Game Thread: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 9/18

Here we go ladies and gentleman one last time between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox inside Fenway Park. If the Yankees had hopes of making the postseason this year those dreams are likely shot down the drown after losing each of the first three games in this series to Boston. Now New York merely looks to get out of Boston alive and with a victory and we can watch it all go down on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball at 8:08 pm ET. Tonight's starting pitching matchup features CC Sabathia for the Yankees and Drew Pomeranz for the Red Sox.

The Yankees continue their final road trip of the season before finishing the season at home inside Yankee Stadium with a series with these same Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Orioles. If you want to see either of those series live and in person before the Yankees are done for good this season clikc the Yankees Tickets link at the top of the blog and secure your seats now with us.

Follow along during the game and root for the home team with us by either liking our page on Facebook or by giving @GreedyStripes a follow on Twitter. Win one just to piss off Big Papi. Go Yankees!

Quick Hit: The History Behind the Word “Yankee”

Have you ever wondered where the word “Yankee” actually came from? I have so I did the research and here is what I came up with just in case you were wondering.

The word Yankee is generally considered to be a word that refers to people from the United States if you aren’t living in the US and specifically refers to people from the North if you are currently living in the South. This obviously came from the American Civil War, specifically those who lived and fought in the New England area. The speech dialect in New England is actually called “Yankee” or “Yankee dialect” believe it or not.


The earliest recorded use of the word Yankee was from British General James Wolfe in 1758 when he referred to the people who lived in what was is now the United States. The word caught fire and began being used all across Britain as a derogatory word for the New Englanders and Yankee Soldiers. The word has evolved ever since as Mark Twain wrote a book “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” which was more aimed at New England residents and less towards a United States Citizen. More or less these days the term Yankee, when not being referred to in baseball terms, is used from Americans living in the southern part of the United States referring to the people living in or originally from the northern part of the United States.


The word also has some ties to the Dutch as they inhabited what is now known as New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The Dutch given names of Jan (John) and Kees (Cornelius) were the most common Dutch names and sometimes combined to make a single name, for example Jan Kees de Jager. The pronunciation from the Dutch sounds much like the word Yankee and some believe that Dutch Americans were given the name from the native Dutch. There is also the theory that the Dutch word for pet, Janke, was where the term came from as when you pronounce the “J” in English it comes out with a “Y” sound. The final Dutch theory for the word was the slur “John Cheese” as the Dutch were heavy into dairy cultivation and even introduced the black and white dairy cow from Friesland and North Holland to America in the mid-1600s. When the Dutch would say John Cheese it would sound roughly like “Yankees” and the term stuck over time.

In New York though Yankees just means winning. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Article Revisit: David Ortiz Farewell Tour Gift Ideas

This post was originally posted back in January shortly after the Red Sox slugger announced that 2016 would be his final season. With the final games of David Ortiz's regular season inching closer and closer I thought it would be interesting to look back at this post as we wait for tonight's game between the two clubs on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. Enjoy and add any ideas you may have down in the comments section below.

ORIGINAL POST SEEN HERE:

David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox is retiring after the 2016 season and despite the “rivalry” that goes on between Boston and the New York Yankees the organization is planning on honoring Ortiz later this season. Now Ortiz has asked to not be honored and has said that he doesn’t want a farewell tour, although if you don’t want a farewell tour you don’t announce your retirement a year in advance but I digress, but apparently that has fallen on deaf ears in the Bronx. The Red Sox have showed much class and respect to former Yankees being honored along the way including Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter so it’s only right that New York does the same for Ortiz. Hal Steinbrenner says he has no idea what the team is planning to do for Ortiz later on this season so me, being the helpful guy that I am, I have a few ideas for gifts for the old man.


First idea I had was a framed copy of the drug test he failed since so many people have conveniently forgotten about it or have chosen to ignore it. Maybe a framed copy of the Mitchell Report as well but only as a gag gift since he failed a test but wasn’t on the report that was conducted by a Boston senator.


Second idea I had was a substantial gift card to GNC. Remember his post in Derek Jeter’s Players Tribune where he wrote that he probably failed the test because of a substance “he got at GNC in the damn mall somewhere,” he’s got to be missing whatever that substance was. He has kids now and he is going to need all the energy he can get as he enters his 40’s and 50’s.


