The New York Yankees and ESPN go together like two peas in a pod…right? Today, at least, they are now sworn enemies.
The New York Yankees are frustrated. Besides having numerous games cancelled due to Mother Nature’s wrath, they have been grounded more times than a rebellious teenager with overprotective parents.
So while the Yankees are frustrated beyond belief, ESPN didn’t make things any easier. On Monday, Jimmy Traina of SI.com reported that a feud was brewing between the two powerhouses.
The feud began when ESPN decided to take the matchup of the Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays and transfer it to 8 PM on July 8 to serve as an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball telecast. No big deal. However, the very next day the Yankees are now scheduled to begin a doubleheader in Baltimore.
Naturally, I would be pretty upset too. The Yankees would have to finish up a game in Toronto, with no guarantees of how late it will run, and then fly down to Baltimore, get settled and play two games in a row. That’s three games in two days in two different cities.
No wonder the Yankees are upset. So, in order to make their position known, they’ve waged a full-out war against ESPN by denying ESPN access to their players for the rest of the season if they don’t get their way.
Talk about blackmail.
“If the Yankees are forced to play Sunday night on July 8, the Yankee management and players are said to be prepared for all-out war with ESPN in which they refuse all interviews — pre-game, in-game and post-game — with ESPN broadcasters,” as reported by Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.
So what was a solution? Well, instead of using the Yankees to boost ratings for the All-Star Game show that is supposed to be on after, why not just let the games resume as they were originally scheduled.
Trust me, ESPN. You do not want to make an enemy of the New York Yankees. And it seems like they already have.
