Yankees ST: Two Games & Just One of Me

The New York Yankees are playing a split squad set of games today against the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankees will be at home inside George M. Steinbrenner Field in the game against Pittsburgh while the team will travel out on the road against the Phillies.

Both games will be played at 1:05 pm ET with the Phillies game being showcased on MLB Network and MLB TV while the game against the Pirates will be shown on the YES Network and MLB TV as well. Go Yankees x2!

Nolan Arenado Is One Guy You Sell the Farm For!

If the New York Yankees need a third baseman and the Colorado Rockies start shopping theirs, Nolan Arenado, he may be one of the exceptions that you sell the farm for. No flashy introduction to this post and no creative little tie in here, straight to the meat and potatoes. Arenado is a leader and a hell of a ball player and he is one guy I am giving up Jorge Mateo and/or Aaron Judge for. He’s that special.

The New York Yankees have very little in the way of third base depth right now down on the farm with Chase Headley leading the way in the major leagues and Robert Refsnyder looking like his Opening Day backup. The trades of Rob Segedin and Eric Jagielo have left the Yankees a little thin at the position but that can all be made right again if Arenado becomes available in the near future. And no, I’m not saying he is available and there’s no possible way for me to know if he will ever become available, I’m just preparing for the day if he is.

Look, Colorado is a small market team that doesn’t look like it’s going to compete before Arenado gets expensive. The team has shown a willingness to spend before, see the Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki contracts of recent years, but the team may also be a little gun shy since neither of them truly worked out for the organization all that well.

Arenado, Coors Field or not, is an absolute beast. He hit 42 home runs last season in a league that is zapped of its power and has hit over .600 for much of this spring. While spring training stats are meaningless in the grand scheme of things a .600 batting average and 1.662 OPS in any sample size is impressive. What’s most important maybe is the fact that this spring Arenado has struck out just twice all spring at the time of this writing, twice in almost 40 at bats.

Arenado has played in less than three seasons and already has three Gold Glove Awards on his mantle and has led every third baseman in almost every defensive category since breaking into the league. He does it on the offensive side of the ball, the defensive side of the ball, in the locker room by all accounts and interviews of his former teammates and coaches and he does it off the field as well. He does it in Coors Field, 20 home runs in 2015, and out of Coors Field, 22 home runs in 2015, and he is just good or spectacular at almost literally everything. It’s impressive and it’s worth emptying the farm for if that opportunity ever comes up. Those are just my two pennies on the situation though, what are yours? Leave them below in the comments. 

Trenton Thunder Media Day Scheduled for Tuesday, April 5

All members of the media are asked to mark their calendars for the Thunder's annual Media Day on Tuesday, April 5 at 1pm. This is your first opportunity to interview and photograph the 2016 Thunder.

Please note that media availability ends promptly at 2:30pm due to the scheduled closed-door team meeting. Following the conclusion of that meeting, players will return to the field for their scheduled stretch and practice session times.

Media are also invited to the Welcome North Open House which will be held following Media Day. This free event is open to the public and gives fans the chance to watch the team's first practice of the year at ARM & HAMMER Park and meet the team and seek autographs.

Below is the complete preseason schedule for the Thunder:

Sunday, April 3: Final workout in Tampa, FL

Monday, April 4: Travel Day - NO MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Tuesday, April 5: Media Day and Welcome North Open House
Team Photo - 1:00 PM
Player and Coach Availability - 1:15 PM - 2:30 PM
Closed Door Team Meeting - 2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Pitcher Stretch - 3:15 PM
Team Stretch - 3:45 PM
BP Begins - 4:00 PM

Welcome North Open HouseGates Open For Fans: 3:00 PM
Stadium Tours: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Team Workout Ends: 5:00 PM
Player Autograph Session: 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM
Players and Coaches Visit 90% Club in Yankee Club (Private): 6:30 PM - 7:15 PM
Ballpark Closes: 7:30 PM

Wednesday, April 6: Team Practice - NO MEDIA AVAILABILITY

Thursday, April 7: Opening Day
Thunder Batting Practice: 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM
Manager Bobby Mitchell Available To Media: 5:15 PM - 5:30 PM
Thunder Clubhouse Open For Availability: 5:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Radio Broadcast Begins on 91.3 FM WTSR and TrentonThunder.com: 6:40 PM
National Anthem: 6:55 PM
First Pitch: 7:00 PM

Times Listed Above Are Tentative And May Change

Credentials are required for Media Day. Submissions must be made to Public Relations Manager Jon Mozes atJMozes@trentonthunder.com by Monday, April 4.

