seasons and making $40 million.


Also on this day in 2006 the New York Yankees finished the year with a then record payroll of $207.2 million. That staggering number was $90 million more than the second highest spending Boston Red Sox. The World Series champion Chicago White Sox only spent $73.2 million while the Tampa Bay Devil Rays had the lowest payroll at $26.6 million.

The Boring Winter Ahead: Watch the 1996 World Series Game Five HERE

Game Five of the 1996 World Series between the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves.

USA Today: The Best Team Realistic Money Can Buy

I love reading the USA Today, they always have great content put up on their site that you don't see at every other site. For instance the crew over there put together the bets team they felt that they could with a realistic payroll. One member of the New York Yankees made the cut. CLICK HERE for the entire post with the write ups and such and see below as I sample the team as an excerpt here on the blog.

C- Buster Posey
1B - Paul Goldschmidt
2B - Logan Forsythe
SS- Brandon Crawford
3B - Josh Donaldson
LF- Starlin Marte
CF- Mike Trout
RF- Bryce Harper
DH - Kendrys Morales

BN - AJ Ellis (catcher)
BN - Brock Holt (utility infielder)
BN - Brandon Guyer (utility outfielder)
BN - Ben Zobrist (absolutely freaking everywhere)
BN - Brett Wallace (first base and third base as well as pinch hitter for power)

SP - Dallas Keuchel
SP - Zack Greinke
SP - Carlos Martinez
SP - Marco Estrada
SP - Hector Santiago (no Luis Severino?)

SP - Jeurys Familia
SU - Dellin Betances
RHP - Darren O'Day
LHP - Tony Watson
LOOGY - Tommy Layne
LRP - Chris Young

MLB's Pipeline Updates Their Top 30 Prospects List

Major League Baseball's Pipeline showcases their Top 30 prospects for each and every MLB team across the league and constantly updates them periodically throughout the season and offseason. Two members of the Yankees Top 30 prospects according to MLB.com's Pipeline were Rookie Davis and Eric Jagielo and both were traded in the deal that brought Aroldis Chapman to the Yankees. MLB.com's Pipeline has updated their Top 30 adding Nick Rumbelow and James Pazos to the list so I figured I would bring you the updated list here.



1. Aaron Judge
2. Jorge Mateo
3. James Kaprielian
4. Robert Refsnyder
5. Gary Sanchez
6. Ian Clarkin
7. Jacob Lindgren
8. Tyler Wade
9. Kyle Holder
10. Brady Lail
11. Drew Finley
12. Mason Williams
13. Bryan Mitchell
14. Hoy Jun Park
15. Dustin Fowler
16. Luis Cessa
17. Luis Torrens
18. Miguel Andjuar
19. Juan De Leon
20. Dermis Garcia
21. Abiatal Avelino
22. Slade Heathcott
23. Jordan Montgomery
24. Cale Coshow
25. Domingo Acevedo
26. Leonardo Molina
27. Thairo Estrada
28. Ben Gamel
29. Nick Rumbelow
30. James Pazos

Congrats to both Rumbelow and Pazos. They are two reliable arms that will likely be a big part of the Yankees bullpen in 2016. Stay well fellas. 

Yasiel Sierra Makes So Much Sense for the Yankees

The New York Yankees have made it very clear that they want to add a starting pitcher to the team this winter if at all possible and they don't want another aging veteran with a ton of question marks. This team, no matter what method or terminology they use, is rebuilding and re-tooling at the same time and they want a young pitcher, preferably a pitcher with less than three years of Major League service time. What about a pitcher with zero years of MLB service time and what about a seasoned rookie that doesn't need to be groomed? What about Yasiel Sierra?

I know what you're thinking, he's Cuban so the Yankees probably won't be signing him. That may be true but for a long time after Hideki Irabu the Yankees didn't sign a Japanese-born pitcher until Kei Igawa. Then for a long time after Igawa the Yankees shied away from that market until Masahiro Tanaka became available. New York is overdue to sign a Cuban-born star and they may be more willing to now more than ever after acquiring one from the Cincinnati Reds in Aroldis Chapman. With every pitcher though there are pro's along with con's.


Sierra is just 24-years old and is a year removed from being privy to the international bonus pool rules that MLB has enacted. The Yankees cannot sign anyone for over $300K in the international market but since Sierra is 24 he is a true free agent after MLB cleared him and declared him as so. Sierra is no different than say a Wei-Yin Chen except for the fact that his price tag will likely be substantially less and he will not be attached to any draft pick compensation.


Baseball American ranked their Top 20 players still in Cuba last April, so they may be a bit outdated at this point, and Sierra was ranked 13th overall. Sierra is said to have plus stuff and pitched both as a starter and a relief pitcher in Cuba. Sierra moved to the bullpen full-time in late 2014 and struggled a bit posting a 6.10 ERA with 55 strikeouts and 31 walks in 70 relief innings.

Sierra is projectable despite what his stats say and he has a fluid motion and delivery. He seems very teachable to me and he has been facing international competition his entire career. There is a video that Ben Badler of Baseball American posted and most of it is him facing off against collegiate talent representing Team USA. As you can see in the video, SEEN HERE, he is dominating these hitters and making them look silly with a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a splitter that he has since scrapped and a changeup. Sierra moves his arm slot around a lot but a lot of Cuban pitchers do that to keep opposing batters off-balance, something I did not know until I did my research on Sierra.


Sierra would make a lot of sense for the Yankees rotation and organization going forward. It would bring in the Cuban market and some of the market that is pissed off at Aroldis Chapman and bring them back to the Bronx. He's got a rubber arm and has shown a lot of durability during his time in Cuba and can bring some of that to the Bronx with him. Whether Cashman will sign him or not remains to be seen, well more or less it will depend on whether Hal Steinbrenner will allow it financially, but he checks a lot of boxes for the Yankees this offseason.