Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » ESPN

Can Derek Jeter Hit .400?

Friday, April 27th, 2012

Steroids created a lot of “video game” type of results over two decades. Two records that still were elusive to jacked up hitters was Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak and Ted Williams .406 batting average. When ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst  John Kruk said Derek Jeter can hit .400 earlier this month, everyone blew it off as crazy.  Thirty-four games […]

Vote: Games Without Announcers

Monday, April 16th, 2012

Would anyone not watch a game because it was without announcers? — TVSportsratings (@tvsportsratings) April 16, 2012 “We are just moments away from the kickoff of today’s Jets-Dolphins game and a telecast that figures to be different. The fact that we try something different and dare to has been greeted with almost every kind of […]

Yanks Should Thank Burnett for Vetoing LA Deal

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

According to a tweet the other night by Buster Olney, the Philadelphia Phillies attempted to trade pitcher Joe Blanton to the Los Angeles Angels for OF/DH Bobby Abreu, then planned to flip Abreu to the New York Yankees for A.J. Burnett.  My first thought was how much cash would the Phillies have wanted the Yankees […]

Prospect Rankings Are Out and Its Buyer Beware

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

We’re at the time of year now when the various media outlets and fan blogs start releasing their minor league top prospect lists for 2012. Baseball America is clearly the industry standard leader in this venture, popping out their Top 100 lists every year since 1990. (Their number one Number One? Braves left hander Steve Avery). Whether you […]

ESPN Touting Access To a Site You Can View

Friday, January 20th, 2012

ESPN New York has been providing the public updates about the health of former Mets catcher and Hall of Famer, Gary Carter, from the family’s website. A common quote in these ESPN stories is “ESPNNewYork.com has been granted access.” Learn why this might not be the case over at Sports Media Watchdog.  More importantly, you […]

MLB Supports SOPA and That Should Bother You

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Having trouble using Wikipedia today? That’s because the online encyclopedia is participating in an “Internet blackout” in protest of two controversial anti-piracy bills: The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Reports indicate each has a good chance of being passed early this year. I think it’s important to understand this isn’t something falling […]

Didn’t I Hear This Story 25 Years Ago?

Friday, October 21st, 2011

Craig Carton has spent the past few months mocking Mike Francesa for his oft repeated crush on Tigers’ third baseman Brandon Inge. Well at least Francesa, a diehard Yankees fan, knows who mans the hot corner in Detroit. If you were taking the SATs, and the question came up…True or False? “The Yankees are to the […]

Bobby Valentine, Executive Producer, But What’s Next?

Monday, October 17th, 2011

Big league manager on two continents, ESPN broadcaster, civil servant in Stamford, CT and now executive producer is a term you can use to describe Bobby Valentine. The man that seems to have his hand in just about everything made an appearance on Saturday at the Hamptons Film Festival. His latest venture is a film […]

Is Boston the Worst Place to Play?

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

I have long admired the city of Boston. It’s a beautiful city that I have visited a few times. I always wish we could see the unity of the sports fans here that occurs in Beantown. There aren’t Mets or Yankees fans, or Jets or Giants fans; there are Sox fans, Patriots fans, Celtics fans, […]

Five Sports Media Ramblings

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

1) A star has been born and his name is Dallas Braden who is an absolute natural as a studio analyst for the MLB Network, Usually players tossed into those positions spit the bit, but not Braden who has a natural camera presence and isn’t afraid to go beyond clichés to make a viable, insightful […]

October Seems to Be More About Scapegoats Than Heroes

Sunday, October 2nd, 2011

On Wednesday Evan Longoria hit two home runs, including a game winner, to lead Tampa Bay to an improbable victory over the Yankees after trailing 7-0. That victory, coupled with a Boston defeat in Baltimore, completed an unlikely Wild Card run by Joe Maddon’s Rays. The Cardinals defeated the Astros, while Atlanta lost to Philadelphia, which resulted in […]

Morning Digest: Why I Applaud Keith Law’s Evolution

Friday, September 16th, 2011

The Moneyball film will open next Friday, but it already has caused a buzz in the baseball community. As I mentioned the other day, ESPN’s Keith Law wrote a review of the movie over at his personal website “The Dish.” It was a critical review where Law admonished the writers for the lack of a […]

Importance of CC’s Victory, iPads, Kay’s Shot at the Sox, Cervelli’s Antics, Pete Rose on the Dino Costa Show

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

CC Sabathia was 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA going into last night’s game in Boston. This caused many to worry after the Sox beat Sabathia in early August. Are the Sox in Sabathia’s head? How can the Yankees win an ALCS against them with their best pitcher unable to win against Boston? As I said before, […]

Will We Ever See a 100 Stolen Base Player Again?

Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Shortstop Billy Hamilton is one of the Reds top prospects. This year he’s starred at the Low-A Dayton affiliate. The offensive numbers don’t jump out at you as he’s struck out 117 times, rarely walks, and has a rather pedestrian .670 OPS. There is, however, one number that is rather impressive. After two stolen bases […]

Trevor Bauer and the D-Backs Doing it the Right Way

Monday, August 15th, 2011

Last night was Trevor Bauer’s Double-A debut with the Mobile Bay Bears, the Arizona Diamondbacks affiliate in the Southern League. Bauer was the third overall pick in the 2011 draft out of UCLA. He was the second Bruins pitcher taken in the first round, with overall No. 1 Gerrit Cole (a former New York Yankee […]