Third idea I had was a serious one, a substantial donation to an organization that helps young people and young players learn the game of baseball. Ortiz is well known for working with young people and young players not only on their life goals but their baseball goals as well. This is a fun post that is poking some fun at Ortiz but not enough is said about what he does off the field.


Enough of that praising Ortiz stuff though as we bring you the final idea for his farewell tour gift. You ever see those meme’s on Facebook and such that has the children dancing in the village saying that whichever team loses the Super Bowl, World Series or the 2004 ALCS that their championship shirts are shipped overseas and they should be there Monday? We’re going to give him the New York Yankees 2004 ALCS Champions shirt!





Full disclaimer. This is meant to be fun and it pokes at Oritz only in the name of the rivalry and in good-natured fun. I have a ton of respect for Ortiz and the Red Sox organization. Let’s leave it, and the hate, at that.

Game Preview: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox 9/18

The final game of the 2016 regular season inside Fenway Park for the New York Yankees and only one word comes to mind, Hallelujah. The Yankees have not fared well inside Fenway Park this season nor have they had a fun time against the Boston Red Sox but I guess that's baseball. Boston is the better team and that's just how it goes sometimes. That doesn't mean the Yankees will go down without a fight tonight or this season and that fight continues tonight when New York sends CC Sabathia to the mound in the finale of the four-game series to square off with the Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz.

Sabathia has been pitching well lately although in many cases he has not received the victory despite pitching well enough to win. Last time out CC threw 6.1 innings allowing just three hits and no runs with seven strikeouts but received a no-decision. Sabathia has pitched to a 2.40 ERA in his last five starts spanning 30 innings pitched.

Pomeranz was in the middle of controversy this week as his former GM AJ Preller was suspended for 30 days due to holding back medical records from his new team, the Red Sox. Whether that affected his performance last time out or not is anyone's guess but his four hits and five runs allowed in two innings against the Orioles was not great by any standard.

The game will be played at 8:08 pm ET inside Fenway Park and can be seen on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball program. One last time this season inside Fenway Park, one last time. Let's end the Fenway Park part of this season with a victory and end it on a high note. Go Yankees!!!!

Expect Jorge Mateo Traded This Offseason

The New York Yankees made it their mission, and the personal mission of GM Brian Cashman, this summer to rebuild the farm system and stockpile the minor leagues with as much talent as possible. That included bringing in outfielder Clint Frazier, left-handed pitcher Justus Sheffield, reliever Ben Heller, and shortstop Gleyber Torres to name a few leaving the team's former top prospects seemingly on the back burner. Jorge Mateo broke out in 2015 and broke out in a big way hitting for contact and stealing 82 bases for the Tampa Yankees. That success has not carried over to the 2016 season and I truly believe we can expect to see Mateo moved during this coming offseason.

Mateo started out the season hitting exceptionally well but the Yankees shortstop prospect presumably thought he should be called up to Double-A Trenton and when he wasn't it affected both on the field and in the clubhouse. His batting line dipped and he was eventually suspended for two weeks and missed the XM Futures Game for an unspecified violation of team rules. We all speculated that it was because Mateo was not called up to Double-A but to this point that's all we can do, speculate. Either way Mateo took his suspension and we never heard anything about his attitude again this season but his stating line continued to slump.

Mateo slumped enough that the, and trust me he wasn't alone in this fact, Tampa Yankees lost in the postseason and went home earlier than most probably would have wanted to or expected to. The postseason awards and prospects lists began to be released almost immediately including the list by Keith Law that listed Mateo as one of the eight most disappointing prospects in the land. That list is behind a paywall.

The Yankees have surrounded him with superior talented shortstops and the team has an obvious and glaring needs for starting pitching heading into the 2017 season. When a team is intending to compete, and the Yankees are in 2017, you have to build from within but you also have to trade from a position of strength in order to fill in the gaps and shortstop and outfield look to be definite areas of strength right now for New York. Headlining that crop is a player they already tried to trade for Craig Kimbrel recently, Mateo.