--THUNDER--

This Day In New York Yankees History 3/29: The Yankees 9/11 Tribute

On this day in 2009 the Evil Empire struck again as they placed a permanent September 11 memorial at the entrance of George M. Steinbrenner Field, the Yankees Spring Training home in Tampa, Florida. The tribute showcased a foundation in the shape of the Pentagon that supported two towers made from steel from the World Trade Center that was placed on a grassy spot representing where United Flight 93 was hijacked and flown into the Earth in Pennsylvania. The Red Sox did nothing.

Also on this day in 1975 the Yankees released Mel Stottlemyre after he tore his rotator cuff. Mel finished with a 164-139 record and a 2.97 ERA with 40 shutouts before he became New York's pitching coach.

Finally on this day in 1948 the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox played an exceptionally long exhibition game that went 17 innings, unheard of nowadays. The game still ended in a 2-2 tie in a four hour and two minute game. The Yankees scored a run in each of the bottom of the ninth and tenth innings to keep the game tied and moving along. New York had the winning run at third base in the bottom of the 17th inning but Frank Crosetti attempted a bunt to squeeze the runner home and failed.

ICYMI: Watch out for James Kaprielian

There are many examples of the New York Yankees going against what the fans think they should do and it all working out in the end. Sure there are examples and debates to be made for both sides but at the end of the day we as fans will never have the access or information that the Yankees GM and front office does. It is what they do with it that separates New York from the rest of the league sometimes though, for better or worse, and this was no more evident than in the 2015 MLB First Year Players Draft. Brian Cashman, the Yankees GM, caught much flak for his two first round picks last season in Kyle Holder and James Kaprielian from the fans but at least one of them is making Cashman and company look awfully smart right about now.


When Holder was drafted he was drafted as a raw talent despite the fact that he was a college shortstop. Holder had not committed himself to baseball full-time until a season before being drafted so while his defense at short is considered to be elite and MLB ready his bat leaves much to be desired. While Holder is probably at least two seasons away we may see the MLB debut of Kaprielian this season, and the rest of the league better watch out.


Kaprielian was drafted, we thought anyway including myself, because he was a polished college arm that was considered to be MLB ready straight out of the June draft. What I don’t think any of us saw coming was Kaprielian’s uptick in velocity and absolutely dominating stuff in the minor leagues. Kaprielian came out of the draft with a ceiling of a #3 starter but if Kaprielian can pitch the way he has been pitching at the Yankees minor league complex New York may have another future ace on their hands that is ready as soon as the 2016 season.


On Monday Kaprielian started against the Toronto Blue Jays in a minor league game and worked three innings facing 11 batters. Kaprielian did issue a walk and a hit or two but he managed to strike out seven of the 11 batters he faced with a dominating fastball and devastating slider. Kaprielian was clocked anywhere from 94-97 MPH with the fastball while his slider was coming in at 85-87 MPH.


Kaprielian is expected to skip Low-A Charleston and head straight to High-A Tampa to start the season with his eye on the ultimate prize, the Bronx, before the end of the 2016 season. Kaprielian seems ready and the New York Yankees are absolutely ready to have another stud starter in their rotation, is the rest of the league ready for it? I hope not.

Most Popular Article of the Week: Mel Stottlemyre is Back in Good Health!

Good news to start your morning Yankees family and it comes from the New York Daily News and John Harper. According to the New York publication former Yankees pitcher and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre is winning his battle with myeloma cancer and his health is improving, great news!

Mel was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, the cancer of the blood, back in 1999 and he presumably thought he was losing his battle with the disease last summer at Old-Timers Day in New York. Mel told the Yankees crowd during a surprise ceremony and plaque presentation in Monument Park that he was ready to coach in Heaven but a change in medications may have saved Stottlemyre's life.

The 74-year old Stottlemyre is living his life again and is considering taking up golf and fishing again, a long cry from the brittle man we saw last June in the Bronx. This is great news and I couldn't be happier about Mel and his new-found health.

Congrats Mel!

Yankees ST: New York Yankees vs. Detroit Tigers 3/29

Luis Cessa as a Yankees starting pitcher? Does the team want to work him out and give him an extended look this spring or does it have something to do with the fact that the team has to play a split squad game tomorrow against the Phillies and Pirates? I don't know but either way Luis Cessa gets the start today for New York while the Tigers send Buck Farmer to the mound to oppose him.

