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Around the Empire
The Times-Tribune | Shane Hannigan: It’s been a very good season thus far for the Railriders. A year after winning Rookie of the Year, Ben Gamel with his good hair was named the International League’s Most Valuable Player after an outstanding season at Triple-A and manager Al Pedrique was named Manager of the Year. Additionally, second baseman Donovan Solano, catcher Gary Sanchez and outfielder Aaron Judge along with Gamel were named to the IL’s Postseason All-Star Team.
New York Post | Joel Sherman: As Matt P wrote about yesterday, the Yankees and Pirate completed the Ivan Nova trade by announcing the Yankees would receive Tito Polo and Stephen Tarpley. While it seems like the Yankees got a better return than expected, the most surprising thing about the trade is how good Nova has been for the Pirates. Supposedly he’s focused on pitching inside more and that seems to have helped him.
Baseball America | Kyle Glaser: Initially written when the deal was made, Baseball America has updated their piece on the Ivan Nova trade now that the two players coming back to the Yankees have been announced. Good read to get some detail on what can be expected of the Yankees’ two new prospects.
New York Post | Joel Sherman: With the Yankees middle relief in flux, many fans have questioned why the team hasn’t been giving Jonathan Holder a shot. Holder, owner of a .89 Triple-A ERA, was noticed after Sunday’s game where he struck out 11 batters in a row, and after a bloop single, struck out his 12th batter. So why won’t they give him a chance? It could just be because they might be in a 40-man roster crunch and won’t add anyone to the roster that doesn’t need to be protected.
LoHud Yankees Blog | Chad Jennings: Four of the Yankees minor league affiliates have clinched playoff spots and a fifth, Staten Island, is currently leading the wild-card race. With all these teams making playoffs and September call-ups right around the corner, look for major shakeups among the rosters of all the affiliates.
The Ringer | Ben Lindbergh: After initial concerns over his defense, Gary Sanchez’s defense has become so good that he would be valuable with that alone. However, the way he’s hitting right now, he’s hitting like a Hall of Famer. After reviewing Sanchez’s performance over 45 plate appearances, his incredible streak ranks as the “53rd-best 45-PA performance out of several million such spans.”
Fun Questions
- A classic: If he makes it to the big leagues, what should John Sterling’s home run call for Tito Polo be?
- What should Tito Polo’s walkup song be?
Song of the Day
Here Comes the Money by Naugthy By Nature
It’s WWE Week on Pinstripe Alley. Today’s song, like yesterday’s, is also a choice of one Greg Kirkland. The Kirkster (which is something I imagine no one has referred to him as before) has been gracious enough to provide me with songs to use two days in a row. As always, please link us your song of the day.