Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Pittsburgh Pirates

Baseball Sees Itself in Canseco

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

Great day I walked on to the field and then flexed for the crowd got a loud possitive cheer loved it — Jose Canseco (@JoseCanseco) April 21, 2012 The beauty and downfall of social media is that it allows complete transparency into the world of people. The invisible wall that once separated fans from who […]

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 […]

Without Burnett, Yanks Don’t Get a World Series Ring

Saturday, February 18th, 2012

It amazed me how the legacy of A.J. Burnett got worse as the rumors of an impending trade neared. Listening to the fans and media pundits, you would think Burnett is the worst pitcher in baseball. As a matter of fact, there was talk about how this could be the worst free agent signing in Yankees history. […]

Should the Yanks Sign Mike Gonzalez?

Friday, February 17th, 2012

I have always been a proponent of a championship team having two left-handers in the bullpen. The Yankees have largely gotten by with Boone Logan the last three years. Former Met, Pedro Feliciano, was supposed to solve that problem last year, but it’s unlikely he will ever throw a pitch as a Yankee due to shoulder problems. Brian […]

Trading Burnett For Nothing Hurts Pitching Depth

Monday, February 13th, 2012

You need pitching depth to get through a 162-game schedule. I recently spoke to a big league pitching coach who told me it was important to leave camp with about 18 pitchers  that could realistically contribute at the big league level. Of those 18, you probably need 10 that could start a ballgame. Knowing how important […]

Why Are Yanks Dumping Burnett For 30-Year Old Platoon Player?

Friday, February 10th, 2012

Garrett Jones is, in fact, the guy NYY want in any Burnett deal with the Pirates,but PIT not interested in moving Jones. No traction so far.Thu Feb 09 23:19:30 via webBuster OlneyBuster_ESPN The rumors of A.J. Burnett going to Pittsburgh are heating up. Buster Olney “tweeted” the Yankees want Garrett Jones in return; something that […]

Tom Brady Was Nearly a Expo, Passed on by the Yankees

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Here is another cool baseball-football connection this Super Bowl week. I am sure this has been talked about before, but Jeff Bradley did a nice piece in the Star-Ledger about Patriots QB Tom Brady and his near baseball career. You know about the three Super Bowl titles, but did you know that Brady was an outstanding baseball […]

Pete Rose Received Two Write-In Votes This Past HOF Election

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Update 10 AM: Repoz from Baseball Think Factory has informed me the other Rose supporting is perennial backer Jack McCaffery of the Daily Times in the Philly area. Original Post Last night, I was joined by Marco Maturo, a member of the BBWAA who spent 40 years covering sports for Gannett, which included 7 years on the Mets beat […]

Baseball’s Next Breeding Ground: The Bahamas?

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Back in November the Caribbean Journal ran this video about how there is an attempt to revive baseball on the islands of the Bahamas. There have been six big leaguers of Bahamian descent. The most successful is Andre Rodgers, a shortstop that spent 11 seasons in the big leagues in the late 50s and early […]

No Justification for Keeping Bonds Out of Hall of Fame

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

We could all rest easy now knowing the Federal Government achieved a sentence of two years’ probation, 30-day home confinement, 250 hours of community service and a $4,000 fine in the Barry Bond’s “obstruction of justice” trial. Some reports indicate the U.S. Government has spent in excess of $70 million dollars to investigate Barry Bonds. […]