The game will be played at 6:35 pm ET and unfortunately will not be televised anywhere. Which figures because I took the day off from work today. Yeah. Go Yankees!

Ranking the AL East Opening Day Starters & Rotations

The American League East is shaping up to be a pretty competitive division in 2016, like it is most seasons, with four possible teams with legitimate chances at winning the division. Yes I unlcuded the New York Yankees in with those other three teams because I truly believe the team can win the division if everything goes right. The talent is there not only on the 25 and 40 man roster but it is also down on the farm if a big trade or acquisition needs to be made. With that said any division is going to be won most of the time on the starting pitching and specifically your ace. Who has the best ace in the American League East and who has the best starting five or six respectively?

First things first so let’s rank the top pitchers pitching in the first game of the season:

Chris Archer – Tampa Bay Rays

David Price – Boston Red Sox

Marcus Stroman – Toronto Blue Jays

Masahiro Tanaka – New York Yankees

Yovani Gallardo – Baltimore Orioles

And let’s move on to the best starting pitching rotations as a whole:

Tampa Bay Rays

New York Yankees

Toronto Blue Jays

Boston Red Sox

Baltimore Orioles

While the Boston Red Sox may have one of the best aces in the league I am not entirely sold on Rick Porcello, Clay Buchholz and company. I’ve been wrong before and I’m willing to be wrong again but Boston’s rotation is going to have to prove it for me to be a believer because I just don’t see it. The Blue Jays have a decent rotation as well but in my opinion it’s a little top heavy. Outside of Stroman, Drew Hutchison and an aging RA Dickey I believe the team will miss Price and Mark Buerhle from their 2015 team, well Buerhle unless he was facing the Yankees anyway. I think the Yankees have a ton of talent in their rotation with Michael Pineda, Luis Severino and Nathan Eovaldi but like always it will come down to health while the Baltimore Orioles may be in the cellar of any and all lists, including the final standings, when this season is all said and done. 

Phillie Phanatic To Appear At ARM & HAMMER Park On May 12

One of the most famous mascots in all of baseball, The Phillie Phanatic, will appear at ARM & HAMMER Park on Thursday, May 12 when your Thunder host the Reading Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) at 7:00pm. TICKETS
Originally from the Galapagos Islands, The Phanatic (pictured with Derby and Rookie from his 2015 visit/Dave Schofield) has been recognized byForbes Magazine as the #1 sports mascot in both 2008 and 2011 and was ranked as baseball's best mascot by Good Morning America in 2015. Last year, the Phanatic made appearances on NBC's 30 Rock and ABC's The Goldbergs as well as a memorable visit to the set of ESPN's College GameDay.

The Phanatic's appearance on Thursday, May 12 coincides with Medical Professionals Night and post-game fireworks, presented by Capital Health, at ARM & HAMMER Park. The series continues on Friday night with Breast Cancer Awareness Night, presented by Radiology Affiliates Imaging, and the first 1,500 fans, ages 18 and up, will receive Pink Caps. The Thunder will also wear special pink jerseys on Friday night which will be auctioned after the game to support breast cancer research.

Saturday, May 14 will have post-game fireworks presented by Wawa. The four-game series with the Fightin Phils will wrap up on Sunday, May 15 at 1:00pm with Boomer's Birthday. The first 1,000 fans, ages 5-15, will receive Thunder Growth Charts, presented by Princeton Healthcare System and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Click here to see the 2016 promotional schedule.

Distribution of promotional items is for guests in attendance only, while supplies last. All promotions, dates, and giveaways are subject to change and/or cancellation.

The 2016 season, the 23rd in franchise history, will begin at ARM & HAMMER Park on April 7 when the Thunder host the Erie SeaWolves (Detroit Tigers) at 7:00pm. For more information on the Thunder and to purchase tickets, visit www.TrentonThunder.com or call 609-394-3300.

--THUNDER--

This Day in New York Yankees History 3/28: YES Network Pulls the Plug

On this day in 2003, just three days prior to Opening Day, the YES Network claims Cablevision has pulled out of a deal signed 17 days ago that would have provided televised Yankee games to three million cable subscribers in the New York City area. According to the YES Network Cablevision failed to sign a finalized version of the hand-written document that both parties exchanged on March 12.


Also on this day in 1988 the Yankees decided to waive pitcher Phil Niekro just four days shy of his 47th birthday.


Finally on this day in 1986 the Boston Red Sox traded designated hitter Mike Easler to the New York Yankees for designated hitter Don Baylor in a rare trade between the two rivals.