Mateo is still talented enough and projected highly enough to be the centerpiece, and this is for merely an example's sake, in a Chris Sale or Felix Hernandez type deal. I'm not saying the Yankees will acquire a high-end ace like them but even as a solid #2 starter or a young piece a la the Michael Pineda trade all those years ago I can see Mateo, plus, plus going in the deal. The Yankees don't need to trade Mateo and likely won't just for the sake of trading him but if the right deal presents himself I cannot see Cashman turning it down. Not at all.

I am heading into the offseason fulling expecting Mateo to be traded for a solid, top-end starting pitcher. It's not a matter of "if" but "when" to me and you should feel the same way. Expect it, it's coming.

Weekly Prospects Check In: Mark Payton

When the New York Yankees learned the news that Aaron Judge had been lost for the season the team scrambled and brought up a replacement from Triple-A, Mason Williams. This was unfortunate timing for the Scranton RailRiders who were competing for the Governors Cup as the team was also left scrambling for a replacement, Mark Payton. The RailRiders did not miss a beat having Payton in the lineup over Williams, not a beat whatsoever.

Payton impressed in the Scranton lineup and even posted a 3-5 night with a triple and two RBI in the clinching game. Now Scranton will fight for the Triple-A Championship game next week in Memphis.

Year	Lev	G	PA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
2016	AA-A+-AAA	123	488	69	120	18	10	62	11	49	68	.282	.358	.423	.780
2016	A+	24	98	15	25	2	3	15	2	16	18	.309	.418	.469	.888
2016	AA	97	381	53	92	15	7	47	8	31	50	.272	.337	.408	.745
2016	AAA	2	9	1	3	1	0	0	1	2	0	.429	.556	.571	1.127

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

This Day in New York Yankees History 9/18: Yankees Sabathia Wins 20 Games

CC Sabathia before coming to the New York Yankees never had a 20 win season, although he did win 19 games in two separate occasions, but finally reached the milestone on this day in 2010. The New York Yankees would beat the Baltimore Orioles 11-3 on this day. The southpaw would lead the league in victories and is the fourth Yankee to win 20 games since 2000 joining Roger Clemens (2001), Andy Pettitte (2003) and Mike Mussina (2008).


Speaking of clutch Yankee pitching and beating the Baltimore Orioles Mike Mussina became the first American League pitcher to win 10+ games in 16 consecutive seasons. The Yankees would thump the Orioles on this day 12-0. Moose would join Steve Carlton (18), Warren Spahn (17), Nolan Ryan (16), Don Sutton (17), Cy Young (19) and Greg Maddux (20) as one of only seven pitchers to ever achieve the feat. Mussina would get his 17thconsecutive season with at least 10 wins in 2008 in his final season.

The Greedy Pinstripes Saturday Night Open Thread

It’s Saturday night and the Yankees game for the day is in the books, what does one do with their time? Do they read a book? Spend time with family? Catch up on the new American Horror Story or the hilarious show “Atlanta” starring and produced by Donald Glover? Cut the grass while it’s not 115 degrees outside? I don’t know, I haven’t made up my mind yet. While I do I leave you with this open thread for the evening to discuss whatever you’d like.

Enjoy the rest of your evening Yankees family and we’ll be back at it strong again tomorrow for the finale in Boston. I’m not ready to give up on this playoff push just yet and neither should you. This is still an exciting team that has all the pieces necessary to make another run. Just have to do it. 

Stick A Fork In 'Em, Yanks Are Done With 6-5 Loss to Boston

On a beautiful day in Boston, the Yankees once again blew a late lead to the Red Sox, resulting in their third straight loss to Boston. Although Brian Mitchell and David Price started for their respective teams, neither would factor into the final decision as Mitchell pitched well and Price did not. But once again, the Yankees fell victim to more shoddy bullpen work which resulted in there sixth loss in the last seven games.

While Price and Mitchell kept the game scoreless through the first two frames, the Yankees were first to hit the scoreboard in the top of the third. Austin Romine led off the inning with a soft single to left, scoring on a Brett Gardner one-out triple to the triangle in dead center(420-ft from home), making it a 1-0 game. After a Jacoby Ellsbury ground out, Baby Bomber Gary Sanchez obliterated a Price cutter over the Green Monster and onto Landsdown Street for a two run shot that widened the Yankee lead to three.

