Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Ian Kennedy

Joe Mauer’s Contract, Lesson of Ian Kennedy, and the Carlos Beltran Disaster

Friday, August 19th, 2011

We talk about bad contracts all the time, but watching the Yankees play Minnesota last night got me to thinking about Joe Mauer‘s deal. This is the first year of an 8 year/$184 million dollar deal ($23 million AAV) that Mauer signed last March. It’s hard to argue with the Twins giving him that money. After […]

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 […]

Granderson and AL MVP,Watch the Real Phenom Tonight, Toronto Best Place to Play, Michael Dunn, Overrated Mariano Debate, Best Sports Talk Host

Friday, August 12th, 2011

It’s no longer too early to talk about the American League MVP. I believe the four favorites to win the American League MVP are Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Jose Bautista, and Curtis Granderson. I also believe you can make a great case for Granderson. Stating that a Yankees player should be MVP usually causes a […]

Phil Hughes Plummeting Value, Warning on Heath Bell, More Zack Wheeler Mechanics, Is Wright Over Matt Cain?

Sunday, July 31st, 2011

During the winter of 2007-2008 the Yankees passed up on Johan Santana because they didn’t want to part with Phil Hughes. That deal didn’t haunt them in the long run as CC Sabathia has proven to be a better investment, and cost just an expensive free agent contract. Hughes was a big part of the 2009 championship team as he […]

Yanks Don’t Have Prospects, They Have Assets

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Mark Newman sat down with the guys at NoMaas the other day. It’s a lengthy interview, but the one thing I took away from Newman’s comments was that it’s very unlikely that many prospects will ever play in the Bronx. I realized the Yankees have assets, not prospects, and their focus on the farm system is […]

Where Would the Yanks Be Without Granderson?

Monday, May 30th, 2011

I was skeptical about the Yankees acquisition of Curtis Granderson in the winter of 2009. Although he was a good defensive centerfielder with pop, his inability to hit left handed pitching, high strikeout rate, and average OBP made wonder if he was a good fit.  I hated it even more when I factored the young […]

Yanks Traded Wrong Pitcher to Arizona

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

In March, ESPN’s Rob Neyer predicted that Ian Kennedy would finish with a better ERA than the Yankees fifth starter. Not only did Kennedy make good on Neyer’s prediction, but he finished with better numbers than Javier Vazquez and A.J. Burnett. If you measure his performance based on ERA+ he had a better season than […]

Granderson an Albatross in Many Ways

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

When I first heard the Curtis Granderson trade this winter I turned up my nose. I thought Austin Jackson, Phil Coke, and Ian Kennedy could provide nice depth for the Yankees in 2010. After listening to individuals from both the New York and Detroit side I warmed up to Granderson in centerfield. All along I […]

The 2006 Yankees Draft All Over Current Roster

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

I was talking with baseball writer Joe Delgrippo yesterday about the Yankees. A point he has made on the show in the past was how solid the Yankees 2006 amateur draft was. This was early on when Brian Cashman wrestled control of the team. The organization decided to not only spend on free agents, but […]

Catching Up With Some Traded Yankees Prospects

Thursday, May 20th, 2010

Just a quick look at some of the prospects the Yankees have traded away. Austin Jackson After a torrid start, Jackson, the past two weeks has cooled off considerably. Still Jackson is batting .331, including 3 triples and has 6 stolen bases. he has taken well to playing in center field and should improve with […]