If you ever needed proof that the YES Network was little more than a mouthpiece for the Yankees front office, here it is: Tom Verducci, one of the most respected baseball minds in all of media, was relieved of his analyst duties for straying too far from the company line. The sad (or funny, depending on your perspective) thing? YES isn't even hiding their rationale. From
Neil Best's Watchdog blog on Newsday (via
The Big Lead):
YES spokesman Eric Handler said Verducci's "recent remarks pertaining to the Yankees' ownership were extremely personal and cutting, and we decided it would not be in our interests to have him on the show going forward.
The comments Handler refers to come from
this column for Sports Illustrated in which Verducci puts the Yankees ownership on blast for how they severed ties with Torre, specifically, by doing it under the guise of wanting him back by offering him a deal they knew he'd never accept. Of course, it's not a huge surprise that Verducci had a strong reaction given the fact that he's collaborating on a book with Torre, which the suits at YES also took exception to:
"The recent disclosure of Tom's collaboration with Torre on yet another book highlights a conflict in his ability to write a balanced column about Torre's departure from the Yankees,'' Handler said.
It rings hollow for a regional sports network owned by a team to criticize a writer for not remaining objective, especially since there's no way this would have happened had Verducci taken the opposite stance and praised the Yankees. YES doesn't want objective opinions, they want polished PR, which would be fine so long as they didn't make such a fuss claiming otherwise.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-16-2007 @ 8:47PM
Vegas Watch said...
"It rings hollow for a regional sports network owned by a team to criticize a writer for not remaining objective..."
Excellent point. "Objective" is not a word I would use to describe Michael Kay.
Reply
11-16-2007 @ 8:57PM
Joey Handibode said...
Well, YES should have fired the knucklehead. First of all, Torre was doing terriable as a manager. He shouldn't have been offered to resign anyway. We lost in 2001 directly because of his terrible managing.
Sorry I am all for firing persons attached to Yankee organization if they biased with persons outside the organization. Believe me Boston Red Sox stations would not allow talking bad about their team.
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11-16-2007 @ 9:10PM
LB said...
In any job if you talk bad about the people who pay your salary you will be cut.
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11-17-2007 @ 7:58AM
Gary said...
Lets see how Torre does in the National League where is actually has to manage rather than take naps on the bench.
He was over paid with the talent he had in the late 90's my 16 yr old daughter could have won!
Turned down 5 mil base salaty which 1.5 nore than any other manager in baseball and he won what? in last seven years?? nothing!
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11-17-2007 @ 7:48PM
Rory said...
What do you mean Yankees fans were excited about the idea of having Lowell at 1B? Now that A-rod is back, most Yankees fans didn't want him. Let the Red Sox have to overpay for him and have to give him a 4-year deal. Besides, he would not be a good hitter in Yankee Stadium.
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