Game Thread: Yankees vs. Mariners 6/12

The New York Yankees will play tonight in Seattle against the Mariners in the finale of their three  game set before heading to California for the weekend. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound to face off with Roenis Elias for the Mariners. The game will be played at 10:10 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with WFAN.

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Enjoy the game Yankees family and enjoy the rest of the night.

Yankees Have Verbal Agreements w/ Three IFA's

The International spending signing period starts on July 2 and the Yankees are ahead of the game with three verbal agreements with international free agents already. As you remember the Yankees are said to be willing to go somewhere in the $25-$30 million range this season including penalties, which would blow their international spending cap out of the water.

Shortstop Dermis Garcia is set to sign for $3.6 million, third basemen Nelson Gomez is set to sign a $2.8 million contract, and shortstop Christopher Torres is ready to sign for $2.6 million. All three players are 16 years old and from the Dominican Republic.

Yankees Sign 5th Round Pick Jordan Foley

5th rounder RT @JFol12: Just signed my professional contract with the New York Yankees. Pretty amazing and surreal feeling!
— Mike Axisa (@mikeaxisa) June 12, 2014

Another day and another Yankees draft pick signed, today it's fifth round pick Jordan Foley out of Central Michigan University. Hat tip to Mike Axisa of River Avenue Blues. Foley received the full slot recommendation for the 152nd pick overall at $317,500.

The Yankees drafted Foley in 2011 in the 26th round out of High School and finally got the job done this time around.

Is It Kenny Powers Or Is It Sean Carley Flipping Us Off?

Contrary to popular belief this IS Kenny Powers and not the Yankees draftee Sean Carley. 

Preview: New York Yankees vs. Seattle Mariners 6/12

The New York Yankees will finally get out of Seattle tonight after playing the finale of their three game set at Safeco Field. The Yankees will send Chase Whitley to the mound to face off with Roenis Elias for the Mariners. The game will be played at 10:10 pm ET and can be seen on the YES Network, MLB TV, and can be heard on the radio with John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on WFAN.

Whitley is coming off his first victory as a major league pitcher after throwing seven strong innings against the Kansas City Royals his last time out. Whitley allowed five hits and two runs after recording no decisions in his last four starts. Part of the reason for that was that Whitley never went past five innings before last Friday night.

Elias is coming off his two longest starts of the season after already beating the Yankees once this season. Elias shutout the Detroit Tigers for a complete game last time out and held the Tampa Bay Rays scoreless in 7.2 innings before that. Elias beat the Yankees on May 1 with 10 strikeouts in seven innings.

Get your Yankees tickets for this game if your in the North West or for any Yankees game home or away right here on the blog through Ticket Monster. TM is like Stubhub and the Yankees Ticket Exchange just without the fees, without the shipping and handling fees, and without having to print off your tickets. You get real tickets in your hand as they get shipped the same day with Fed Ex. 

Go Yankees!!

Press Release From June 13, 2012 Game

Tanaka "Pretty Satisfied" With Second CG Win

So far this season, it's been obvious to us all that Masahiro Tanaka isn't a guy to brag. 

The indisputable ace of the Yankees staff, 10-1 with a 2.02 ERA, pitched a two-run complete game last night in Seattle, something most pitchers would consider amazing. 

Tanaka, however, doesn't completely agree, telling the NYDN's Mark Feinsand after the victory that, while he is satisfied with his performance, he's upset that he didn't get the shutout.

“Obviously I wasn’t very happy about that home run,” Tanaka said. “But at the end, I’m pretty satisfied that I was able to go all full nine innings tonight.”

That two-run home run, courtesy of ex-Yank Robinson Cano, looked like a routine double off the bat, but instead kept carrying, eventually reaching the first row.

Interestingly, it was actually Cano's first Safeco Field homer as a Mariner, and bought Tanaka's ERA up from an amazing 1.85 to where it is now.

Had the former Pinstripe not gone deep there, #19 would've become the only AL hurler with one below 2, making it something that leaves a bad taste. 

Yes, Cano is a superstar, but considering that he hadn't even gotten on base yet in the contest that shot to left-center was a pretty big shock to everyone watching.

Remembering A Hot Muggy Night In Atlanta In 2012

As many of you know, or you may not know, I moved to metro Atlanta, Georgia from the Bronx, New York back in 1999 and get to see the Yankees live very few times these days. The Yankees came down to Atlanta in 2009 and of course I attended so I was excited to see them come back down in 2012. I am a very superstitious person so the last time the Yankees came to Atlanta they won the World Series that season so I was excited for 2012. We all know the history of that season, Derek Jeter's ankle, and the offense going to sleep in October. That's not what this story is about. 

I remember a warm night on this day in 2012 the Yankees were playing in the second game of a three game set at Turner Field in Atlanta. The Yankees had the bases loaded, Alex Rodriguez was at the plate, and I was sitting in my box seats fourth row. The Braves were winning 4-0 and my phone was blowing up with texts and Facebook posts about the Braves whooping the Yankees while I was there and the streak was ready to come to an end. I am 28 years old and I have seen tons of Yankees games live and they have never lost while I was there, something I am very proud of, but the Yankees rallied.

The Yankees loaded the bases and Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. I was wearing my A Rod jersey that day, something I was reluctant to do but I was saving my Cano jersey for the next night, and the Braves had shutdown reliever Jonny Venters on the mound. Of course I was not confident, Venters was awesome, and the count got ran full before A Rod connected.... pandemonium. 

Alex had hit his 23rd career grand slam tying a 74 year old major league record held by the Yankees Lou Gehrig. A Rod tied the game in the 8th inning and the Yankees ended up winning the game 6-4. The Facebook posts stopped, the texts went silent, and I saw history. I was at the next game and was talking to the camera man at the stadium and he ended up giving me the press release for the game which talked a ton about the grand slam. I think it was because my wife was in a low cut dress and he thought she was hot because he technically gave it to her, but I'll take it. 

Oh and it was Craig Kimbrel bobblehead night which was awesome because my two sons have a bobblehead of the Braves all time saves leader.

Meet A Prospect: Connor Spencer

The New York Yankees used their eight round pick on UC Irvine's first basemen Conner Spencer. Spencer is an extra base hit and hitting in general machine but lacks the power, to this point anyway, to probably stick at first base. Spencer, who is still playing to the best of my knowledge but don't quote me on it,  has a career .351 batting average with 36 doubles, 13 triples, and one home run in his college career.

Some players can make up for their lack of power with their defensive ability but that's not something Spencer can do either. Spencer is adequate defensively but he is no Mark Teixeira. Although UC Irvine's home field is a pitchers park just one home run in three seasons speaks volumes for the future of Spencer. It seems like he will be more organizational depth than a big time prospect in the Yankees system.

Unless the Yankees hitting guru Kevin Long can get a hold of him and find some mechanical flaw this may be a guy that was drafted simply to sign well below slot and save money for an Austin DeCarr.

Can't Predict Baseball: 11 Errors In One Game?!?

The New York Highlanders, later to be named the New York Yankees, were never known for being a good team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. On this day in 1907 the Highlanders committed a total of 11 errors in one game, and that's not a typo. Eight different Highlanders committed an error in a 16-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers. The Highlanders shortstop Kid Elberfeld committed four errors by himself while playing in front of the home team at American League Park.

Also on this day in 1990 Cal Ripken Jr. continued his attack of Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak while playing in his 1,308th consecutive game. Ripken would move into second place on the all time list ahead of former Yankees and Red Sox shortstop Everett Scott. Scott played consecutively from 1918-1925.