Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians 8/6

The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the Bronx, things don’t get better than this in my opinion. This afternoon in the second game of the three game weekend set the New York Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound with a tough task on his hands, limiting the Indians offense and outpitching the Indians ace Corey Kluber. The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network locally, MLB Network nationally and MLB TV anywhere you are.

You have one more shot to see Andrew Miller one last time this season tomorrow afternoon before the Yankees off day on Monday and their series inside Fenway Park starting on Tuesday against the Boston Red Sox. Click the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog to get yourself a pair of seats now and also be sure to click the TGP T-Shirts link to support the team while you’re at the stadium.

Follow us on Twitter by giving @GreedyStripes a follow or like us on Facebook, you know since you like us so much and all. Sabathia vs. Kluber. Here we go. Go Yankees!

Eat This, Not That: Yankees Youth Movement Edition

The youth movement has finally, and I mean FINALLY, begun in New York after Brian Cashman shook up the organization and traded away a ton of veteran talent before the August 1^st trading deadline. The farm system is now restocked and many believe that the Yankees have the top farm system in all of Major League Baseball. If you don’t agree with that you have to agree that they at least have a Top 3 farm system in the league but all that gets you in the grand scheme of things is a whole lot of promise and not enough MLB talent paying dividends if you don’t use them like the Yankees have been known to historically do. The team did call up Gary Sanchez before Wednesday night’s game with the New York Mets at least showing a willingness to build from within and reward some of their own but you can’t stop there. Keep the youth movement, and the good times, rolling.

If the Yankees want to keep giving at bats to the youth (Eat This) instead of letting the contracts of aging and under-producing veterans (Not That) then here are a few options for Brian Cashman and company to consider for the remainder of the 2016 season.

Eat This: Tyler Austin

Not That: Mark Teixeira

We discussed this earlier today but I mean it. You guys came out and said you could eat the contracts of both Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira if you sold at the trading deadline, and you did just as an FYI, so why is Teixeira and his sub-.200 batting average still on the team? Especially considering Austin’s performance in Triple-A both with the bat and the glove at first base. Austin has more home runs in Triple-A than Teixeira may hit ever again throughout his career. A slight exaggeration but an exaggeration that needed to be done for emphasis because Austin 110% deserves to be here and Teixeira, despite what his contract says, does not.

Eat This: Aaron Judge

Not That: Alex Rodriguez

The Yankees have #TooManyDamnOFs right now and no clear way to fix it. Not unless you stick to your word and eat the remaining year and a half of Alex Rodriguez’s contract and bring up some right-handed pop to rotate in and out of the DH position. Gary Sanchez is already here to provide some depth but Aaron Judge needs to be as well. Let him get the at bats that Aaron Hicks was getting, and again not deserving of, and let him slide into the DH role every now and then and really kick start this whole rebuild thing instead of just talking about it all day.

Eat This: Ben Gamel

Not That: Aaron Hicks

Speaking of Aaron Hicks there is no reason to be here if Judge is going to get the bulk of his playing time. His defense is pretty good but his bat has been horrendous and his inability to perform fundamentals like laying down a bunt should be the final straw and the straw that breaks the camel’s back on this team.

Eat This: Pick Your Poison

Not That: Anthony Swarzak and Richard Bleier

Neither Swarzak nor Bleier have a future with the club and neither have been especially effective either so why have them both in the bullpen? Bring up a kid and let him get his feet wet. There are plenty to choose from, Tyler Webb for example and Chasen Shreve as another and recently acquired Ben Heller as a third, so pick one and call them up. Use the wash that is the 2016 season wisely and build from within.  

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians 8/6

The New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians will continue their three-game weekend set today with some afternoon baseball here in the Bronx. Before we get too involved in this game preview I just have to say this, Andrew Miller looks kind of weird in that Cleveland Indians uniform after wearing the pinstripes for what felt like so long. Doesn’t he? Anyway I just had to get that off my chest. Today the Yankees will send CC Sabathia to the mound to square off against the Indians starter and ace Corey Kluber.

Sabathia used to pitch for the Cleveland Indians and the Indians never let him forget that when he pitches against his former team. Sabathia has struggled throughout his career against the team that drafted him and brought him up to the Major Leagues and he has especially struggled against them in his last three starts posting a 5.65 ERA with eight walks and five strikeouts.

Kluber won an AL Cy Young Award two seasons ago and took a step back in 2015 but the ace has once again regained his form in 2016 for the Indians. In his last start Kluber threw seven shutout innings against the Oakland Athletics in a victory for Cleveland. Kluber allowed just five hits with 7 K’s in the contest.

The game will be played at 1:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB Network and MLB TV. I know the Yankees took three-of-four from these Indians before the All-Star break about a month ago but these are a different set of Indians and definitely a different set of Yankees meaning this weekend series could hurt. A lot. It’s already bad enough seeing Andrew Miller pitching on the other side of the field in the opposing team’s bullpen but at least we have Gary Sanchez to watch and a few more prospects to salivate over. All we need now is a win. Go Yankees!

