ESPN’s ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ Features Cringeworthy In-Game Interview Moment

1. I’m a fan of MLB's in-game interviews and would love to see more of them. It’s especially cool when a ball gets hit to a player who is mid-interview, and we get to hear their authentic reactions.

Kyle Schwarber: "oh shoot.....gawd" 😂 pic.twitter.com/LcktieyQYN

— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) May 1, 2023

I do think the in-game interview should be kept light and fun. ESPN’s Karl Ravech seems to differ on that philosophy, because here’s what he asked Red Sox first baseman Triston Casas, who was miked up for ESPN's St. Louis–Boston Sunday Night Baseball game.

“I know your mom passed away when you were young. What does Mother's Day mean for you and your brother?”

Does that question REALLY need to be asked during a game? Is that really the time and the place? Just because it’s Mother’s Day, you don't HAVE TO ask a Mother’s Day question.

Casas, who initially seemed caught off guard by the question, could not have handled the moment any better and gave a truly touching and impressive answer.

“What happened was unfortunate to me, but I have so many mother figures in my life,” said Casas. "Whether they have my last name or whether they don’t, I had so much support from everybody in and around my circle that I don’t even feel like I missed out on anything. I know she’s watching me everyday. I know she's smiling, proud of me. Yeah, for the most part, I think I’ve been all right."

I’d like to give Ravech the benefit of the doubt and assume he ran this by Casas, but this is a brutal question to ask while a guy is trying to play first base.

What do you think Mother’s Day means for someone who lost their mother?pic.twitter.com/w4r5VDNA5u

— Aram Leighton (@AramLeighton8) May 15, 2023

I don’t know if Casas had any kind of heads-up that that question would be asked, but based on his immediate reaction, it didn’t appear that he was expecting his mom’s death to be a topic of conversation, which makes the way he handled the situation even more admirable.

2. Every NBA fan knows about Doc Rivers’s failures (sorry, Giannis) in the postseason, but when you see it laid out like this, it’s truly amazing.

Doc Rivers has the most blown series leads in NBA history...

PHI:
2023: 3-2 lead
2021: 2-1

LAC:
2020: 3-1
2017: 2-1
2016: 2-0
2015: 3-1
2014: 1-0

BOS:
2012: 3-2
2010: 3-2
2009: 3-2
2005: 1-0

ORL:
2003: 3-1 pic.twitter.com/JCZo3UAMB3

— Evan Abrams (@EvanHAbrams) May 14, 2023

3. Speaking of Rivers, we love petty, so this was well done by JJ Redick. Rivers recently said the Clippers team he coached (which Redick was part of) was never going to win a championship, because the players didn't get along and wouldn't cooperate. So Redick took to Twitter after the Sixers got embarrassed by the Celtics on Sunday afternoon and took his shot.

I wonder if they cooperated

— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) May 14, 2023

4. One of the more impressive things about the strong TV ratings sports have been generating across the board is that cord-cutting is happening more than ever. 

According to Variety, 2.3 million customers cut the cord in the first quarter of 2023.

Just 58.5% of American households currently have a pay-TV service, its lowest number since 1992.

5. Annoying your significant other while they are under the weather is an aggressive move, so it was impressive (and funny) to see Fox Sports’ Matt Leinart be so bold about his wife's stomach issues over the weekend. 

View the original article to see embedded media.

6. This week's SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with ABC/ESPN lead NBA play-by-play man, Mike Breen.

Breen, who is about to call his 18th NBA Finals, talks about how wide open this year’s playoffs have been, his longtime partnership with Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, and the impressive depth of NBA broadcasters across the networks.

Breen also discusses what his relationship is like with LeBron James and James’s still going strong at 38 years old, whether he ever thinks about giving up calling Knicks games, his signature “BANG!” and “WAY OFF” calls, how he used to hook up Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden and much more.

Following Breen, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, Sal explains the disaster he had to deal with while trying to watch a Knicks playoff game. We also read recent Apple reviews listeners left for SI Media With Jimmy Traina.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.