But, the Red Sox would go on to get two of those runs back in the bottom of the frame. Highly touted rookie Andrew Benintendi smoked a double off the top of the wall in centerfield to lead off the frame, scoring on a Xander Bogarts one-out rocket double to center, pulling Boston to within two. After Bogarts advanced to third on a wild pitch, David Ortiz grounded out softly to second base, scoring Bogarts to close the gap, 3-2.

Just as the Sox put up two runs in the bottom of the third, so too did the Bombers in the top of the fourth. After a Billy Butler strike out to begin the inning, Didi Gregorius hit a soft single to right, advancing to second on a Chase Headley ground ball single to left. The next batter Austin Romine belted a double over the head of Benintendi and off the Monster, scoring both Gregorius and Headley to put the Yankees back up by three.

Side Note: Rob Refsnyder struck out once again with a runner on third and less than two outs.   And with Starlin Castro going down with an apparent hamstring injury after lacing a double in the top of the fifth, Refsnyder is going to see plenty more at-bats and needs to be much more productive in these spots if he plans on being a part of the Yankee Youth Movement.


In a game where two-run innings seemed to be the theme of the game, the Red Sox put another two-spot on the Yankees in the bottom of the fifth. After Jackie Bradley Jr. led off the frame with a walk, Bogarts blasted his 20th homer of the season; a two-out, two-run blast into the seats atop the Green Monster that pulled the Sox back to within one, 5-4. The longball would spell the end of Mitchell's afternoon as he was pulled for right-hander Luis Severino.

The Red Sox kept the offensive pressure on, completing their comeback as they tied the game and then took the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Xander Bogarts recorded his third extra base hit of the day. another rocket double to centerfield to leadoff the seventh. Severino was pulled for Tommy Layne, who immediately got David Ortiz to pop out to left, however still advancing Bogarts from second to third. Layne was then pulled for Adam Warren, who proceeded to serve up a ground ball single to Mookie Betts that bounced over the head of Gregorius and into left field, scoring Bogarts and tying the game at five. Hanley Ramirez followed with a sharp single to left, advancing Betts to second base. After a Travis Shaw ground out that advanced both runners up a base, Warren chucked a wild pitch during Sandy Leon's at-bat, scoring Betts from third to give the Red Sox their first lead of the afternoon at 6-5, where it unfortunately would remain for the rest of the game.

The Yankees will try to salvage the fourth and final game against the Red Sox tomorrow, with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 PM/EST and can be seen on ESPN as the Sunday Night Game of the Week.

Who Wants to Talk About Beer?

Fall Selections Highlight Pork Roll Festival Draft Selection

The 2016 Trenton Thunder World Famous Case's Pork Roll Eating Championship will host a wide variety of fun-filled activities, including a corn hole tournament presented by Sonic, and a draft beer selection for the ages when it takes place on Saturday, September 24 from 12-4pm at ARM & HAMMER Park.

The Ultimate Beer Special will allow fans of age to purchase a 12oz cup for $15 and refill the cup for just $1 throughout the festival. The craft selections for the event are:
- Double Nickel IPA (Pennsauken Township, NJ)
- Double Nickel Vienna Lager (Pennsauken Township, NJ)
- Blue Point Oktoberfest (Patchogue, NY)
- Blue Point Pumpkin Ale (Patchogue, NY)
- Brooklyn Oktoberfest (New York, NY)
- Elysian Night Owl Pumpkin Ale (Seattle, WA)
- Hacker-Pschorr Original Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany)
- Shipyard Pumpkinhead (Portland, ME)
- Spatan Oktoberfest (Munich, Germany)
- Strongbow Gold Apple Hard Cider (London, England)
- Victory Festbier (Downingtwon, PA)
In addition to the craft selections, Bud Light (draft and bottles), Budweiser (draft and bottles), and Michelob Ultra (draft) will be available at ARM & HAMMER Park.

For full descriptions of the craft selections and The Ultimate Beer Special, CLICK HERE.

The Trenton Thunder World Famous Case's Pork Roll Eating Championship will take place on Saturday, September 24 from 12-4pm at ARM & HAMMER Park. For tickets and information on the fun and games happening during the festival, visit www.EatPorkRoll.com.