Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Theo Epstein

The Price for Matt Garza is Worth It

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Although no clear favorite has emerged in acquiring Cubs RHP Matt Garza,  Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports the Yankees, Blue Jays, Tigers, Red Sox and Marlins are all in the mix. I believe if the Yankees want Garza there is no reason why they shouldn’t be able to make a deal. Although Garza isn’t Felix Hernandez, he’s probably the best […]

“Pelotero” Displays Need for Change

Sunday, October 16th, 2011

I had the opportunity yesterday afternoon to screen the movie Pelotero at the Hamptons Film Festival. The film follows two young Dominican baseball players, or peloteros as they are called, while they work to achieve their dream of being signed by a professional club on their 16th birthday; the age they are first eligible. The film has […]

Sox Lose Their Identity, Can’t Be Compared to Yanks Anymore

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

Even though the Red Sox held a 9 game lead in the Wild Card loss column on August 25th, I didn’t believe they had the worst collapse in baseball history. The 1951 Dodgers probably hold that distinction, with the 2007 Mets not far behind. For comparison purposes, I thought the Mets blowing a 7 game lead […]

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, […]

Does Anybody Here Know What Moneyball Is?

Monday, September 26th, 2011

“Can’t anybody here play this game?” Said Casey Stengel when he took over the Mets in 1962. Nearly fifty years later I feel like saying something similar to fans, writers, and some baseball insiders when talking about Moneyball. The movie had a great weekend as it grossed $20.6 million; only second to Disney’s “The Lion […]

If Cashman Bolts, Would Billy Beane in NY Make Sense?

Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

Most people in baseball believe that Brian Cashman will return to the Yankees after this season. He has a great relationship with the Steinbrenner family, and has been given unprecedented control of the team’s operation. It would be unrealistic to expect someone else to handle all the aspects of the Yankees job as well as […]

Portland Sea Dogs Key to Beltran Deal?

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

Earlier today I talked about how I liked the Boston prospects over any other organization. Although I haven’t seen many of these kids play, I looked at their numbers and historically trust the judgment of Theo Epstein’s front office. I also think Beltran would be a nice fit in the Red Sox lineup this year […]

Soria and Sanchez on Yanks Radar?

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

A member of the Kansas City media reached out to me yesterday, asking if we had heard anything about the Yankees making another run at Royals closer Joakim Soria. Last summer, we reported Yankees interest in Soria, but the demands of Kansas City GM Dayton Moore were excessive. Bill Madden later reported the Yankees made overtures […]

Sox Should Be Punished for Their Shenanigans

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Sometimes, they say, timing is everything. In the case of the Boston Red Sox and their contract extension with first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, you could amend that to sometimes, timing is suspicious. If you believe the convenient P.R. spin of Theo the Boy Genius and the Nation of Idiots, it was the end of a […]

Will Mets Success Advance Sabermetrics?

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Rival executives with a background in scouting are privately snickering at the Mets for their newfound tilt toward objective analysis. Statistical analysts and like-minded bloggers are publicly rejoicing over the Mets’ shift, as if numbers are the One True Way to baseball success. I’m calling B.S. on both. - Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal Since Moneyball […]

Yanks About to Put Sox to Bed Early

Saturday, May 8th, 2010

Anything can happen in baseball. The Yankees know that as they came back from a 14 game deficit in July of 1978 to win the division. Just three years ago the Yankees looked dead on Memorial Day, 14.5 games out of the division and miles away from the Wild Card. Joe Torre’s final season still […]

Early Season Results On the Defensive

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

Defensive statistics have been a hotly contested debate, especially at this site. Just three short years ago, when I started the radio show, the only defensive statistics I bothered to look at were errors and my mental database on range. Now every website (radio as usual hasn’t caught up) cites UZR or plus/minus when discussing […]

Listen: The Top General Managers in Baseball

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Tim Marchman of Sports Illustrated joined me on Sunday to discuss his column on the best GM’s in baseball. Here us talk about the top three: Andrew Friedman, Theo Epstein, and Brian Cashman. We also discuss if the “shine” is finally off Billy Beane, as well as the failings of the Mets Omar Minaya. Tim […]

The Yanks are not Invincible

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

When Joe Girardi was on WFAN with Mike Francesa he mentioned one of his biggest concerns was getting a consistent lineup daily, especially when Posada has to sit. Basically it’s the five hole we all have been talking about this winter. Twenty nine other teams would love to be in Girardi’s position, especially the guys […]

Brian Cashman is the Best GM in Baseball

Friday, March 5th, 2010

Tim Marchman wrote a column at SI bound to stir debate: Who is the best GM’s in baseball? This column brings a dichotomy of emotion my way. I respect Marchman’s work, but in one paragraph he makes a ton of sense when he says “one problem is that it’s hard even to tell what general […]