While I think it was stupid of them and unfortunate, I would hardly say they shot themselves in the foot. By the headline I thought you were going to talk about something entirely different.

Steve Lombardi wrote:

This is why I could never survive being a blogger for the Yankees and/or the YES Network. I would hate to be in a position where, every time I write something, I have to consider “Gee, is this going to possibly upset someone in the organization and therefore get me in hot water?” I would hate to have to tip-toe around things that may not sit well with some thin-skinned member of the organization. I give Steve Goldman credit for surviving at YES as long as he has…he’s very skilled at knowing when to go left or right, etc., I suppose.

Well put Steve. You are simply put too much of an independent voice to be an authorized voice so to speak. Reading your musings are the exact opposite of what the Yankees want to be said the majority of the times. It is not alarming that an organization would be so protective of their brand in such an open and aggressive media market. There is a certain amount of spin that needs to be done even though this is arguably the most savage media market in the country. Cash Man is very thin skinned and he should worry less about what’s said on WFAN and ESPN 1050 and the rest of the media and concentrate on the team. That being said, he isn’t the only culprit at hand when it comes to controlling the Yankee brand . President Bluster among others is in that “cabal” as well………

Jane was nice enough to put my name in her ad (I had a blurb for the book.)

And Steve, I (sadly) think you’re right when it comes to the front office. You’d think they’d have better things to do. Wonder if they have interns trolling the blogs every day, compiling negative comments about the front office.

This is why I could never survive being a blogger for the Yankees and/or the YES Network. I would hate to be in a position where, every time I write something, I have to consider “Gee, is this going to possibly upset someone in the organization and therefore get me in hot water?” I would hate to have to tip-toe around things that may not sit well with some thin-skinned member of the organization. I give Steve Goldman credit for surviving at YES as long as he has…he’s very skilled at knowing when to go left or right, etc., I suppose.

I agree, I think the Yanks simply don’t like anyone else talking about them and want to control the message as much as possible. This has nothing to do with Brian Cashman…although I’m not surprised you tried to nail Cashman on yet another thing anyway.

As far as I’m concerned, the Yanks are particularly keen (overly sensitive?) to ANYTHING that is put out about them. If you had told me nothing about Heller’s book and simply asked me, “Do you think the Yankees ran an ad for a bloggers book in the Opening Day program?” I probably would have told you know, expecting the Yanks to have an extreme gag order on everything they can, even if its not terribly negative.

So, I think it may partly be sensitivity by individuals within the organization, but I really think it is simply part of the Yankee modus operandi.