Around the Empire: Yankees news - 8/11/16

Around A-Rod the Empire

New York Post | Dan Martin: Nathan Eovaldi only pitched twelve pitches and one inning in yesterday’s game. After noticing his velocity was down, Girardi and Rothschild found out that Eovaldi had discomfort in his right elbow. He was sent back to New York for further evaluation. Last year, Eovaldi was shut down in September for discomfort around the same area. More on this as it develops.

Newsday | Erik Boland: Luis Severino pitched great in his relief appearance against the Mets. Due to that outing, he was given another chance in the rotation against the Red Sox and it did not go well. Now he is being sent to Triple-A to work on his changeup. Girardi told Severino that he wants to see him use his changeup more, no matter the results. Severino was disappointed, but understood why he’s being sent back down to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Hopefully he can regain confidence in that pitch.

The Wall St. Journal | Jared Diamond: Joe Girardi is dealing with his own Kobayashi Maru and it is not going well. After the abrupt announcement of Alex Rodriguez’s forthcoming retirement on Friday, Girardi has had the unenviable task of balancing trying to win with trying to give A-Rod at bats. Yesterday, during a pre-game press conference, Girardi apologized for saying what he said on Sunday, saying he let his emotions get the better of him. He was also upset with the media for “playing both sides” regarding A-Rod. Saturday cannot come soon enough for the Yankees’ manager.

New York Daily News | Jake Becker: During an interview with Suzyn Waldman before yesterday’s game, A-Rod said that he was disappointed with himself for acting like “an ass” during everything that happened regarding his last PED scandal. He also said that he hopes to let youngsters know about his mistakes, which is probably the best way to own up to what he did. Apparently his daughters also make fun of him for crying during his retirement announcement on Sunday. Just a reminder that Dad-Rod is the best Rod.

New York Daily News | Mark Feinsand: The Kraken was released last night at Fenway Park. Gary Sanchez had a 4-for-5 night at the plate. One of those four hits was the first home run of his major league career. This dinger almost cleared the center field wall. Thus far he is hitting 9-for-24. That is good. Combine that with his catcher’s defense and MegaMan-ish arm cannon behind the plate and it’s hard not to be excited about him. It’s still early, but the young catcher’s Yankee career is off to a promising start.

Newsday | Neil Best: When A-Rod announced his retirement on Friday, tickets for that game skyrocketed. It appears that ticket prices are coming back down to Earth. If you’re interested in going to this game, this might be the best time to buy.

Fun Questions

• “Gary is scary” was Sterling’s home run call for Sanchez last night. After rating that on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the lowest), please come up with a better one.
• On a scale of 1-10 (1 still being the lowest), how absurd is this Hydra SmartBottle water bottle?

Song of the Day

Run This Town by Jay-Z ft. Rhianna and Kayne West

It’s Rod Week on Pinstripe Alley. As we rundown A-Rod’s selection of walk-up songs, we come to the one he’s used a lot this recent years. Here’s hoping he runs Boston tonight as he plays he final game in Fenway Park. As always, please link us your song of the day.

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