Baseball’s most arrogant team is in top form. This week, there were four items that support that fact.
FIRST ITEM: Pay for an Interview
A radio sports show host who can be heard on Sirius/XM was told by the New York Yankees public relations head that manager Joe Girardi would appear for a spring training interview on Monday, March 21.
When the radio host arrived at the Tampa ball park named after an individual who pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to a presidential candidate’s campaign, he discovered that there was a problem.
According to the radio sports show host, “We get down there and find out (from Yankees PR) it’s a problem, Joe won’t do it. I said: ‘What do you mean he won’t do it?’ They tell me he has to get paid. His agent said Joe is the Yankees manager and he’s not talking for free.”
A Yankees official explained that Mr. Girardi’s agent was in the process of negotiating a contract for him to appear on SXM’s MLB channel during the regular season. They didn’t want Girardi to appear on a sports show until the deal was sealed.
Baseball needs publicity. The Yankees need publicity. Refusing to grant interviews with the media is the ultimate in arrogance. The Yankees are saying that they are so big, that they are so popular, they can demand payment for certain interviews.
No one is sure who was the first to say it, but as either P.T. Barnum, Mae West, George M. Cohan, Will Rogers or W.C. Fields said, “I don’t care what you say about me as long as you spell my name right.”
The radio sports show host blasted Girardi, saying he should not allow his agent to dictate terms and that it was his place to decide if he wanted to grant interviews.
“Show some guts. It makes you look like an idiot.”
The current Yankees ownership has forgotten that day in 1965 when the last place Yankees played a rescheduled game against the White Sox late in September. Red Barber told the television audience,
“I don’t know what the paid attendance is today, but whatever it is, it is the smallest crowd in the history of Yankee Stadium, and this crowd is the story, not the game.”
There were 413 paying fans.
Barber asked the cameras to pan the empty stands. The head of Yankees’ media relations refused. Sounds familiar.
Remember when New York’s most beloved sports team, the New York Mets, ruled New York during the late 1960s and most the 1980s? Maybe you do, but the Yankees certainly don’t.
SECOND ITEM: Who Cares About the Vendors?
The least expensive beer at the Yankees ball park will increase in price from $9 to $9.50. While not a great increase, the vendors will often have their tip reduced from $1 to fifty cents when they are handed a 10 dollar bill. So much for concern for employees.
THIRD ITEM: Parking Rate Increase
Parking rates will increase from $35 to $45. As in the past, there will be no refunds if the game is not played. So much concern for the fans.
FOURTH ITEM: So Much For Equal Opportunity
Bartolo Colon had a better spring than Freddie Garcia, but Garcia will be the Yankees’ fifth starter. Joe Girardi admitted that Colon was probably the Yankees’ best pitcher this spring, but that is not enough for the Yankees manager.
Because it is believed that Garcia will give the Yankees more innings than Colon, the former gets the job.
Hey, Joe, does quality count?
Reference:
Raissman, Bob. “Sports talk host Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo angry with Yankees manager Joe Girardi for calling off spot” New York Daily News. 25 March 2011.
The New York Yankees Don’t Like the Truth
Freddie Garcia Yanks’ Fifth Starter
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com