Weekly Prospects Check In: Tyler Austin

If you read the blog yesterday you know that I now condone eating this, and not that, and when I say “this” I mean Yankees prospects. The first Yankees prospect that should come up and continue the youth movement and the rebuild is the showcase of today’s weekly check in post, Tyler Austin.

Austin has done more than enough to earn a shot at the Major Leagues after starting the season out in Double-A. Who could blame the Yankees for starting Austin down in Trenton after numerous injuries and a couple down seasons full on struggle but Austin was called up to Triple-A to play first base and he has absolutely made the best of the situation crushing the baseball and playing a good first base all while putting his name back on the radar and the prospects map.

Wouldn’t it make sense to not only reward your prospects for earning their chance at the Majors with a call up but to also try a young guy in the midst of a rebuild instead of an aging veteran who has shown to have little to nothing left in the tank offensively? Maybe it’s just me. 

Year	Age	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	24	AAA-AA	102	428	59	105	30	17	76	6	62	98	.290	.393	.519	.912
2016	24	AA	50	210	22	46	10	4	29	1	30	46	.260	.367	.395	.762
2016	24	AAA	52	218	37	59	20	13	47	5	32	52	.319	.417	.638	1.055

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day in New York Yankees History 8/6: Hank Aaron Passes Babe Ruth

We all know this is a New York Yankees website but we pay respect when respect is due which is why we honor the Braves slugger Hank Aaron today. On this day in 1972 Hank Aaron passed the great Yankees legend Babe Ruth for the most home runs hit with one team. Aaron hit his 660th and 661st career home run with the Braves to pass the Babe’s record with the Yankees.

The Yankees also traded away Bucky Dent four years after becoming Bucky "F'in" Dent and Armando Benitez for Jeff Nelson on this day but really today belongs to Hammerin' Hank in my opinion.

Game Thread: New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians 8/5

The New York Yankees are set to kick off a three-game set here in a few minutes with the Cleveland Indians inside Yankee Stadium. These two teams met right before the All-Star break back before Andrew Miller was wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform and back when quite a few players around the league were wearing Yankees uniforms and the Yankees took three-of-four from the Indians in Cleveland leaving many to wonder if the team would buy rather than sell before the deadline. The team obviously sold and now they welcome those same, well not really the same I guess as they’ve improved some through trades, to the Bronx. In the first game of the three-game weekend set the Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound to square off with Josh Tomlin. The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV.

See any of these games with the Indians live and catch Andrew Miller one last time in the Bronx this season by clicking the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog. Also be sure to grab a TGP T-shirt while you’re at it by clicking the link also located at the top of the blog.

Follow along during this game and every game all season long by either liking us on Facebook or by giving our Twitter account @GreedyStripes a follow. Michael Pineda, will we see Big Mike or Michael Piñata? Stay tuned and Go Yankees!!

USA Today’s Post-Trade Deadline Power Rankings

The USA Today released their weekly power rankings after the trade deadline a couple days back but the content on the site has been so jammed packed we are just now getting to it. Don’t get me wrong that’s a great problem to have as a blogger and a writer, plenty of things to talk about and plenty of prospects to introduce you to, but I know some people enjoy these posts so I do apologize for the delay. New York started the week on a streak but a sweep at the hands of the last place Tampa Bay Rays kind of cemented their season, cemented their decision to sell and may have ultimately cemented a drop in these standings and a Top 10 protected draft pick in the 2017 MLB Draft.

The Yankees fell a bit in the AL East and fell in the rankings as well after the Tampa Bay sweep falling one spot back to the #18 position. I can see this team falling a few more before everything is said and done but you never know when it comes to (presumably) the youth that is on the way to the Bronx. Speaking of the AL East the Baltimore Orioles finished the week ranked 7th overall while the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays were 8th and 6th respectively. What did sweeping the Yankees get for the Tampa Bay Rays who moved Matt Moore, but not Chris Archer, before the deadline? The Rays finished the week 26^th overall not making any movement in the standings. So much for that.

The Top 5 teams according to the rankings were the Chicago Cubs, the Washington Nationals, the Cleveland Indians, the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants. The five teams that nobody really wants to be or envies right now according to the rankings are the #26 Tampa Bay Rays, the #27 Arizona Diamondbacks, the #28 Cincinnati Reds, the #29 Minnesota Twins and the #30 Atlanta Braves.

The biggest rise of the week went to the Detroit Tigers who rose five spots to the #11 position while the biggest fall went to the Houston Astros who fell four spots to the #12 position. Congratulations are in order for the Tigers while the Astros will look to do better this week.

The non-waiver trade deadline is over and now we are beginning to see the truth behind these rankings. Now more than ever these rankings are what they say they are. You will start to see the biggest “rise” be not so big and the biggest fall not really be all that much of a fall. It’s called sample size and we have a large one now ladies and gentleman.

