ESPN started a new era in New York radio when it moved to FM yesterday morning with their 98.7 debut. They also turned 1050 into a Spanish speaking equivalent and renamed it ESPN Deportes. There is also a new lineup on the station. I don’t know if it’s possible for Terry Collins or Joe Girardi to shakeup their lineup as […]

Radio Row in Indianapolis was abuzz with the reunion of Mike Francesa and Chris Russo on WFAN. It was like old times for the duo, which I analyzed over at Sports Media Watchdog. Like any “Mike & the Mad Dog” show they elected to talk Yankees, bash the Mets, throw in some San Francisco Giants analysis, discuss […]

What about a reunion with Russo, now the afternoon host on Sirius XM Satellite Radio? “I would say there’s a better chance that the Mets win the pennant,” Francesa said. - Mike Francesa to Newsday Neil Best regarding the end of his contract in 2014 There are tons of nuggets in Best’s column about Francesa’s potential […]

In case you missed it, in addition to the New York baseball “Stock Up Stock Down” going into 2012, I also completed a media version over at Sports Media Watchdog. CLICK HERE to read who I personally think you should be paying attention to in the sports media landscape. There are also blog mentions as […]

Great interview that I found via Bob’s Blitz. Sterling says he has a “big fat mouth” and “big fat head.” I couldn’t agree more. There is also a great story about how the Red Sox pitchers actually imitated his home run call in September. You also get to see Mike Francesa uncut; not quite as […]

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 […]

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 […]

It was pre-ordained. It was a team that was predicted by so-called baseball experts to be one of the greatest in baseball history. A team personally handcrafted and built by a genius named Theo Epstein, a man many considered to be one of the greatest GM’s in baseball history. Yes, everyone celebrated from Harvard Yard […]

Yesterday night started with a typical media fake outrage talking point in the Jose Reyes batting title controversy. Regardless of the fact that players before Reyes have sat out to protect their stats, somehow the New York media found it offensive that Reyes elected to bunt for a hit to start the game, and then […]

We have waxed poetic about Mariano Rivera for days now. I don’t think there is anything else left to say about his impact on the Yankees and the game of baseball. We all know he is going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer, but what about the entrance music that has become famous […]

Let’s start with Mariano Rivera‘s 600th save. The “Great One” needs two more to break the all-time record currently held by Trevor Hoffman. We talked about the meaning of save benchmarks in August, when Jason Isringhausen collected his 300th save against the Padres. At the time, I said the save record is a testament to […]

There was no Mike Piazza to homer off Steve Karsay last night. Even if there were, I doubt yesterday’s Mets- Cubs game could ever recreate the drama of September 21st, 2001. The Mets did a nice job honoring the ten year anniversary of 9-11. They had alums get involved all weekend and participate in charity […]

Are we about to see the next great Boston collapse? It’s been a long time since the Red Sox and choke have been synonymous, but the Sox lead over Tampa Bay is just five games in the loss column after their loss to Tampa last night. They have six more games with Tampa the next […]

Over at Grantland, Jonah Keri (who will appear on Sunday’s show with me) quotes Nate Silver and Dayn Perry from their book “Baseball Between the Numbers.” The authors found three characteristics that define the majority of successful playoff teams, or as they call it the “Secret Sauce.” Those traits are: - A pitching staff with a high strikeout […]

Bobby Abreu beat his old teammates last night with two homers, including a ninth inning shot off the great Mariano Rivera. We will get to Rivera’s recent struggles later on, but this hit was ironic since Abreu was the topic of a Hall of Fame debate with the beat writers on Twitter. Back in 2009 I wrote this […]