Mike Francesa called the Yankees a “clown show” on Sunday.
The WFAN legend expanded on his thought Monday during his latest BetRivers podcast.
“They are a terrible baseball team,” Francesa said. “Their whole plan is flawed dramatically. And it’s such a bad lineup, it defies description. They are completely inept. It is completely nothing short of a colossal embarrassment, what the Yankees are putting out as a product right now and how they conduct themselves as an organization right now.
“It is almost like they don’t see the issue. They don’t see the problems. And they’re the only ones that don’t. That’s the alarming part. This isn’t some run-of-the-mill organization. This is the New York Yankees. And you sit there and say, ‘How the mighty have fallen.’ And they continue to deny, they continue to defend a plan, a way of doing business that is clearly leading them to complete futility. And you wonder if it is just that they have gotten themselves to such a level of complacency, and all ownership cares about is the fact they are making money. And they are making money. And that’s the bottom line.”
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The Bombers blew a lead Sunday in their loss to the Rays, failing to win their first series since sweeping the “godawful” Royals in late July, as Francesa put it. They are now 62-68 and 11 games back of the final AL wild card spot.
“The bottom line isn’t winning championships,” he said. “We all know it’s not winning championships any more. How could [ownership] think their fanbase would not be upset with the product that has been put forth? How can they not understand … why the fans are upset when they haven’t been to a World Series since 2009? These are the Yankees! It is about (the) World Series. It is about championships. But it is not about that any more. Now it’s, ‘Hey, we compete most years, we win every year, what do you want?’
“The fans want you to be the Yankees again. They don’t expect you to be just like everybody else. The Dodgers aren’t like everybody else. Most years, the Cardinals aren’t like everybody else. And the Yankees have never been like anybody else. They’ve always been the Yankees. And they’ve acted that way. And they’ve carried themselves in an arrogant fashion because they have been ultra-successful because they have always been the Yankees.”
The Yankees have had lean years before, Francesa said. But this is something different.
“To say the Yankees have lost their way would be the understatement of the year,” he added. “To say this is nothing short of a clown act, now, would be to be missing the point. … It cannot get much more embarrassing. But hey, stay tuned. The Yankees might be able to outdo themselves when it comes to that.”
James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