Remembering Game Five 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 5 of the 2000 World Series.

In a rematch of the Game 1 pitchers duel Andy Pettitte took the mound for the Yankees and faced off against the Mets ace Al Leiter. Bernie Williams would get the scoring going with a solo home run in the top of the 2nd inning giving the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Mets would respond by getting two unearned runs across the board in the bottom of the 2nd and would keep that lead until the 6th inning when Derek Jeter hit a game tying home run. Heading into the 9th inning the game was tied a 2-2 each when Luis Sojo hit an RBI single off of Al Leiter to give the Yankees the lead and an errant throw that ended up in the Yankees dugout allowed a 4th run to score giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead going to the bottom of the 9th. Mike Piazza would come up in the 9th as the tying run in the 9th and hit a deep fly ball to center field that would find Bernie Williams glove and that would get the Yankees their third consecutive World Series victory. Mike Stanton would get the victory and Al Leiter would take the loss while Mariano Rivera notched his second save of the World Series in the clinching game.


This would be the Yankees 26th World Series victory overall and fourth in five years cementing the dynasty.

Game Preview: New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians 8/5

The annual Subway Series is in the books for another year and now the Bronx Bombers remain home inside Yankee Stadium to play host to the team they beat up on to close out the first half of the 2016 season, the Cleveland Indians. Despite the Yankees selling off many of their expiring contracts, key bullpen pieces and their best hitter in the lineup New York has done well in spite of the roster gutting and has continued to put out more victories than losses leaving you to wonder if the youth movement that is sure to come could provide a spark to the team overall. The Yankees will find out tonight as they welcome the American League Central’s best team to town in the Indians. Michael Pineda will take the mound for New York as the Indians send Josh Tomlin to the mound to oppose him.

Pineda has actually never made a start against the Cleveland Indians in his career despite pitching his entire career for either the Yankees or the Seattle Mariners, both American League teams like the Cleveland Indians. Pineda had a rocky month of July where he gave up 15 runs in three starts but had two other starts where he allowed just one run in each of them. Which Pineda will we see tonight? I don’t think even he knows at this point.

Tomlin heads into this start against the Yankees fresh off a dominating performance against the Oakland Athletics last time out. In that start Tomlin threw seven innings of two-run ball to snag a victory and improve his July record to 2-2 and his July ERA to 3.73 in five starts.

The game will be played at 7:05 pm ET inside Yankee Stadium and can be seen on the YES Network and MLB TV. This is a totally different Yankees squad than the team that took three-of-four from Cleveland to close out the first half but the team is still playing some of their best baseball they have played all season long. While Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller are gone Adam Warren and Tyler Clippard have stepped right in and done well while Gary Sanchez has shown the Yankees thus far why they call him EL Gary Sanchez. I feel good about this series and I don’t know why. I’m an eternal optimist, sue me. Go Yankees!

Make Good on Discussions, Eat A-Rod’s & Teixeira’s Contracts

Maybe the New York Yankees organization was just saying what they thought the Yankees fans wanted to hear or maybe they thought this day would never come. Maybe the organization thought they could use plausible deniability to deny every having made the remarks and maybe they thought the fans would simply roll their eyes and roll over like they always do. I’m not one to do that though and I am the one here to remind you of one thing that the New York Yankees organization said they would “consider” this season if they decided to sell, which they did. The reports stated that the Yankees would consider eating the contracts of both Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira if the team sold at the trading deadline so now it’s time to put up, shut up and get to eating.

The Yankees have a pressing issue and the issue needs to be rectified as soon as humanly possible. The team just has too many warm bodies, and good players at that, and not enough positions to play them all down in Scranton. The RailRiders outfield is absolutely jam packed even with the promotion of Ben Gamel leaving Clint Frazier, Tyler Austin (who has taken over at first base), Aaron Judge (who should return from injury this week) and others vying for just a handful of spots. How do you fix this and the sudden 40 man roster crunch? By alleviating the team of the problem by eating the salary and terminating the contract of both Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira.

Austin could be immediately called up to take over the first base duties while a Mason Williams or another outfield candidate, no not Judge… not yet unfortunately, could be called up to begin an outfield and designated hitter rotation. Eating the money hurts, especially for Rodriguez who is under contract for next season as well, but it’s an unnecessary evil that the team brought up if they decided to sell, not me and not the fans. The Yankees also have to keep in mind that even with reduced playing time it is likely that Rodriguez will reach 700 home runs and quite possibly 714 home runs as well which could cost the team another $6 million in bonus money.

 The contracts, like the players unfortunately, are dead weight and New York simply isn’t going to get much or any value out of them whatsoever at this point. Teixeira’s knee is a ticking time bomb that has limited his range and mobility in the field (not to mention what it has done to his bat) while Alex’s bomb exploded late last season, we just didn’t know it yet.