Please, Mr. Steinbrenner, say YES to IMUS!

"Separately, Mr. Imus is seeking a television channel to simulcast his radio program, as MSNBC did. Among those networks considered possibilities, the three people said,

• are Fox News, YES (the Yankees’ cable channel) and SportsNet New York (which broadcasts the Mets.)

Reached on Thursday, Martin Garbus, the lawyer who represented Mr. Imus in a settlement he reached with CBS Radio in August, said he had no comment.

• Should Citadel and Mr. Imus reach a formal agreement, it would represent a reunion of sorts for Mr. (Farid) Suleman and Mr. Imus. Mr. Suleman was previously the chief executive of Infinity Radio, which owned WFAN, the flagship for the Imus program, before Infinity merged with CBS radio.

Mr. Imus is also expected to reunite, on the air, with Charles McCord, the newsman who has served as his sidekick for three decades. Still to be resolved is whether Mr. Imus’s program would include Bernard McGuirk, his long-time producer and another on-air foil."

• From NY Times article by Jacques Steinberg, "Executive Says Imus Deserves Another Chance," 10/6/07

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This may explain MLB/ESPN's revving up Yankee-bashing

On Mr. Steinbrenner retreating and YES Network shares being shopped:

• "The fate of the Yankees is no provincial concern. For Major League Baseball, the Yankees are a moneymaking machine. Not only do they pay more than $100 million a year in revenue sharing and MLB payroll taxes to baseball's 29 other teams, they also rain cash on any rival they visit.

"The Yankees drew an average of 38,000 fans to their away games last year, the most of any team and 10,000 more than the MLB average. Yankee star power also helps MLB negotiate rich TV deals, and it's no coincidence that ...

• baseball's resurgence coincided with the most recent Yankee glory era, which started in 1996.
• Says one National League team president: "The Yankees' competitiveness is important to everyone."
• No one has been more crucial to that competitiveness than George Michael Steinbrenner III."

From Fortune Magazine article, money.cnn.com, 8/3/07 by Jon Birger and Tim Arango.

• (This is the first time I've ever seen this team, rather than the homerun contest, given credit for the renaissance of baseball. It's not something I'd wondered about, actually, but is interesting). sm

I've noticed a more emphatic, emotional, and scripted delivery in recent months on Yankee/money bashing across MLB/ESPN platforms:

• Tim Jurkjian recently,"TheYankees.....can.....spend.....more.....than.....anyyyyyyyyy...
• .other......team......."

Yet, from the Fortune article, "Right now the Yankees hardly make money because their payroll is so excessive." Two Yankees sources tell Fortune the team hasn't paid out profits to limited partners in nearly ten years." (from the article, "The Yankees Face Life After George").

• Even Charley Steiner on XM has amped up his Yankee/money bashing, doing it twice in one show the other day, the 2nd time giving it the slow, deliberate, dripped with scorn delivery ESPN/MLB seems to require now of its employees who like their jobs...

"...NO...other.....team.....can do......what the Yankees.......(sigh)......can do......"

• MLB veteran Mark Feinsand was a guest on Steiner's show the other day. He offered what he said was a different slant, approximating the following:

"I would have to disagree with you on that, Charley, in one way. The more important advantage the Yankees have had is the ability to sign the young players like Jeter, Rivera, and Pettitte, when no other team in baseball could have. No other team.....could've afforded.... to keep their good young players, they would've had to...... let all of them..... go. So that's what I'd say is an even bigger advantage, Charley."

• I've thought about Feinsand's statement a lot, saying he was offering a differing reason for Yankee luck/advantage than "having more money," but it seems he's saying the same as the rest--just making it sound even crueler and more "unfair." (Not an insight he gleaned from his advantage as a privileged clubhouse insider). Feinsand's career and influence will continue to skyrocket with this exclusive inside information to the masses. I guess he doesn't know the signing and re-signing details of the 3 players he named explained in Joel Sherman's well documented book, "Birth of a Dynasty." Feinsand lends his deep MLB background as a showcased regular guest on Yankee radio broadcasts graciously hosted by John Sterling & Suzyn Waldman.

Perhaps the MLB guys view, as the article suggests, Mr. Steinbrenner himself as the dollar-draw and these as the waning days of that experience. (sm)

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YES Network fascinated by Manny and "Youk"

On the YES Network's supposedly Yankee post game show, they show footage of tonight's Red Sox game, focusing on a few plays by Manny. YES showcased him making some play off the wall they want us to be impressed about. Bob Lorenz is fascinated, saying what's Manny doing now out there, I think I'm going to call him "Moon Beam" from now on. Lorenz finds him endearing. Then Bob tells about some play by "Youk." The Yankees need their own station. It's clearly not the YES Network. Lorenz--thanks a bunch. You belong on NESN.

• On full display for all to see, the Yankee fan still has no media outlet, facing negativity about the team and its most important elements everywhere either overtly or cutely. There are no checks and balances. It would take character, conscience and management who cared to make a good Yankee network with people who weren't fans of the team. Over several years now, I see absolutely no evidence of these things. The vacuum has been filled, as all vacuums will be.

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Player of the Game: Andy Pettitte

Today's Yankee radio Player of the Game announced by John Sterling. He didn't get the Win showing you how ridiculous that stat is. It's a handy political stat as voters are aware. Poor Bob Lorenz must have other responsibilities to dash off to, football's coming up, etc. On the YES Network he comes up with well, didn't you get the feeling Halladay wasn't quite as good as he has been and the Yankees were really figuring him out, etc. The guys in the booth politely deflected his goofy remark. Under no circumstances was Halladay crumbling--he had a picnic against the Yankees after a minor ruffle in the first inning. Lorenz' assessment is the kind you've heard in the past from fans of other teams. A Yankee fan watching this game had no hope whatsoever. Joe Torre said in the post game that if it had gone another inning, Mariano would probably have come out (for his 4th day in a row).

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The NY Post knows what the YES Network Doesn't

His name is Mariano.

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On the YES Network, Mariano Rivera still does not exist

I just sat through the whole post game show of the 7-6 win over Tampa Bay to make sure the YES Network still thinks Mo doesn't exist, and it's true. Exhaustive audio by Bob Lorenz, video of the game, mostly on Mussina, a wild game that didn't look good for the Yankees but of course one they deperately needed. Mariano got the 1-run save (he also got the 2-run save last night, today being a day game after a night game--others don't handle that so well). I waited and waited til the bitter end for the video montage, no Mo. They included him in a group for 1 second at the end, which you'd only discern if you were looking closely. I could've lived with even a sentence. but nothing from them.

• But on the radio side: Player of the Game: MARIANO RIVERA for his performance in a 1 run game they desperately needed and in which numerous others screwed up. (John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman have seen every pitch Rivera has thrown since 1995).
• I'll bet the YES guys could not tell you the details of Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS, score 1-0, 2 IP for Mo --this was after a full regular season, being on the verge of elimination with this so-called big team of rich guys not getting it done. I bet the YES guys don't know he pitched in ALL 4 GAMES OF THE 2004 ALDS. And he's still doing it today, but they clearly want him to go away. Just like ESPN. Good in the post season, yadda yadda.

I note these things in service to this subject and this blog. I've documented this exhaustively here-- in case someone cares in the future after I'm dead.

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