New York Yankees president Randy Levine blasted the media when asked about the possibility of his team becoming “sellers” at the trade deadline. If he doesn’t want to be asked the question anymore, then the Yankees need to start winning, and start winning fast.
Yankees president Randy Levine had some disparaging comments over the offseason to fans who weren’t season ticket holders, and now he’s back at it again. This time, he goes after the media. In a press conference held yesterday to announce a new deal between the Yankees and StubHub, Levine was asked about the team becoming “sellers” at the trade deadline. He got snippy:
"“You (reporters) obviously have nothing more important to write about than to write nonsense about that,” Levine said. “When we decide to become sellers, if we decide to become sellers, or if we decide to become buyers, you’ll know about it. I guess the difference is most of you guys have never run anything. We have a lot of history here of knowing what we’re doing and a lot of confidence in our baseball operations people, so we’ll see what happens.”"
While Levine has probably been asked about his team becoming sellers dozens of times, does it justify a shot at the media? The fan base wants to know what their below average baseball team will do in the coming weeks, so the media is only doing its job.
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The one comical agenda that Yankee brass is trying to push is that they could become “buyers” at the trade deadline. Think about that for a second — GM Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees have decided not to trade away any of their prospects for the last few years in order to create a new, young culture. Why in the world would they start making “win now” moves with the team one game below .500 heading into the month of July? Realistically, I’m not even sure the Yankees are one or two “win now” moves away from becoming serious contenders.
The whole thing just stinks of condescending, “dumb media,” “dumb baseball fan” dialogue from their president. Although the team has never been in a “sell” position under Levine, he shouldn’t look at the situation with a feeling of embarrassment but rather with a glass half full attitude. This could be an opportunity to build for the future.
The approach from Randy Levine and Brian Cashman has been consistent: They are trying to integrate young players into the roster while also trying to remain competitive. They have one foot in the rebuilding door, and one foot out. It worked last year as they were able to clinch a Wild Card position, but they aren’t getting the same production from their players this year and you can sense the frustration in Levine’s comments.
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After a late-inning loss to the Texas Rangers early this morning, the Yankees now find themselves eight games out of first place and three back in the Wild Card standings. If Randy Levine doesn’t want to be asked the “nonsense” question of whether or not they will become sellers at the trade deadline, then his team better start winning and start winning fast.